Friday, June 28, 2013

Quick 'n Easy

The sunshine we have had the past two weeks has really helped my garden!  The spinach is shooting up like crazy and the tomatoes are starting to come in. I decided to make a favorite quick and easy dinner tonight to use up some of that fresh spinach!
 
First I cut up red, green, and yellow bell peppers, along with broccoli.  Then I cut up a chicken sausage from Trader Joes and threw some spinach in the mix. I  added one tablespoon of olive oil into a bowl with the goodies and mixed. 





After the grill heated up, I put the mix on my grill pan and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirred, then grilled for another 5 minutes. Voila! A delicious, nutritious, and EASY dinner. Yum!





 For fun, here is another quick and easy lunch or dinner!  Buffalo chicken salad made with Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce and enjoyed with Bolthouse Farms Ranch Yogurt Dressing on the side.  Love making this and throwing in a mix of favorite produce!








Also, shout out to my sister Katie for sharing with me a cool way to grow celery.  Cut the round end off of a stalk of celery and put it in a bowl of water standing up.  It will slowly grow a new stalk of celery!  Very thrifty and love this idea because I eat a lot of celery! Thanks Katie! 

In upcoming holiday spirit, here is the picture that changed my life.  Taken on the 4th of July, 2009.
 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

And the award goes to...

I talk about food more than the average person.  I often find myself wanting to give amazing foods a high five or a loud cheer, maybe even do a victory lap for the surge it gives to my taste buds.  Looney is in my blogger name (and comes from my maiden name) however I have decided to give certain foods my own virtual awards instead of making a fool of myself with random public cheers.

Best granola:
Love Grown Foods-Husband/wife team from Colorado that know how to do gluten free granola right.  I like to order the 6 bag package from Amazon since grocery store don't carry it.  I have occasionally had luck finding it at TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

Best guacamole:
My homemade guac can't be beat...at least in my world.  There are two restaurants I have been impressed with for their guacamole though...Rojo at West End in St. Louis Park and Ruby Tuesdays.  I was very shocked to find that Ruby Tuesdays has a very generous and delicious serving of guacamole.  Be aware of the garlic content though-it's enough to scare away vampires! 

Best carbonation:
La Croix, any flavor!  Lime and Peach-Pear are my favorites but they are all really good!  I like to trick myself into thinking I am having pop from the fuzzy bubbles and the sparking water is so refreshing.  Which brings me to my next award...

Best Caribou drink:
I first tried the Sparking Peach Black Tea (lite version) about two months ago and loved it.  It is a very light and sparking drink with just a hint of caffeine.  I tend to drink it too fast though and it doesn't last long enough for me.  Super delicious especially when you want something cool to drink with caffeine but no dairy.