Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Day 12: Breakfast


Today's one shot is from breakfast, and it's such a doosey too. The sad part is that I took a vacation day from work and I thought I would be all over today's food happenings.

For breakfast, I just had the left over bacon and potatoes from yesterday, and some toast with grape jelly. 

We had an appointment to get to around 1, and in my haste I forgot my camera to document lunch. We ate at Chic-fil-a. For dinner we had left over lasagna from yesterday. Exciting, I know...

Day 11: Breakfast and Dinner


I wanted to make a nice breakfast this morning, since it's Sunday and I hate to go out to eat for breakfast so I made a papas bowl. I fried up some bacon and potatoes, and added some green chile, cheese, and a scrambled egg. My boyfriend loved it! He cleaned his plate; that's always a good sign!

For dinner, I made my first from scratch lasagna with a Caesar salad. It came out really good! I used ground turkey in the sauce, and used mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. We have enough left over for a few more meals too.

Day 10: Breakfast and Lunch


My boyfriend played softball all day, so I slept in and treated myself to a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with skim milk. I love skim milk; I really think it tastes like 2%, it's just not as thick. I think it also gets a lot colder than other milks.

For lunch, I had a turkey sandwich on wheat with Classic Lays and some red grapes. It was enough to keep me full until dinner, which I was excited about because we were eating at the Isotope baseball game. Again, I forgot my camera but we each had a hot sausage with peppers and some peanuts. We were still kind of hungry and I wanted to splurge for some nachos, or a funnel cake but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Already we spent $20! So afterward we went to get a slice of pizza at Saggio's that ended up being just ok...

Day 9: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner



To my surprise I found doughnuts upon arrival at the office. Normally I wouldn't indulge them, but there was something about the them this time that I couldn't pass up. They had probably arrived around 5 am, and by the time I got my hands on one you could tell that they ad passed their expiration date! My doughnut looked good, but it was not...

For lunch, I headed over to El Taco Tote. This place is delicious! Have you heard of this place? It's a Mexican franchise that originated in Juarez. They grill all of their meats, and offer a huge selection of fresh made salsa's on their salsa bar. You can also fill up with fresh cucumbers, radishes, jalapeno's, onions, etc. When you get taco's, you can choose either flour or corn tortillas, and then you pick your meat. I usually get one chicken, and one top sirloin. Oh, and their beans....they have boring ole re-fried beans and the most delicious charro beans that I have ever had! I can't even describe them. They are boiled pinto beans with bacon, and onions, and cilantro (but not too much), and tomatoes, and a whole lot of goodness that I don't what it is...My pictures suck because I had to use my camera phone.























My boyfriend made dinner this night, and boy was it good! He made grilled jerked chops with Mahatma Saffron Yellow Rice. I needed a vegetable, so I sliced up a cucumber and added some Italian dressing. We chatted excitedly about our day as he cooked, and ended up having an insane amount of 1800 tequila shots. After dinner, the night passed quickly and I think we ended up in bed at 9. It was fun though, and dinner was delicious. He really is a master griller!

Day 8: Lunch


I had to run an errand at lunch, so I picked up something quick and unhealthy on the way back to the office. Burger Kings No. 9 Original Chicken Sandwich meal is what I had my heart set on, and that's exactly what I got! To top that off, a buddy at the office surprised me with a jr. frosty.

Today was the highly anticipated arrival of my boyfriend. Unfortunately when he's around I tend to become a little more distracted and a lot more scatterbrained (he has a certain effect on me Ü)! I forgot my camera to snap dinner photos, and I am glad I did because we got some burgers from my favorite HB joint Bubsters, or the Original Rex's - I guess they go by both names. My glutinous day of fast food is too shameful to document!

I'm sure I'll be there again though, and I won't forget my camera because only a photo can give this mouthwatering homemade green chile cheeseburger any justice, words just don't cut it!

