Benjiiiiii!!

Benji is here so it's time for some meaty man food. I decided on our homemade burgers. They are filling and boys love playing with the meat grinder (*snerk*). Mr. Lawyer did his usual no measuring throw in some breadcrumbs, seasoning and an egg thing....drives me nutty. I served with up with a wonderful toppings bar and some baked beans. There is nothing left except some lettuce so I guess I made the right choice.

Yum! Toppings. There were also some sauteed onions.

 Boys and their toys.

 Burgers and Beans!

The burgers went pretty quick!

Thank you Dork! Mr. Lawyer never let's me take pictures of him ;)

 Watching the 'Cuse game. You have to stand until they score the first basket.

 So when I moved to Philly two years ago my brother and dad had brewed some beer. I still had a bottle hiding in the back of the fridge. The time had made it a little better but it was still weird. It tasted like a Belgium sour to me.

Warm Soup Belly!

Happy half-anniversary! Have a giant vat of chicken enchilada soup. So romantic, although since someone isn't a fan of celebrating half-anniversaries or birthdays I suppose the feeling of "warm soup belly" will have to suffice. But who doesn't love an excuse for drinks and celebrations?! Boys. Psh.
I have very fond memories of the Mother Unit making this soup. And then I have the not so fond memory of being tasked with taking a huge crock pot full of this soup from her house to my dad's for some reason. I feel like maybe it was a graduation or boy scout thing or something. So the Dork and I pile into my first car (a lovely silver dodge stratus) and go on our way. There was this tricky little part where you left the tiny side road and had to cross two lanes of highway to get in the proper lane all while making a curvy turn and accelerating so you didn't get smushed by the speeding tractor trailers. Yeah. Guess what happened? The Dork and I watched in horror as the crock pot slide over and spilled all it's contents in the front seat of my car. And by watched I mean he was too busy playing his game boy to actually grab it when I told him to and I have no idea why the soup was in the front seat and not him. I'm guessing this was done so he wouldn't mess with my radio. Ah smart life decisions. As delicious as this soup is do you know how hard it is to clean up a puddle of cheesy goo with chicken bits? And how nasty it smelled on hot days for months after that fateful day (good thing we didn't have a lot of those in NY. Zing!). There was still a slightly crusty soup stain when we sold it. Ah memories.
Moving on to the recipe! Delicious and nutritious! Well except for that 16 oz of Velveeta. Speaking of which, it is incredibly hard to find Velveeta in the city. I ended up having to pay an outrageous amount for 12 oz of Velveeta singles from the little market downstairs which left me 4 oz short. Ah well, probably a bit healthier that way. Also, enchilada sauce is wicked expensive even by Whole Foods standards.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

(From the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon oil
4 chicken breasts
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 cup flour
1 cup enchilada sauce
16 oz Velveeta
1 generous teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Shredded cheese and chips for serving
Directions:
1. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan. Brown chicken until cooked. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large pot, add onions and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth. Combine flour with 2 cups of water and whisk until blended. Add flour mix to pot with onions and broth. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mix to a boil.
4. Shred the chicken into bite sized pieces and add it to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until thick.
5. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled tortilla chips.

I started the soup early so it simmered for about 1.5 hours until Mr. Lawyer got home for dinner and it was delicious! Side note: I like blue tortilla chips and Mr. Lawyer like regular. Whole Foods makes a wonderful bag of tortilla chips that has both! The best of both worlds.

Cinnamon Grapefruitade

Because the Dork and the Mother Unit are planning on bringing back some rum from their Caribbean cruise I bring you this:

Cinnamon Grapefruitade

(Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups sugar (for simple syrup)

1.5 cups water (for simple syrup)

4 cinnamon sticks (for simple syrup)

2 cups fresh grapefruit juice

2 cups water

Some raspberries

Directions:

1. To make the simple syrup bring 1.5 cups of sugar, 1.5 cups water and 4 cinnamon sticks to a boil, stirring until dissolved. This will result in about 2 cups of simple syrup. Let it cool.

2. Take your 2 cups of cooled simple syrup, add 2 cups of grapefruit juice, 2 cups of water and raspberries for garnish.

When you get sick of lemonade during the summer this is a yummy alternative. It has a little unexpected bite from the cinnamon. The best part is that it is absolutely amazing spiked with RUM!