Win a Cookbook

I don't usually tell my readers about the blogs I read because although I love free stuff most of the time I think that I can just go out and buy if I really want it. Well, my birthday is coming up in October so I am also starting to think of birthday ideas I can give to others and I definitely want more cookbooks or books in general to read. My husband says that since I have started school I am becoming a book worm but really I think I have rediscovered a hobby that I had forgotten about. I love reading and I love food. Combine them and you have a great love of cookbooks.

So now back to the free stuff giveaway, Jen at priorfatgirl.com is giving away a Eating Well Diet Cookbook and she even made two recipes that look easy and yummy. With the cookbook comes an apron -do you find it strange that I have never owned an apron? Anyways, you should all enter to win by leaving a comment on her post. If you don't want the cookbook, you just ship it to me and I can bake you all sorts of yummy food when you come to visit.

http://www.priorfatgirl.com/2009/07/learning-how-to-cook.html

Cheesecake Parfaits

Bruce and I had a great weekend together. Friday night I got a call from Costco that our glasses were in so I headed home to pick up Bruce so we could pick them up. I haven't taken pictures yet but will do it soon so that you can see our new looks.

On Saturday we headed down to the beach and spent just enough time there to get my shoulders nice and red. Ouch! I really didn't notice because I had my nose in a really good book called Happiness Key. It is about friendship and set in Florida. The characters are so much fun. I am already half way through it and will probably be done by next weekend.

On our way home from the beach we stopped at our favorite place to buy fish, Ward's Seafood. We ended up buying grouper cheeks and shrimp -both the manager's special - I love a sale.

Bruce was a fantastic husband on Saturday. When we got home he gave a nice foot rub and then he is cooked the Grouper cheeks for dinner. We just had them breaded in Panko Crumbs so they were nice and crispy on the outside.


On Sunday we had plans to work outside but it rained all morning. I always sleep so good when it is raining so when Bruce and I woke at 6 am but found it raining we both went back to sleep till 8. We did some grocery shopping and cleaning around the house the rest of the day.


For dinner I made a Greek style shrimp scampi. I forgot to take a picture of it but I am having it for lunch today so hopefully I remember and then will post the recipe later. It was really really good. Then for dessert I made Cheesecake Parfaits courtesy of Paula Deen but of course I modified the recipe to make it less calorie dense. Here is my version:

Cheesecake Parfaits

1 3oz box cheesecake instant pudding mix

1 cup half n half

1/2 cup skim milk

1 cup greek yogurt (I used fage 2%)

Reduced fat vanilla wafers, crushed

fresh raspberries

Directions: In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, half n half, milk and yogurt. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Cover and chill 2 to 3 hours.

In individual serving dishes, layer pudding mixture, crushed vanilla wafers, and raspberries. Repeat layers, ending with raspberries, serve immediately.

I used my favorite martini glasses for some added fun and elegance. This was really good and we will definitely be having it again although next time I will probably use fat free half n half just to cut even more calories. Also, this would taste good with any other berry or even bananas as the fruit. So don't be surprised if I use something else next time.

Mary's Gone Crackers

I got two other items at Whole Foods on Friday but they were for my lunch. I got Naked Chai Spiced Cider- Apple cider with spices. It was cool and refreshing and hit the spot. I felt totally refreshed. The other item I got was Mary's Gone Crackers. I was nervous about these. I mean how good can crackers taste if they are wheat free, gluten free and organic???? Well these are amazing. They are crunchy and have just the perfect amount of salt on them. They are on my list to get again. Plus they have different flavors so I can't wait to try other flavors to see if I like them as much as I like these. In fact just looking at the picture here is making me want to have one.

Shopping Saturday

Bruce and I had so much fun shopping for flooring yesterday. Yeah, flooring!!! The first time we really went to look because our carpet is wearing out and honestly Florida and carpet just don't mix. The first two store's were no good but by the time the third store came around we were in our grove. The third store was a tile store. Although we were leaning towards wood for our living room we wanted to look at tile. Also, we wanted to check out the tile that looks like wood...has anyone seen this? Anyways, although we love tile for kitchen and bathrooms by the time we had walked around for an hour we knew it wasn't what we wanted for the living room. The fourth stop we struck gold. It was a one man shop and I have to be honest I was hesitant about going in. But so glad we did. The guy sat us down and asked first of all what we wanted. Well Bruce and I both agree and a light floor with simple modern lines and no knots. The guys said what we wanted is maple if we wanted wood and showed some great samples that we liked. Then he took us to the bamboo which we have been considering and showed us vertical bamboo. Now before this all we had seen was horizontal bamboo. But the vertical is so much more us!!!!

So what do you think? They guy let us bring the sample home. We have moved it a million times and looked in all light. It is warmer then our carpet but just as light. The one thing we keep going back on forth on is do we do the kitchen in bamboo or leave the tile. We like bamboo because we are trying to be more green and because bamboo grows fast it is considered more green then maple.

After this place we wanted to do one more stop but I was ravenous. So we tried a new deli that is just right down the street from us. The deli is called Frida's and it was heavenly. I got a chicken salad sandwich that came with sprouts, tomatoes. and cucumbers. To drink I had a pomegranate water. Yumms!