Day 7: Breakfast, Dinner, and Snacks


I've been doing a pretty good job at getting all the pictures done, it's uploading them that is proving to be challenging. This latter part of last week was busy as I was preparing for my boyfriends visit, and I finished my first week of Zumba so I was exceptionally tired. This weekend there was some eating out and some eating in, as well as a lot of leftovers.

Day 7 was Wednesday. I woke up starving like no tomorrow and a yogurt just wasn't going to cut it. Instead I had a delightful breakfast burrito from Twisters. My favorite is the number 8 with no beans. The picture above is just about the last few bites waiting to be demolished.

Being that I had a huge breakfast I opted for a huge navel orange around lunchtime, and for my late afternoon snack I made a Starbucks run for a Passion Fruit Iced Tea Lemonade, and I admittedly snuck in a slice of lemon pound cake. Bad Bad Bad!

The first thing I did when I got home, was check the mail box. I have been waiting for a delectable treat that I ordered from Etsy called Fleur de Sel. It's handmade caramel shaped into logs and sprinkled with sea salt. I have been dying to try it and on this day, it finally arrived and was more delectable than I ever thought it would be. In fact, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! You can try some your self, just order from here http://www.etsy.com/shop/haveitconfections. Next I'm going to get the French Pistachio Nougat Bars!

When I was ready for dinner, I took a piece of left over steak and made a sandwich. Pretty Tasty!

Day 6: Dinner


Ooooh, for dinner this night I had a real treat! I had gone to the store over the weekend, and bought a small sirloin to grill up. For some reason or another  I've been majorly craving red meat. To spice it up,  I used some lime, olive oil, and some Montreal steak seasoning. Grilled on med-high for about 5 min on each side and wah-lah!

I grilled my asparagus and grape tomatoes with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. I used a disposable aluminum grilling tray (it has holes), to prevent any casualties. They didn't take long to cook, only about 7 min. I did keep them moving, so that they wouldn't get charred to bad.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Day 6: Lunch


I forgot my camera this morning , so I didn't get any breakfast shots. It'll be a shock to find out it was yogurt. Here's Lunch though. I had a tuna sandwich, and small salad. On the side I had some red grapes. I had a "mini" Fanta too. i just love those mini's! My tuna sandwich was just "aight" as my boyfriend would say. It was tuna, with dill relish, mayo, and Salt and pepper. It was a little on the dry side...maybe not enough mayo? maybe the albacore tuna? I'll have to do some experimenting...

Day 5: Snack, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

These pics are from yesterday. I was all over the pace! In celebration of my boy T-Roy winning the office NCAA bracket (I came in second), we decided to have a wings luncheon. I brought in some cookies, and chips too and at lunch we picked up wings from Wing Stop. They're alright, not the best but the store is pretty close to the base.

I started the morning with an oatmeal raisin cookie, and a little later enjoyed my usual yogurt and 2 Cuties. For lunch, I had original hot wings, some ruffles, and some carrot and celery sticks.

After work, I went to my first Zumba class. It's a high impact Latin aerobics class that is so much fun! I've been wanting to go for awhile, but haven't had the energy. When I got home, I was so tired and hungry and the thought of cooking was the last thing on my mind. After sitting there for about a half an hour I decided to get up, and cook. So I came up with the shrimp pasta dish above. I altered a Barefoot Contessa recipe to use what I had at home. It was SO good that I had to get seconds! There was even enough leftover to freeze for another time. Here's the original recipe:

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 3/4 pound linguine
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
  • 1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1/2 lemon, zest grated
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
  • 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Day 4: Breakfast, Dinner, and Snack


So, the problem that I have with the blog is not getting everything photographed, but getting it written up. I knew this would be challenging! Let's see Day 4 was Sunday. I took everything that I had left over from Saturday's breakfast and threw it together in a scramble. Looks like a bunch of I don't know what, but it was delicious! It had potatoes, green chile, scrambled, eggs. cheese, and bacon. All I needed was a tortilla!

