Confession

My favorite restaurant in our new town is the gas station.

There's a local chain called Stripes that was bought out buy a guy who owns the Laredo Taco Company. Each store contains a short order grill for burgers and also has a window with about 2 dozen items under heat lamps.

It started with the jalapeno corn dogs that are 2 for 99¢. They are just the right amount of spicy. Then I started going there for a burger at lunch, as my school is far from any fast food establishments. They butter their buns and put them on the grill while the meat sizzles. Mmmmmm . . .

As their menu expanded, so did I. You can get any entree and two sides for 3.99. A 32 oz Diet Coke is 99¢ and brings my lunch total to $5.32. It's usually enough for two or three days.

My very favorite thing on the way home from church is to stop for the half rotisserie chicken, wedge fries and mashed potatoes. We come home, add some green beans and salad and split it five ways. During the school year, I'd go for a half chicken for lunch on Monday. Eat the thigh and one of the sides. Debone the rest and stick it in the lounge fridge. Tuesday, I'd eat the breast and the other side. Wednesday, I'd bring a tortilla, salsa and beans and have a chicken fajita. (It always comes with a little bell pepper and onion that are grilled to perfection!) and Thursday I'd bring a bowl of greens and cover it with whatever chicken was left.

No matter what I ate on Friday, it was always a disappointment.

So I just ran Dixie over to a friend's to play and went in for some enchiladas. I was thrilled to discover they have branched out and now have both red AND green enchiladas. I'm a bit disappointed at the first bite when I realize they use tomatillos instead of chiles verdes for the sauce, but they are worthy of culinary respect and will easily last me three meals.

You wish you had my gas station, don't you?