east, south, northwestern

It's so good to be home!  I was gone for two weeks, traveling with two groups of Northwestern students to New York City and then to Washington DC.

I run a program at NU that connects students with alumni, to help wtih career planning and exploration.  These annual treks to NYC/DC and other cities give students the chance to visit tons of interesting businesses and workplaces where our alumni and/or student's parents work.  We visited so many cool places, including the supreme court, Google, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, The Food Network, the state department, and capitol hill to name a few.  It was a blast.  And, during breaks, I got to see my peeps!

Here, take a look.

I saw my mom:

 And my sister Mary Beth

 And my lovely high school pals

 And I got to walk the high line

and I saw my friend Amy, who I forgot to snap a picture of.

In DC, I got to see my college roomie Rebecca, who I also forgot to snap a picture of,

and my niece Rebecca and her boyfriend Kalle

and my cousin Sarah Butler.

And, of course, THE MAN

and THE HOUSE

and THE MALL. (the only one I love)

And my own slice of heaven on earth!!

Back at the ranch, before I left, I cooked a ton of food and left detailed instructions.  With Dylan.

And I think it went really well the first week - hah!    

But now I"m back and SO HAPPY to be back in my kitchen!  This week:

Sunday:  turkey meatloaf, rice pilaf, salad

Monday:  ziti with meat sauce, salad, bread

Tuesday:  hot dish/loubbe

Wednesday;  baked tilapia, sweet potatoes and salad

Thursday: chicken fajitas.

Enjoy the week!!  

Turkey Meatloaf.  It's really, really good.  Kudos to Kelly Fitzpatrick, from whom this recipe came years ago (as you can see by the debris).

Loubbe-ish Hot Dish??

Sautee a huge onion in olive oil and garlic.  Add 1 lb of ground beef.  Brown and drain. 

Add a big pile of trimmed green beans and a large can diced tomatoes and lots of salt & pepper.  Bring to a 'boil', then reduce heat and simmer covered for about a half hour.  Serve over rice.  

It's YUMMY

Tilapia and sweet potatoes.  Peel and large-slice sweet potatoes.  Toss with olive oil and salt & pepper and cook at 425 for half hour.  Turn with a metal spatula halfway. 

Hubble thinks a stray sweet potato is a bone.  

Rinse and dry tilapia filets.  Toss with a little olive oil and sprinkle with either S&P or this yummy Spice House mix of everything yummy in life.  Cook at 425 for about ten minutes.

Home sweet home.  Enjoy the week!!