Meal Log

Some have asked what we are doing for dinners in our temporary kitchen.  I'll keep this updated by week.

Week Eleven:
Smoked Salmon
Delicious homemade tamales with tomatillo salsa (Thank you to Tammy and Lori)
Smoked salmon omlettes
Red curry stir fry
Spaghetti
Chicken wings on the Traeger and salad
James special BBQ ribs

Week Ten:
Fresh crab with tortellini
Shrimp stir fry with fresh asparagus
Wasabi Salmon with baby bok choy and shitake mushrooms
Pancakes with Trager cooked bacon
Last turkey pot pie meal
Yummy Mexican with our good friends (Thank you Sherry and Steven)
Lasagne- my old recipe modified and cooked in the slow cooker

Week Nine:
Excellent Sushi @Syun
Grilled Halibut
Chicken Burgers
Happy Hour @ DeCarli's
Chinese @ Taste of Sichuan
Grilled pork tenderlion
Marinated grilled chicken with pasta and tomato sauce, Japanese Leek salad

Week Eight:
Smoked Salmon
Salmon Omlettes
Costco Chicken (late night with the flooring contractor)
Fresh crab
Out to dinner with friends
Over to friends for fabulous Irish dinner (Thank you Patty and David)
Chicken chili with Traeger cornbread

Week Seven:
Pork tenderloin
Steamed talipia (I'm done with steamed fish for awhile)
Marinated and grilled chicken breasts (yummy marinade we bought at Home and Garden show)
Shrimp stir fry (fresh asparagus is too delicious to pass up)
Pizza (on the grill)
Lamb chops, baked potatoes and creme brulee for dessert
Meatloaf and grilled vegetables and creme brulee for dessert

Week Six:
Steamed Talipia
Grilled Sirloin burgers
Stir fry- Tangerine Beef
Pancakes
Out to dinner- twice
Marinated pork kebobs

Week Five:
Grilled chicken breasts
Shrimp stir fry
Out to Thailand Restaurant (if you're in the Portland area, a must go)
Smoked salmon
Smoked salmon omelettes
Steak (Thank you Jerry and Paul, marinated in homemade teriyaki) and baked potatoes
Pork tinga taco's

Week Four:
Chicken burgers
Valentine Dinner- steak with homemade green peppercorn sauce, salad and "baked" potatoes
Stir Fry
Halibut steamed in rice cooker with homemade pesto from the freezer this summer
Meatloaf- made before the remodel
Black Peppercorn seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Mayo- photo above
Teriyaki (homemade) marinated pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables and sauteed cabbage

Week Three:
Turkey Pot Pie (still have one more safely tucked in the freezer!)
Out for dinner- Chicken Curry (daughter invited us and we had yummy leftovers too!)
Stir Fry
Smoked Salmon- on the Weber
Pizza- on the Weber
Lamb Chops with Rosemary Green Peppercorn Sauce (photo above, the induction burner works perfect for sauce)
Chicken Thighs- in the slow cooker using a stove top recipe I normally make

Week Two:
Smoked Salmon- on the Weber
Salmon Omelettes
Out for Thai food (planned in advance, but turned out I needed some Thai comfort food)
Steamed Tilapia (steamed in the rice cooker), couscous and beans cooked in the microwave (see photo above)
Crab with tortellini and blue cheese
Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Super Bowl Sunday- hot wings cooked in the Traeger

Week One:
Chicken stir fry
Turkey Pot pie (we had a late night finalizing cabinets- made a few weeks before the tear out, and frozen)
Tilapia (steamed in the rice cooker)
One pot spaghetti
Grilled crab and cheese sandwiches
Steak and baked potatoes
Grilled marinated chicken with garlic mashed potatoes (garlic roasted the last weekend before the demo and frozen)

We have survived the first week.  The debris has been hauled away.  We managed home cooked meals every night in our temporary kitchen.  It had it's own remodel this weekend, albeit on a much smaller scale.  The guest bath has been converted into "Barrista Central" for our morning espresso.  We have to figure out the best location for the lighting as the electrical is this week.  A real nail biter.

I wasn't sure anyone was even looking at this, but today I found out we have followers!  I feel so Julie like (movie: Julie and Julia)  We spent yesterday evening finalizing our cabinets, so no posts for you!  The old kitchen is completely gone (except for the pile of debris in the driveway)  The structure seems to be in good condition, so nothing unexpected yet- it is after all, only the first few days!  Cooking is going fairly well, I've even had leftovers for lunch all week.  May not be anything to photograph for the next few days.

Cooking dinner on the first night went pretty well- food was tasty, and we even had leftovers.  Sorry for showing off!

I don't know why anyone would want a new kitchen with this set-up.  It will be interesting to see how much the set up changes over the next couple months...

Day One will mean multiple posts... So, I drive towards home and see a sign and the entire kitchen in the driveway...  Change is coming!  Change is good!  And then coming inside, clearly the old kitchen is gone.  It is officially too late to turn back now (Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose)

We've spent the last month sorting and packing.  We're on our third trip to Salvation Army.  We've been out making decisions since before Christmas, and here we are.  The night before the big tear out begins.  Who knew we had so much stuff...  Stay tuned for photo's of the temporary kitchen.  If you know me well, you won't be terribly surprised.

Final Weekend

We've talked about remodeling our kitchen/family room for a long time. We started serious talking a couple years ago, but I wasn't ready. This past summer, we went to the local Street of Dreams and saw this fabulous kitchen-or more accurately, a huge 5 burner gas range top. The talk suddenly turned serious. We found a contractor who comes highly recommended. A contractor who has presented us with the plans for the next 8 weeks.

So, here we are; tear out begins on Monday. Stay tuned.