Disappointing Dinner

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I really try not to be too much of a Debbie Downer on the blog, but I don’t have many positive things to say tonight so I’ll keep this quick.  The husband and I got really jazzed about having a fancy date and it basically was a bust.  (Although that’s not to say that we didn’t have a good time being together :D)

I read about Groupon on Meghann’s blog recently and was excited to join.  Today’s deal was a $40 gift certificate for $20 at a spot we’ve been wanting to try, The Wine Thief.  I’ve been telling people about how I wanted to try their lobster for months so we decided to snatch the deal up.

It’s been a hectic (and stressful!) time lately so we were really excited about a fancy dinner date together.

We decided that I would order the lobster and Adam would order the scallops and we’d do some sharing.  Before I show you the food I want to show you an actual shot of the entrée menu –

Here was Adam’s dish.

A portion of scallops with a side of rice topped with chutney.  (Sidenote – Adam hated his scallops but the rice/chutney was pretty darn tasty)

Now here’s my dish –

Go back up and read that menu.  Here, I’ll even give you a shot of the two meal descriptions, from their menu.

I was not served lobster with a side of risotto, as the menu implies, but risotto with lobster mixed in.  Now that is either the most poorly designed menu on earth, or the description of my entrée is meant to deceive the consumer.  If the dish is “Lobster Risotto,” why does the menu read “Australian Lobster: risotto…?” 

Sadly, the lack of class I think the menu shows is almost besides the point because the risotto had 4 measly pieces of meat in it and was not even a properly done risotto.  *Steam*  Major fail, Wine Thief, major fail 😦

Adam hated his scallops – I thought they were actually pretty good, I ate 2.5 – so he only ate his rice and I ate a few bites of my mush and we both left hungry.  Our dinner date ended up being pizza from Wegmans.

Ugh.

What do you think – was the menu misleading or are Adam and I idiots?

Acting My Shoe Size, Not My Age

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My agenda so far today has been one in which any 6.5 year old would be thrilled to take part!  Popsicles, kids’ meals, nary a vegetable in sight; who wants to come over and Skip-It with me?

First, I dressed like a watermelon.  If you’ve noticed that I often seem watermelon-y in hue, yes I’ve noticed, but those colors make me happy!

Next I walked over to the local bookstore to meet up with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid promotional truck that just happened to be giving away free goodies.

Is there really anything more fabulous than a grape popsicle?

Katie couldn’t get out of work in time for the ice cream so we made a lunch date instead.  I had yet another free $5 off so to Moe’s we went.  Kid’s meal quesadilla?  Heck yes!

With a side of chips with queso dip.

And an oatmeal cookie.

Not only does Moe’s keep giving me coupons and letting me order off the kids’ menu, but they also always let me upgrade my diet coke to a large free of charge; I think I’m going to move in!

What was the last thing you did that made you feel like a kid again?

Carrot, Cookie; Same Dif

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Today was another morning when I was finding it impossible to get going.  I’m going to have to shake a leg once school starts!  Finally I bribed myself with a cookie,

and went for a run.

Other than my treadmill interval workouts, I’m making a big effort to run continuously instead of taking walking breaks.  Today I ran the entire distance, minus a quick stretch stop a the halfway point.  ~2.04miles, 20minutes, 30seconds.  Don’t worry, I do walk to warm up and cool down on these short runs, I just don’t include it in my time/distance stats.

I’m going to do 5ish minutes of strength and stretching and then hop in the shower.  I’m meeting Katie soon for something very exciting…

I Envy No Man

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It’s almost Friday!  Weekends have been pretty much meaningless to me this past unemployed year, but now that I’m starting back to school next Monday they are exciting again.

I spent forever running errands today because parking was ridiculous everywhere I went.  Also helping orphans catching up on “Make it or Break it.”  I managed to make time for some amazing meals though; I’m seriously excited about every single thing I ate today.

Chicken Enchilada Suiza Lean Cuisine.

Frozen meal win, this was delicious.  A chicken enchilada with cheesy sauce,

and a pile of rice that got mushed around in the cheese sauce.

With an Orange Zevia (free sample).

I’m usually not one for orange sodas but this guy was totally thirst quenching.

Also, a mini bag of kettle corn.

I spent some time wifing it up in the kitchen, baking some chocolate chip cookies for the husband.  I stole a tiny one.

I would have eaten more, but I had already stashed 2T of dough away into the freezer for something amazing.  Keep reading…

Dinner was kinda off the hook.

Think tasty leftovers x10billion.  I topped a bed of roasted green beans with 1cup of corn, a serving of shredded bbq chicken, and some homemade bbq sauce.

Shredded chicken, corn, and roasted green beans are all pretty big favorites of mine and together they were unstoppable!  The balance of spicy-salty-sweet was perfect here.

But nothing was topping dessert.

I’ve had food-processor-envy all year, but tonight I envied no man; tonight, I got to make Gena’s famous banana soft-serve!

Only my batch was extra fabulous because it also had frozen cookie dough blended in.

This bowl was 2frozen bananas and 2.5T frozen cookie dough.  Swoon!

