Tacos Archives -

State Fair Food & Home-Cooked Meals

Post author:Melanie
Post published:September 3, 2014
Post category:Dinners / Sweet Treats
Post comments:10 Comments

Well, hello! It’s time for a little what I ate link up with Jenn! As always, thanks for hosting!

Are you ready for these eats? Let’s start with some from the state fair.

We got to the fair early to get to LuLu’s for some gorilla bread (like monkey bread—gooey caramely pull apart bread). We got in line and as we were waiting the guy behind me said that they are out of gorilla bread. WHAT?! That is what I was most looking forward to eating at the fair! But life goes on….

Runner-up was mini doughnuts, which truly shouldn’t even be considered runner-up because they were so darn good. The little warm gems melted in my mouth and were thoroughly enjoyed.

Caramel apple ice cream. It was really good but not something I would probably get again.

Fried pickles and cream cheese, aka a pregnant girl’s dream food. These were my favorite thing I ate at the fair!

Not pictured: chocolate malt, pretzel cheese curds, and a salted nut rolls. EVERYTHING was shared and we walked 7 miles while we were there. Yes, I’m justifying my calorie and fat intake. #yolo

I can promise you these foods haven’t become part of my normal diet.

Now let’s talk about home-cooked meals.

I actually have been cooking a bit around here. I am really aching for fall weather and have been making comfort meals despite the warm weather.

Tacos. Tacos are seriously so quick and easy to put together and just so amazing.

Deconstructed burger made with beef, quinoa, black beans, onion powder, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper. They were supposed to be burgers but completely fell apart. I melted Muenster cheese on top. I realize it’s not a purdy picture, but it was super good!

Beef and veggie lasagna with spinach, onions, and mushrooms. Delish.

And the grand finale….homemade turkey breast and homemade mashed potatoes and gravy! Oh yes I did. Thanksgiving meal is my FAVORITE meal. Who says you can only eat it one time a year?

Although there hasn’t been a ton of recipe creation happening over here, I am at least managing to get myself back in the kitchen once again! Can I get a whoop whoop for that?!

What’s your favorite comfort meal?

Have you ever tried fried pickles?!

Thai Chicken Wrap and Adorable Clothes

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 2, 2014
Post category:Beauty/Fashion / Dinners / Friends / Lunch
Post comments:5 Comments

Happy Friday! Yayyy!

It’s a Friday Favorites kind of day so I’m linkin’ up with my girl Katie!

Here are some of my favs from the week…

1. Lunch with my darling friend Courtney at Good Earth. I ordered the Thai chicken peanut wrap and really enjoyed it! Most of all though, I loved catching up with my Court. 🙂

2. Leftover French onion soup from the freezer. It’s one thing to enjoy a bowl of my favorite soup, but the ease of only have to take it out of the freezer and thaw in the microwave makes it that much more delightful.

3. These tacos.

4. This dress from Filly Flair.

fillyflair.com

5. And this top from Filly Flair.

fillyflair.com

I ordered both of them online and really hope they fit. I should be getting them within the next few days. They have seriously so many adorable things and I wanted everything! Everything is so reasonably priced too!

6. Seeing the progress on our basement. We are in the process of finishing the basement and it is SO incredibly exciting! This is a project we have been wanting to take on since we moved in 3.5 years ago. Dana is a champ.

7. My family. There has been so much change and excitement going on in our family and I am so thrilled, proud and happy for everyone.

What are some of your favorites from this week?

Some Good Eats: BBQ Beef, Tacos, Tilapia

Post author:Melanie
Post published:March 27, 2014
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Gluten-Free / Lunch / Recipes
Post comments:4 Comments

This post was meant to go up yesterday but sleep trumped the blog, SO here you get it today!

Even though I’m a day late with this, I’m still going to link up with Jenn’s WIAW. This of course is my version of WIAW, called What I’ve Been Eating Lately. This is an overview of some of my eats over the last week or so.

Let’s get started.

We celebrated Dana’s birthday with his parents and had one of my all-time favorite meals. Tacos. Ever since I was a little girl, when my mom would always ask me what I wanted for my birthday meal, I’d say 90% of the time my response would be tacos. Although it wasn’t my birthday this time around, Dana chose very wisely.

