Monkey Cooks

The adventure of a monkey in a kitchen... Flying food may be intentional.

[monkeycooks]

Ah, the after shot of that time he stole the last half of my slice of delicious cheesecake. Now to enjoy the resulting sugar high without the comforts of MY cheesecake. Jerk.

[monkeycooks]

PUMPKIN BREAD!!!!! Yummy yum from @ericstm

[monkeycooks]

PUMPKIN BREAD!!!!! Yummy yum from @ericstm

[monkeycooks]

Garlic ranch mashed potatoes and hickory smoked pork with BBQ sauce. #monkeyfood

[monkeycooks]

Day 8: Review

Today is the last day! I'm sad... but happy... because THEY'RE BACK!!!! I think Skater Boy and I missed them.

After bossing (okay, instructing) the Skater Boy around so he could finish his chores I started on lunch... herb. Baked. Chicken. I was a little nervous because this recipe can be a hit or miss depending on if you like herbs or not. I went a little safe and didn't go as savory as I usually do. 

I got some mixed facial expressions after pulling Skater Boy away from his new game to come and eat... After a bit he finally asked me, "what's this meat?" I had to stop. Meat? Did I fuck up and pull the wrong bag from the fridge? Oh man... panic attack. So I calmly (I think) responded, "chicken."

"THIS is CHICKEN????" 

Oh. Yeah. THAT makes me feel a lot more confident that I'm not serving him turkey or something. So I took another bite and yes, my taste buds confirmed I was indeed eating chicken, so I did the safest thing and nodded.

A few seconds of dreaded, long, QUIET silence. I mean quiet. I'm pretty sure I heard him chewing and it kept getting louder and louder and LOUDER.

Okay, maybe he was doing that on purpose.

The next things I heard was "mmmmmm" and "yummy" so I'm guessing he had never had chicken like that? I'm not sure. I'm still mostly sure it was chicken. Gave me a heart attack though.

And then... THEY CAME BACK! And we got THE BEST SUSHI EVER. Yes. I'm aware of how hefty that statement is and I REFUSE TO TAKE IT BACK. DO THE CAPS SELL YOU???? LET ME ADD PERIODS. THE. BEST. SUSHI. EVER!!!

And now they're eating my World Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies and tomorrow I might try to recreate the Garlic Shrimp Quesadillas. Because they're Awesome, yes, that's with a capital. And I loooooove them.

[monkeycooks]

Day 7: Review

So this update is a bit late... Considering I was supposed to write it this morning but I was too busy being a Dictator Monkey to do it. I was bossing Skater Boy around to make sure he did his chores. Not that he needed my reminding - he had a list - but it made me feel helpful. Also, I was in charge of moving things. Only the light ones. Anything heavier than my foot he still had to move.

Yesterday was the last day I had to cook a full day's worth of meals. So it was a celebration day. We started off with Breakfast For Lunch. Why? Because it was Saturday! And I was lazy.

So I whipped up some awesome cinnamon french toast. It was nice and fluffy and sooooo gooooooood. Skater Boy wolfed down 3 pieces and I was patting myself on the back for this enthusiastic hunger for my special weapon. And they weren't high in the calories either!

Apparently yesterday was the first day a new video game was out and after the okay from mom, Skater Boy was revving to go and buy it. So in the hopes of saving dinner (and the quickly dwindling dinner budget going to the video game) I convinced him we could go pick up whatever we wanted from the grocery store and then grab his game.

After steering him away from some calories ridden chicken pot pie thing... (I think a shortcake and a pie had children, if the box was any indication of the relationship) I convinced him fancy sandwich night sounded like a lot more fun. I was winning in the Convincing Game that day.

So here we were, throwing around meat and mustard and cheese, creating yummy paninis and, the newest creation, wrapinis until we literally burst. But we weren't done - later we celebrated the last night with MILKSHAKES! Oh yeah. I save my calories for this yummy treat. And it was. so. worth. it.

The parents come back today - Kick Ass Chef and the Monkey Keeper - so my last meal will have to be epic. Luckily I've been saving this last recipe for this.... it's the final countdown folks!!!!

[monkeycooks]

Day 8: dinner THEY'RE BAAAAAAACK! SUSHI!!! #monkeyfood

[monkeycooks]

Day 8: lunch My last meal: yellow tomatoes, cucumbers, and herb baked chicken! #monkeyfood

[monkeycooks]

Day 7: dessert MILKSHAKES!!! #monkeyfood

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Day 7: Dinner Fancy sandwiches - panini and wrapini. #monkeyfood

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Day 7: lunch Homemade French toast!!!! #monkeyfood

[monkeycooks]

Day 6: Review

Apparently we've hit upon a routine: leftovers for lunch and something yummy for dinner. Hey if I pull out all the stops for both lunch AND dinner I'm just gonna run out of ideas sooner rather than later. So far I've barely been keeping up with dinner!

Lunch was some leftover noodles. We were supposed to head to the grocery store to pick up some food to make a yummy dinner but I think after our dip in the pool we were too tired. So we made due with what was in the fridge.

Finding some ribs I decided to try out an old recipe. Of course I didn't have the time to make them super soft but I don't they came out that bad. I took some tips from Kick Ass Chef and boiled them, but added my own spicy seasoning. BBQ sauce from the bottle with a little added honey to balance out the spice and bam. They weren't bad! Wished they had been a bit softer buuuuuut you do what you can.

Today is breakfast for lunch. Or brunch. I was thinking breakfast for dinner but the chicken didn't thaw out fast enough. Sad puppy face.

[monkeycooks]

Day 6: Dinner Texan Spiced Ribs with a touch of honey and fruit salad! Didn't have time to properly soften the ribs so they weren't as good as @ericstm's but also a lot more like home. #monkeyfood 

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Day 6: lunch Leftovers! Lol. #monkeyfood

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Day 5: Review

Yesterday we were all tired. Still worn out from the beach the day before. So we kept the food easy. Thank goodness for grandma's mac and cheese! I cheesed the heck outta it and man was that rocking.

I regretted the extra calories later but oh well. You only live once!

That night I couldn't figure out what to make. We seem to have a pasta problem. Like seriously addicted problem. So my original plan of shrimp penne with a pink sauce was scrapped quickly. Last thing I need on my hands is a pasta revolt!

So I got creative. I once upon a time used to hang out in a mexican restaurant and I learned a thing or two about quesadillas and burritos. And looking at the shrimp I was suddenly remembering huge quesadillas I could never finish filled with yummy shrimp. Then, the idea formed: MEXICAN NIGHT.

Turned on a few tunes to get some extra Fuel points, and bam I was marinating and chopping and sizzling while Skater Boy was happily oblivious playing video games.

The end result was almost as good as what I did in the restaurant. Garlic shrimp with a bit of lemon and spice to balance out the garlic-ness, cheese, and legit pico de gallo. A tiny bit of butter to flavor the tortillas (store bought, not homemade, sadly. I only have so much talent) and BAM we were in Mexican Night business! They were so. fucking. good. Skater Boy agreed!

Now for Day 6 we'll see how much more creative I can get. I feel like I'm running through my southern cooking skills.... Maybe I'll start mixing it up more.

[monkeycooks]

Day 5: dinner Garlic shrimp quesadillas with pico de gallo inside. Sooooo good and very Mexican! #monkeyfood #monkeycooks #day5

[monkeycooks]

Day 5: lunch Grandma’s Mac and cheese. I love reheat and serve stuff! Easy and always tastes good! #monkeyfood #monkeycooks #day5