Day #118 - Panera Bread

Went out to dinner with my friends again, and tonight we went to Panera Bread.  Tonight I ordered a Pick Two - Frontega Chicken Sandwich and the Caesar Salad.  Two of my favorite menu items.  Yumm-o!

Day #117 - Philly Burger

Went out to dinner with some friends tonight to Applebees.  I ordered the Philly Burger.  Here is the description from their website:
Applebee's twist on a classic... this burger is piled high with grilled onions, sautéed peppers & mushrooms, and smothered in creamy cheese sauce and aged white cheddar. Served on a toasted hoagie roll.

It was very good, and very filling.  The flavors of a Philly Cheese-steak, but the bulk and texture of a hamburger.   Halfway through, I got rid of the bun and just ate the burger & peppers with my fork.    


P.S.  Be prepared for another restaurant dinner tomorrow night!

Day #116 - Spinach Apple Poppyseed Salad

I was in the mood for salad tonight.  So I built myself a light, tasty salad out of the following:

• fresh baby spinach leaves
• chopped romaine lettuce
• diced salami
• diced red onion
• Feta cheese
• chopped Gala apples
• chopped walnuts
• dried cranberries
• Poppyseed dressing

The Feta cheese added a nice creaminess to the salad, and the overall flavors slightly resembled a Waldorf salad.

Day #115 - Chili Dog

Cold, rainy day.  Perfect weather for a nice, hot chili dog!!   I opened up a can of Campbell's chili, and heated some up in the microwave.   I didn't have any hot dogs, so instead I used a piece of beef smoked sausage.    I started with my hot dog bun, added a thin layer of fresh baby spinach leaves (for some color and nutritional aspect), placed my beef sausage (sliced in half lengthwise), added a couple spoonfuls of chili, and topped it with shredded cheddar cheese.   It was much beefier and meatier than a regular hot dog, and had lots of flavor.   I ate the rest of the bowl of chili on the side with a little shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.    A nice dinner to warm me up on this rainy April day.

Day #114 - Greek Quinoa Salad

Tonight I couldn't figure out what to make for dinner, so I turned to my friends on Facebook.   I asked for suggestions, and got at least a dozen responses back.  One of them was from Amethyst, one of my Prim Rose sisters from college.  She suggested I have Quinoa for dinner.   Quinoa is fun to pronounce, but I wasn't sure how to cook it, so I turned to my other friend, Google.   I found several recipes combining the Quinoa grain with the flavors of a Greek salad.  So I combined a couple different recipes into one large salad:

Greek-inspired Quinoa Salad   (serves 2)

1 cup whole grain Quinoa, cooked
1 cup shredded spinach leaves
1 cup whole baby spinach leaves
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives
1 cup Feta cheese
1 cup diced chicken breast
1/2 lemon
1/8 cup Greek Vinaigrette salad dressing

In a medium mixing bowl I added the cooked Quinoa, shredded spinach, chopped tomato, diced onion, sliced olives, diced chicken breast, and Greek dressing.   Mix together.

On my dinner plate, I placed down the whole baby spinach leaves.  I fanned out the avocado slices in a circle atop the spinach, and then squirted on the juice of the half lemon. I sprinkled on half of the feta cheese.  I then spooned a large portion of the Quinoa salad mix into the middle of my plate.  Sprinkled more Feta cheese on top.    Enjoy!

Day #113 - Pork Fajitas

I was thinking up ways to use the leftover Orange Pork roast from last week... and fajitas sounded like a tasty idea! 

I heated up a small skillet with a little vegetable oil.   I added 2 handfuls of frozen roasted bell pepper strips, 1/2 cup of cubed pork roast, and 1/4 cup of diced red onion.    I let these all cook together, about 8 minutes, until heated & tender.  I then added a couple tablespoons of black bean salsa, and cooked for another couple minutes until the salsa had cooked onto the meat and vegetables.

Then it was time to build my fajitas!   I started with a base of whole wheat tortilla shells, added some shredded cheddar cheese, and microwaved for about 30 seconds until the cheese started to melt.  Topped with a generous portion of the pork-veggie mix, some diced tomato, shredded lettuce, and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream).  Rolled them up, and they were ready to eat!

Also on the side, I cooked up some Spanish Rice - one of the Uncle Ben's 90-second microwave packets.  Those are wonderful options for a quick and easy side dish, when I don't want to wait and boil water!  Hooray for convenience...and shameless product placement!

And for dessert?   Easter candy!!

Day #112 - Easter dinner

Happy Easter! 

I have a confession to make.  I completely forgot to take a photo of my plate of food tonight at Easter dinner.   I think I was too distracted by my cousins and the delicious food on my plate, and I dug right in without snapping a picture.    But thanks to my wonderful Grandma (who reads my blog nightly), I was able to snap this "stunt double" photo of food before the leftovers were cleared from the table.

Tonight my Easter dinner consisted of the following (not all shown in photo):
Ham with pineapple slices
Mom's yeast rolls
Hot potato salad
Asparagus casserole
Hard-boiled eggs, artistically dyed & painted by my cousin Tracy
Veggies - broccoli, cucumber, carrots, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes

Fresh fruit skewers
Assorted Easter candy for dessert (jelly beans, marshmallow eggs, M&Ms, etc).

We will return to our "regular" blogging tomorrow night :)