A Christmas Dinner Off The Beaten Path

~ Lemon-Pesto Shrimp and Scallops from Betty Crocker Cooking Basics

It was Christmas afternoon and I had slept all day because of the exhausting shift the night before, due to no one being able to come into work thanks to the fourteen inches of snow that had fallen, and it was time for dinner.  I really was set on making us something a little bit different that the majority of people would not have on Christmas.  For Thanksgiving we went all traditional and did the thing that the majority of people were doing.  Usually on Christmas, I would like something like ham, turkey, or chicken, but I decided to go with shrimp and scallops.  I was not even sure that I would like scallops considering I had never tried them before, but for how expensive they are in the store here in Oklahoma I sure didn’t want them to go to waste either.  The ease of preparation for this dish was surprising.  I thought it would be a grueling task and it was exactly the opposite.  For what you get out of what you put into preparing the dish I would give it a 9/10 on ease of preparation and for taste I would give it a 9/10 also.  Additionally, if you cannot eat it all, it actually warms up excellent in the microwave and provides an excellent lunch a few days later.  I left it in the fridge for four or five days and it still tasted great, probably an 8/10 on re-heating.

Today is grocery shopping day so I am off to cookbook land now to make out the grocery list.  Jen is at her exam for internal medicine and then we are headed out for groceries and a nice lunch.  After all that it is back to do some MBA and probably watch some of the playoff NFL games today.  Hope everyone has an excellent weekend!

UPDATE:  The Chipotle interview did not happen after all.  On Wednesday, Jen and Cecil got off early and wanted to go to lunch and a movie so I called Chipotle and they asked me to come in the next day instead.  Then that day my dad called me (with some tones like it was my mom as well) stating that he thought I was trying to take on far too much at once and that until I get my score back for the USMLE I should just stick with focusing on the MBA and my part time job I currently have.  Therefore, I heeded his (and my mom’s) advice and decided against that for now.  I felt bad because I did not call Chipotle this time and explain my situation, but I just was really disappointed and didn’t know what to say to them.  I know usually that parents actually do know what is best, but sometimes it is really hard to see the correct point at the time.  I am certain that their advice will actually be beneficial and every time that I have followed it in the past it has worked out so I am hoping for the same here.