Thursday 30 September 2010

WINNER!

And the winner is...Thanks to Random.org's number generator... #4, CHALLOSH!  Way to go, Challis, and you thought you'd missed it!  : )

I've contacted the website's contact (sentence structure...) & will let you know as soon as he tells me how you can pick up your gift certificate!

Hooray!  Since I sorta messed this one up, idk if they'll let me do it again, but it was a fun time anyway!  : )

Tune in next time, when I review Healthy Choice frozen meals!

: )

Thursday 23 September 2010

Give it away!

I was recently contacted with an opportunity to share something fun with my readers.  It's not exactly a menu item, but they do have a kitchen website!  And I'm allowed to shake it up once in awhile in the name of free stuff, right??  : )  

Do you like to shop?  I like to shop!  I especially love to shop for bedding.  I have 7 pillows and at least that many blankets, and I'm always looking for more!  When I received this email, offering to give something free to my readers, I had to check out the website for bed sets. It's part of a really neat group of sites, carrying everything from kitchen supplies (like this spice box!) to furniture to PURSES!  : )  

This particular site, tho, is dedicated to all things bedroom.  

I like this blanket, and it's a really good price!  There are several lovely quilts & blankets, pillows & throws that I really enjoyed!  

Check out the link, see some things you like, then come back here & tell me about them in the Comments section!  Using a random number generator I'll pick one of them to win a $45 gift certificate which can be used on ANY item on ANY CSN site (not including shipping, which is okay, and you can find free shipping on several items as well)!!  How neat is that?!  

So, go my lovies!  Click on the link, peruse the site, and tell me what item (or items) made you smile!  I'll be accepting comments through sometime Sunday, and announcing the winner on Monday.  Comments are open to non-followers, so please make sure I know how to contact you should you win!  : )  

Until next time... 

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Qdoba - It's like the Subway of Mexican food!

Seriously, why had I never been here before??  I've known about it for years, but just never gone in.

Tonight I met my friend Becca for dinner there, and was amazed at how delicious everything was!  I had shredded beef tacos w/ cheese & guac and a shredded pork & cheese quesadilla.  They were choices off a pick 2 for $5.99 menu.  OH. SO. GOOD!  And they make it right in front of you (thus the Subway reference).  This is fast Mexican food, but not like Taco Bell or even Taco John's.  Not American or Tex-Mex.

Well, I mean of course it's Americanized, to an extent. It's just ... dare I say "fresher" than Taco Bell?  And with the Subway or a la carte line, it feels so much more authentic.  You can choose your meat & sauce & beans (real black beans, etc.) and they have fresh guacamole, too!  Not packaged, but made that day, actual mashed up avacados!  : )

The atmosphere of the restaurant is very comfortable, too.  The set up reminded me of Noodles & Co., in that you order at the counter (but, again, watch them make your food right there), get your own soda at the fountain (and they have fresh cut lime & lemon wedges!!) and pick a booth or table.

Becks & I had a lot of fun catching up, and stayed chatting for over 2 hours!  And we didn't feel guilty, because we weren't taking tips away from our waitstaff and whatnot.  : )

I liked it so much I'm going to see if Mom & Leyton want to go there tomorrow for dinner!  If we do, I'll be sure to take pictures!  I didn't have my camera tonight.  Bummer!

So, I highly recommend you check out Qdoba if you're fortunate enough to have one near you!

Until next time... Next time,when there will be a Giveaway!  That's right, I said Giveaway!  That = FREE STUFF for one lucky reader!  I'll have more details tomorrow, but in the meantime, have you been to Qdoba?  If so, what do you like to get there?

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Meal #1

This is the first meal I prepared after my first diabetes class, and using the meal plan given to me by a nutritionalist and dietician.


Turkey & cheese on wheat w/ Smart Choice margarine, veggies, light ranch dip.  

I'm not going to lie, I LIKE all of these things, and normally this would probably be a happy meal for me.  Today, I wasn't really impressed with it.  Not sure if it was the idea that I HAD to eat certain amounts of things, or what the deal was.  I don't think the pickles were cold enough.  I like love pickles, but they have to be very refridgerated!  

But this meal was filling, at least!  And I don't imagine this transition is going to be easy, but since I want to live a long and happy life, watching my nieces and nephews grow up... I'm determined to be a good eater!  

