My mom is coming to Minneapolis this weekend to visit. We always have a blast when she comes and explore new places and new restaurants.
She found an old bib of mine when she was cleaning up the house this week and sent me this picture.
Now you all know where it comes from… It started at birth.
Three cheers for a fun weekend!
Erica
It’s been on my calendar for about a month and yesterday it finally happened… Justin and I went to the Canterbury Food Truck Festival.
The food truck craze has taken over the US. Every time I talk to friends and family outside of Minnesota I hear of great food trucks they have been to.
I had never been to Canterbury. I learned yesterday morning that it is a horse track. Our entrance fee of $5 each also covered watching the races (neither of us bet on any races… It was a day centered around trying new foods) We checked out two food trucks.
Our first stop was Tot Boss. We sampled the tater tot nachos. I know it sounds random but oh my! It was soooo yummy.
The second truck we went to was the World Street Kitchen. Justin pointed out this was his favorite. We shared the Korean BBQ Beef Tacos.
(look at all that cilantro!)
All in all it was a GREAT event and we enjoyed some new foods we wouldn’t normally eat.
What’s your favorite food truck?
Smiles,
Erica
We have had a great weekend in Michigan celebrating Molly and Eric’s wedding. Justin and I arrived on Friday and were able to wander around a bit. In the short time period we were here we accomplished shopping in Birmingham, eating at Olga’s and Leo’s Coney Island, Motown museum (Justin went here while I was doing mani and pedi with bridesmaids), Ford Museum (Justin went here while I was getting glammed up yesterday) Here are some of the snaps I took:
Mazel Tov Molly and Eric!
Erica
If a chocolate chip cookie married a piece of vanilla cake…. You would have a chocolate chip bundt cake.
This past weekend we had some friends over to dinner. I was eager to try out a mini mac and cheese recipe that I had been holding on to for awhile. Also I couldn’t wait to experiment and come up with a new recipe for dessert. I had a lot of chocolate chips and knew I wanted to use them.
Here is what I came up with.
Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
2 pieces semisweet bakers chocolate
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, beaten eggs, oil, and water. Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips and grate in the 2 pieces of Bakers chocolate. Pour batter into bundt pan. Sprinkle top with 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Bake cake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Make sure to let the cake cool for a least an hour and a half before taking it out of the pan. Before I served it I dusted it with powder sugar.(The picture was taken before I dusted it.)
Enjoy!
Erica
PS- look at these gorgeous Peonies I got at the farmers market this weekend! I couldn’t wait to get them home and put them in water.
1. Deborah Lippmann nail polish- is it a surprise that the littlest thing make me happy? I just picked up Sweet Dreams and Day Tripper. (love them)
2. Sebastian Joes Ice Cream- It is the one thing I crave all summer. My favorites are Nicollet Pothole and Raspberry Chocolate Chip.
(Is there such a thing as too many sprinkles? I don’t think so)
3. Crave Brunch-
I met a girlfriend here today for the first time. They have a French Toast Bar that is so yummy! I topped mine with fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, candied walnuts and a dash of homemade whipped cream. (AMAZING)
What were your weekend highlights?
Smiles,
Erica
This week is dragging! Every day I wake up and think its Friday and it’s not. I have managed to cook 4 days in a row which might be a personal record for me. Tonight I had plans to meet up with a friend and it fell through. I threw together a batch of Crepes ala Alton Brown (pure genius). I have never made Crepes before and was a bit terrified I would screw up. I realized after I flipped my last crepe tonight that this was not as hard as I thought.
Here’s his recipe
Serves:
17 to 22 crepes
Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Directions
Combine all of the ingredients. Spray pan with Pam. Heat a small non-stick pan (I did medium heat.).Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days.
Justin’s Crepes (chocolate, peanut butter, banana)
Erica’s Crepes (scrambled eggs and Parmesan cheese)
Smiles,
Erica
I do not want to turn the blog into a constant discussion on weight loss but I felt the urge to post this weekend on my current success. When I went into weight watchers on Saturday morning I found out that I had hit a personal goal of 35 pounds. This was something that I did not think I could accomplish when I started weight watchers in August of last year. My attitude though towards what I can accomplish has made a complete 180. I am at a place now where I believe that I can do anything I set my mind to. I feel a gazillion times better than I ever have and I have more energy than before. I have no secrets or special foods or drugs. I eat fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and lean meats. I don’t deprive myself and I eat when I am hungry. Exercise used to be a pain and I used to loathe it. Now I see it as a stress reliever and a part of staying healthy. I change up my workouts often and enjoy running on the treadmill, biking outside on trails, and walking around the lakes. I am a visual person and I wanted to see what 35 pounds looked like. Justin helped me take a picture at the grocery store of bags of flour. Each bag of flour is 5 pounds. I figured out that I have lost 7 bags of flour. (excuse the other groceries in the picture)
Woo hoo!
Erica
