eye spy

I was really excited for roasted potatoes, until I realized the one on the right looked like a mini person (see, it has some "hair" on top and two nubby "arms"...what, you don't see it?)

somehow I got over it, and diced them up

this is about as balanced as a meal is going to get in the LKTC

I think we can all recall (with some slight horror and disgust) the rotten potato incident.  This black goo-filled adventure was the direct result of my poor meal planning efforts and inability to use all the food I buy before it goes bad.  

So when I noticed that my bag of baby potatoes had starting growing eyes, I knew I didn't have long before they morphed from relatively harmless starch to vile kitchen counter contaminant. I decided they'd be the perfect excuse to use my cute new mini baking dishes (featured in the first pictures). 

Side note: I realize I totally overuse the adjective "cute" on this blog, but I'm a sucker for a well-designed little dish.  I mean, what's not to love?  Portion control in an attractive little package.  Done. 

To keep the potatoes company, I went for steak.  I don't eat red meat often, but I had just picked up steaks at the grocery, and I think I really needed the protein/iron after a series of days full of junk food and too little sleep. I definitely buy in to that whole "your body craves what it needs" mantra.   

I don't own a grill or a grill pan, so I timidly busted out the George Forman that my mom gave to me when my parents' kitchen was bursting at the seams with gadgets.  It looks to be one of the first models made, and the instruction book has long since been lost, so I was on my own.  

I've never been particularly free-wheeling in the kitchen (which is probably why I don't like cooking much in the first place), so when I got George out of the cabinet, I had a lot of questions.  Do I grease it? How do I know when it's pre-heated?  How long does it take to "grill" a steak? 

I really like things grilled, so I'm thrilled to report that George and I got along beautifully.  My only complaint is that I didn't take the steak off the grill plate soon enough.  In case you and George haven't met, he's a speedy dude.  I think we're going to be great friends.  If he stops making weird popping noises after I unplug him, that is. 

Even though I clearly ate a ton, I had bought pudding mix at the grocery, and realized I had a handful of mini Nilla wafers left over from my July 4 fireworks snacks.  I cut a few slices of banana, and made a little dish of chocolate banana pudding.  Need I even mention that the dish was super cute? 

the crappy phone photo doesn't really do the dessert justice 

a few weeks ago, alicia had us all over for fried chicken, mac n cheese, collards, and banana pudding (on a much larger scale, obviously), which was what inspired tonight's last-minute dessert