Lions, Tigers and Bulls...

What a great trip to Chicago! Michelle had a week off of school, so we took full advantage of it.  We flew in last Sunday to stay with Mark, Stephanie and Monroe.  Throughout the week, we made it to the zoo, watched the Bulls play (on tv of course), went to the park and even cooked a few meals in the process.  We wanted to make life easier on Steph than adding pressure to entertain guests.  Yes, there were some exciting moments like this one.

1st Chicago Style Hot Dog!

Chicago Style Hot Dog - Vegetarian just for Michelle!

Now that I got that out of my system, check out this super easy Thai Peanut Pasta dish I cooked for everyone. 

First start out with a few broccoli crowns, carrots, scallions and garlic. We even threw in some Tender Bits as a protein.  Also, grab a Peanut Sauce from Target and select Wal-Mart's.  They are pretty easy to find.  Boil up some Penne Pasta and throw the veggies in a large skillet with some oil.  Once everything is nice and hot, take about 1/4 cup of water and add it to the skillet and put a lid on it to steam the veggies.  Keep doing this if necessary, you can also put a few squirts of soy sauce over it with some sesame seeds.

Once the broccoli and carrots are tender, drain the pasta and add the peanut sauce and veggies into a big bowl.  Toss together and add a handful of cilantro.  It's pretty tasty. Michelle says it's in her Top 5 things that I make, which is an extremely bold statement - but Michelle means what she says.

Thai Peanut Pasta

 On another note, I understand that I am not taken seriously in the blogging world because I do not update on a regular basis. This is malarky... And I'm not sure what that word means, but my mom used to say it a lot when she tried to say something was bogus.  I am such a great blogger, I only have to do it once a month... okay, j/k. I will try to do better.  In fact, I have many things to blog about, just not a lot of time to do it, so I will try to do better.

On a completely unrelated note, I bought my first pair of Toms shoes this last week.  It took me a while to get used to them, but I think I am a huge fan now.  Extremely comfortable, and now I look like a cool kid. Here is a picture of one, yes, just one. 

To close, I would like to leave you with something I fell in love with while in Chicago - It's Garrett's popcorn.  This is the "Chicago Mix" (Cheddar Corn and Caramel Corn) The sweet, salty, crunchy goodness is just incredible - it is messy but worth it.  If you're ever in Chicago, it's a must.  We walked 2 miles to get some when we could've just gotten it at the airport before we left (which we did) Here is a picture to get your mouth watering. And this is also the end of today's blog. Good night!