Isn’t it Quaint?!?!

Once a month my girlfriends and I get together for a “venting-food session”. This entails us eating , complaining about things we can’t change, and offering advice in things we can. It’s just a time to relax, feel no pressure, and share dessert (because then we don’t feel bad that we ate the whole thing). This all started with one friend however…and this is where this blog post starts!

Last August, my friend Annette and I made a dinner date to a captivating little restaurant in Gloucester, Ma. I had Googled patio eating on the water North Shore, Ma and it popped up. It had this eclectic feel to it and the food look delish! Annette and I are alike in the sense we will both pretty much eat anything. Seafood, steak, never heard of it, we’ll try it! I sent her the website and said “let’s try this place, it’s a beautiful drive up route 128, we can get out of the city for a few, and enjoy a nice evening of food!”  The Rudder

We hopped in my Jeep and drove 45 minutes to Gloucester, going down these charming, little back roads and seeing all these little stores! We kept commenting on how “cute” everything was. “Doesn’t this look so quaint?!?” “I would love to live in this little house by the water.” “Look at these antique shops”. “We have to come back here in the day time to visit the stores” (We never went back…even a year later we still say we have to go back!) By the time we arrived at the restaurant I think we had used just about every adjective to describe how  adorable everything was. (See what I did there?? captivating, cute, quaint, charming, little, adorable…I love adjectives!) It was about a 40 minute wait for a table and we specifically asked that we could be seated on the deck. We walked around the quaint area, down these little pathways that had Adirondack chairs and Christmas lights strewn about. There were a few different restaurants in the area, but all seemed to have no customers besides “The Rudder”. We could see the deck from the pathway and watched as people laughed and enjoyed good food. We were starving! We returned about 35 minutes later to be seated. The deck was actually a boat dock; you could pull your boat right up and have them serve you food on it! How awesome it that?!? Inside the restaurant was pretty neat as well! It had twinkle lights in the ceiling, and throughout the restaurant intertwined with artificial greenery. It had nautical themed decor and seemed as though the customers were not customers at all, but friends of the bartender and waitresses.

Fire Works

Boat Parade!

The Rudder from the pathway

Lights Strewn About

Adirondack Chairs

Annette and I @ The Rudder

We ended up sharing an artichoke dip appetizer, which I still remember being the best artichoke dip I ever had. During our entrée’s, we all of sudden realized the whole deck was clapping and cheering. We both looked at each other like “what is going on?” and then we realized there was a boat parade. That’s right….a boat parade! A Line of boats with lights and people, cheering, yelling, and waving at us. How many of you have actually seen a boat parade?!?

Of course we shared dessert and then decided to drive around the charismatic town. As we were driving down the main street, fireworks started bursting in the air! I know, I know…this sounds like a made-up story…but I assure you, it is not! We stopped for a few and watched the fireworks, and chatted about how we should do this once a month. And that’s how the whole dinner dates started! We each have a month that we pick a restaurant and we always make sure to try someplace new! It’s a fun experience to go out once a month and try new food with good company. I really have some of the greatest girlfriends!

Coming up next: Sangria for One!!!

Sunday Prep

This Sunday I as actually busy with plans… So my prep work isn’t going to be as detailed as last week. Here’s my menu for the week, knowing that I was busy Sunday:

 

Meal menu for the week

It’s easy to make Monday’s meals: I whip up mini frittata with some asparagus and throw it oven. I cook the hamburger quickly on the grill with peppers and onions. I make the Paleo Pancakes, a few hard boiled eggs and that’s my super quick prep!

But just so you have something else to check-out, I made a delicious honey mustard crockpot chicken this morning before I left to start my day! Crock Pot Honey Mustard Chicken   I can put this over a salad or over a bed of veggies and I can save some leftovers for tuesdays lunch too. Now I know dinner’s ready and I can follow my food plan! Wahoo for being prepared!

 

Upcoming this week on my blog: Sangria for one, Game Night Prep, and some recipes along with funny stories about my cooking experiences! Thanks for reading…

Hosting Game Night- Part 2 including menu!

I already sent out the invitations (Game Night- Part 1) via text and I received my response back for how many people will be attending. I had 8 guests RSVP, plus us makes 10! Here’ my menu:

 

Corn Chips & Salsa

Potato Chips & Dip

Veggie tray & Dip

Kielbasa Bites

Chicken Wings

Tofu Bites

Bakery Pizza

Corn Chips & Salsa: I buy Tostito scoops and make my own salsa. The salsa is pretty simple to make. Just a can of diced tomatoes, a can of Rotel, a half onion chopped, a jalapeno chopped, a squirt of lime juice and some spices (cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder). Throw everything in the blender or food processor and call it a day! Its delicious and you can make it as thick or soupy as you like. I’ll make this evening before.

Potato Chips and Dip: Pretty simple. I make EVERYTHING homemade so the dip is made by me as well. Here’s the recipe I use French onion dip. The only thing I make adjustments for is the bouillon cube because I have a guest with a known MSG allergy, so I make sure everything I buy is MSG free!