Since I had been craving tacos since last week, I gave in and picked some up from my favorite taco place Perico's. Man they are good, and the salsa is made fresh daily. I got a chicken and shredded beef one. I ate really early, so around 8 I got hungry again and treated myself to a bowel of corn chex with fresh banana slices. I'm been enjoying cereal lately.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Day 3: Dinner and Snack


I woke up today super early, which for me is anything before 11; today was 8:23am. What the heck is happening to me? I am definitely NOT a morning person, so instead of being productive I laid around in front of the boob tube, then started moving around 9:30, that's when I made my delicious breakfast. When I was finished with that, I read, watched some tv, cleaned up the kitchen, and around 2 I headed out to run a few errands. It was a beautiful day out!

I got home around 5, and was starving! For dinner I used some of the left over bacon from breakfast to make a BLT, classic Lays potato chips, and a "mini" orange fanta. It was so good...and just a few hours later I had one of my favorite snacks: OREO'S! Yum.

The kitchen is now closed!

Day 3: Breakfast


I love breakfast, but I hate eating out for breakfast. With the exception of breakfast burritos, I feel that  I can make a better breakfast at home and SO much cheaper. Last weekend my boyfriend and I went out on Saturday morning and it was nearly $30 for breakfast, drinks, and tip. It's ridicules! So during the week, I like to eat light and on the weekends I usually splurge. This morning, I copied a local favorite by making a bowl of papas. It's so easy and really really delicious! Papas is a bowl of pan fried potatoes or hash browns, topped with bacon or sausage, chile, cheese, and an egg.

I usually have a hard time with the potatoes because I like them really crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. Today, I tried a little trick that made them come out perfect. I chopped up about 5 small to medium sized potatoes, and put them in the microwave for 5 min, and then I put them in a hot frying pan. I used enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom and sides on the pan, and seasoned the potatoes with a little garlic powder, salt and pepper. Once in the pan, I stirred them up really well to get each slice of potato with oil and spice. I cooked them for about 15 - 20 min, keeping the constantly stirred. What I got in the end was a golden, crispy goodness that was so delicious! I topped with bacon, green chile, cheese, and a fried egg. I like my eggs over medium, but I accidentally over cooked it. Surprise. I'll probably be stuffed until dinner...

Day 2: Dinner and Late Snack


Last night, my good friend Sacha had a jewelry party and I went. I stayed a longer than I had planned, but there were some girls that I used to work with several years ago there and I really wanted to catch up. There were some really delicious eats there. We were treated to some fresh baked jalapeno poppers, backed brie, and a nontraditional salsa dip.

The jalapeno peppers were SO delicious, and according to the chef of the day, Amy, they are super easy to make and she happily shared her recipe with me. Using fresh jalapenos, you cut them in half and scrape the seeds out. Then you make a cream cheese filling using whipped cream cheese and garlic salt (I would probably prefer fresh garlic), and then you fill the empty jalapeno shells. After that you wrap a half a slice of bacon around each one, and bake at 350 for about 15 minor until bacon and cheese browns. So Easy, I can't wait to try it myself.

Amy also made a baked brie that was absolutely amazing. She used a whole wheel of brie and topped it with a thin layer of raspberry jam, the she used a package of crescent rolls and completely wrapped the wheel. She baked it until the crescent roll crust was a nice golden brown, and drizzled it with honey and sliced almonds. We were supposed to let it set for 10 min before slicing, but who could wait. We dug in and nice soft brie oozed out...yum.

Sacha made a healthy yogurt salso dip, with fresh veggies. The dip had salsa, avocado, onion, and cilantro. I'm not a huge cilantro fan, so I had a few bites, but mostly steered clear. What I had was pretty good though.

It was about 9 when I got home, and since I didn't have a real dinner I was still kind of hungry so I had a bowl of cereal to hold me over. I generally usually only eat unsweetened cereals, but I was craving something kind of sweet so I had the last of my childhood favorite Cinnamon Toast Crunch; it certainly satisfied my sweet tooth.

