Yesterday my family celebrated my father's 65th birthday with a nice home cooked meal. It was a tough decision: make a meal for a family of 12 vs dinning out. While most of my family whined at the idea of cooking a meal at home, I thought this would be a good opportunity to practice my cooking skills and learn a thing or two in the kitchen. My older sister Arcelia, the one who made the "Paleo pecan pie", agreed to teach me how to make a few simple dishes.

This is what was on the menu:
Mixed baby greens salad w/ homemade dressing
Green beans w/ roasted almonds tossed in a lemon -garlic vinaigrette
Quinoa
Main Course:
Roasted Chicken w/ fresh rosemary and lemon zest
Bean & cheese Enchiladas w/ homemade red mole
Dessert:
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Poached Pears in a Red Wine Sauce (this one was really fun to make)

Total prep time for this entire meal was 3 hrs and 15 min. I never expected that cooking, especially for a large group, could be so fun and stress free. Although it required a great deal of patience and concentration on my part, it was definitely well worth it. It made eating it so much more enjoyable. Here's to good ol' home cookin'!

Today's workout: Crossfit (rest day):
10x10 Back squat @ 75# & Dead lift @ 96# w/ 90 second rest in between each