$7 dinner? Yes, please!

Aunt Joy, I'm glad you made the Asian Orange Chicken. I should have noted that we will use less corn starch next time, so I hope you liked it and it was worth forgoing your asian takeout.

Well, in good money saving form, I checked what was on sale last week before making our grocery list and weekly menu. And to reward my good behavior, we had delicious bacon wrapped steak sirloins with garlic roasted asparagus for the two of us for less than $7. That's right, less than $7! It was a cheap, special Friday dinner. Plus, Todd made it for me. What a good habibi (It's something Scot McKnight used to call Adam and Eve. So instead of "What a good hubby." it's habibi.)

Todd made the steaks on our griddle and they were a perfect medium with a good char on the outside, seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil. The asparagus went into a 400 degree oven with salt, pepper, lots of chopped garlic, and a drizzle of oil until they were green and tender with a little snap to them. It was such a good dinner.

Next, we take on making lamb shanks. I know what you are thinking (Mom and Corrie probably) "What are you making those for? Who makes lamb?" We are having a Christian Seder Meal with our youth group August 1. It's a traditional Jewish meal to remember the plight from Egypt by the Israelites and God's faithfulness to them through the Passover. It's Christian because we also celebrate Jesus' faithfulness to us and the sacrifice he was. Todd and I had a chance to participate in a few while at North Park, but we never did, so we are excited to do this one. We need the lamb shank bone during the meal to symbolize and remember the lamb sacrificed for blood to put on the door frames so the Angel of Death would pass over their houses. Wow, that sounds way more grim when you type it out.

Anyway, I'm excited to host the meal and try to prepare lamb shanks, and to eat lamb for the first time. We may need to find a special meat market for those. Sounds like an adventure for the weekend!

Another word of praise and excitement. Todd got a call from North Park Seminary today saying his Kern Scholarship was recommended by North Park and passed onto the Kern people. We think it means that North Park Sem recommends him for the Kern Scholarship and now the final decision needs to be made as to if he will receive it. The Kern is full tuition for 3 years of Seminary, so we are hoping he gets it. He also applied for the Presidential Scholarship that is full tuition through the Covenant Church. We won't hear anything until at least May from either one, but I thought I would let you know of our excitement and thankfulness to get this far in one of the scholarships.

So, to sum up: deals, steaks, lamb, scholarships. We're all over the map these days. The photo above is not our steaks, but looks similar, if we had an all white apartment. Speaking of which, we are looking for one for next year, so if you hear of awesomely cheap apartments in Chicago, let me know.