Double dose & detox...

Hey everyone!  Well, I said the weekend was going to get swept away, but I didn't think Monday was going to be tossed in the boat tooJ  Oh well...at least you get a double dose of decadence & a Monday DETOX todayJ hahahahhahaha

Here's a typical family pic from Mother's Day...more on that in a sec!

But first up:  Our "FIRST FRIDAY" Burger!

In keeping with Cinco week theme, we went full blown FIESTA with this Chipotle Burger with Nacho cheese top!

A chipotle-spiced & bacon burger topped with gooey melty cheese sauce, red onions, bright cilantro & CRUNCHY tortilla chips!!

With Scott making the epic decision to top not one, but BOTH sides of the bread with CHIPS!  Double crunch!

What a GREAT burger to start our new 'tradition!'  Spicy, gooey & lots of crunch, this one was a fiesta for SURE.

And on the side...something I figured went RIGHT along with 'farmer's market summers':  Zucchini tater tots!

Shredded zucchini, onion, breadcrumb, cheese & an egg tossed together & baked in mini muffins for little poppable bites of deliciousness.

My only word of warning:  Make sure you DRAIN the zucchini & onion after it's shredded & bake these until VERY golden!  I drained them, but did not cook them long enough (even though it was longer than the suggested 15 minutes) and I thought they were still a little water-y.  About 10 more minutes would have firmed up these bad bears perfectly!

But if you want a good way to sneak some veggies into your kids, I think this might not be a bad place to start.  They were really tasty & I didn't think they had a very 'veggie' taste at all.  (nor did they taste like  'tots'...but really, what can??J)

The rest of the weekend was spent introducing Katie to the alpacas at the farmer's market...

She was unimpressedJ

What went over better was her first taste of fresh squeezed orange juice from Tortilla Press...yum!

While I inhaled my first 'breakfast quesadilla' of the season...this time mixed with chicken, cheese & farmer's market fresh chili-rubbed asparagus...

I don't know what the hell they do to their quesadillas at the Tortilla Press stand, but they are always OFF the CHARTS delicious!

And fast forward to Sunday when my Aunt (and Katie's Godmom!) graciously decided to host Mother's Day brunch this year and laid out a spread fit for a king....or princessesJ  hahahahahaha...

And who enjoyed this the most & left the rest of us in the DUST with her appetite???

She inhaled nearly every drop of egg casserole, french toast bake, fruit salad & potatoes with peppers & onions we left on her high chair.  I think she literally left ONE grape.  Seesh!

But she made up for it by spending the next hour running around my Aunt's yard, enjoying the gorgeous dayJ

And after spending Sunday NIGHT celebrating our niece's 14th birthday (WHERE DOES THE TIME GO???) at Red Robin, it was SUPER BACK TO THE GRIND Monday morn!

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

10:30am:  Breakfast- Banana Vitatop

Oddly enough, I usually never think the non-chocolate flavors are very filling (don't ask me why!), but I guess after housing a blue cheese & bacon burger the night before...well, I just wasn't that hungry.  EEK!

12:30pm:  Lunch- Green Monster

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 3 handfuls spinach

The classicJ

4:00pm:  Snack- Handful of Trail Mix 

5:30pm:  Dinner-Herb Salad

I also called this one the "Million flavors salad!"  In the mix:

• Red leaf lettuce
• chopped dill
• diced chives
• shredded basil
• sundried tomato goat cheese
• toasted white beans
• mini turkey pepperonis
• sprinkle of grated cheese
• olive oil & lemon juice dressing 

I picked up the plate & it felt like air...which I figured was a good signJ  It was light, but heavy on flavor.  Each fork-full hit you with a new dose of herbs, pepperoni or salty cheese.  So good.  I'm definitely going to try to add lots of herbs to our salads over the next few months.  It just gives it a fresh flavor KICK that can't be beat.  

6:30-7:50pm:  Beginners Power Yoga class

Namaste!

And in non-food news, anyone from NJ agree with this statement??

We went from humid and GROSS at the end of last week to turning the HEAT back on yesterday.  Which is all fun & games until my sinuses decided to acknowledge this new wave of wind with another round of feeling drowsy & just EH.  MAKE UP YOUR MIND weather!  All this switchin is good for no one.

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON MY TERROR THAT ALL THIS COLD WEATHER LATE IN THE SEASON WILL LEAD TO A WARM FALL.  DO. NOT. EVEN. GO. THERE!

Sigh.

Alright...composure regained, as I bid you adieu for the day!  Have a great Tuesday!J

Light & Healthy...and then not:)

Morning everyone!  Well, this weekend was a photo-less WHIRLWIND!  It started with a double whammy of Body Jam class AND CRAZY INTENSE Power Yoga, followed by a wedding Saturday night, fast forward to a Christening Sunday afternoon and a birthday celebration Sunday night.  PHEW!  It was a very full & festive 48 hours, to say the leastJ  I tried to eat as many LITTLE bites as possible & enjoy without overdoing it, and I think I succeeded since I didn't feel gross & full on Monday morning (unlike LAST "2 Easter dinners" weekendJ)  But like usual, it was back to normal come Monday AM!

