Week 9, Days 4-7

So it's been a little while since I updated last! Sorry, friends. This week/weekend was full of fun and friends and time just got away from me. And the picture is not one that I took- just thought it looked pretty : )
DAY 4: I made a delicious chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and asparagus. I cooked for about 6 people, but only one person came so needless to say that I had a ton of leftovers. The chicken recipe was given to me by a man named Giuseppe from my church, so I call it "Pollo de Giuseppe." Here's the recipe:

1. Combine Italian spices in a bowl with olive oil, lemon, little bit of any type of vinegar, one shot of vodka, a splash of bouillon cube (chicken), fresh rosemary.
2. Slit chicken and marinate overnight
3. Bake in oven the next day for 1.5 hours at 350 degrees.

Simple enough, right? I must say that it was very interested to marinate with vodka but it turned out very well. For the mashed potatoes, I used a simple recipe:

1. Peel potatoes (any kind) and cut in eight pieces to hasten the boiling process.
2. Boil the potatoes until they start coming apart.
3. Grate cheese and add sour cream in a separate bowl.
4. Drain potatoes when done and mash with a fork. Add the sour cream mixture and stir.

That's pretty much it. You can add salt and pepper if you'd like or other herbs. Mashed potatoes are fun to experiment with. Then I made asparagus, which I had made before this week but this time they came out much better. Here's what I did:

1. Take the raw asparagus and snap the ends off (my friend Ryan said to snap the ends of-not cut them with a knife. It does turn out a lot better)
2. Take asparagus and put on baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil
3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and then Parmesan cheese all over the asparagus.
4. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

DAY 5: Day 5 was a lot of fun. My pastor/boss/friend had a "Life Bash" at our church to celebrate his birthday as well as to raise money for our church. It was so much fun- food, dancing, great company. For Day 5, I observed as our chef made sushi, crab rangoon, and bruscetta. It was a great learning experience and made me feel confident that I could one day try it myself. We added things like strawberries, avocados, and peppers to the sushi. All of the food ended up being so good!
DAY 6 & 7: On Day 6, I headed to Lafayette to see a Purdue football game with my little sister, which was a lot of fun. But it also left no time to cook, which was ok because we went out to eat and I enjoyed food that some one else cooked for me : ) Day 7...let's just say that it was leftover day!