One of those Meals...

...that you just keep thinking about.

(I'm going to brag a little bit about this one so bear with me *side-note: I just had to google whether it is "bear" or "bare" and apparently to "bare with me" means to ask someone to get undressed with you, so I'm glad I looked it up!*)

It all started with a trip to Costco where I splurged on a purchase of a leg of lamb. Chris and I both like lamb a lot and since it looked like quality meat at a decent costco price, I thought it might be a fun dinner to try. Honestly, I'm still really learning to cook (and buy) meat and often resort to chicken just because it is my safe go-to, but I wanted to expand my horizons a little bit. On the same trip, I penny pinched on buying apples that were packed in December and were greatly reduced in price. I figured the price was worth a try to see if they were good apples.

So after some research, I ended up deciding to use this simple recipe for our Lamb. And what do you know, it was AMAZING! Seriously, it was some good meat! And honestly probably easier than cooking chicken. I mean it really was super easy! I roasted the potatoes under the lamb (I also added carrots which are not a part of the original recipe) and these may have been the best potatoes we've ever eaten. I think because they collect all the juices from the yummy lamb while they are cooking. The only difference I made to the lamb was that I marinated it in the fridge for a few hours before I cooked it and I cheated and used my lemon essential oil (which comes from the peel of a lemon) instead of the lemon zest.

I didn't make mint sauce, but instead made mango chutney which my husband told me he prefers with Lamb. We all decided that this lamb actually was best by itself but the chutney was a fun side and also the leftovers could be used as a salsa. I got a recipe from a cookbook so I can send it to you if you care to know. It was really simple though, made out of mango, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and salt/pepper.

Since rosemary was a key ingredient in the lamb, I decided to whip up some of this Rosemary bread which is super easy to put together. This is the second time I have made it for company and the secret is that it is super simple to make but everyone loves it.

And then to top it all off I had tried the apples and rejected them as suitable for apple snacking--I'm picky when it comes to my apples, maybe from being born in Washington and always having such a variety available? So I decided to see if a little cinnamon and sugar might help make them taste a little better. So I made a pie. I never make pies. Maybe because my memories of pie making with my mom involve making several and this was back in the days before we had a kitchen-aid mixer so they were always very time consuming. But with my mixer this little baby was mixed up in no time and I found this dough very easy to roll out. I again did a little research and used the William Sonoma pie dough recipe which used a lot of butter and tasted oh so good because of it! For the innards, I used this random apple pie recipe that I found but I replaced 1/3 of the white sugar with brown. Baked it at 425 for 15 minutes and then 350 for about 35 more. The result? A delicious bit of heaven that tasted like cinnamon rolls (thanks to the brown sugar) mixed with apple pie.

So if you are feeling inspired, I would recommend trying any of these recipes. And even though I already prefaced that I was bragging, this actually came together very quickly and I even had time to go out and walk the dog. The dishes on the other hand were a mile high and were left for the next day (I don't have a dishwasher so I think I'm excused, right?).

Halfway through the day I texted Chris and told him he needed to invite someone over from work because there was going to be way too much food for the two of us so we were delighted when Joel and Jill and their two boys could come over and join us. Oh and Wolfie was delighted too because it meant is girlfriend Zara came too. She is also a long haired German Shepherd and he loooooooves her.

There were no potatoes left at the end of the night, but we have been enjoying lamb gyros and I'm sure I will make this little feast again. I was just excited that all these new recipes came together so easily and they worked! Don't you hate it when you try something new and its just a flop? Well these are now tried and true in my house so let me know if you have a chance to try any of these recipes too!