Have you gotten to try banana soft serve yet?  Thoughts?

My Inner Interior Decorator Blossoms

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As we settled into our new apartment, the husband informed me that it was going to be our home for good.  Sure, if he gets a residency in another state I can bring along my things, but otherwise no more moving.  He will not be taking apart the furniture, he will not be bubble wrapping the plates, and he certainly will not be schlepping my kitchen appliances up and down any more stairs.

At first this declaration scared me a bit; what if we hated it here?  But as things started to fall into place – the faulty fire alarm was replaced, the spiders ran scared – we realized we love it here.  We’ve stored things in every nook and cranny, we’ve set the office up for maximum productivity and the living room for maximum relaxation, and we’ve hung our pictures.  All that’s left now is the little details; how can we make our place pop?

I’ve been pondering that question, and the Gods threw me a line – CSN Stores e-mailed me to see if I’d like to do another review with them.  Visions of kitchen tables danced in my head, I doodled candle holders on post-its, and wall art haunted my dreams.  After some agonizing, I’m pretty sure I’ve picked the perfect thing …

… and you’ll have to wait and see what it is; mauh ha ha!

a, b, c, or d (other) which would you choose for your home?  And which do you think I chose?

Breakfast from Iowa

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Well, not exactly.  But the idea did come from Kristen at IowaGirlEats.com!  I followed her recipe for stewed apples.

Served atop a serving of Van’s Homestyle Pancakes.

Decadent.  The apples got nice and soft and the sweet cinnamon sauce they produce is a perfect stand in for maple syrup.

On the agenda for today is a school-related errand and a grocery trip, Adios!

What is your favorite way to eat apples?  To me, nothing beats shoved on a stick and dipped in caramel 🙂

Healthy BBQ Chicken Sandwich: How To

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First, you’ve got to meet a boy (or girl!).

Trick said boy into marrying you.

Put a crock-pot on your wedding registry.

Place two thawed, humanely raised, skinless, boneless chicken breasts (~1.5lbs) in the bottom of said crock-pot.

Pour in enough reduced sodium chicken broth to cover both chicken breasts.

Do some salt and pepper action.

Set your crock-pot for 8hours on low and walk away.

Meanwhile, join Foodbuzz.  Attend the 1st Blogger Festival and bring home a bottle of Maple Barbeque Sauce with Horseradish.

Join the Tastemaker Program and receive a sample of Arnold’s Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins.

Go back to your crock-pot and remove cooked chicken to a plastic container and shred using two forks.

Pour your bbq sauce (approx. 10Tbsp) over the shredded chicken.

Plate.

I recommend serving alongside a green, perhaps some roasted asparagus?

Roasted figs with goat cheese and honey for dessert.

Live happily ever after.

Of course that’s all subject to some personal interpretation, but those are my basic steps!  😉

Sugar Sodas Are Toast

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Today was another one of those days where I plan to go to the gym and then get distracted for hours.  This means that working out gets pushed back, and lunch gets pushed back, and so on.  I’ve got precious few days left until school (i.e. real life) starts again though, so I’m enjoying the unstructured time!

I had to go to the co-op for a few things this morning so I extended my walk a couple of blocks to The Spot for coffee.

Grande iced toddy with skim milk.  The caffeine was supposed to power me through my work out on an empty stomach – I’m, perhaps, a bit gun-shy from yesterday – but I messed around so long that I finally had to cave and eat breakfast.

Toast with Smart Balance and Crofter’s Strawberry Spread.

I never ever eat toast for some reason, but I really enjoyed this.

My right leg (my tendonitis leg) had a bit of a twinge in it all morning so I planned a treadmill interval workout that would allow me to get in the amount of time I wanted without too much impact on my legs.  Since I knew it was going to be a longer work out I put a packet of Cherry Lime Propel (thanks, BlogHer) into my water.

Thumbs up, Propel!  This tasted great and I have to believe it played a role in the fact that it took me forever to get hungry this afternoon.

My treadmill work out –

  • 6 minutes walking, warm up
  • 20 sets of intervals – 2minutes running/2minutes walking (40minutes total)
  • 4minutes walking, cool down

In the end that added up to 50minutes; 4.13miles.  I finished things up at the gym with 10minutes of abs work and stretching.

When I did finally get hungry in this afternoon I made myself a protein packed lunch –

Broccoli, eggplant, and cole slaw mix sautéed in some homemade peanut sauce.

Just yum!

To drink (in addition to h2o, of course!) was a Zevia Ginger Ale.

I’ve worked with Zevia before, and while nothing can replace my Cherry Coke Zero love, I’m a big fan.  Soda with no sugar or chemicals?  I’d say that’s pretty perfect for an addict enthusiast like me!  Zevia was recently featured in Oprah’s magazine so they sent me some free samples to celebrate.  I’ll be doing a giveaway later on too.

The ginger ale was yummy, just like “regular” ginger ale but a little less sweet.  And it didn’t have that awful spice aftertaste that some brands get.

What is your favorite flavor/brand of soda.  My very, very favorite thing on Earth is fountain diet coke (with ice and a straw) with a shot of cherry coke!