Surprise Package

Last night I arrived home from work to find a surprise package sitting on my doorstep. I love getting packages in the mail, and love even more when they're unexpected. You can bet before I even took off my coat I was ripping open the box.

And then I remembered. A few days ago I was contacted by a rep for Spodee, which they dub as "wine with a kick," asking if I'd be interested in trying this new beverage. I'd forgotten all about it until the box arrived in the mail. Spodee is apparently reminiscent of old time "hooch" with a chocolate undertone, and lends itself well to a variety of dishes. I was intrigued. Of course I'd like to try anything that sounds that unique. Can't wait to test it out this weekend and come up with a new recipe using it.

Dinner was simple, but quite satisfying.

Last week I had a coupon for Buitoni fresh ravioli, so I picked up a package of their Wild Mushroom Agnolotti to keep on hand for a weeknight. The nutrition facts weren't half bad, so paired up with a big pile of fresh green beans they made a nice dinner.

I jazzed up the agnolotti by slicing a handful of baby bella mushrooms and caramelizing them in a little olive oil and sea salt. Then I added fresh garlic, thyme and black pepper. Once the agnolotti were cooked, I added them into the pan with the mushrooms, and then splashed in about a 1/4 cup of the pasta water and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Quick mushroom sauce, done!

I spent the rest of the evening working on my puzzle while Matt folded laundry for me. What a guy. ;-) A little while after dinner we both got a huge craving for chocolate, though, and this was one of those times I was kicking myself for not keeping dessert in the house. We literally scrounged through all the cabinets looking for something we could call a treat when, ta-da, Matt came up with a long lost box of unopened chocolate graham crackers (probably from his birthday party s'mores platter last year - yeah, they were kinda old, but they weren't stale and beggars can't be choosers).

Chocolate & peanut butter graham cracker sandwiches look like dessert to me! I smeared a tablespoon of all natural PB between the grahams and went to town.

Chomp.

Only two days left in the work week before I relax into another 4-day weekend (gotta use up some vacation time before it expires), so time to get cracking on my Wednesday to-do list. Catch ya later!