Saturday

Breakfast

Cheerios. Sliced nectarines. 1% milk. 1/2 packet of Stevia.

Lunch

Shark tacos. Side salad w/ passion fruit vinaigrette. VERY good.

From Tarahumara Mexican Restaurant in Midway, Utah.

Dinner

Salad w/ romaine, tomatoes, avocados, pickled beets, goat cheese, ranch (from mix). 

Toasted blueberry bagel w/ cream cheese.

Weird I know. It was a really hot day. I wasn't about to turn on the oven or stove.

Desserts

Don't judge! I share my desserts.

After Lunch: Tres Leches Cake from Tarahumara (linked above)

After Dinner: Ben & Jerry's Milk & Cookies Ice Cream. The best!

Out to Eat: Lamb's Grill Cafe

For our second day to ourselves, my husband suggested we stop at the Lamb's Grill Cafe for brunch/lunch. 

What a historical and cozy place!

I immediately wanted to bring my grandma here.

She taught me to appreciate places like this.

Basic diner-comfort food, but still a nice place to visit.

"..Utah's oldest continually operating restaurant, was opened in 1919.."

Caesar Salad

Beef Wellington

Eggs Benedict

Out to Eat: Z'Tejas

Mark and I took a little getaway; just he and I.

Not a huge getaway. Kids were dropped off at his sister's house and we traveled a little under 30 minutes to the city of our courtship--Salt Lake City. Three days, two nights.

Okay, we only live about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake, but as much as I need occasional breaks from the mommy world, I just can't seem to be too far away from my babies. What is it with that!! Our first plan was to go to Disneyland. Then, we talked ourselves into going to Vegas. Then, we found ourselves talking about going to St. George. Then we ended up in SLC, lol. Aww well.

On to our first night of deliciousness:

My husband and I? We loooooooove Southwestern cuisine. It's our favorite. 

It's a mix between our next two favorite cuisines, Mexican and American. 

This means we like Z'Tejas. 

 Complimentary Cornbread: Moist, sweet, honey butter, delish. Be sure to wash it down.

Grilled Shrimp & Guacamole Tostada Bites: Tostada rounds topped with hand-hacked guacamole, a dash of chipotle and cilantro pesto marinated grilled shrimp.

Hold it. These tostada bites?? Our absolute favorite. Mark and I discovered these while out on a date back during our dating days. We order them every time. Sometimes, we want to drive all the way from Spanish Fork just to order them.

This time we were informed that the appetizers were 1/2 off until 7PM. It was 5something PM.
We looked at eachother with delight and ordered two. We were excited to each have our very own plate.

A quick mention...they smell really good. I don't know what it is--some kind of smoky, grilled scent?
I literally held one up to my nose and inhaled the smoky aroma for quite some time. I only put it down--well, ate it--when I started feeling self-conscience about those around me who might have been watching.

Mark's order:

Leo's Street Tacos: Seared beef tenderloin, diced cucumbers, topped with avocado and cotija cheese and a drizzle of chipotle cream sauce.

My order:

Ancho Jumbo Lump Crab Tamales

I lovelovelove love tamales. These were moist and tasty. The little Ancho chili compote was spicy and flavorful and accompanied the tamales very well.

Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill (at the Gateway Mall)

Downtown

191 S Rio Grande St
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

www.ztejas.com

Easy Pizza

I've tried a few pizza dough recipes. They are always easier than I think. This one is really very easy and very delicious! It comes from one of my bestest best friends SueAnn. She posted it on her blog A Lil Bird Told Me--a really fun blog with tons of ideas about crafting, cooking, decorating, cleaning/organizing, etc. Check it out!

After many busy Fridays, I've declared Friday to be our pizza night.

On this pizza, I added leftover pasta sauce, fresh tomatoes, white cheddar cheese, sliced olives, goat cheese, and a sprinkling of dried basil, salt, & pepper.

Pizza Crust

Original recipe from SueAnn on Lil Bird Told Me blog.

3 c. flour

1 Tbsp. yeast

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 c. warm water

1/2 tsp. salt

No worries about prepping yeast, throw all ingredients in a bowl or stand-mixer.

Mix thoroughly and need for 3-5 minutes; adding more flour as needed, so dough will pull away from bowl.

Let rest for ten minutes while you prep ingredients. Preheat oven to 425º.

Top with any of your favorite toppings. (What doesn't go with cheese and bread? I don't know.)

Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Note: I made mine pretty thick like a deep dish, so definitely makes one large or two medium pizzas. 

Make ahead and freeze for later!

Food Co-op

This will come in handy when our new juicer arrives and, in turn, will help with my weight loss goals.

Bountiful Baskets

All for $15:

1 head of romaine

2 seedless cucumbers

1 bunch of broccoli

20-25 brussel sprouts

4 yellow squash

6 lg. tomatoes

12 minneolas

7 bananas

 6 Granny Smith apples

7 kiwis

1 pineapple

1/2 pint of blackberries

5 loafs of 9 grain bread, Alpine Valley - $10

We used to get Bountiful Baskets food co-op awhile back when they were fairly new to Utah. Now, there are countless locations! 

We decided to get a basket again, mainly so we can order the bread. The bread is delicious! It's always fun to see what different items will be offered or included. This week we will try the organic basket, sourdough bread, and Mexican pack.

The process is simple, yet hard to explain, so visit Bountiful Basket's Frequently Asked Questions for more details.

Aggression Cookies

The other day I was craving some cookies.

I was also desperately needing an activity to entertain my 3 year old.

Found this recipe in "The Preschooler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner. Lifesaver!

The ingredients.

I let Cameron throw all the dry ingredients into the big bowl.

He could have stirred all day.

He was in heaven.

Add the softened butter and

now comes the fun part.

I guess this is why they are called "Aggression Cookies" and why they are fun for kids.

The recipe doesn't suggest to mix with your hands, it down right demands that you mix with your hands.

 Form into little dough balls.

 Wait in anticipation.

The finished product.

Tastes like shortbread with oatmeal. Quite tasty and crazy easy!

Aggression Cookies

Recipe from "The Preschooler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner

3 c. quick-cooking oats

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. softened butter (3 sticks)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1. Dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and let your child really go at it! Pound, punch, and knead the batter--the longer and harder the dough is mixed, the better the cookies will taste.

2. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Roll the dough into small balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes.

Easy Honey-Glazed Chicken

Ridiculously easy!

I've said it once and I'll say it again; five ingredients? Come on. That's music to mama's ears.

Dinner: Easy Honey-Glazed Chicken, Rhodes rolls, salad w/ ranch and croutons. 

Easy Honey-Glazed Chicken

Original recipe from marthastewart.com

1/3 c. honey

1 TB balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. dried thyme, I used ground thyme

coarse salt and ground pepper

about 3 lbs of bone-in chicken

1. Preheat oven to 475. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a small bowl (or glass measuring cup), whisk together honey, vinegar, thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

2. Place chicken pieces on prepared pan. Roast for about 20 minutes. Brush with glaze and roast for another 20 minutes.