In Which I Go Hog Wild

Food is our common ground. ~ James Beard.

We've been having lots of really cold weather, alternating with days in which it snows. But the snows are little ones. They don't amount to much, but they make the roads dicey. Between the cold and the endless tiny snows, we don't go to town much. 

In fact, we spend long stretches of time hunkered down, as one does in winter. This is the part where you hope you married somebody you can stand to spend 10 days indoors with, sustaining yourselves on whatever you were smart and organized enough to go out and buy and put in your larder.

Friday was a day in which the weather broke. It turned warmer, into the 30s. Practically a heat wave! We are anticipating more rounds of snow over the weekend, to be followed by a bone-chilling cold front that will drop us below zero F early next week. The thought of being sequestered again made us hungry. Really, REALLY hungry.

So we decided to run into town and pick up a few things. But our first stop would be Texas Roadhouse for a late lunch. I had been perusing the menu and could not decide between the killer ribs basket appetizer (ribs and fries) and the 6-ounce sirloin steak dinner (comes with two sides and rolls and butter).

I thought I had a plan that would work. I'd order the steak dinner, and then get the killer ribs basket to go, for later. Lord knows we'll eat it sometime over the weekend. But my husband said, hey, why didn't I just order BOTH at the restaurant.

It was such an obvious solution that I had missed it. And it was perfect: I did indeed want it all! So I packed a bunch of containers in my bag, and off we went. As I placed my order, my husband sort of winked at me and our server: "Do you think you'll get enough food?" he asked. He and the waiter both grinned at me.

Above is a collage of the food pictures I took during our meal. The left column is my food. The right column is my husband's food. Bottom right is a photo of our leftovers, of which (good news!) there are PLENTY!

Now, everyone knows that American restaurants overserve us. They offer larger portions than we need and sometimes the food is full of sodium and other stuff that's not so great for you. So doling it out over time is a good idea. 

Any time I eat out, I typically eat only part of my meal, and like some sort of packrat, I stash the rest for later. (Yes, I'm that embarrassing Container Girl in restaurants; get used to it!) I also love food and am obsessed by it, in case you couldn't tell. ;-) I love taking food photos. I love reading menus. I love planning what I'll have, and selecting the perfect containers - in advance! - for my anticipated leftovers.

Let's get to the food, shall we? Top left is a photo of the killer ribs basket. I deboned the ribs and ate a few bites, and they were good. My husband and I snarfed down all of my steak fries, with ranch dip (yes, don't forget to ASK for the ranch dip for your fries!). 

The next round was soup, and I upsized both of my choices. A cup of soup can be chosen as a regular side; for a dollar more, you can "make it a bowl." I did that with both the loaded baked potato soup and the chili. Most of both soups went into containers for later.

Bottom left is my steak, of which I ate half. I ordered mine medium and it was exactly as I asked for it: a hot pink middle, very juicy. It was delectable, and I am happily anticipating steak and eggs for breakfast this coming weekend with my leftover half-steak.

My husband felt like something different, so he ordered the chicken critters (what the heck is THAT, well, it's just fried chicken white meat tenders* in the end) with a side of his own steak fries, most of which we stashed for later. His second side was a salad with ranch, of which he offered me a few bites. It was surprisingly good.

About the steak fries: they are actually even better at home, once my husband heats them up in the oven in a little oil or bacon grease, with some seasonings. We had enough ranch dip left to take some along home with the fries. Their ranch dip is just BETTER and I looked up the recipe, which I absolutely must try one of these days.

It is Saturday morning as I type this. My stomach is growling as I look at the photos. Wow. All of it was so good. I had a tiny and delectable bowl of potato soup last night as a snack. I am hoping to have steak and eggs this weekend, as I mentioned.

And guess what we're having for an early supper just before we start watching football today: THE WORKS! I'll be having ribs, he'll have chicken critters, and we'll enjoy some fries. I suspect the chili may last until Sunday. Tonight, the remaining tiny container of loaded baked potato soup will be HISTORY.

So that was the story in which I went (and continue to go) hog wild at the Texas Roadhouse. Oh nom nom nom! My soundtrack song for this delicious posting is Queen, with I Want It All.

*He said the coating itself couldn't compete with KFC, but the white meat itself IN the tenders was actually better than KFC's.

Note 1. About how I made this image: I took photos during our meal, and when I got home, I placed my six favorite pictures into a Word document. I then photographed that image and cropped it.

Note 2. This was a happy day in which I had a good appetite and ate with gusto. My husband and I both commented that it's interesting that in summertime, I sometimes lose my appetite (and even become sort of food-phobic on the hottest days; often, I just can't even stand the smell or thought of food in mid-summer), but in winter time, in the cold and snow, I am like a hungry bear. Hello, appetite! It's great to have you back again! (I'm also going to check into my iron levels, as meat hunger sometimes signifies a craving for iron. Yes, I was hospitalized for anemia as a baby, as - if you can believe this - I just . . . wouldn't . . . eat.)