Pirates, Grouper or a Home Made Mouthwatering Meal

Wayne is an avid cook. He has been getting me interested in the Food Network (in addition to HGTV). Last week we were watching a couple of shows on the Food Network, Paula's Home Cooking and Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. Several of the recipes sounded great to both of us.

I had to work on Saturday morning and this weekend the pirates were invading Tampa as part of the Gasparilla pirate party. We were thinking about going over in the afternoon but the weather threatened a bit of rain, and the parking and crowds seemed a bit too much, so instead we were going to go to Frenchy's restaurant in Clearwater Beach to have grouper sandwiches. But those plans changed too as Wayne decided to try out the recipes from last weeks shows. He treated me to a homemade dinner of Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf from Paula Dean's Country Comfort episode and Garlicky Green Beans from Sandra Lee's Comfort Food Zone episode. YUM! Then a chaser of his homemade gelato. Triple YUM!

Sunshine, Harry Potter and Tulips

It was such a beautiful day that I thought maybe I ought to get out in it! With blanket, water bottle, camera, iPod and Harry Potter 5, I ventured out to Washington Park in Albany. I figured that with a warm week coming up and rain predicted by Friday, maybe the tulips wouldn't look so good for the annual Albany Tulip Festival on Mother's Day weekend.

So I spent about 3 hours soaking up the sun and reading. It took me about three or four tries to get into that 5th book, The Order of the Phoenix, but I did it. I am a little over the half way mark. I want to finish it before the movie comes out this summer, so I bring it with me to the laundramat every time I go. With the nice weather finally here, I'm hoping to read and get some sun at the same time. This is my favorite time of year, not humid yet, and not a lot of bugs.












So.......here is my tulip gallery for 2007! I got carried away!

Look at that rebel!

And, I actually cooked tonight! And I've got leftovers for lunches! My old standby, chicken and peppers in the oven...this time with a raspberry pineapple sauce. YUMMY!