Skillets

Somehow, by some strange potentially nuclear miracle, I've had a full night that didn't seem like it passed in 5 minutes before it's time for Tuesday at work already. I did leave the office at 5 on the nose, which assisted me in climbing from the 86th Street Station by 5:47, and I managed to swing by the drugstore for my Rx, stop in Key Food to purchase dinner ingredients, and arrive home before 6:30. For dinner tonight I decided to attempt yet another new frontier for our palates: barley. The word kind of troubles me, but I came across a recipe that explains how healthy grains are and how barley ranks right up there as healthy grain consumption goes. So, I gave this recipe a shot: a Barley and Sausage Skillet. Granted, sausage is not on the food pyramid as required for a good diet! But the sausage plays a minor role. Also in the dish are onions, mushrooms (I used cremini, as I often do), red bell pepper, garlic, sherry cooking wine, and I threw in some red pepper flakes for heat. The barley simmers alone in chicken broth for about 20 minutes, then is added to the sausage concoction. It was actually really fantastic! I'm happy to add a new dish to our rotation, especially one so simple and basic yet rife with flavor.*After dinner, it was only 8:02! I consider my weeknight bedtime to linger around 10, especially with this pint-sized (hope it stays that way) head cold I managed to find in this bitter cold winter. But it isn't even 9 yet, and Craig is watching Get Smart while I decide my next move (which may be to bed to read several more chapters of my dumb book - despite the poor writing, there are reasons to turn the pages, for instance when I deboarded the 5 train tonight, Bella had just performed a dangerous cliff dive by herself and is now struggling through the strength of the current - I do not fear for our heroine, for undoubtedly one of her mythical creature loverboys will come to her rescue!) I'm definitely becoming somewhat tired, so maybe the warm blankets of bed are the place to be.*And as I wrote that, my Craig just nodded off and has since sprawled horizontally across the couch. He must be as tired as I!