Two birds with one stone.

Goal 1: Actually make some of the recipes I cut out of magazines.

Goal 2: Use more fresh ingredients I'm might not be as familiar with. Kevin and I always joke that I can only cook things with ground beef and chicken (makes sense given my family size growing up - it costs to feed all those hungry kids!).

For Saturday dinner I made dinner with both these goals in mind. The menu: Lemon-Herb Lamb Kabobs from July 2009 Ladies Home Journal, Thyme Potatoes Au Gratin from December 2009 Better Homes and Gardens, and roasted asparagus. It turned out great!!!

Lemon-Herb Lamb Kabobs

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

2 T. chopped rosemary

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 to 2 1/4 boneless lamb leg, trimmed of fat

and cut into 1-inch pieces

Stir together first six ingredients.

Add lamb pieces and marinate in fridge for 1 to 4 hours.

Grill on medium high. 10 minutes for medium-rare and 12 minutes for medium.

Note: Fresh Market let us buy half a leg of lamb - which really cut down on the

price and then even diced it for us which made this recipe so easy!

Thyme Potatoes Au Gratin

3 cups whipping cream

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 T. butter

4 lbs red potatoes, thinly sliced

4 oz freshly grated parmesan dheese

2 T. snipped thyme

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium saucepan combine cream and garlic;

bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.

Do not boil. Remove from heat.

In small bowl combine cheese, ghyme, salt, nutmeg, and pepper

Generously butter 9x13 pan. Layer one-third potatoe slices, one-third cheese mixture,

then one-third cream mixture. Repeat for 2 more layers. Cover with foil.

Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours until potatoes are almost tender and liquid mostly absorbed.

Uncover, bake 20 to 30 minutes more until potatoes are browned on top.

Note: These were a little bit more work, but totally worth it. They were fantastic!

I will be making this for the next holiday dinner - it's sure to impress!

Roasted Asparagus

Cut off hard ends of asparagus. Coat in about 1 T. olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in oven at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes or grill for about 4 mintues.