Picnic Basics & Patriotic Pies...

Hope everyone had an excellent Memorial Day!  I know we did...I did NOT want this weekend to end and I enjoyed every minute of it!  Today we started the day at our niece's Memorial Day parade where she was walking with her Girl Scout Troop.  The parade is always so patriotic and a good reminder of the holiday. 

After that, we had to hurry home to get ready for our little picnic in the afternoon.  I saw these at the Acme and knew today was the perfect day to try them out;)  Yum, I haven't had "real" Doritos in ages!

They also had CHEESEBURGER flavor, but Scott figured since we were actually HAVING burgers...that maybe that was a bit of overkill:)

We had all our picnic basics:  Scott's "secret onion burgers;)", loverly fruit salad, homemade baked beans and some potato & macaroni salad.  Ya know...all American classics;)

We also had the first corn on the cob of the season...but I was so busy trying to get it to cool off that I forgot to take it's "Welcome to Summer" picture;) hahahahahhaa....

And I knew exactly what I wanted to make for dessert...First up:  Frozen Strawberry Pie! 

And for Scott, I made a Blueberry Buckle (IN the Toaster Oven!;)  It was called 'buttery goodness', which is a pretty good compliment considering there was 2 tablespoons of butter in the ENTIRE THING!

I figured I covered all of the Patriotic colors;)  And even managed to make a little vanilla bean whipped cream to go along with the warm 'buckle'!  Yum!!  I'll post the recipes for these soon, cause they were SUPER easy and DY-NO-MITE!!!

And yes...please don't mind the SNOWMAN paper plates;)  AT LEAST that snowman is festooned in Red, White & Blue!!! :) hahahahahahhahahahaha......

Welllll....it's back to the grind time tomorrow, but at least it's a short week!  Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did!

Bobby, Burgers & Bargains!

We made the most of our "no work tomorrow" Sunday :)  We started our day with MORE overnight oats.  This time an "apple pie" variation... 

• 6 oz. Apple Pie yogurt 
• 1 cup milk (1%, almond, skim...whatever!) 
• 1 cup old fashioned oats 
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey, vanilla etc.) 
• A few shakes of cinnamon
• 4 tablespoon almonds, sliced & toasted (I used the Blue Diamond Vanilla Bean)

Mix everything together in a bowl, except for the almonds, and cover tightly.  Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. 

I layered my oats with 2 tablespoons of almonds and, despite the apple pie yogurt, I still topped mine with strawberries;)  (can't let those babies go to waste!)...annndddd because it's a "holiday Sunday"...we threw a little cool whip on there for good measure;)

After breakfast we juggled around a few ideas for how we were going to spend the day, and came up with this:)  First we headed toward Monmouth Beach...no, not for a beach day...but to go here:

We actually went to Bobby's for our 1st wedding anniversary "lunch/dinner" last year.  Not only because we're big Bobby fans...but it's a stone's throw away from where we got married;)  ahhhhh....memories...;)

So, inside is a sorta upscale fastER food restaurant.  You pick your poison off the massive menu on the wall....

Place your order and then head in and take a seat.  The tables are connected in long rows, so you could potentially be elbow to elbow with your neighbor...Not ideal, but NOT a problem on this day, where everyone blew past Bobby's and headed to the beach;)

We got our number and waited patiently...

And out came our masterpieces:)  Like, are you KIDDING me with this burger??? :)  I ordered an LA Burger with avocado relish, watercress, cheddar cheese andddd...

Yes, that is a HEAPING handful of potato chips on that burger!  At Bobby's, you can order any burger "crunchified"....and that I did!  To be honest, I don't really even know if I TASTED the actual BURGER!  I was all wrapped up in the avocado, cheese and those CRUNCHY, SALTY CHIPS! :)

Scott ordered the Santa Fe burger with spicy queso, jalapenos and blue corn chips....I had one SUPER spicy bite and that was all my lame palate could handle;)  But he loved it;)

We sided up our burgers with some sweet potato fries with the most delectable honey mustard horseradish sauce for dipping...

And some super LARGE onion rings....

Seriously, that burger didn't stand a chance;)  Can you detect even one OUNCE of chip crumb???  I think I got em all ;) hahahahahahaha....

And we could NOT leave without one of my most favorite treats...The coconut milkshake!!  I had gotten it last time, so I was waiting inpatiently for this!  It was as good as I remembered: creamy & dreamy;)

Just check out all the vanilla beans hanging out at the bottom!!

