I wanted to pop in quickly and wish you all a Happy Turkey Day. I honestly cannot tell you all how much I appreciate each and every one of you.  Thank you all for always being there for me, encouraging me through all of life’s challenges and more importantly for your friendship.  I am pretty sure I could never put it all into words, but, just know that you all make a big impact on my life and inspire me with each comment, email, facebook, tweet and more.  Thank you for reading and for sharing your daily adventures with me every day.

Enough of the mushy gushy-ness and on with the delicious Turkey Day feast!  I was so excited when I was able to convince everyone (including the non-turkey loving husband) to have a Turkey Day Dinner while in Florida (courtesy of Publix).

Just for fun……Here is the points+ breakdown of my plate.  It totally tasted like homemade and I got my Turkey Day fix with everything I wanted to eat for 16 points+!

• 1/4 cup candied yams ~ 3 points+
• 2 oz turkey breast with 1 Tbsp gravy ~ 2 points+
• 1/4 cup cranberry orange relish ~ 2 points+
• 1/2 cup corn bread stuffing ~ 5 points+
• 1/4 cup mashed potatoes with 1 Tbsp Gravy ~ 2 points+
• 1/2 cup steamed green beans ~ 0 points+
• 1 dinner roll ~ 2 points+

I am totally sad I am going to miss out on Black Friday Shopping….I told The Husband I was seriously pondering getting up super early for a Florida Style Black Friday Shopping….he had to go and be all logical though and ask me where I’d fit everything in my luggage

Are any of you getting up early to go shopping??? It’s total justification to start your day with a Starbuck’s!

Have a FANTASTIC LONG Weekend!  We head to Miami tomorrow then to St. Lucia on Saturday!!!!

Hi everyone!  I have had several requests from everyone asking what are my FAVORITE things at Trader Joe’s.  I honestly LOVE everything at the store so it was “hard” to pick just a few things.  I decided to create a list of some of my favorite things at Trader Joe’s that you can use if you are taking a road trip or if you just can’t decide what to buy~ nothing says you have to get everything. 

It’s a given that I LOVE all the CHEAP, fresh organic produce, but, there are not too many things I don’t LOVE there.  I tried to keep it to Trader Joe specific things and list it based on where you would find the items in the store.  This is going to be an ever-changing list as they always coming out with new products.

Please note that Trader Joe’s stores often carry what is local to your state.  My list is based off of California and I now that the East Coast may not have what we do.  It never hurts to ask or show them a picture though – you never know, they might just order it for you.

YOU CAN CLICK HERE TO PRINT THIS ENTIRE LIST

Trader Joe’s Favorites List

Courtesy of Danica’s Daily

http://www.danicasdaily.com

As of January 26, 2011 ~ here is what I am currently LOVING at Trader Joe’s

CONDIMENTS/SAUCES/SPREADS/SALSAS

·         All Salsas ~ especially Corn, Smoky Peach and fresh salsa

·         Arabiatta Pasta Sauce – spicy and good straight from the jar

·         Balsamic Vinegar ~ it’s delicious and cheap ~ I use it on and in everything

·         Condensed Cream of Portabella Soup

·         Green olive tapenade, awesome on sandwiches or stirred in pasta

·         Hot and Sweet Mustard

·         Lemon Curd

·         Light Coconut Milk

·         Low Sugar Organic Apricot Preserves

·         Low-Fat Tuscan Marinara

·         Marinated Mushrooms , 0 points+ and delicious!

·         Midnight Moo Chocolate Syrup ~ delicious and REAL, no HFCS

·         Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar

·         Organic Ketchups & Mustards (because they are made by Annie’s )

·         Organic Roasted Red Pepper soup – awesome with grilled cheese

·         Organic Unsalted Crunchy Peanut Butter

·         Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce

·         Pink Himalayan Sea Salt ~ cheap and grinds

·         Pure Vanilla and Bourbon Vanilla Extracts

·         Raw honey and pure maple syrup – both are amazing and not too pricey

·         Rice Wine Vinegar

·         Sesame Soy ginger Dressing

·         Sweet Chili Sauce ~ Yes, it’s that Spicy, Sweet Thai sauce you get at restaurants

·         Toasted Sesame Oil, I love flavored oils in stir fries and salad dressings

·         Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute

·         Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki Sauce (super good & cheap teriyaki)

·         Trader Joe’s Red Pepper Spread- it’s bright orange – so AMAZING on sandwiches!

·         White Balsamic Vinegar

RICE/BEANS/PASTA

·         17 Bean and Barley Soup Mix

·         Basmati Rice Medley

·         Brown Basmati & Jasmine Rice

·         Brown Rice Medley

·         Canned Beans ~ all, organic & cheap

·         Cuban Style Black Beans

·         Harvest Grain Blend ~ awesome for THIS recipe alone!

