How Far We've Come

As I said in my last post, our anniversary is today. In a little celebration on Saturday, we splurged on crab legs at the grocery store. It was on sale, so it worked out perfectly. I definitely overestimated in how much we eat but it makes for some pretty awesome leftovers. Brian popped some in the microwave to see how they would do. Surprisingly very tasty.

Anyways, it was my first time making crab and I did not have a pot big enough to steam the clusters in. So I looked up different ways to cook crab legs since that was ruled out. I decided on baking them, it seemed like the easiest option. Turns out it was extremely easy. While websites said to cook the crab for 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, I found that out to work out badly in my oven. I'm not sure why but when I tried taking them out at 10 minutes the crab was still cold! So all in all I ended up cooking it for 20 minutes, but we think it could have been in even longer.

So what I did what place the crab on a baking sheet and criss cross two layers of aluminum foil. I just folded it over and made sure it was covering all sides and left a hole at the top to let the steam out. Super easy. It didn't need any add-ins whatsoever. But you could of course add spices, lemons, etc to the crab to add flavor.

So that was all I did with the crab. I also made Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes with a slight variation. Here's her link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/creamy-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html.

The only variation I made was in the type of potato. I had gotten some fingerling potatoes on sale a couple of weeks ago and it was a yummy variation. Fingerlings are a more delicate potato so it made for a decadent taste mixed with the heavy cream and cream cheese. Next time I think I'll try trading the cream cheese for parmesan though. I think it would be a taste we would like more.  I also cut the quantity into 2/5 of her recipe. We're only two people and while leftovers are great, 5 pounds worth is a bit much for us to eat.

 With the crab legs and creamy mashed potatoes I added in my homemade creamed corn. I had made a bunch previously when corn was on sale and it turned out to be so yummy. Much better than frozen or canned. The corn was still crunchy but  the whole dish was creamy. Here's the recipe I used: http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/side-dishes/southern-skillet-corn.html. I didn't cook it in a skillet, just a regular pot, but it turned out great.

So pictured below is our anniversary dinner for the two of us. We had a nice dinner and ate like kings. Yet the cost was about a quarter of the price you could get at a seafood place and only took about half an hour to cook. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself!

So for your next anniversary, maybe a romantic dinner for two. I don't know about you but restaurants don't always give off that romantic vibe that I want for a special day. This was perfect, it was quiet, just us and we could be as messy as we like without looking ridiculous. Plus no long wait for an overpriced meal! I feel like it was full of bonuses.

To my readers, what year are you celebrating this year? Do you still celebrate your dating anniversary or stick with your wedding anniversary? We said we would just celebrate our wedding anniversary, but since it's our first year we couldn't help but celebrate in a small way. Sometimes the little celebrations remind us about how far we've come. It helps us remember how much God has gotten us through as well as remind us of how many happy days are still to come. It's a little surreal when you look back to where you were before and how clueless you were to what lay ahead. It makes me wonder what I will be looking back at in another 4 years with Brian. I bet I will have this same surreal feeling. God has blessed us so much. It's a beautiful thing to be able to look back on.