Scott got the ACTUAL vanilla bean milkshake and that was delish as well;)

Next we went to work off our burgers, crossed the parking lot and headed to part TWO of our day...Mission: Find Scott some new smaller clothes!! :)

OK...so the bad part about going to a mall near a beach on Memorial Day weekend was that it took awhile to actually get there due to the traffic.  But the GREAT part about it: There was NO ONE AT THE MALL!  So even though we were 'seasonally inappropriate,' we were able to walk around at our leisure to swoop up some of the great sales!!!

Me thinks Scott got a pretty good haul!  4 shirts, 5 polos, 2 tshirts, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of jeans...and a partridge in a pear tree;)  He was in NEED though, he was swimming in his clothes;)

We also picked up a new toaster oven since our old one was...well...toast!  Toaster ovens, along with the slow cooker, are the true unsung heros of summertime cooking.  Sure, the grill gets all the attention, but both of those can cook food without heating up your whole house from turning on your oven!  Sweet!

I even cracked it open to make a pie crust for a dessert for tonight! :)  I actually laughed out loud (yes, I LOL'd:) when I realized I fit an entire 9 inch pie plate quite cozily in there!  Go Toaster Oven! :)

And I MAY have just picked up a few things for myself;)  Just a few;)

And we managed to do pretty darn good, I think!  Thanks to the sales and one Macy's gift card: we managed to snag over $550 worth of stuff for under $175!  SCORE! :)

The rest of the day was spent exercising and NOT eating;)  hahahaha...I attempted a jog around the park, but couldn't shake a stitch in my side...soooo despite my mantra of "What Would Jillian Do?" (besides kick my ass AROUND the park!;),  I decided to pack it up and went home to do some yoga with Bob.  Well...with Bob AND Penny;)...

And never fear:  After I yoga-ed and Scott worked out on his rowing machine...we both headed back out to give Miss Penny a nice long walk for hanging out while we shopped till we dropped all day;)

Blah, blah, blah...I've had a lot to tell you the last few days, huh???  ANYWAY!  Have a WONDERFUL Memorial Day and don't forget to take a moment to remember what this day is truly for!!!!!!

Polenta bites & Wine desserts...

Yesterday turned out to be one of those EXTRA delicious days;)  hahahahhaha...we started off by heading to our local farmer's market and stocked up on some goodies at the Amish vendors.  I was able to pick some old fashioned oats, seasoned bread crumbs and mini chocolate chips on the cheap;)  Not to mention some GORGEOUS strawberries (sadly, the season is winding down) & lettuce ($1!) and some VERY smoked mozzarella from the Italian vendor (more on that in a bit;).....

Lunch yesterday turned into a duel of sorts;)  We used up the rest of the leftover turkey & cheese and foccacia bread to make turkey paninis.  BUT I smeared 1/2 of my sandwich with Roasted Garlic Mustard and 1/4 with pumpkin butter to battle it out for "who's the better turkey condiment"  ...(I know your waiting in suspense;)

And the winner still is...

You just can't beat that sweet/spicy mix with the turkey & cheese.  (although you were good competition Mustard! ;) hahhahahaha...

Dinner was one Scott had been looking forward to for AGES...so finally I put the proverbial foot down and said "Today is the day we are getting the Amish stuffed pork chops!"  And that we did;)

And since the grill was a LITTLE crowded with the Flinestone-sized pork chops and a pan of vegetables...

I worked on our OTHER side dish on the inside:)  I made up little 'Caprese' polenta bites!

I sliced up the polenta and threw them on our griddle.  Meanwhile, I cooked up some chopped tomato and some frozen basil (sadly, since our fresh basil was done-ski when I took it out of the fridge).  I also threw in about 3 heaping tablespoons of crushed garlic paste...hence the tomato's 'pinkish hue':) hahahhaha....

Once the tomatoes were soft and the polenta got a crispy crust on the bottom, I flipped them over and topped them with a spoonful of the garlictomato/basil mixture.... (never mind my mess on the side of the stove;)

Next I sliced up some of the fresh smoked mozzarella (and when I say smoked...the smell of this was BURSTING out of the plastic wrap!)...

And topped each polenta with a quarter slice of the mozzarella.  I tented the pan with a piece of aluminum foil (CAREFULLY!  Don't get too close or the cheese will stick!!)  and let the cheese melt until it was nice & ooey-gooey!

It was pretty much the perfect dinner:) 

And thankfully, those pork chops were worth the loooong wait:)  As Scott said "the Amish don't disappoint":) hahahhahahahahahha

And as usual, Penny joined us out on the porch for what turned into a PERFECT weather night!! :)  She looked like a statue;)  hahahahhaha.... 

We didn't even realize how long we were out there loungin;) By the time we looked up...it was time for dessert!

