Our Friday night take-out selections ranged from Surf & Turf at Charlie’s Wharf, to burger and fries at Bill’s Grill or pepper steak subs at Joey’s, to Chinese and of course pizza.

I truly believe God intended Friday nights for takeout.

Let’s think about this. We’ve worked hard all week. We’ve made breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We’ve dealt with kids, spouses, bosses, deadlines, meetings, issues, budgets and bills and by the time Friday morning rolls around it is everything in our power to drag ourselves out of the safe and warm confines of our bed, until we remember, “Thank God It’s Friday!”. Whew! We deserve a break don’t we?

Enter Friday night takeout.

For years, my Friday nights were ALL about take out. I had my nifty little gold folder with all of my takeout menus. I had copies both at home and at work to make certain all bases were covered. Our Friday night selections ranged from Surf & Turf at Charlie’s Wharf, to burger and fries at Bill’s Grill or pepper steak subs at Joey’s, to Chinese and of course pizza.

Growing up in Small town USA, we were THRILLED when Domino’s Pizza came to town. They were the first and I think still the only restaurant to offer delivery service. It was pretty funny to call for delivery and watch across the road as they loaded our pizza to drive out of their driveway and straight into ours. The look on the driver’s face was one of utter confusion. Oh the amusements of a sleepy little town. I believe the company has since changed their name to Domino’s…but still deliver pizza. Thanks for the mass confusion there Dominos.

The best Friday take out of all time was a tiny little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant that will probably always be my favorite. They had egg rolls the size of burritos! Shun-Lee rocked! My favorite item on the menu other than those fabulous egg rolls, was their vegetable lo mein. After I moved I could never find the same flavor as theirs, so I did what I do, and created it at home. And since Friday’s are for take-out, I had to move this to Thursday 😉

Vegetable Lo Mein

• 1 8 oz. box Lo Mein Egg Noodles – You can substitute Spaghetti noodles
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup broccoli, broken into florets
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots, steamed
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup snow peas
• 2 cups spinach leaves
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. garlic
• 3 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. ginger

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk 2 tbsp. sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, red pepper flakes and ginger. Set aside. Boil noodles until al dente, then drain. In a large bowl, add noodles and toss with sauce.

In a skillet, add veggies, garlic and remaining sesame oil. Stir fry until crisp tender. Move to one side and add egg. Fry egg until done and blend in with vegetables. Toss vegetables with noodles and serve.

• You can add shrimp or chicken for protein. A great version with beef is by using green onion and mushrooms for the vegetables. 

Life is too short to eat ugly food y’all.