Until next time... Any suggestions for delicious low-carb meals would be much appreciated!!  : ) 

Sunday 19 September 2010

Grandma's Kitchen

This weekend Mom, Leyton & I traveled across Iowa to visit the railways where Thomas the Train would be visiting.  We began our journey Saturday morning, but before we could really be on our way, BREAKFAST was in store.



Grandma's Kitchen is a Heart of America restaurant (Thunder Bay Grille & Iowa Machine Shed are two other HoA properties I have enjoyed on occasion).  Their water comes in metal jugs.  Their drinks come in mason jars.  Their salt & pepper shakers are mason-y, too.  SO CUTE!  Seriously, adorable.  : )


Leyton was happy with his pancakes, eggs, and sausage.


And I have to say, they served me the most beautiful waffle I've ever seen.  On top of that, it was DELICIOUS!  IDK what their recipe is, but they definitely have it down pat.  A pat of butter & a little cup of syrup (not all of it, I don't like to drown them, usually, altho the photo makes it look a little drenched!) & mmmm!


I could certainly see eating here again.  : )

Also, they have a little gift shop w/ lots of different things.  I am thinking I'll have to add it to my Christmas shopping list!

Until next time ... what's your favorite "Americana" restaurant, and what do you like about it?

Saturday 11 September 2010

Mo' Brady's Steakhouse

YUM.  This is what I have to say about Mo' Brady's.  : )



It's a sister restaurant to Miss Mamie's, which I already knew I enjoyed.  This was, however, my first trip to MB's.  I definitely want to go back.  Not right this second, cuz I'm still stuffed, but tomorrow.  I could go back tomorrow and be a happy camper!

They begin your indoctrination with the most delicious bread and butter basket.  There are also cinnamon rolls.  Oh yes, there are.


Scrumptious.  The bread is baked to perfection and either the bread or the butter has a touch of honey, which makes you want more more more!  Especially if you're a bread-a-holic like moi.  : )  There's so much food, tho, that you don't feel like you have to order another round of bread in order to be satisfied, ya know?

After the bread, we have salad.  Mom had a regular ... idk what you call it.  I did not get a picture.  It's the kind of salad I don't like, with iceberg lettuce.  She said it was very good.  However, she was jealous of my salad.  "Why is that," you ask?  Well, because it was a plate of spinach delightfulness!


That's right, folks.  That is a rather large bowl full of spinach, apples, mandarin oranges (which I'm not fond of and so they were given to Leyton), croutons, mushrooms, bacon, and the most wonderful bacony vinegrette.  I think I could order this alone for a lunch (with the bread, of course!).  The apples were a little too... refridgerated ... tasting, but everything else was marvelous.

Along with the salads, our waiter brought out Leyton's side of fruit, which were more apples & oranges, and he was quite excited about them!  His entree was a cheeseburger, which he ate a good portion of.  He was a fan of the bread basket, too, though.  : )




Neither of us were excited about the red onions, so they made a lovely stack on another plate (along w/ my discarded lemon wedge, used on my entree).


Sidenote: Don't you love that pepper shaker??  It reminded me of a lighthouse... Maybe it's just me?

(Apparently I had something against Mom's food?  I didn't take any pictures?  IDK what that's about!  She had a really yummy looking steak and a side of delicious broccoli.)

My entree was ... I'm running out of adjectives, but it was superb!  I decided to go with a seafood theme, because ever since I found the boss's birthday card, which talked about being fooled by crab cakes and to make sure to have actual cake with frosting for his bday, I've been craving Miss Mamie's crab cakes!  Sister restaurant = same crab cake recipe!  So I ordered the talapia dinner, because it came w/ a crab cake & some shrimp.  It also came with another side, and I chose mac & cheese because - altho it doesn't seem like the sort of thing to go w/ my seafood choice - I *heart* mac & cheese & wanted to see how they did theirs.


They do it beautifully!  I think those are Rigatoni noodles?  They're wide & tubular, and a really great mac & cheese pasta choice because (like the traditional elbow noodle) they really hold in the cheese!  Those jumbo shrimp were buttery goodness, also.  The tilapia was just so-so, almost too mild a flavor for me, despite being cooked to perfection and lovingly seasoned with capers.  I should have moved the crab cake to the foreground before snapping this picture, as you can't really see its gloriousness, but such is life.  Trust me, it's nummy!  : )

Another sidenote: We also love MM & MB because they proudly serve Pepsi products.  Good choice, owners of these restaurants!!

In conclusion, if you have the chance to go to Miss Mamie's or Mo' Brady's, I say go for it!  Until next time, what're your feelings on capers?  Do share!