Recipe Verdicts

Is it really 5pm on Sunday already?!  The weekends go by so fast...and I'm definitely not prepared for the craziness that will surely be at work tomorrow.  First day of classes!

Let's talk about some food:

Source: kevinandamanda.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Mmmmmmmm...creamed corn...my favorite.  Grade: A+

Source: velvetlava.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

The hubs actually made this recipe...not me.  He's a swell guy.  Grade: B  (not him, the recipe)

Source: howsweeteats.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I'm surprised I made this considering I'm not a big fan of meat.  The flank steak came out well, the onion rings?...not so much.  I forgot to spray them after they were arranged on the pan so they ended up too floury from the flour they were dipped in.  :oP  Grade: B+ mostly due to user error and marinating time

Source: thecozyapron.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Nothing to see here...just a regular tuna sandwich.  Grade: A

Source: thetypeahousewife.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Average.  I might not've cooked the kale enough because it was kind of chewy.  Though, that might be the nature of kale.  I wouldn't know since I don't have kale that often.  This recipe also has you bake the potato in the oven and caramelize the onions (cook on the stove for 1 hour) which is ridiculous.  Stick that darn potato in the microwave and just soften the onions in a pan.  Sorry, but I'm not going to spend an hour on a pointless technique.  Grade: B-

Source: theidearoom.net via Nicole on Pinterest

This definitely didn't come out like the picture.  I'm thinking you're supposed to only cook the swirl side for a second or two.  Yep...just checked.  30 seconds to a minute.  I left them on longer than that so the cinnamon swirl cooked out.  Had this nice swirl valley through all the pancakes.  :)  This might be worth a second try.  Grade: A-

Have a great week!

What I've Been Making

I admit, I've been a horrible blogger and have fallen off the food updates.  I know, shocking and extremely sad isn't it??

I tried to start up where I left off but Pinterest arranges the boards such that I have no idea whether I've blogged about a particular pin or not.

So I've just decided to focus on a select few:

These southwestern chicken wraps (I used real chicken instead of the chicken substitute) were good but not anything to rave about.

Source: thecurvycarrot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I made this broccoli salad for a family get together.  YUM!  I recommend it!

Source: jamhands.net via Nicole on Pinterest

I do NOT recommend this one.  Tasted okay but I guess it needed about 30 more minutes in the oven.  I ended up tossing it.

Source: butteredup.blogspot.ca via Nicole on Pinterest

This pasta was SUPER yummy.  I didn't want to pay $36 for the crab so I just used shrimp I had in the freezer.  I'd recommend it if company is over because it doesn't reheat well (too much butter).

Source: dailycrave.wordpress.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Ho-hum veggie burger.  The hubs liked it but I think that had more to do with the toppings than the actual burger.

Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com via Nicole on Pinterest

These were okay.  Definitely NOT the same taste as the 'original' oatmeal cream pies.  Probably wouldn't make it again.

Source: cravingchronicles.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Highly recommend this recipe.  So yummy.  A bit of a hassle to make, but worth it.  I lost a lot of cookie cups during the process though.  I'd recommend you use a well-greased pan.  Also, the cookie dough falls to make the cup shape when you take them out of the oven.  I was confused about that.  I kept waiting for them to fall while in the oven.

Source: bannerboutique.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Made these last Sunday.  Definitely yummy, but don't expect a Twix taste.  Also, cookie based crumbles apart instead of being a hard crunch like Twix bars.

Source: jaseyscrazydaisy.com via Nicole on Pinterest

July 4th Vacation: Day 2

On day two we got up early and headed to the Georgia Aquarium.  Good thing we got there early...it was packed by the time we left.

We went to Stats for lunch and I must say, the food and service was much better than The Vortex.  After lunch we headed back to the hotel to rest a bit before the big game.  On our way to the game the clouds came rolling in, lightning and thunder followed, and then the deluge came.  Braves beat the Cubs 10-3.  WOOT!  There were fireworks after the show, but those pictures didn't come out well. 

Waiting in the parking lot for the storm to pass...

We made it!  Turner Field!

Rain Delay...ya think?!

We got a kick out of the Harrah's Cherokee Casino ad.  (the casino is 15, maybe 20 minutes from us)

My man Chipper!

Chipper up at bat.  He got 5 hits this night...first time he's ever done that at home.

The sun came out long enough for a sunset.

And the crowd goes wild!  (Chipper)

Such a fun vacation!  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

July 4th Vacation: Day 1

Happy Independence Day!  Better late than never, right?

So when I was finishing up my thesis I made my husband promise to take me on a trip to celebrate.  Because we're cheap and can never make up our minds about anything, we decided to keep it close to home and head out to Atlanta, Georgia.  On our first day there we went to Gladys Knight & Ron Winans' Chicken and Waffles, then headed over to the World of Coca-Cola, and visited The Vortex Bar & Grill for dinner.

The chicken & waffles place wasn't what I expected but it was still good.  The World of Coke was like a giant advertisement for coke products (ya think?) but was still fun.  And The Vortex was...not on par with my expectations.  I think my biggest disappointment was that they allowed smoking.

Lots of walking, but definitely a great day!  The hubs did a great job picking out a hotel...he even upgraded us to the Executive Level.  Here are some pictures for your enjoyment - sorry about the quality, I didn't take many this day:

This was my favorite part of the whole place.  I stayed here for a while.

Look closely...

16 oz. serves THREE!!

Everyone got a complimentary coke - you can see the bottles being transported at ceiling height.

Here's a better picture of the bottles - the big blue thing was the station where you could sample Coca-Cola products from North America.  There were four other stations but I can't remember now what they were.

Coming soon: Day 2 Georgia Aquarium & Atlanta Braves game!

Hide and Seek

See him?

Now do you see him?

Let's Get Physical!

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I received an email from a great friend saying, "Hey, wanna do the 30 Day Shred and Turbo Fire with me for the month of July?"  Uh, YEAH!

I've come to the conclusion that Weight Watchers is just not for me.  I just can't do the tracking thing.  I know it's important, but I just can't bring myself to do it. 

Our schedule is M, W, F 30 Day Shred, T, R, S Turbo Fire with Sundays off.  So far so good.  I missed a couple of days when we were traveling for July 4th, but I've since made them up.

Want to join us?  It's never too late!