Fabulous New Foods!

For as long as I can remember, I've been a Dr. Pepper, chicken tenders and french fries kinda gal! Slowly, I'm tasting more and more things that I really love, but I fully admit to having a pretty narrow palette, when it comes to eating new foods.

 Just in the past few years, I've discovered Chinese and Japanese food, seafood (in all of its glory,) along with many other new fruits and veggies....Hello, zucchini!

Recently, I've tried and fallen in love with a few new foods that I wanted to tell you about!

1. Pimento Cheese

(I know that my friend Leigh is laughing out loud reading this one)

I tried pimento cheese for the first time a year ago (Thanks, Leigh,) but I really got hooked about two weeks ago. I even like it enough to order as the main part of my meal when having dinner out!

I've had it on toast and crackers,

but my absolute favorite is a grilled pimento cheese sandwich from Red Onion in Boone! Yumm!

2. Quiche

This is another one of my Red Onion favorites! Until last week, I had never tasted quiche, and to be honest, didn't really know what it was! The three-cheese quiche from Red Onion has forever changed my life. I wish I'd taken a picture to show you this goodness, but that just means I'll have to go back and get it again!

3. Honey Mustard

I have never been a honey mustard fan. I've tried it a couple times when it came along with my above-mentioned chicken tender dishes, but it's never been something I would order on my own. I'm telling y'all, I'm changing my ways! Twice over the past few weeks I have ordered honey mustard with fries, chicken, etc. and really liked it!

4. New Favorite Dish: Chicken & Waffles!

With all this yummy food talk, I couldn't help but tell you about a new dish that I have discovered! 

Heaven presented itself in food form in chicken and waffles at Vidalia in Boone. This stuff is SO good! The only thing I would have changed is that Vidalia uses a kind of syrup that's special to them. Next time, I'd love to try it with plain 'ole Aunt Jemima, since there will definitely be a next time:)

Are you drooling yet? What kinds of fab new foods have you been trying lately?

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

A Valentine's Recap!

This year, Valentine's Day was a complete whirlwind for me! I had the absolute best time getting ready on Valentine's Day Eve, and enjoying the actual day, but it felt so good to relax after it was all over!

 

Valentine's Day through my iPhone!

 

My Valentine's Day Eve work outfit:

I loved mixing these fun reds and oranges! 

Top: Old Navy

Skirt: Loft Outlet

Booties: TJ Maxx

Necklace: Charming Charlie

 

After work, I made my way to Walmart (along with everyone else in town) to pick up last minute supplies. This is my cart complete with cupcake-making supplies, candy, paper valentines and a new hand mixer!



There were so many cute valentines to choose from, but I couldn't resist the Hello Kitty ones!

 

The cupcakes I made for our party at work!

My fun fetti icing was too pretty not to take a picture of!

 

The end result! Strawberry cupcakes with fun fetti icing.

 

Valentine's nails!

 

Valentine's lunch at a place in Boone called Coyote Kitchen! So good!

 My pineapple shrimp tacos had me feeling like I was in Mexico, instead of the arctic tundra.

 

A local bread company in Boone had the cutest Valentine's Day display, and was absolutely packed!

 

On Valentine's night, I had the most delicious dinner out with a friend. The place was absolutely fabulous! It was pretty formal, so I wore this dress I got for Christmas. The night wouldn't have been complete without a little pink & green!

As a little Valentine's gift to myself, I finally registered for The Color Run Winston-Salem in March! I am beyond excited to run my first 5K! Happy Valentine's to me!

Valentine's Day 2013 was a complete success! I hope yours was as well!

 

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

The Sweetest Treat

Today, I wanted to share with you a sweet treat that I tasted for the first time at a holiday party in December! These little snacks are so good and addicting, I knew I had to learn how to make them myself! 

It turns out, they were super easy!

Ingredients:
-1 Bag of Pretzels (I bought mini's, but square and regular will work as well)
-1 Bag of regular M&M's
-1 Bag of Hershey's Kisses

-Lay pretzels on a flat baking sheet

-Sit a Hershey's Kiss on top of each pretzel

-Put the entire pan in the oven on 175 degrees for about two minutes (just until the chocolate is soft!)

-After two minutes, take the pan out and put one M&M on top of each Hershey's Kiss. Press the M&M, so the top of the Kiss goes down, and the M&M rests on top of the chocolate.

-To help them harden, you can stick the entire pan in the fridge for about 10 minutes, remove and enjoy!