The last place we stopped for floors was 4x more expensive then the third place. We were shocked and glad we found something we like within our budget. Now we just have to get Doug to quote us how much to install and crunch all the numbers to figure out when we can pull this off. Hopefully sooner rather then later. If you have experience with bamboo floors any recommendations or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The Whole Foods Fun Trip

I was working yesterday and since it was a Friday I felt the need to get outside and do something different. Since no one seemed to be interested in eating out with me, I decided to make a trip to Whole Foods Market. I bought only stuff that would not need to be kept cold since I had some errands to do after work before going home. (Well I did buy my lunch there and some of it was cold but you will have to wait for the review later to find out what it was.)

When I came home I was so excited to share what I had found at the store. I find it very exciting to shop somewhere new for food. You can find so many exciting things that your local grocery store just doesn't offer. It makes cooking so much more fun for me. I have never been to this Whole Foods but I will definitely be back because there was so much more I could have purchased but was on a budget! Any ways, even Sparky was curious to see what I had purchased. Are you? Unfortunately, he didn't find any treats in the bag. So he is still looking. Here is a picture of the loot.

I am very excited to try the Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Bruschetta Topping. I will have to review this when we get an opportunity to open it. I have a feeling it will be a great app!

I also bought a lot of bars because they had so many flavors I haven't tried. I love these bars because the pack great in my purse and anytime I get hungry and am in a rush are easy to just grab and go. They work great for school nights or when I am headed to the gym and haven't had time to eat anything. I am most excited about this flavor. Yes that says cocoa mole. For those of you who know me know that I am constantly searching for good mole. Mole is a Mexican seasoning mixed with cocoa, nuts and chili peppers. I will review for sure once I find an occasion to try it out.
I also am excited about these portable packets of peanut butter. They are going to work with me. I always need some easy convenient food for my desk. You never know when you are going to get caught with a project and not be able to get out.

I have so much to write about but Bruce and I are going to go look at flooring for our house today. Just the first of many more trips to come. We have never bought flooring and I have a ton of questions. Plus I have to figure out what I like, want and what will look good in our house. Wood or tile for sure but there are so many options!!!!!! Any suggestions?

Slow Cooker Sweet and Tangy Chicken Recipe

I think the recipe was a success - it was easy and tasted like sweet and sour chicken without all the fat! My favorite part were the pineapple chunks.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Tangy Chicken
1 bottle of bbq sauce ( I used honey chipotle by Sweet Baby Ray)
1 15 oz can pineapple chunks (I had a 20 oz can of Pineapple slices and cut them myself)
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped (I only had a red one so that is what I used)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine were frozen)

In a large bowl, mix together bbq sauce, pineapple chunks, chopped onion, chopped pepper and garlic. Place chicken in slow cooker and pour mix over top. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. (Since my chicken breasts were frozen they took 4 hours on high to cook...if your chicken isn't frozen then it will definitely take less time.)

Serve over rice.

When picking up a bbq sauce chose something that is sweet and spicy. The spice is not hot but adds a bit of kick to the recipe. If you can't find some spicy bbq sauce I am sure you could add some chipolte of your own. I hope you enjoy!

Product Review- Swiffer Dust and Shine

I just wanted to tell everyone that I am loving the Swiffer Dust and Shine. It has made dusting so much easier (a great feat since I HATE dusting). I originally bought this because it was safe for wood and leather. Which is perfect for our headboard because we have wood and leather. It works great for it-dust is gone and leather and wood have a beautiful shine. Now we also use it for our kitchen counters to bring out the shine and everywhere else around the house. It doesn't leave a greasy feeling on the surface like some dusters do.... So give it a try, you may just find that you don't mind dusting either.

Kym's Place

Today Bruce and I were invited to go check out Kym's (my cousin) new place. It is cute and nice...Bruce thinks I might dump him and move to a place like this unfortunately he is not that lucky. But I do think that Kym is one lucky person. Notice the huge smile she has?
It is a cute studio apartment in the heart of St. Petersburg. She has brick roads so she can't drive fast (I know Grandma would appreciate that!).


Bruce wants every one to know he checked out the security and she is safe - there is no need to worry. If she gets into trouble, she can call her local security officer -Bruce. See how serious he takes his job? He even took the filter out of her A/C and cleaned it for her.... so much to learn with a new place!

Bruce and I enjoyed the visit and going to eat at a local hamburger joint - El Cap- with Kym. She can't wait for more visitors! So the question is, who is going to visit first??????

Happy 6 years together!

Bruce and I have been together 6 years... an amazing amount of time and something I am very proud of. So what do you do for your six year anniversary? Well we decided to buy a fridge. Now our old fridge was not broken and was only 2 years old but the freezer was on top and it was only 18 cubic feet. Since I have been doing the majority of cooking on Sunday for the rest of the week, our fridge was overflowing Sunday and it was hard to fit everything. Then there is the fact that Bruce is tall and hates bending over which he had to do to get into our fridge.

Now I present you the new fridge - GE profile bottom freezer.

My favorite new thing is the basket for soda cans - holds 12 cans and is tilted forward so the cans roll to the front. We are diet coke fans and this make it so easy.

I have so much more room in our freezer too. Three drawers to fill up...

Bruce and I love the new fridge. I bet none of you can tell that we got it from Sears outlet and there is 1 small tiny dent in the front. At a normal Sears this would have cost us $2299 but we got it for $1034 at Sears Outlet.

Now I have to give a shout out to Bruce because we got our new fridge on Thursday and so we decided to post the old fridge for sale on Craig's List to see if we could get it sold by the weekend. He had it sold before noon on Thursday for our asking price and the guy even waited till our new fridge was delivered to come pick up the old one. Bruce is a great salesman and great husband - because I was at work for all the food transferring and fridge cleaning. Thank you for all you did.