Yard Work Deserves a Margarita Reward

I had the best Sunday. I took my dog, Lacey on a great walk to this place near my house, that is a beautiful lake surrounded by a pretty cool path.

I took her this morning for about an hour and then upon my return home, began mulching and weeding. I had so much fun mulching and weeding. Seriously, I am not kidding. Just sitting in the sun in the great weather, it was a blast. Getting my hands all dirty in the organic compost was liberating. I loved it.
Lacey loved it too, she got to be outside all day!

So mulching and weeding took all day, and I have the sunburn to prove it. For dinner I had a great Greek Salad that had lettuce, feta cheese, onion, tomato and a nice light Greek dressing. Dinner was accompanied by a fabulous Prickly Pear Margarita. You must reward yourself after a hard day doing yard work, right?

The Prickly Pear Margarita is so simple to make because my mom found this fabulous mix from Sur La Table, called Prickly Pear & Raspberry Margarita Mix. It is all natural and no preservatives. I usually do not like pre-mixed juices, but it was really good.

All you needed was some Silver Patron Tequila...

Mix it up, serve it over ice, garnish with a lime and PICTURE PERFECT (and taste perfection)

Night on the Town

So tonight, I went out to dinner with my fab parents to Molinari's Restaurant in Mentor, Ohio (www.molinaris.com).

First up, I needed a drink. You know, long week, something that just really works. I ordered the Cleveland Cosmopolitan.





The Cleveland Cosmopolitan included Belvedere Cytrus, Grand Marnier, cranberry & lime juices served with an orange slice.

The cocktail was pretty tasty, I must say. As you can see, no orange slice, but a cherry resting at the bottom of my glass. The appetizer they served us, MultiGrain Crackers with White Bean Dip, was quite tasty. The texture of the bean dip was smooth and creamy but still had the crunch of the white beans. Very tasty.



So a few great appetizers and salads later, we decided to get an after dinner drink. We decided to stop at Cheesecake Factory for an after dinner cocktail. Okay, I know you are thinking, Cheesecake Factory just for a cocktail!? I may be called crazy, but one of my all time favorite drinks is at the Cheesecake Factory...the Strawberry Martini.



Divine. The drink is made with Fresh Strawberries, Pearl Vodka and they are Handcrafted Per Order. It is served with a strawberry, which I cut up into four pieces, drop it my drink, and let the cocktail marinate into the fruit. Serves as the perfect finish to the perfect cocktail!

My Guilty Obsession

Chocolate. I love it...I yearn for it...apparently I think I need it. No, I know I need it (hehe). I came across these great raw natural food bars, LARABAR. I love this product because each and every product has only 2 to 8 ingredients. LARABAR has a flavored bar, Cocoa Mole, that is amazing. The ingredients include dates, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinammon and chili. The flavor combination and my desire for chocolate, make this one satisfying bar. The plus side...it is good for me! You seriously CAN'T beat that!

How do you Start your Day?

Breakfast!! That is my answer. I have been on an oatmeal kick for awhile now, but was craving a change of pace, so I had one of Amy's Organic Apple Tarts.
Amazing I tell you! And the best part....it kept me very satisfied,that I even ate lunch later than usual. It was a great breakfast that gave me energy and left me satisfied. This option sure beats a Pop Tart!

Cascadian Farm Giveaway!

Great news...I came across a great giveaway from the blogger, Iowa Girl Eats.

You have 3 chances to win a package from Cascadian Farm, by Monday, 5/17 @ 5pm central (contest open to US residents only).

Hurry up and check out her great giveaway at iowagirleats.com!

Broccoli with a Little Kick

I really do love broccoli, but it is always nice to kick up the veggie a little bit, isn't it?!

So tonight for dinner, I added a little something extra to make the broccoli really taste great.

I steam my broccoli because I love the texture it turns the vegetable into.

Broccoli with Balsamic Vinagrette and Parmesan

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 tbs. of olive oil
1 tbs. of balsamic vinagrette
1 tbs. of parmesan cheese grated
salt
pepper

Directions:

Steam broccoli for about 10 minutes. Once ready, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinagrette, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk together until a consistent form. Drizzle over the top of the broccoli. Then, sprinkle the broccoli with the parmesan cheese and a final dash of pepper.

Food Should Taste Good..right?!

I had the best Saturday! My boyfriend and I have decided that learning golf is something we really want to do. So, we scheduled a golf lesson today that was only supposed to be one hour and turned into 2 1/2 hours!! After that, we played 9 holes.
Let me tell you, after one golf lesson, I already feel like a pro! (hehe)

Obviously golfing can leave you hungry so I brought some snacks for us to munch on during our long day of golf. One of our snacks included, Food Should Taste Good, Sweet Potato Chips. Omg, they are so tasty! The man piece loved them too. They are actually tortilla chips made with sweet potato. They were super crispy and satisfying. I highly recommend!