And dessert was quite magical, if I do say so myself;)  I wanted to use more of my delicious chocolate wine, so I ended up making a sort of tiramisu/strawberry shortcake hybrid;)  First I soaked some low-fat lady fingers & strawberries in the wine.  (only for about 10 minutes...I still like a little cookie crunch;)

And then layered it all up with some fat free cool whip.  Oh my....do I need to say this was good?  Cause it was;)

A delicious day indeed:)  Although we should be having another one today too!  I originally wanted to walk around New York today, but since the weather forecast jumped from low 70's to 90's...weeeee are making alternative plans;)  But they should be fun none-the-less!  And of COURSE, there will be some good eats mixed in;)

Enjoy your Sunday...even more so because: YOU HAVE OFF TOMORROW! (well, hopefully:)

Pizza Night!

Last night we had the perfect Friday "ladies night" part-aaa....Pizza night!  For the first time, we somehow managed NOT to cook for 75 people;)...but by no means were we short on flavors or creativity!

I broke out my "Food Network 50 Pizza's Booklet" from their magazine and made this:  Sweet Potato, toasted walnuts, blue cheese and sage on a whole wheat crust.  It was a FALL PIZZA if there ever was one! ;)  (Too bad it's Memorial Day weekend;) hahahahahha....

And my friend made an awesome chicken bruschetta pizza with lots of grape tomatoes, chicken, onions and cinnamon basil from her own garden!  Topped with mozzarella on a garlic herb crust (as we both ran into each other "crust shopping" at the Trader Joe's;) 

We somehow managed to make the 2 most contrasting pizzas around:)  Mine was super thin and crispy, while her's was hearty and melty deliciousness!  Both were SOOO good!!!!

Since it was a tad chilly on the sun porch last night...we needed SOMETHING to warm us up!  Thank goodness I found this CHOCOLATE WINE at Trader Joe's...YES, I said CHOCOLATE WINE!!

Now you just learned yesterday that I am NOT a wine drinker (look at me drinking it 2 days in a row!), but this was too damn intriguing to pass up!  And it did NOT disappoint!  It was a little strong on the wine taste at first, but after a few sips:  all you could taste was the luscious creaminess of the chocolate.  I KNOW it sounds odd, but if THIS GIRL likes it...I imagine a REAL wine drinker would love it!

And finally, our grand finale:  My friend made us a most-decadent CHOCOLATE NUTELLA pizza with white chocolate chips & nuts.  There MAY or may not have been even MORE nutella spread on this after it was warmed in the oven...but I mean, can you blame that person??  Nutella is proof that there is a God and that he wants us to be happy;) hahahahahahhaahhahaha....;)

A MOST delicious evening...and I do believe I am not alone in that sentiment:)  Have a good Saturday!  I already have more things to share later on! ;)

OH and Ps-I DID get that run in yesterday afternoon...and I'm super proud to say I came in 5 minutes earlier than the last few times;)   Must have had at least a FEW more jogs than walks this time around;) 

Tailgating Fun...

Sooooooooo....look who came to dinner LAST NIGHT! :)

We kicked off our most-awesome-evening with a little sangria (some may say a "non Bon Jovi appropriate beverage"...but who cares?? :)

I'm not much of a wine drinker (like, not at all)...but this stuff was gooooooooood!  Me likes!

And now: The eats.  I was TOTALLY behind in the "tailgating scene" since I didn't expect to see people grilling corn on the cob and heating huge POTS of chili.  Whatever, I'm gonna have to step my game up next time!  But this time, we kept it simple...some pretzels, dip, turkey, ham, cheese...the basics;)

Along with wine, I'm actually not much of a lunch meat person either.  It moderatly weirds me out sometimes;)  But I was quite pleased with this SO GOOD Herb Turkey Breast from...where else?...Trader Joe's;)  I dig on the "no antibiotics" buisness...

We also had a SLAMMIN fruit salad!  My friend doesn't cook, but she can make me fruit salad ANY time!! :)  I'm just puttin that out there;)  I had 2 bowls;)

Andddd...what would the night be without something sweet (well...aside from Jon's....well, let me not go there;), and these magically little chocolate salt brownies from heaven were just fantastical;)  Hard NOT to be!!  It's the best of the sweet & salty world! :)

And after that, we went and burned off all those calories by shakin our groove thangs for the next 2 hours!  And JonBon did NOT disappoint!!!!  FABULOUS show from our own Jersey boy! ;)

Woooosh...thank goodness we have a half day at work today because I am BEAT!  But I'm proud to say I DID still wake up in enough time to get in a "Jillian-Yoga Level 1" before work.  I have ALL good intentions of taking another jog/walk later this afternoon...but we'll see how that goes.  I might be running straight to the couch;) 

Have a GREATTTTTTT FRIDAY AND AN AWESOME HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!!!