Our tomatoes are kickin'...

Check out our unruly tomato garden!



Hmmm...what does this remind me of?



Okay not really. They're really good tomatoes and we have so many we've been able to share with friends. Lots of 'em....but not all of them as clearly some are a bit too "racy" to eat.

There's nothing nicer than going out to pluck a fresh tomato from the vine, then coming back in and putting it on a sandwich.

Check out Mr. P's open-face BLT:



Mmmmmm...and yes we're still using the box of 100 pre-cooked bacon strips my sister sent me as a gift. (thanks Michelle and Eric!)

Anyone have a good tomato-based recipe?

Dining Out in Omaha...

If you don't know that Nebraska is highly regarded for its beef than perhaps you should consider NOT auditioning for Jeopardy.

FYI: Nebraska is known to have great beef. And so when my sister was visiting we went on the hunt for the best steak in town. And ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to say we have found a contender.

Behold The Drover:



Why is it great? Well first of all it's dark and looks like it was decorated by a Clint Eastwood fan circa 1975.



Second, the restaurant features a one-page menu (complete with cowboy on the front):



Your options are steak, steak, grilled chicken, and steak. I recommend the steak. Mr. P and my sis opted for the Whiskey Filet with loaded baked potatoes. I like non-alcholic beef so I opted for the 8oz. filet with salad bar accompaniment. (and by salad I mean iceburg lettuce, ranch dressing and bacon bits...still quite refreshing, actually) The steaks were cooked perfectly, the waiters are friendly and helpful, and the bread, french fries and potato/leek soup were great.

Maybe I liked it so much because as a child my family used to frequent a place called The Steak Pit. I believe "The Pit" also featured wagon wheels and dingy yellow lighting and a salad bar well stocked with iceburg lettuce. So perhaps my love for The Drover was simply caused by fond memories triggered by wall-mounted steer horns:



The world may never know.

Before & After: Some front yard landscaping...

Behold, the ugliest non-weed I've ever seen:





It's sort of like the plant-version of this guy:



No no, don't get me wrong. I love Andre Agassi...and I love plants. But that hair? Just unecessary. Just like that mop of a shrub. See my point?

This weekend we replaced 1990s Agassi shrub with a beautiful Blue Spruce:





Isn't he much cuter? Like the plant version of this:



Aaaah, much better.

Review of the Controversial KFC Meat-for-Bun "Double Down" Chicken Sandwich

Mr. P here, taking over the blog to write a review of the controversial new sandwich that's taking Omaha by storm.

Here's the story. This morning's Omaha World Herald contained a front page article titled "A Finger-Lickin' Controversy", about a new sandwich concept from KFC. From the article:

It seems like a college freshman's dream — a sandwich made of two original
recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken breast filets, two slices of cheese, two
pieces of bacon and something called “Colonel's Sauce.” And no bun.

That's right. On the new "Double Down" sandwich, the fried chicken breasts are the bun, and the bacon and cheese go in between.

But here's the kicker - it's only being tested in two markets in the whole country. Providence, RI and Omaha, NE. Because when you think meat innovation, think Omaha.

Naturally I decided to find a KFC here and be a part of the experiment.



So how was it? It was greasy and messy, and it was delicious. It didn't look much like the pictures, but when has fast food ever looked like it does in the commercials? It was super filling, and they are on to something with that "Colonel's Sauce".



Not something you want to eat on a regular basis, unless you own a defibrilator, but pretty tasty and worth trying for the novelty value. And I have done my part, as a part of the test market, to make sure it comes to a KFC near you soon. You're welcome.

Before & After: Garage Closets...

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm just slightly obsessive compulsive. SLIGHTLY. Fortunately my OCD has rubbed off a bit on Mr. P who is the self-proclaimed Master of the Garage. So today's mission: garage organization!

We're fortunate to have two massive cedar closets in the garage. I think you're supposed to put your mink coats in there but since I have no mink coats we use it for other things. Mr. P (a.k.a. Huggy Bear) chooses to keep his minks elsewhere:



Anyhoodles, some $30 plastic shelves from Menards (the best home improvement store ever...you can get a socket wrench and Cookie Crisp and Sham-Wow all at the same place) and we've transformed the closets from this:





To this:





Hey! That's where the Christmas tree stand went! I was looking for that!

Before & After: The Kitchen

We'd already completed round one of the kitchen remodel, peeling off wallpaper and repainting. But it wasn't quite right. The ugly faux-wood laminate floors were making me crazy and the color I'd chosen for the kitchen walls - though pretty - was a bit bland for the space. And I am, afterall, one spicey Latina...bland just won't cut it.

This is what it looked like when we FIRST moved in:



HOT. MESS.

This is what it looked like a month later:



Cute, cute...but not quite right.

And this is what it looks like now:





Ay chihuahua! That's one eh-spicey kitchen, no?

I'll tell you all about the new floors in the next post. In the meantime, gaze upon my neon blue walls (the color is called Mermaid Treasure...) and love them.

BREAKING NEWS: Anatomically correct tomato...

I am too much of a lady to tell you what this tomato looks like to me. But suffice it to say Mr. P and I could NOT STOP laughing after we picked this bad boy from our vines.

Here it is in all it's glory - talk amongst yourselves. First, the front:





Now the back:



And now the side view:



Ahem...you can also understand why we will NOT be eating this one. Thanks.