Food Diary - Day Thirty

Woo hooo.... I finally made it to day 30!!!! Yes, I have eaten ok some days and crappy some days but I was honest. Also, today I start my 30 day fried food fast as well as going to the gym. There will be no daily post for this one but I'll update you at the end of the 30 days. Wish me well.

Breakfast
Special K cereal
fat free milk
Lunch
Healthy choice steamer meal
salad
yogurt
Dinner
broiled steak
mashed potatoes
steamed asparagus
Snack
almonds
biscoff cookies

Color of Fall

Today, L and I decided to head over to the restaurant in the Country Store at Callaway Gardens. When we went there for the first time over four years ago, L feel in love with their country ham. Since we had not plans today, we hopped in the car this morning and drove over an hour to the restaurant.

We made it right after the breakfast seating and had to wait an hour before they began lunch. To pass the time, we decided to take a drive through the area. I am so glad we did as it was just beautiful to see the leaves turning on the trees. There was a crisp in the air that just made the day perfect.

Below are a few pics of the area.

Food Diary - Day Twenty-eight and twenty-nine

I've decided to start my no fried food month this week so I guess this was my version of a fried food Mardi Gras. I had to get it all in before my fast food fast.
Saturday
Lunch
cheeseburger
fries
Dinner
Zaxby's boneless wings
fries
Snack
chocolate chip cookie

Sunday
Lunch
country fried steak
mashed potatoes
green beans
Dinner
Applebee's riblet basket
Snack
pecan roll

South City Kitchen

Today my co-workers and I went to South City Kitchen, a contemporary southern restaurant located in the midtown area of Atlanta. We were joined by another co-worker who will soon be leaving the company as she is relocating out of state. It was great spending time with her before she starts the new chapter in her life.

After reviewing the menu and finding at least something I absolutely hate in a few dishes I settled on the shrimp and grits sans the scallops. It was good but not the best I've ever had. I am not sure if this will be a repeat visit but did see another restaurant next door I'd like to try in the near future.

Food Diary - Day Twenty-seven

Breakfast
Yoplait strawberry whip
Lunch
shrimp and grits
Dinner
chipotle chicken sandwich
Snack
brownie
almonds & dried cranberries

Food Diary - Day Twenty-six

Breakfast
pop tart
Lunch
baked chicken
steamed broccoli
Dinner
grilled chipotle chicken wrap no cheese
fries
Snack
almonds and dried cranberries

Food Diary - Day Twenty-five

Breakfast
Pop tarts
Lunch
1/2 slice pepperoni pizza
sliced cucumbers
Dinner
shrimp sauteed in garlic and rosemary
green beans
rice pilaf
Snack
brownie

Food Diary - Day Twenty-four

Ok, I am so tired of posting this daily. Luckily, I only have a few more days to go.

Brunch (well kinda)
scrambled egg
2 strips of bacon
Dinner
2 pieces of fish
corn
fries
hush puppies
Snack
Fiber one bar

Food Diary - Day Twenty-three

Breakfast
fruit
soy white chocolate mocha w/ light whip
Lunch
Chicken Picatta
rice pilaf
steamed green beans
wheat roll
Dinner
KFC chicken
mashed potatoes
asparagus
Snack
chocolate chip cookie

Food Diary - Day Twenty-two

Brunch
bacon
biscuit
scrambled eggs
mimosa (mmmm-yummy!)
Dinner
BBQ meatloaf
mashed potatoes
steamed asparagus

BBQ Turkey Meatloaf

Tonight's dinner recipe is courtesy of Down Home with the Neelys. I really like their show and how they work together preparing meals. For the past year, I have sticked to making Italian sausage meatloaf and was looking for something a bit different. Perfect since I had all the ingredients on hand. I liked the way it turned out but I am no so sure of L. He said he likes it but I'll see if he goes for leftovers later.

Anyhow, I am now able to cross goal #29 off of my list. I have really enjoyed trying new recipes. Although, I've reached my goal of 2o new recipes I will continue to try new ones. Maybe I will occasionally post some of them.

BBQ Turkey Meatloaf
recipe from Down Home with the Neelys

Ingredients
1 tablespoon Neelys' BBQ Seasoning, recipe follows
1 teaspoon crab boil seasoning, (recommended: Old Bay)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups Neelys BBQ Sauce, reserving 1/2 cup for the top, recipe follows
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix BBQ seasoning, crab boil seasoning, soy sauce, beaten egg, 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper and garlic. Saute until tender. Remove from heat and add to wet mix.
Pour mixture into bowl with the ground turkey. Add bread crumbs and mix all together with your hands.

Transfer the meat mixture to a cookie sheet or baking pan. Using your hands, shape the meat into an oblong or rectangular shape. *Cook's Note: Alternately, you can pat the meat into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and pour 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on the top of the loaf.

Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and add the reserved 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to the top and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.

Neelys BBQ Seasoning:
1 1/2 cups paprika
3/4 cup sugar
3 3/4 tablespoons onion powder

Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Neelys BBQ Sauce
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Yield: 3 1/2 cups

Food Diary - Days Twenty & Twenty-One

Friday -Breakfast
Special K cereal
fat free milk
Lunch
6 baked mardi gras wings (Publix)
1/2 sliced cucumber with fat free ranch dressing
Dinner
2 slices thin crust supreme pizza
Snack
chocolate crisps

Saturday- Breakfast
slice thin crust supreme pizza (don't judge me:-)
Lunch
1/2 kfc bbq sandwich
ear of corn
Dinner
hot dog
fries

Food Diary - Day Nineteen

Breakfast
Special K cereal
fat free Lactaid milk
Lunch
Zesty chicken tortilla soup
1/2 turkey sandwich
chips
Dinner
Fried rice
6 buffalo wings
Snack
chocolate crisps

Food for Thought

At 4:30 this morning I was inadvertently roused from my sleep by my hubby. Needless to say, after only getting a little over 5 hours of sleep I was a tad bit perturbed. Since my alarm clock goes off at 6 a.m. I decided to head downstairs and lay on the couch until it was time to get ready for work.

While watching the morning news, I learned that a van pool from my company was involved in a fatal accident the previous evening. Three of my co-workers were killed and six were injured. Of course it made everything else minuscule. My being upset with my husband about waking early was gone. I was happy that he made it home from work.

Please remember to let your loved ones know how much you care about them.

Take care!

Nika

Food Diary - Day Eighteen

Breakfast
Banana
soy white chocolate mocha/light whip
Lunch
Healthy Choice 5 spice beef steamer meal
Dinner
bacon cheeseburger
fries
Dr Pepper
Snack
powder donut

Food Diary - Day Seventeen

Lunch
Zaxby's buffalo wings and fries, sweet tea
Dinner
Salsa chicken
yellow rice
black beans
Snack
cupcake
tortilla chips
salsa
oatmeal snack cake

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

This is another recipe I found out about on BrownandBridal.com. Several ladies who frequent the board have tried the dish and I decided to jump on board. It was really easy and had my house smelling fabulous all day. I served with yellow rice and black beans.

Try it on your next crock pot day. Enjoy!

CROCKPOT SALSA CHICKEN
recipe courtesy of 'Kilen'

4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed) or cream of chicken soup ( I used cream of chicken)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

Add chicken to slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Mix salsa and soup; pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and stir in sour cream until heated, then serve over rice or in tortillas.

Fudge Cake

Over the weekend I made a fudge cake for one of L's co-workers. This was my first time making this type of cake as well as chocolate butter cream icing. I decided to use the Grand Fudge recipe from the Ghirardelli website.

I actually had to make the cake two times after the first one fell to pieces. L was more than happy to provide a rescue home for the first cake. Thankfully, the second try turned out well.
Below is the recipe used and a picture of the finished product.

Grand Fudge Cake
3/4 cup(s) Unsweetened Cocoa
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup(s) sugar
1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 cup(s) butter or margarine, softened
1 1/3 cup(s) milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla and eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with the flour mixture), while mixing on low speed. Continue to mix until smooth. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.

Food Diary - Day Fifteen

Breakfast
Special K cereal
Lactaid fat free milk
Lunch
Healthy Choice basil chicken steamer
sliced cucumbers
Dinner
grilled turkey burger
baked garlic fries
Corn
Snack
almonds
Trader Joe's fat free caramel corn
Trader Joe's chocolate crisps

Food Diary - Day Fourteen

Endless snacking
Maple bbq chips

Dinner
Pepper Shrimp
Yellow Rice
Broccoli

Food Diary - Day Thirteen

Today was an on the go bad food day.

Breakfast
Banana
Lunch
Long John Silver's 2 piece fish with fries and corn
Dinner
Grilled chipotle bbq snack wrap
Small fries
Snack
cupcake

Flip Burger Boutique

Today's team lunch was at Flip Burger Boutique. As the name implies, Flip is twist on your traditional burger spot. It has a unique menu created by Chef Richard Blais of Top Chef fame.

We each tried something different. I had the bacon cheese burger and vodka battered onion rings. I topped it off with a Krispy Kreme milkshake. Yep, you read that right. Krispy Kreme as in the donut. It should be against the law to make something that good!

My team members requested that we make a return visit as soon as possible. If you are in the area be sure to check them out.

Krispy Kreme milkshake

Food Diary - Day Twelve

Breakfast
Brown sugar cupcake :-(
Coffee
Lunch
Cheeseburger
Onion rings
1/2 Krispy Kreme milkshake
Dinner
Whole wheat pasta with Italian sausage

Food Diary - Day Eleven

Today was a sugar filled day. We had cake on top of cake at work today for office birthdays.