Before tacos though we noshed on some appetizers…

And then came the tacos…

So good! I was disappointed in myself for loading up on so many crackers and cheese. I wasn’t able to enjoy too much of the tacos before being completely stuffed.

I prepared a semi-homemade meal made witg Annie’s gluten-free mac n’ cheese, sautéed broccoli, peas, salt and pepper, and one chicken, apple, and gouda sausage.

Fairlife, a lactose-free, protein-rich milk company, sent me some samples of chocolate milk, 2% milk, and skim milk. They also sent their core power protein drinks which I told them I would give to Dana and my brother to use as post-long run refuel.

I wasn’t actually planning on drinking the milk (I was going to give it all to Dana), but once I tried the chocolate milk, my plans changed. I couldn’t get enough of this stuff! Just like any chocolate milk, you still have to be careful with the sugar content, but I enjoy a half a cup here and there and it’s a great treat!

To read more about Fairlife: www.fairlife.com

A quick and simple lunch: black bean and cheese quesadilla with salsa and avocado. Is that not a perfect bite taken out of there? Didn’t even try. 😉

Dinner at mom and dads: tilapia, red beans and rice, and asparagus. I always forget how much I enjoy tilapia until my mom makes it for me. Then I remember. Num.

Eggs with spinach, mushrooms, red bell pepper, cheese, avocado and salsa. On the side, a super old hard (from the freezer) Udi’s gluten-free bun with jam. At least the eggs were good.

Amy’s organic split-pea soup. I really enjoy split-pea soup but never make it. I should really get on that, right Hannah?

Goodie plates: hard-boiled egg with mustard, pickle, veggies and cottage cheese.

And another Pinterest win. BBQ pulled beef with coleslaw courtesy of MyBakingAddiction.com. I followed the beef recipe to a T but not the coleslaw.

There you have it. Another look into some of my eats lately.

What have YOU been eating lately?

You Can’t Always Win

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 6, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Health / Moose / Recipes / Workouts
Post comments:6 Comments

Yesterday I mentioned I was fighting off some sort of cold bug and I had big plans of squashing it before it made its way any further into my body, but I’m afraid it has won.

I did everything in my power to ward it off. I took all of my vitamins as I always do, I wash my hands, I got plenty of sleep, I made myself a fruit and veggie packed smoothie for breakfast…

Strawberries, blueberrries, kale, kefir, egg white protein powder

I sipped on warm water with lemon and honey, tea, and water all day, crammed fruits and veggies like it was my job, and even attempted to get a workout in to get the blood circulating and move this thing out…

February Fitness Challenge: I completed this ab workout along with 45 minute run/walk on the treadmill. My strength focus was on the core yesterday.

I was lovingly greeted/interrupted while doing the ab workout by this needy face…

Maybe he was trying to tell me about the spider crawling on the floor that I noticed shortly after he left while holding my plank-a-day? If so, that was sweet of him.

In the evening, my mom, dad and brother Kevin came over to join Dana and me for tacos. Abbie and Moose have yet to become buddies, so Abbie made her way over to her little roost where she overlooked the situation.

I used the chicken I had used for my bone broth for the chicken tacos. I diced the chicken meat, added it into my pan on the stove top, added bone broth, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. I let it all simmer together until the liquid evaporated.

I also made refried beans with black beans which I cooked on the stove, again with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper (no paprika), salsa, cilantro, and some diced tomato. I added a touch of bone broth as well to get it moving along and let it simmer for a short while.

I got all of the fixings together and then dinner was ready. Tacos are so easy to make and always so darn good. I ate my tacos in lettuce cups but we also had corn tortillas for everyone.

After dinner, we all hung out and I played beauty shoppe with mom. I’ve never been too good with hair but I like to try being creative every once and a while, and mom is the perfect client. Her hair is the perfect texture that holds well to styling, and I’m pretty sure she is okay with the free head massage. Who doesn’t like getting their hair fanangled? I know I do.

I also thought a little TLC from the family may help fight this thing off, but unfortunately this morning I woke up feeling worse than yesterday. The darn cold definitely got me much to my dismay. You can’t always win as hard as you may try. 🙂

Let’s just hope I feel better as the day progresses. Even though it got me, I won’t let it stick around for long. Okay, enough of my belly aching. I hope you all are feeling well, staying active, eating healthy nourishing foods, and getting plenty of sleep. Take care!