For the caramel lovers out there, I've also heard that this same snack is really tasty using Rolos instead of Hershey's Kisses! Yummy!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Marcia & Don's Famous Ice Cream Sandwiches!

You might be thinking to yourself, is she really writing a post about ice cream sandwiches?

Yes, I am. They're that good.

When I moved in with Marcia & Don, it wasn't long before I was introduced to a food staple in their home, something that I've grown to know, love and CRAVE. 

Exhibit One: The Ice Cream Sandwich 

When I first arrived, these little sandwiches of goodness didn't have a title, but they have since been named "Marcia & Don's Famous Ice Cream Sandwich!"

Marcia started making these sweet treats nearly three years ago after her husband's open heart surgery. Don was in need of a heart healthier diet, so Marcia started reading all about healthy alternatives to familiar foods. The best part? They only have two ingredients: graham crackers and lite Cool Whip!

They get eaten so fast around this house, Marcia makes them almost every night. She whipped up the most recent batch earlier this week and I was able to snap a few close-ups!

Here's how she does it!

1. Tear off small pieces of saran wrap and lay along the kitchen counter.

2. Take one graham cracker, break it into two pieces, and sit them on each piece saran wrap.

3. After keeping your Cool Whip in the freezer, spoon it out onto one of the graham cracker pieces.

 

Marcia puts enough on the cracker, so that the sandwiches are about 1.5 inches thick.

4. After shaping the edges with a spoon, add on the second graham cracker piece.

5. Squeeze the two crackers together and wrap it up with the saran wrap! 

That's it! Marcia then pops them in the freezer, and they're good to go!

There you have it! A healthy alternative to the ice cream sandwich!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Boone To-Do List Check Up!

My first week of work was the perfect opportunity to cross some things off my Boone to-do list that I talked about here!

It's been so much fun figuring out where I can go and how I can get all of these things done. I'm already making my way, and have three things checked off!

Here's the list from my original post!

20 Things to do by August 1st, 2013:

1. Go to the gym everyday for a full week
2. Cook dinner for a group of friends
3. Visit a new church
4. Learn the names of everyone in my office
5. Go hiking on the parkway
6. Go skiing this winter
7. Watch 10 movies that I've never seen
8. Read 10 new books
9. Make friends with a neighbor
10. Take Paisley to the Greenway
11. Spend a day in downtown Blowing Rock
12. Do something fun for New Years Eve
13. Personalize my new desk
14. Buy an outfit from a local boutique
15. Attend an Appalachian basketball game
16. Do something that benefits my whole office (bring breakfast, write birthday cards, something!)
17. Eat at 5 restaurants that I've never tried
18. Throw a super fun housewarming party
19. Make my new apartment warm, inviting and like home
20. Make time to grab coffee before going to work (or buy a Keurig!)

The items that are crossed out are ones that I have completed. 

Any item that is underlined is currently in the works!

What I've done so far:

1. Attend an ASU basketball game!

My friend Kim & I had the best time the other night catching up, enjoying the concession stand and watching the game! It was a great time and I can't wait to go again soon!

2. Personalize my desk!

It's taken this whole time to get my desk finally looking how I want it to, but I think I'm finally done!
Before:

After:

I love love love having my own space to work from every day!

3. Learn the names of everyone in my office

I got this done on my second day of work! Woohoo!

4. Eat at 5 restaurants I've never tried!

Last Thursday, I marked one of these off my list. We ate at a little place called Boone Drug. I had been to one of their other locations, but never this one. 

Here I am posing with a stuffed bear right beside where we were having lunch. That thing was nearly $400.00!

The place had a grill, as well as a place to shop while you wait! I love the small town feel. It reminded me so much of where I'm from.

Stay tuned as I try to check off everything on my list!

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Moving Day & My Thanksgiving Dish!

Y'all, today is the day!

I can't believe that moving day is finally here! While I'm busy driving, unpacking, and bursting with excitement, I thought I would share with you the dish that I made for Thanksgiving this year. It's super simple and tasty!

Every year, my family signs up to bring delicious dishes to our annual Thanksgiving Day lunch. For one reason or another, I have only contributed to the food selection once. Don't get me wrong the rice crispy treats that I made that year were good, they just fell apart in your hands. Boo. When I was younger, my parents bringing a dish or two was enough, but as an adult, I thought it was my time to participate!

I am not a cook in any way, shape or form. It's not that I don't have potential, I've just never really practiced. I knew I wanted something that was simple to make and difficult to mess up!