Breakfast
Brown sugar pound cupcake (but it was good)
Lunch
Ground beef
Seasoned rice
Lettuce
Black beans
Dinner
Grilled chipotle bbq snack wrap
French fries
Snack
Caramel Cake
Brown sugar pound cupcake (someone please get these things out of my house)

Brown Sugar Pound Cakes

I made these for co-worker's birthday. OMG!!!!...... I am loving Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book! I never would have thought to make a pound cake in the form of a cupcake. These are super delicious and I think she will enjoy them.

Recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Brown Sugar Pound Cupcakes

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers come out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; spoon icing over cupcakes, and let set. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Brown -Butter Icing

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Carefully pour butter into a bowl, leaving sediment behind.

Add sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk to butter, and stir until smooth. If glaze is too thick, add more milk. Use immediately.

Food Diary - Day Ten

Breakfast
Honey nut cheerios
1/4 cup milk
Lunch
Chick fil a- grilled chicken sandwich, fries & chicken noodle soup.
Dinner
Whole wheat pasta and italian sausage
Steamed asparagus
Snack
Brown sugar cupcake

Food Diary - Day Nine

Lunch
Fried chicken
Mashed potatoes
Dinner
Maple glazed pork chop
mashed potatoes
green beans
Snack
Oatmeal snack cake
Rice krispie treat

Maple Glazed Pork Chops

Last week a friend of mine told me about a pork chop dish she made. This was perfect as I am always looking for new ways to make dishes. Since I had all the ingredients on hand, I decided to make this for dinner tonight . This is another one will be added to the rotation.

Recipe from about.com

Maple Glazed Pork Chops

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 loin pork chops
salt and pepper
garlic powder (I used 1/2 tsp)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
2 teaspoons cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Wash pork chops; pat dry. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper; add to the hot oil in skillet. Cook chops for about 2 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned. Whisk together remaining ingredients and add to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove cover and simmer for about 20 minutes longer, or until liquids are reduced and chops are glazed.Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Food Diary - Day Eight

Breakfast
Special K cereal
Lactaid 2% milk
Lunch
Healthy Choice Steamer meal-Whisky steak
sliced cucumbers with fat free ranch dressing
Dinner
fried chicken
mashed potatoes
green beans
Snack
kiwi
Rice krispie treat

Food Diary- Day Seven

Lunch
Grilled chipotle bbq snack wrap- no cheese
Small fries
Small Sprite
Dinner
Boiled crab legs, shrimp, corn and potatoes
Snack
Rice krispie treat
1/2 ice cream sandwich

I finally made it to the grocery store and farmer's market today.

Food Diary- Day Six

Today was a bad food day. Since I was running around all day I didn't really eat until after 6 p.m.

Snack
Toll house crackers

Dinner
3/4 quesadilla burger from Applebee's
spinach dip
fries

My first wedding

Last month, I posted about making a cake for my Toastmasters' presentation. As you may recall, one my co-workers raffled off the cake to raise money for a walk he was participating in. I was later contacted by someone who had seen a picture of the cake. They were interested in having a wedding cake prepared. I was a little hesitant since I have not practiced some of the cake decorating techniques learned during the Wilton series. After speaking with bride, I discovered that she did not want anything traditional. We discussed several options and settled on a cupcake tree. I loved the idea since I had one at my wedding. No cutting, no mess, no fuss. Besides, who doesn't like cupcakes?

While searching the internet, I found out how to make a cupcake stand. It was quite easy and I am pleased with how it turned out. The couple requested a Strawberry cake for them and yellow and white cupcakes for the guests. I've made yellow and white cake before but not strawberry cake. While doing another internet search I came across a semi homemade strawberry cake recipe from Paula Deen. Come on...if Paula is making it, it has to be good.

Each cupcake was adorned with a fondant rose. The cake had several fondant roses as it's topper. Below are a few pictures.

The wedding was today and I really liked how everything turned out. I can't wait to hear back from the couple.

Food Diary - Day Five

Breakfast
Special K cereal
Lactaid 2% milk
Lunch
Jimmy John's Italian sandwich- no cheese, no mayo
sun chips
Dinner
Captain D's - fish, fries and corn
Snack
Rice Krispie treat

Hopefully, I can hit the grocery store or farmer's market this weekend to get my fruit and veggies in for next week.

Food Diary - Day Four

Breakfast
Honey nut clusters cereal
Lactaid 2% Milk
Lunch
Willy's soft shell taco-only chicken, black beans , grilled peppers and onions
Tortilla Chips
Dinner
Subway-6 in spicy Italian sub, lettuce, oil, oregano and red onion, no cheese
Snack
Special K bar