Veggie Tray: I love this idea of the dip in the pepper and have made it a few times at other events I’ve hosted! One tip for this is to make sure you get a BIG pepper, then I place a plastic cocktail size cup in the pepper. This is so the dip does not make the pepper soggy and then end up spilling out. I used another homemade dip as well, but I do not eat Greek yogurt so I’m just substituting sour cream instead. Ranch Dip   I’ll also make the dips the evening before, they just might need a good re-mix before serving

Kielbasa Bites: These are so easy to make, it’s ridiculous! Bourbon Kielbasa Bites    I’ll make these the day of the party. They need to stay in the crock pot for 4 hours, and then, I’ll just turn the crock pot onto warm and leave tooth-picks out for guests. I will actually double the recipe so I make sure to have enough.

Chicken Wings: Chicken wings are sometimes tough, they are always a party favorite and you never want to run out! So, what I do is plan on each guest having 5-6 chicken wings, then I multiply by the amount of guests I have. I have about 10 guests eating, so I’ll plan on buying 60 wings (probably about 3-4 lbs). I’ll marinate the wings the night before and then in the morning, I’ll cook them through. I’ll reheat right before everyone arrives. (Also, I know that 2 of my guests are vegetarians, so I know I will have extra!)

Hence, the Tofu Bites: I like to make sure I have something for everyone. So my veggie friends are going to have BBQ tofu bites. The night before I’m going to cut up the tofu and marinate in a BBQ sauce. Then about an hour before guests arrive, I’ll bake them at 375 for 15 min each side! Easy Peasy!

And then I’ll buy a bakery pizza from a local pizza place. It’s pretty cheap and one less thing to cook that I know everyone will eat. Plus, Anthony can take leftovers to work!

And my menu is complete! I’ll make a quick shopping list and probably go the evening before the party. Then I’ll come home, whip up the few things I can refrigerate over night, and get the house finished up.

Next: I’ll show you my party prep and how all my food turned out!!

Sunday Prep

So, every Sunday I spend about 2 hours prepping my lunches, snacks, and dinners for the week. Every Monday I’ll post what I prepped on Sunday. I eat Paleo. Paleo is eating like a caveman (or cave-woman, in my case); if  you could hunt or gather it, you can eat it. That means lots of fresh veggies & fruit, meats & seafood, and fats (like nuts, coconut, and avocado). I stay away from processed foods, dairy, grains and beans. However, Anthony doesn’t eat this way, so sometimes I adapt, add, or make something different for him depending on what I’m having. This week I’ll be showing you a few different meals prepped, where I received my recipes, and make you hungry by showing you some delicious pictures! I always make a menu for the week which contains each meal and a snack.

 

Monday’s Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes- Found from Nom Nom Paleo, one of my favorite Paleo websites. Nom Nom Paleo Pancakes

These pancakes are pretty simple, quick to make and re-heat pretty well, too! Usually I heat up my breakfast in the morning by putting my pancake, eggs, or whatever else I have into the toaster oven while I shower. That way it’s done when I’m out and I can sit down to and eat before getting ready.

Next I made Monday’s lunch: Turkey Roll-ups- This is a variation of a Nom Nom Paleo Idea! Roast Beef Roll-ups

I normally cut up a bunch of peppers for the week. This makes it easy to throw on a salad, in a meal, or if I want a quick snack to munch on. I have a Foodsaver, which helps keep everything fresh for the week. I purchased it at Target and it was money well spent. I have used it for: pre cut-up sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots, and even marinated turkey tips which I froze afterwards!

For this lunch, I used 2 pieces of turkey because they were sliced thin and fell apart when I wrapped them. By using 2, it made it a little more secure. I also used Tessemae’s Honey Mustard Dipping sauce…WOWZA’s is that stuff good!!!! You can purchase it at Whole Foods or online at their website. Whole Foods does not carry all of their line, so I ordered the gift pack from their website. Bonus…it came with a few different dips, marinades, and sauces! Tessemaes Website

Tuesday’s Breakfast: Paleo “Oatmeal”- Paleo Oatmeal (This was found on Pinterest. I need to explore this website more, because the “oatmeal” is so good!)

Also another yummy, quick breakfast that heats up well in the toaster oven. I top it off with nuts and raisins and it’s ready to go. I usually have 2-3 slices of bacon as well to add protein…doesn’t Paleo sound yummy?!? Pancakes, bacon, honey mustard dipping sauce. What other food plan let’s you eat that?

Tuesday’s lunch: Chicken Salad, with a side salad, and nuts

This stays in the fridge really well for a few days, so I make it on Sunday for Tuesday because I know it will still be good. It’s yummy, quick to make and I can put everything together while the rest of my meals are cooking. I always add a piece of fruit to my lunches too!

I keep 3 salads prepped and ready to go for the week just in case something comes up one night and I can’t make my lunch or I want a salad with dinner. Sometimes it helps make the decision easier when it’s already made. I don’t add cucumbers to these because I have found that if I get to a salad on Thursday it’s usually soggy from the cucumbers. So I don’t mind taking a quick 5 minutes to chop them up fresh!

And I’m all done! Tuesday Night I prep some more food for the week and then I’m usually all set.

Although spending 2 hours seems like a lot of time, it is worth it for me to know what I’m eating each day, have it ready and I’m not spending money on prepared foods. One of my biggest pet peeves is buying a $10 salad that isn’t really that good. So this is time well spent…and it helps that I enjoy it too. See ya soon!!!