Weekend?

So as you might have guessed by on the lateness of my post, my weekend was all work. Ridiculously all work. I’ve had two huge projects at work that have coincided in every major developmental milestone, culminating in a major deadline on the same day, Monday. So, it was a long, mostly uneventful weekend, but some cool things still happened. As you can see above, we tried a few new beers and ciders, as well as some old favorites. The Angry Orchard is amazing!

We also made a new chili. Obviously not Paleo, we got the recipe from Neil’s best friend Crash. It is simply 1 pound ground pork, 1 packet spicy taco seasoning, 1 packet spicy ranch dry dressing, 1 can each of kernel corn, black beans, pinto beans, and dark red kidney beans (leave the corn and bean cans undrained), and 1 can of diced tomatoes drained, 2 cups water. Brown meat and drain, mix all ingredients in big pot, bring to boil, simmer for 25-30 mins, done. Or you can go low and slow in the crock pot. Toppings like cheese, Greek yogurt, etc are optional. We splurged with a little smoked Gouda and it was ahh-mazing. Not too many days left for chili, or so we all hope.

Tasted a little like spicy buffalo wings. Unexpected, but good.

Speaking of wings, we made those too. These were Asian themed, and nice and spicy. So good, they were gone in no time. These are becoming a pretty fast and easy go-to Paleo meal for us on the weekdays.

The sauce didn’t come from this book, but I just had to share it. We got it a month or so ago and it’s really recharged our creativity. It’s easy to get into a Paleo lull and eat some of the same things over and over again, but there are tons of great ideas in here. I’m especially excited by the goddess dressing. Mark Sisson’s books are so good.

But the best part? My parents took us out to dinner for me and my brother’s girlfriend’s birthdays (hers was February 17), and gave us each a beautiful orchid. I am thrilled, I’ve always wanted one, but have always been too afraid to take one on. My mom insists they are easy, so we’ll see. I know Madi will do great with hers, and knowing my luck, mine will die before the month is out. Nothing says “hey I’m responsible enough for parenthood” like killing a houseplant. Sigh. Let’s just remember it how it is right now — happy and unaware of its fate.

So, not a bad weekend considering I worked most of it. I finished everything on my to-do list! Now to get through this week. At least the CrossFit Open is finally here. Are you ready? Watch my progress here.