·         Instant Garlic Mashed Potatoes, taste better than the real deal

·         No Bake Lasagna Noodles, they are chewy and easy to use, worth it not being whole wheat

·         Organic Baked Beans

·         Salsa Refried Beans

·         Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain Blend

CEREALS

·         Steel Cut Oatmeal

·         Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal

BAKING

·         All their flours – they are cheap

·         Corn Bread

·         Pumpkin and/or multi-grain pancake mixes

·         Triple Berry Bran Muffins, 3 points+ each

·         Turtle Brownie Nix (treats are good and this one is phenomenal)

·         Vanilla Cake

REFRIDGERATED SECTION

·         All their premade salads ~ easy go to meal when you don’t want to cook

·         Avocado’s #1 Guacamole

·         Buttermilk Biscuits & Crescent Rolls (because there are no transfats & real ingredients!)

·         Cranberry Orange Relish (if they still have it – awesome topper)

·         Cranberry Walnut Gorgonzola Dressing

·         Fresh Pizza Sauce, next to the dough

·         Guaca-Hummus

·         Italian Sausageless Sausage

·         Organic Broccoli slaw – awesome with the spicy dressing peanut on top for a nice side or snack

·         Pizza Dough ~ fresh, in the fridge section ~ all flavors are AWESOME and low in points+

·         Ravioli’s – All especially the bacon cheese, butternut squash and portabella mushroom

·         Soyrizo

·         Spicy Asian Peanut Dressing ~ The BEST DRESSING you will ever eat

·         Spicy Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus

·         Spicy Hummus with the salsa in the middle of it

·         Spicy Jalapeno artichoke spread – delicious on sandwiches or with crackers.

·         Spicy Spinach Pizza, in the fridge section

DAIRY

·         French Vanilla & Hazelnut Creamers ~ I get these for The Husband because they are made without transfats and with ingredients you can pronounce/recognize

·         Fresh Mozzarella Balls

·         Light Havarti and Cheddar Slices

·         Marinated Mozzarella with Olive Oil

·         Organic lowfat strawberry & banana yogurt cups – 6 pack – 4 oz containers – small but tasty

·         Pre-cut sharp cheddar squares – kinda pricey, but, delicious – 1 square is 1 pp

·         Shaved Parmesan

·         Shredded Pepperjack

·         Trader Joe’s Greek yogurts are so cheap – LOVE the 0% and the vanilla

·         Trader Joe’s Lite String Cheese (used to be 1 point each, not sure if its 1 or 2 now)

MEAT

·         Applewood, uncured REAL bacon – awesome for BLTA’s (2 pp/slice)

·         Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, in the fridge section.

·         Marinated Carne Asada

·         Marinated Pesto Genovese Chicken

·         Marinated Santa Maria Tri Tip

·         Peppered Turkey Bacon, 2 slices for 1 points+ ~ the BEST Turkey Bacon I’ve ever had

·         Smoked Turkey Kielbasa

·         Southwestern Stuffed Chicken Breasts

·         Trader Joe’s 97% Lean Turkey Bacon (1 pp a slice!)

·         Trader Joe’s Mango Chicken Sausage

·         Trader Joe’s Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage

FREEZER

·         Apple Tart, you get 1/6 of the tart for a serving!

·         Breaded Chicken Tenders, 3 points+ each and it’s “fried” chicken

·         Brittany Blend Frozen Vegetables

·         Channa Masala

·         Chicken Egg Rolls

·         Chili Lime Chicken Burgers ~ so delicious, I eat them without a bun

·         Edamame soycatash

·         Fire Roasted Corn, Frozen ~ smoky, sweet & a great addition to soups, casseroles, etc

·         Frozen French Toast

·         Frozen Steel Cut Oats

·         Garden Vegetable & Spinach Lasagna

·         Lemon Grass & Coconut Curry Chicken Stix ~ fun appetizers

·         Marinated Chicken Chipotle Skewers ~ add to make a spicy chicken Caesar salad in minutes

·         Meatless Corn Dogs, they seriously taste like the real deal

·         Mini Chicken Won Tons, you get 9 for 3 points+ ~ great straight up or in soup

·         Orange Chicken, chicken potstickers & Vegetable or chicken Fried Rice is an awesome Chinese food night

·         Organic Brown Rice, Frozen ~ cooks in 3 minutes & doesn’t taste like instant, 4 Points+

·         Shrimp Gyoza

·         Soba Noodle Bowl ~ Awesome with steamed Organic Broccoli Slaw

·         Vegetable Gyoza, my favorite in THIS recipe

BREADS

·         Cranberry Walnut Bread, next to all the baked breads

·         Fat Free Multi-Grain Bread (it has a blue, orange, red wrapper), 3 PP for 2 slices

·         Focaccia, who am I kidding – all their freshly made daily breads

·         Organic tortillas, regular and whole wheat (they are made with flour & corn!), 4 PP each

·         Pita Breads, cheap and awesome for pita pizza

·         Sour Dough Walnut Wheat Bread

NUTS/CRACKERS/CHIPS

·         AkMak Crackers, not unique to Trader Joe’s but I always have them on hand

·         Candied Pecans & Walnuts – delicious as a snack or on salads, yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes

·         Chips….um, all of them. If you see something that looks like a brand you recognize (i.e. popchips, Stacy’s Pita Chips) ~ it IS that brand, just cheaper.

