Bland...It was bland.

–adjective, -er, -est.
1. pleasantly gentle or agreeable: a bland, affable manner.
2. soothing or balmy, as air: a bland southern breeze.
3. nonirritating, as food or medicines: a bland diet.
4. not highly flavored; mild; tasteless: a bland sauce.
5. lacking in special interest, liveliness, individuality, etc.; insipid; dull: a bland young man; a bland situation comedy.
6. unemotional, indifferent

Nothing eventful happened today, more or less a bland day. I decided to make dinner for my mom. She loves Crab Ragoons you get a Chinese buffet or take-out place. I discovered a recipe and decided to Master the Art of Chinese Cooking. So, I made two new dishes tonight for dinner. Baked Crab Ragoons and Orange Beef with Sugar Snap Pea Stir-fry nestled in a ring of rice.
Crab Ragoons-BLAND! Orange Beef-BLAND!
The veggies and rice were awesome, but I was slightly disappointed in the orange sauce for the beef and the ragoons. I'm thrifty and didn't want to use $16.99 lump crab meat for the filling, I bought the $3.99 imitation crab. Nothing wrong with that, I even read the reviews and incorporated some tips into the dish. It was supposed to make 24 serving, I ended up with 52 crab ragoons. How? Don't know, but I have 40 more in the freezer awaiting my husband's return. (He'll eat anything.) The Orange Beef, different story, I made a recipe that had not been reviewed, just stuck in cyberspace awaiting it's turn to be made. Lesson ONE: When cooking from Internet recipes, ALWAYS look for reviews. You do this while shopping online at Amazon.com or researching the newest toys for your kids. Why would you not do this for a recipe? Because...
Because, you didn't think? Have the time? Screaming kids? Too much Nick Jr.? Or my personal favorite...It's only soy sauce, lemon juice, orange juice, orange zest, oil and cornstarch. How bad could it be? The answer-not bad, but BLAND.
The night could have took an entirely different turn due to this tragic mistake in Internet recipe cooking, but soy sauce was added, plates were cleaned, and there were no leftovers. No bad comments from my mom or dad on dinner, just try adding garlic to the crab ragoons next time and jazz up the orange sauce. The only real reason I really wanted to make this Orange Beef recipe is because I saw the recipe title in the contents of a new cookbook. (Yes, I'm obsessed with cooking, food and whatever else goes with it.) This particular cookbook is landing on store shelves Dec. 22nd and I'm excited. Giddy. Just thrilled. (You all are shaking your heads at me and saying silent prayers, aren't you?) So, while browsing Amazon.com, I see the cookbook and read the summary with a list of recipes.

Here are a few of her favorites:

■North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches – $4.90
■Curried Pumpkin Soup – $4.41
■Apple Dijon Pork Roast – $4.30
■Orange Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry – $4.94
■Creamy Lemon Dill Catfish – $4.95
■Bacon-Wrapped Apple Chicken – $4.96
■Country Ribs with Oven Fries – $4.77

Right there, in the middle-doesn't it sound wonderful? Well, I think it does. Anyway, I search my favorite blog-$5 Dinner Mom-for the recipe. Low and behold, it isn't there? WHAT? So, this is what leads me to the Internet recipe search for Orange Beef and Broccoli. The only saving grace to dinner tonight was desert. Ahhh! Muddy Buddies. Mmm! More or less a holiday snack food, but you can't go wrong with chex mix, chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar. But, my mom chimes in with "There's way too much peanut butter in those."
Well, they weren't bland!