Breakfast / Happy Hour / Lunch

Go for 30: Happy Hour

Happy Friday!  Happy last day of April!  So many things to be happy about.

Alas, my birthday month is just about over.  I guess I will no longer be able to pull the, “I can do what I want.  It’s my birthday month.” anymore with KC.  Darn.

Oh well, on to bigger and better things right?  Like the new challenge!

So in case you haven’t guessed, I have decided that for the month of May I’ll be starting a happy hour at my apartment.  Unfortunately, this will not be a daily occurrence, but I think that’s the responsible thing to do for my budget (and for my liver).

So what does this mean exactly?  Well, a few times a week I will have a drink and appetizer pairing, then I’ll blog about it.  This way you guys can get some recipes and reviews on easy to make cocktails and delicious bites.  I’m not sure exactly what nights (or mornings, or afternoons) these happy hours will fall on, but I do have a special plan for Mondays this month…  More on that in a later post.

What inspired this challenge?  Well, let me tell you.  Truthfully, the food diary has been so successful on here, I wanted to stay with the same theme for this next challenge.  Also, the weather has been so nice lately (aside from the weird raininess) that all I’ve wanted to do is sit and have drinks in the sunshine!  After my homemade screwdriver and carrot/green goddess dressing success last Sunday, it hit me:  Happy Hour!

Let me tell you why I love happy hour.  Aside from the boozing, hosting a happy hour is a great (and often cheap) way to entertain friends.  You can have people bring things to share, or just whip up a dish like the one above and serve a signature cocktail with it — instant party!  Also, like I’ve said before, I don’t eat a whole lot at any one time (why I’m always leaving food on my plate…) so I love appetizers.  Little bites, big flavor — I’m in!

With the happy hour challenge I’ll be attempting to make cocktails from scratch as much as possible (so I’ll be juicing my own lemons and limes and what not).  Obviously, this is not always possible for certain drinks (um, I’m not going to be juicing my own pomegranates.  Sorry folks.), so I’ll be keeping it all natural to the extent that it’s sanely reasonable (mentally and fiscally, that is).

Ok, so you guys on board for this?  I figure with all the sunshine that’s on the horizon, not to mention Cinco de Mayo — the holiest of all May holidays, you guys would be gung-ho.

Since I won’t be doing a daily challenge this month, I won’t be posting quite as often — sorry!  If I happen to come across a recipe I think it worth sharing though, I’ll let you know — not to worry.  Also, if you guys are craving some kind of new dish to make (a new salad perhaps?), leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to work something into a post within the following week.

Alright, well today is the last day of food journal.  So sad!

Here’s breakfast:

Sadly, I got a phone call about halfway through this and my Cheerios got soggy.  I hate that!  Nothing worse than soggy cereal.  As a result, I didn’t quite finish this.

I made some coffee and got to work planning my grocery list and mine and KC’s upcoming trip to New York (can’t wait!).

My fridge was so barren today, I had no clue what to have for lunch.  My only veggies were a couple of mushrooms and some cabbage.  Not really inspiring.  I ended up digging through the pantry and found my “last resorts” on the back of the shelf.

Mac and Cheese:

I made this with some extra sharp cheddar grated in, and added some pepper (of course).  Not really what I wanted for lunch, but it hit the spot.

After lunch I showered and then headed out to grocery shop.  My fridge is now packed!  Lucky KC, he doesn’t have to shop with me this week (he hates the grocery store).

Alright, well KC’s home so we’ve got to plan something fun for tonight.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!  And please let me know if you have any suggestions for the Happy Hour challenge!  🙂