Super Bowl Sunday

It was 9 degrees F. in Redford when I woke up Sunday morning. I putzed around a bit, thought about breakfast and then dismissed it. I wound the clock, ate my morning pills and then refilled the box, etc. I finally shaved and showered and then headed out a 9:45 AM for a trip to Costco.

As I have said in the past, going to Costco at noon on a weekday is madness. But going when they first open on Sunday is a cake walk. I assume most people are at worship services or something. Don’t get me wrong, its still crowded, but there is not that feeling of desperation (I have to get everything and get back to work!) kind of thing.

Now, my main reason for the Costco run was to replenish my supply of peanuts for the squirrels. I grabbed another box of coffee (although I still have plenty) since I was there. But, there was another thing that had peaked my interest.

I saw an article comparing various frozen appetizers. And the winner hands down in the spanakopita competition was Costco’s Cuisine Adventures Spanakopita. In case you’re wondering, it’s a Greek appetizer, usually made with spinach and feta cheese, wrapped in phyllo dough. I haven’t tasted them in years, since my sister-in-law Betty or one of her daughters, made them.

And I want them!!!

I spent a lot of time looking for them in all the wrong places (like I do love, LOL). I even asked a store employee where they might be and they didn’t know. Then it dawned on me that they were “frozen” so I walked up and down the huge freezers and finally found them!

I checked out and headed home, but I had a couple of stops I needed to make: a gas station to refill my almost empty tank (that Saturday trip to Troy and back took its toll) and the quarter car wash (to get all the salt from the Saturday trip off the car).

The cheapest mid-grade gas I could find was $3.82 a gallon, so I went with that (groan). And I normally wouldn’t wash the car in these temperatures, but since the carwash is about 300 feet from my moderately warm garage, I figured it was worth it.

So, I got home and unloaded my treasures. Then I treated the now-impatient cats and grabbed my drying towel. I went back into the garage and wiped off the drips on the car (concentrating on the windows and side mirrors).

Back inside, I threw the towel in the washer and started the weekend wash. I was not going to do the bedding this weekend as I just had to wash the bedspread, due to hairballs.

For my lunch, I made a tray of the spanakopita (they come in a box with four oven-safe trays). I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, stuck the tray in when the oven was ready and set the timer for 24 minutes. Then you have to let them rest for five minutes more, so I did. Then I chowed down on them. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Jake called and we chatted a bit, mostly about work. I was just about to take a nap when Melissa called. We talked long enough that the nap option was no longer on the table.

After we hung up, I started making my non-Super Bowl snack. I heated up some canola oil in my non-stick skillet and then threw in about half an onion (chopped) two cloves of minced garlic and two Jalapeno peppers diced. After about two minutes I added in a pound of ground round and browned that. I seasoned the meat with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then I added in a can of drained and rinsed black beans to warm up

Meanwhile, instead of the usual roux and adding in a ton of cheese, I made that RoTel queso dip (a can of RoTel tomatoes and green chilies mixed with a pound of Velveeta cut into one-inch cubes and warmed in a pot.

I spread a single layer of tortilla chips on a foil-covered half-sheet tray. I topped them with the beef and bean mixture, then the cheese mixture. I threw on a handful of shredded cheddar cheese so I could see them melt and know when to take it out of the oven. Then I stuck the tray in the oven for about five minutes (or until the fresh cheese had melted).

I took them out and went in to watch some TV. I ate about a quarter of the nachos before I decided I was making myself sick, LOL. It also dawned on me that I forgot to top the nachos with the green onions as I had planned. I went to bed about 10:00 PM, burping…