A Simple Meal

For my first two blogs I used some “legit” recipes, for this meal I just used what I had in the freezer/pantry.

It needed to be a simple meal because it was kind of a crummy day in some respects. I got down to Lawton to ride the trail where the “12 Miles of Hell” bike race happens every year. I had attempted this trail several months ago but only got about 5 miles in, so needless to say I was really excited about this ride. Randy, a friend from work, and I started up the trail and the first hill is a doozy. We were pumping our legs and trying desperately to keep our balance amongst the sharp rocks we were riding over, when all of a sudden my legs started pushing with zero resistance. I look down and my derailer, the device that changes gears on your back tire, was hanging from my bike; the day was over. It was really disheartening, because I had trained for this and was really ready to accomplish this big goal I had set up, but oh wells. . . So after that Randy and I grabbed some Meers, which is a big deal in Oklahoma, and I was impressed.

Ok, to the meal.

I checked out the freezer and found a bag of frozen chicken tenderloin tenders and defrosted those bad boys; Emily just last week, when she was in Kansas City, picked up some grilling spices which I used on the chicken. I then raided the pantry and found some corn and green beans that had collected a tender layer of dust, and topped the meal off with some potato skins and a cold brew.

This meal doesn’t need much explanation, but I was quite proud because normally when I’m tired and slightly grumpy I rarely cook, but I rose up and stood in the face of grumpiness and put together this simple yet satisfying meal.

Oooh, seasoning!

On the grill!

Emily brought me a beer 🙂

Did I mention Emily is pretty? Because she is.

Finished product, the simple meal.

Music wise, it needed to be chill, the name of this album says it all and it’s a perfect title.

Pat Metheny – One Quiet Night

Enjoy, and here’s to the simple meal: may you always be there when the hours are not there to prep, when the battle between fast food and cooking is waging and cooking barely wins, and finally when you help clean out my freezer and pantry.

Joel

Meal #1 – Grilled Shrimp

Alright folks, here it is, the inaugural meal of Eats w/ Beats!

May I present to you the meal of Grilled Shrimp!

 I created this meal on Memorial Day, and because of that occasion I wanted to use the grill, but wanted to grill something that I had never grilled before, so I brought in the shrimp!

I didn’t encounter any real issues in this meal, and was quite surprised in fact.  I had been warned by a co-worker that the shrimp needed little-to-no time on the grill and this was very true.  I timed it at about 1 1/2 on each side, so a total of about 3 minutes on the grill.

Here my little shrimps are basking in the glory of a bath of flavorful marinade (wow, that paints a picture doesn’t it? 😉 ) The marinade took about 15 minutes to put together and then had to sit for an hour at room temperature.

The hardest part for me was to kabob the shrimp, only because I am really terrible at small motor movements.  And the action of kabobing really took a tole on my patience, but alas I persevered!

Nothing like perfection on the grill 🙂

So in closing of this first post: the meal was quite good and I had the pleasure of enjoying this meal with my girlfriend Emily & roommate John.

About the only real problem I encountered was that the shrimp was done way before everything else.  I struggle at being able to time things correctly so that every part of the meal is ready around the same time, I hope this is something I get better at with experience.

And finally, what music did Joel cook with on this Memorial Day?

Well I did think about going the patriotic route (thank you to those who serve this amazing country we live in!), but I instead ended up with Maroon 5.  A band who I really fell in love with when their album, Songs About Jane, came out.  But since then I feel like all of their music is about sex, sex, sex.  But alas I partnered with my pale Pandora and created a Maroon 5 playlist.  It consisted of some fresh music that had a light, airy feel; which ultimately is the mood I was feeling as I cooked and enjoyed this first meal.

I hope you enjoyed this first post and I encourage you to share this with your friends and family!  Thanks!