Excuse the dark photos, I took them with my camera phone...

Friday, April 9, 2010

Day 2: Breakfast and Lunch. No Snack :(



Today for breakfast I had my usual Yogurt and fruit. I know, exciting, right? But notice that I did switch flavors today...

Last night I was so tired, and I remembered that today was Friday so I decided to eat out. Tacos was on my hit list, but somehow instead I ended up at Sam's Club. I treated my lunch buddy to a pretzel with extra salt, and I got a Nathan's hotdog, a lg. drink, and a churro. All for $3.13! It's an amazing deal...and in my opinion you cannot spend 50 cents better than on 2 feet of warm mexican pastry goodness. Of course since I am never without drama, my first one ended up broken and on the floor, but my sad teary eyes prompted the lady behind the counter to immediately replace it - for no charge!

How do you dress your dog? I prefer only mustard and relish. If I wasn't working I would have had onion too; it was that kind of day...full of flavor! 

So tonight I'm headed to a friends for a jewelry party, and my mantra is "I am not buying any jewelry!" Hopefully there'll be some pretty good snacks. Afterward, maybe I'll take in a movie or go rent one. We shall see what the night brings....stay tuned.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Day 1: Dinner


Tonight I decided to grill up a chicken breast, and take in some vegetables. It's taken some time, but I am finally figuring out how to grill chicken without over spicing or over cooking it. I've been known to over cook a breast or two. I think it's because breasts vary in size and are usually thick on one side and flatter on the other, so I like to cut one in half and flatten it out before cooking. For the marinade, I threw together some extra virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice (1 med. sized lime), some crushed garlic, and a little salt and pepper. Then I put them on a medium heated grill on the top rack. It may take a little longer to cook, but this is really a good trick for getting juicy chicken.

I bought a ton of vegetables earlier this week that I was dying to do something with. I took a medium sized zucchini, a squash, and some mushrooms and sauteed them up with a little butter, salt, and pepper. So good...it reminds me of the vegetables that you get at a Japenese Teppan Grill. I like my veggies a little firm, but didn't time grilling the chicken quite right so they got a little soggy. Still good though.

Now, I'm sleepy and trying to decide if I want to make a lunch for tomorrow or eat out.....?

Day 1: Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack

I'm not trying to be healthy on purpose, but this is how day 1 is panning out to be. I started with my usual yogurt and piece of fruit, and then had a nice chef salad with lots of cucumbers for lunch. I splurged and had Ken's Steak House Creamy Balsamic as a dressing, and it was delicious! I'm also loving the new "mini" coke products, even though they are pricer than a normal sized coke (?). Today I opted for Sprite. I guess I was in a citrus-y mood today because I rounded out lunch with two Cuties, and a tangerine Dum-Dum that I got at the bank. Now what's for dinner? Always the question of the day...

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I love to eat!


When I finished high school, I had no idea what to do with myself. I worked full time at a movie theater, and went to a traditional college. I hated it! So after a year of misery,  I decided to go to Culinary School and I loved it! The only problem was that just after I graduated and found a part time gig at a local bbq joint, I ended up in the hospital for a collapsed lung. Sadly, I realized that working in a restaurant just wasn't going to work after that. The heavy lifting and constant standing would have been the death of me, so instead I ended up being the designated b-day cake and cookie baker. It was a great run while it lasted.

Eventually I became more busy with work, went back to school, started a couple of businesses and had more than a few failed romances; all of which made me put my cooking on the back burner. Lately though, something has been rejuvenated inside of me and all I want to do is cook, cook, cook! and not to mention eat, eat, eat!

With all that said, I start my new food blog. Starting tomorrow I'll document what I cook, and eat for the next 30 days. I have had a hard time setting and accomplishing any goals lately, so this will be quite the challenge. I have everything I need. A full refrigerator, a nice camera, tons of batteries, and an always grumbling belly.

Picture above: 2009 Thanksgiving Dinner. Yummy!
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