The way to a man's heart?

I know I've mentioned before, how pathetic the food was where Cliff just spent the last 6 months. For whatever reason, this little base was not on the same contract as the rest of the bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nasty doesn't begin to describe what the food was like. One evening on the phone, Cliff said to me, "I knew when I walked into the mess hall and it smelled like vomit, I should have just turned around and walked out." Instead, he paid and got as far as the food line, let the smell of expired fish overwhelm him, THEN walked back out, getting a refund as he left.

This hurt my heart, as food is such a morale issue, and I knew he was doing a very psychologically taxing job, day and night. Every time the topic of food came up, I told Cliff to keep a list of everything he wanted and I'd make it ALL when he returned. This, coupled with needing to take him to all the great restaurants we had found, explains his 7 pound weight gain since he's returned home.

I didn't take a picture of all of them (missed the chicken enchiladas, the chocolate chip cookies and the brownies, maybe more) but here's some of the highlights.


Apple Pie
(notice it's made with love?)



My world-famous pizza, Hawaiian style


(before and after)



Cardiac Arrest Lasagna with 4 cheeses--ricotta, mozzarella, provolone and parmesan--not to mention fresh herbs, sweet sausage and sauce from scratch.


(inside and out)

And we're still working on the list. I haven't made him a cherry cobbler yet...or homemade rolls... or chicken and dumplings...or tenderloin steak...or shredded beef burritos. This is going to take some time!