30 Days to a Better Man, Day 15: make a meal

We're halfway home! And I gotta tell you, I'm glad I took up this challenge. I feel like a better man already. I have a much better grasp of my core values, my shoes are spit-shiny, my apartment's been decluttered, I've thanked some special people in my life (at long last), reconnected with old friends, increased my testosterone, and much more. This last half of the challenge, however, looks to be the most challenging — and the most rewarding.

Today's task is to simply make a meal. Too easy! I'm sure glad I had a mother and father who both knew how to cook and schooled me in the culinary arts. I've always thought cooking was a blast (it was the cleaning up afterward that I really minded). But I never knew that cooking is apparently quite manly.

Since Miss H's schedule is so demanding, and mine isn't, I do a good deal of the cooking at our apartment. And not just spaghetti or steak, either: chicken piccata, vegetarian lasagna, penne with vodka sauce, stir-fry, Caesar salad, red snapper with pepper and lemon, and chilaquiles casserole are just some of my specialties. I'm told I make a mean chicken fajita, too. 

In fact, that was the dish I selected for this evening: my special chicken fajitas with Spanish rice:

The instructions for Day 15 weren't specific as to what kind of meal you should make. Breakfast, lunch or dinner; it doesn't matter. But Hamburger Helper or Chef Boyardee should not figure into the picture. It should be concocted from scratch.

Since I habitually make meals by cooking, roasting, baking or frying a simple entrée and then opening cans of green beans and/or corn for side dishes, I decided to up the ante a little bit and craft the side dish from scratch, too. I've actually never made Spanish rice before, so I used this recipe. It worked like a charm. Tasted just like my Dad's special Spanish rice: warm, flavorful and delicious. Using Korean short-grain rice made the stuff delectably gooey, too.

Here's the final result, ready to be dished up to the wife, home from the cold and her crazy students!

Thank you, thank you. I'm the man. Now make sure to stop by tomorrow for Day 16.