5280

What does 5280 mean to you?  Anything come to mind? 

To me it means two different things.  First of all it represents the altitude of Denver, CO.  The city I reside and love.  Secondly, if you live here you know that the last week of February and first week of March is Denver Restaurant Week.  For about 2 weeks, higher end restaurants that middle class citizens like myself and my hubby don't usually get to eat at unless it's a very special occasion.  And I mean special!  So for this 2 week period a couple can eat off a selected menu for $52.80.  Some restaurants range from Outback Steakhouse to some of the most well known, higher end places in Denver.  For the last 3 years Geoff and I have participated.  First time around we went to The Melting Pot and Saltgrass Steakhouse.  Second time we went to Elways and last year we went to Rodizio Grill - Brazilian Steakhouse.  So, this year we are back it!!  This last weekend we went to Fogo de Chao with our friends, Jen & Cory.  Fogo de Chao is also a Brazilian Steakhouse.  I found these dining directions on their website and think it explains the experience brilliantly!

Step 1: Visit our gourmet salad and sides bar. Enjoy over 30 items including fresh cut vegetables, imported cheeses, cured meats and Brazilian side dishes.

Step 2: Turn your card green side up, signaling that you are ready for our gaucho chefs to begin tableside service.

Step 3: Choose from the 15 cuts of delectable fire roasted meats that are brought to your table, sliced, and served by our gaucho chefs.

Step 4: When you are satisfied, flip the disc to the red side until you are ready for more offerings.

Step 5: If you wish, end the meal with one of our delicious desserts.

To be honest, dessert isn't even an option when you eat all this meat.  Vegetarians this isn't a place for you!  It really is delicious and I would highly recommend it.  So to the left you'll see a plate of goodness, with the card on red. (No more food please!)  Starting at the top going clockwise, you'll see a cut of garlic steak, top sirloin, sausage, lamb and in the center is some chicken.  You'd think that because they're producing so much meat it would be average at best...but that's so far from the truth.  The meat is great!  So far...so good!  We have one more reservation and I'm beyond excited for it.  We're going to Mt. Vernon Country Club for dinner.  That's where we got married!  We haven't been back since we got married, so I'm beaming with excitement to have another great meal (hopefully) at a beautiful location.  It'll be full of wonderful memories.  Memories of the day I married my best friend.  Until then...have a great week!

Banana Boats

Have you heard of Pioneer Woman?  I've been a 'fan' of hers for about a year now.  She has an amazing food blog and she now has a show on Food Network, which is pretty entertaining.  She has a quirky sense of humor, for sure.  I've cooked a few of her butter-filled recipes, and they've been delicious.  Last Saturday, on her Food Network show she made banana boats for dessert.  Geoff gave me the task to immediately add a few items to our grocery list. 

So in a nutshell or 'banana boat' you cut a banana lengthwise without cutting through the bottom peel.  You squeeze the two ends together to create more of a boat.  Here comes the fun part...you fill the banana with all kinds of goodness.  We decided on mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and graham crackers.  (Pioneer Woman also had carmel chips, but I couldn't find them)  You then loosely wrap them in foil.  You want to leave some room so when you open the foil the marshmallows and chocolate isn't stuck to the foil. 

I then baked the bananas at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until everything melts.  This is actually a camp fire recipe, but we weren't camping.  :)  It's a really simple dessert, that's really great.  And having a banana makes it feel somewhat healthy.  So, thanks Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) for another successful, delicious recipe. 

Time to BLOG...seriously!

I'm back to blogging!! 

As some of you may know I'm a born-baptised-confirmed-married, still practicing, every Sunday (Saturday night) Catholic.  (I love it!)  Yesterday, was Ash Wednesday which is the start of the Lenten Season.  I'm sure Lent means a plethora of different things to different people and their religious beliefs, however to me the next 40 or so days is a time to reflect, pray, fast and in some sense get a spiritual cleansing.  These 40 days lead us to the celebration of Easter.  Of course, during lent you're asked to make sacrifices and 'give-up' something.  So this season...I'm giving up Facebook.  I love Facebook!  I love staying connected, but sometimes it becomes overwhelming and I get bogged down with things I don't agree with and the real motives behind 'friends'.  Facebook has become such a huge part of my daily life, most of the time I'm on it without realizing I'm on it...if that makes sense.  Will I miss Facebook, yes.  Am I looking forward to time away, DEFINITELY YES!  Will I be back on Easter morning, YES!  :)  

So with that being said, I've shifted my now Facebook-free time to other outlets.  Like blogging!  Just looking back on some of my older posts I smile, because some of these things I've already forgotten.  In addition to blogging, I plan to set aside time to make some cards/scrapbook, get life more organized, read, to have quite/prayer time and most importantly to spend more quality time with the Hubs and my family.  Geez, that makes it sound like I spend 23 hours a day on Facebook.  Haha.  It wasn't that obsessive, but I hope to make time for all of that in the next 40ish days.          

Now on to a personal note.  What have we been up to.  Well I'm proud to announce that Geoff just got promoted at his job!!!  Whoohoo.  A few months ago he made a transition from construction to a car dealership. (Huge THANKS to his friend Chris, who made this happen)  He was ready for a change and wanted something that had potential growth.  He's now a Service Advisor at Medved, Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep in Castle Rock.  So if your Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep needs fixin', take it to him.  :)  Never in a million years did I think I would be spending my Sunday afternoon's ironing button up shirts and slacks.  So happy for him! 

As for me...I'm a year older.  :)  A few days before my birthday (Jan 13th) I was in Battle Ground, WA  and 2 weeks ago I went to Port Jervis, NY to speak with my job.  Port Jervis is right near the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania line, about 2 hours northwest of NYC.  We (myself and co-worker JO) had one evening in NYC before we had to fly out the next morning so we decided to hit the town!  Being so close, how could you not go!  As you've seen in previous posts, I talk about my love for NYC and the bright lights.  I was literally like a kid in a candy store when our taxi dropped us off in the center of Time Square.  We hadn't eaten dinner so we went down 'Restaraunt Row' which is a few blocks away and found a great little restaurant called, Southern Comfort.  I was a little skeptical, because how good can BBQ be in NYC.  Also, JO is a born and raised Texan, so I was really concerned for him.  However, to our great surprise and enjoyment, it was great BBQ.  We later found out that Southern Comfort is owned by Justin Timberlake who's from Tennessee.  I had pulled chicken, baked beans and the best dang cheese grits I've ever had.  We also shared deep fried pickles, which were delish!  There's no way this foodie could go without taking  a picture.  We also walked for about an hour and a half for a cupcake place that JO and his wife had visited when they were there in December.  JO kept telling me it was just a few blocks away...20 or 30 blocks later, we found it.  You know you've found a great cupcake when the cake is so light and fluffy it taste's like flavored air.  Ohhhh...goodness!  I'll never forget that cupcake shop...we were jamming out to Whitney Houston talking about her ups and downs and the Bodyguard being her 'prime'.  The NEXT day, we lost a legend.  Love me some Whitney Houston and she will be missed!!  

Now you're up to speed on what we've been up to...kinda!