Monday Recap:

8:00am:  Hot Lemon Water

9:00am:  Breakfast- Bethenny's Brown Rice Breakfast

I don't make this that often since I don't find it nearly as filling as oatmeal, but it was a nice change-up (and a good use for leftover brown rice if you have some in your fridge.)  I added a pinch of cornstarch to thicken up the milk and make it very rice pudding-y...and rice pudding for breakfast?  Sounds OK to me.

1:00pm:  Lunch- Turkey tenders with 2 laughing cow cheeses

3:30pm:  Snack- Apple (no picture)

5:30pm:  Dinner- Grilled Chicken & Kale Salad 

I thought yesterday was one of those "pretty cutting board" days ...

...with LOTS of colors everywhere! 

And I DO mean EVERYwhereJ 

HOURS later I found myself STILL thinking about how great this salad was! 

In the mix:

• Diced & massaged Kale, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & grated cheese
• diced green onions
• Grilled chicken coated in Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1/4 diced app
• Shredded carrots
• Diced roasted red peppers

The spicy chicken mixed with the coooooool & crisp apples & kale, topped with the BRIGHT and tasty lemon juice dressing was SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!  And with the temperatures starting to creep up, it DEFINITELY is a great time to give meals like this a whirl.  Light & delicious.

6:30-7:50:  Beginners Power Yoga class

8:30pm:  Dessert-  Reeses Peanut Butter Cake

And speaking of the antithesis of the a fore mentioned light & healthy...but nothing short of absolutely delicious, I ended the night with a slice of the cake I made for my sister-in-law's birthday on Sunday...

(my slice was about 1/3 of that piece!)  If you're a Reeses fan, or know someone who is, make this cake YESTERDAY.  It was decadent & heavenly to the last drop of peanut butter icingJ

Alright, well that wraps up yesterday.  I'm trying out a new recipe, trying out a new gym class AND have a fun event to go to tonight.  So I'll have lots to share tomorrow!  Stay tuned & have a good TuesdayJ

Best of 2011: Travel Edition

Hey everyone!  Long time, no chat...again.  Sorry about that.  After surveying our 11 day break together this week, Scott & I quickly realized it would probably be our last 'stretch of days' with just the 2 of us for...awhileJ  So we spent them doing all the things we know we won't be doing in the near future:  leisurely days, long 'mini road trip' lunches, NAPSJ hahahhahhahahahhaa  We have one more day together, but I wanted to get this post up for you today before it was mid-January...hahahahhahahahahaJ  The lover of lists in me has 2 days worth of "Tops" for you (like last year) and up first is the one that helps me conjure up some of my favorite memories of the year: Top 10's: Traveling/Eating Out EditionJ

TOP 10 DISHES OF 2011:

#10- Cheesesteak Grilled Cheese: Pop Shop, Collingswood

#9-  Scott's first "In & Out" burgerJ:  In & Out, west coast locations
(you MUST get the Double Double with fried onions!)

#8- Spaghetti & Tuna Fish:  Buenos Aires, Sant' Agata, Italy

#7- Stuffed Peppers:  Lo Stuzzichino, Sant' Agata, Italy

#6- Sundried tomatoes & buffalo mozzarella: Inn Bufalito, Sorrento, Italy

#5-  "Jim Rome":  Ike's, San Francisco

#4-  Roasted Garlic Guacamole: El Vez, Philadelphia

#3-  Seafood Risotto:  Ristorante Delfino, Sorrento, Italy

#2-  Dungeness Crab Roll:  Fish, Saulsolito, California

#1 Dish of 2011:  Pasta e Patate con Provolone: Lo Stuzzichino, Sant' Agata, Italy

Here's the 'don't mess around' category! 

Top 10 Desserts

#10-  Nutella Calzone: Dar Poeta, Rome

#9- Coconut Cream Donut: Donut Plant, NYC

#8-  Ricotta Pear Cake: Ristorante Delfino, Sorrento, Italy

#7- Orange Ricotta Cheesecake: Der Pallaro, Rome

#6- Red Velvet Cupcake: Sweet Eats Bakery, Voorhees, NJ

#5-  Gelato...ANY of it in Italy!!!: particularly San Crispino, Rome

#4:  Chocolate cream & hazelnut milkshake: Max Brenner's, NYC & Philadelphia

#3- Nutella Gelato: Giolitti, Rome

#2- Morning Buns: Tartine Bakery, San Francisco

#1- Triple Coconut Cream Pie: Ritz Seafood, Voorhees, NJ

And I have two more categories I had to sneak in!

Top 5 "Best Atmosphere"
My favorite unique dining experiences while out & aboutJ

#5:  The lovely lounge deck: Treno, Westmont, NJ


#4:  Cookies in an alley??:  Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, Chinatown, San Francisco


#3:  One of the most gorgeous bars I ever set foot in:  Cafe Lacatedral, Madrid, Spain


#2:  "Cart" Dim Sum: Yank Sing, San Francisco


#1:  "No menus, you'll have what we give you":  Der Pallaro, Rome


And here's just 3 things that needed their own category:

The best 'they just don't make it the same over here' of Italy:  The Olive Oil!


Best Coffee EVER:  Blue Bottle Coffee Company, San Francisco


And finally:
"I've been to Italy & back and can STILL say THIS IS THE BEST"
My beloved Delorenzo's Tomato Pies
(which is sadly closing on January 15th...sigh)

Hope you guys have a VERY Happy & Safe New Years!!! I'll be back tomorrow with my Top dinner & dessert recipes.  Hope you like lists as much as I do!J