What dish fit all of these specifications?

Oreo Cake Balls!

You'll have to excuse the looks of my first batch, as they are not pretty at all, but they did taste good!

Ingredients:
1 Package of Oreos
1 Package of cream cheese (I'm trying a tub of cream cheese next time)
1 Package of vanilla melting chocolate (bars that you microwave)

Directions:
Put the entire package of Oreos into a bowl

Mash up all of the Oreos - I used a Pampered Chef potato masher, but if you have a food processor, that will work even better

Once crushed to a fine powder, mix the cream cheese in a mixer

Once the cream cheese is soft, add in all the Oreos and continue to mix

Once well mixed, form into balls and place on a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer

While the chocolate balls are in the freezer, melt your chocolate

Take the balls out of the freezer when the chocolate is melted. Then you can either drizzle the white chocolate over them or dip them. I found it easier to drizzle and let the excess drip over onto the sides.

When finished, keep refrigerated until ready to serve!

Ta-Da!

I'm planning on trying another batch for Christmas and honing my technique a little bit. Hooray for my first cooking success!

Did you cook this Thanksgiving?

As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Terrific Summer Treats!

Each summer, without fail, it seems there are certain foods that I crave all the time! Some of these I have often, while others are only for special occasions. Just thinking about these summer treats has my mouth watering!

Cheese & Crackers

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There's nothing that I enjoy more than good cheese and crackers! It's one of my favorite snacks all year long! The other night, my family and I had dinner at a restaurant nearby that served a cheese spread as an appetizer along with a dish of things to put the cheese on. It was so good and I've been craving it ever since!

Fruit Pizza

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I love having a fruit pizza in the fridge during the summer! Around my house we use kiwi, strawberries, grapes, and pineapple. The spread is made from cream cheese, along with a few other ingredients and the base is sugar cookie dough. It's like a dessert and an appetizer at the same time!

Punch

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There's nothing better than good punch at a family event. I don't mean Hawaiian Punch or fruit punch, I'm talking about the kind that you make for wedding or baby showers, that still has ice in it. YUM! We usually have it for Easter and Christmas and the flavor changes with the season. Sometimes, we get really lucky and my Mom will make it just because!

Banana Pudding

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Vanilla pudding, bananas, Nilla Wafers and whipped cream. What could be better than these things combined into a dish? Yesterday, my Aunt made banana pudding and brought some over to our house to try. So good! I could have eaten the whole thing! 

Chocolate Pretzel Sticks

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I don't get these little treats very often, but whenever I go to Kilwin's, this is my must-have item! They usually come covered in milk, white or dark chocolate. The dark chocolate is my fave! I've also seen them with sprinkles and other toppings!

Do you have favorite summer foods?

A Georgia Weekend & Top 5 Tuesday!

I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend in Kennesaw, Georgia, not too far from Atlanta. A group of 3 other students, myself and my teacher were there for the National Collegiate Sales Competition, that included more than 60 colleges from across the country!

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We competed by selling Netsuite, a brand of customer relationship management software to professional sales people in the industry. I acted as an alternate, so I didn't have to go through the stress of competing, but I did help train, attend a job fair and have a lot of great food along the way! Even though we didn't win, I got to know three other amazing Appalachian students and we had a great time!

Sam, Laura, Me, & Ben!

  

Also...

I'm linking up this week with Rachel at Just Peachy for my favorite link-up, Top 5 Tuesday!

This week's topic: Restaurants!

1. Village Tavern- This is my favorite restaurant where I'm from! I love the atmosphere of Village Tavern. You can dress up or down and still feel comfortable. My favorite dish is their hot crab dip! Amazing!

2. Our Daily Bread- This is my favorite restaurant in my college town! They have the most wonderful sandwiches and deserts. It's worth every penny! Jake and I love to eat lunch here when we have a break from school, but it transitions in to a great dinner spot too.

3. Sam's Pizza- This is the restaurant where I've worked since I was 16 years old and I could still eat there every day! Not only do I love the food, but the people there are my family:)

4. Which Wich- This has to be my favorite sub shop! I have to admit, I've never had Jersey Mike's and I've heard it's a close contender, but of all the sub places in Boone, Which Wich takes the cake!

5. Chick-Fil-A- My favorite fast food restaurant for sure! I love just about anything on their menu and those milkshakes are to-die for!

Do you have 5 favorite restaurants?

If so, stop by & link-up!