10 Favorite Foods (Day 11 of 30)

Food! Not going to lie...I got a little excited about the topic. We love food. I get a ton of self-value in the meals that I prepare for my family. I love to cook...maybe even a little more than I love to eat.

1) Chicken Piccata - Tai makes the best chicken piccata I have ever had. It's thin, pan seared chicken with capers and lemon and cream. It's amazing.

2) Chili Relleno - I love these but can't handle the heat so they're sometimes scary to order when dining out. La Paz has great ones!

3) Tacos - Just a basic, hard or soft, meat, cheese, lettuce taco. I really like chicken soft tacos from Amigos. We have Taco Tuesdays at our house but we've expanded "tacos" to mean any new kind of Mexican dish I want to try out on the kids.

4) Popcorn - I'm kind of a popcorn snob. I don't like microwave popcorn and really love my own homemade popcorn the most. Most of the  kids say it's better than movie popcorn. I have the popcorn popper that has the handle that you turn while it's cooking. That's the best.

5) Tater Tot Casserole - You can usually tell if my depression is bad by whether or not we have this on the menu. It's absolutely a comfort food for me and when I feel sad that's one of the dishes I crave.

6) Mashed potatoes with cream of mushroom hamburger gravy - there have been times in our marriage when we were just plain broke. Not sure how we were going to eat, broke. We could take a little bit of hamburger, add a can of cream of mushroom and a little milk. Make up some mashed potatoes (even the boxed kind) and 'yay! dinner!' We haven't had this in a really long time but it is a dish I think of fondly when thinking about favorite foods.

7) Sushi - This is a new favorite within the last several years. I never thought that I would like sushi but oh wow, I do. I should clarify...I don't like raw fish so I'm not eating those really beautiful pieces of sashimi that my husband likes. I love the ones that are lightly battered and fried and I LOVE a good Cali-roll.

8) My dad's goulash - or chili -- those two things make me feel better. I have tried for 22 years to replicate those two things and I never get it quite right. Mine are good, but dad's are way better. They make me feel young again, in a good way!

9) My mom's beef and noodles - she makes homemade noodles and there is just something about them that warm my heart and soul and tummy. I know HOW to make the noodles, I just usually don't make them. They are a great Christmas tradition.

10) My little sister's chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips - I know...it sounds weird but it really is just chocolate chip cookies without any chocolate chips. I love them! My little sister made them for me and I appreciated the gesture so much that I will forever treasure them.

So there are my favorites. There are probably a ton more but the topic was 10 so I'll stop there. A little secret, one of my absolutely least favorite foods...meatloaf. Blech!