·         Dried Apple Rings

·         Fruit wraps, I dunno, I always buy them for people but not myself

·         Golden Berry Blend ~ better than just raisins or cranberries

·         Honey Plantain Strips

·         Honey Wheat Pretzels, do not get often but sometimes you want pretzel crunch

·         Kettle Korn Lite, they have them in packs of 6 – salty, sweet, crunchy

·         Nuts ~ cheap and come in small packages – I LOVE them all

·         Nutty American Trek Mix (it has big chunks of chocolate!)

·         Salty, Sweet, Nutty Trek Mix (the title says it all)

·         Social Crackers (8 for 3 pp) ~ the BEST crackers I’ve ever had, they melt in your mouth

TREATS

·         If you have self-control ~ section

o   Almond Windmill Cookies

o   Caramel Cashew Cookies

o   Chocolate nibs – up front in a little orange/yellow container

o   Coffee Ice Cream

o   Dark Chocolate – 3 in one pack – all red wrappers

o   Dark Chocolate Almonds

o   Dark Chocolate Blueberries

o   Dark Chocolate Cranberries

o   French Vanilla Ice Cream, the best ice cream you will ever eat

o   Maple Cookies

o   Milk & Dark Chocolate Crisps – they look like pringles

o   Mini recess peanut butter cups

o   Organic Lollipops

o   Peanut Butter stuffed, chocolate covered pretzels

WINE

·         2 Buck Chuck ~ all their wines are tasty and $2 a bottle!  I use it for cooking & drinking.

You can print this post or CLICK HERE to download a printable version.

Q’s

What is your FAVORITE thing at Trader Joe’s?  If you don’t have a favorite yet, what is ONE thing you want to try the most.

I am always looking for new things to try and I am sure I missed a bunch of things that I LOVE….share away so we all can add it to our lists.

If you are wondering about a certain product, feel free to leave a comment or email me and I’ll gladly share my thoughts.  The things I do not LOVE or you can get anywhere, I have left off the list.

Night everyone! 

As you all read on Sunday night, I sort of have a thing for Starbuck’s Cranberry Orange Scones with icing and cranberry filling.  I really think what makes their Cranberry Orange Scones so tasty is they have this AMAZING filling on the inside.  They are sweeter than your average scone, buttery and melt in your mouth with tons of chewy cranberries inside.  I do not get their scones too often though because they are a good portion my daily points and come in around 490 calories and 18 grams of fat!

I knew there had to be a way to make a Healthy Cranberry Orange scone so I did a little research and busted out my beautiful Kitchen Aid Mixer. I checked out several recipes including Barefoot Contessa’s Cranberry Orange Scone Recipe, but, I couldn’t convince myself to use 3/4 pound of butter with 1 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream as much as I wanted too.

I decided you really needed to have some real butter and a little whipping cream to get that buttery flaky texture.  But, I could get away with using a little Greek Yogurt for some of the butter and heavy whipping cream.

This recipe has half the calories and points, and, in my opinion, it tastes even better than the real deal (I might be a bit biased though)

HEALTHY CRANBERRY ORANGE SCONES

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup 2% Greek yogurt

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup 2% milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup dried cranberries

18 teaspoons Cranberry Orange Jelly (Trader Joe’s or Make Your Own ~ it’s easy)

EGGWASH

1 egg combined with 2 tablespoons water, lightly beaten

ICING

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs, heavy cream, milk and vanilla extract and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.

3.  Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 1/4-inch thick. . Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn’t stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones “bottoms” on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the outside edges of the circle with your egg wash and place 1 teaspoon of cranberry orange relish in the middle.  Place one more scone circle on top and slightly press the outsides to seal.  Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

4.  Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

Makes 18 cranberry orange filled iced scones!

Nutritional information per “stuffed” scone (using Calorie Count), 6 points each!

The “SECRET INGREDIENT” is in the filling! You could take some of your leftover Thanksgiving Cranberry Orange Relish to make these or just buy Trader Joe’s Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish. 

It’s so good, I could literally eat it off the spoon.

I actually made up 2 versions when I was testing this recipe ~ 1 with filling and 1 without.

STUFFED with Cranberry Orange Filling.

WITHOUT…

If filling isn’t your thing, roll out your dough 3/4 inch thick, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, bake and ice like these.

Deliciousness ~ not too sweet, not too bland with buttery cranberry orange goodness in every bite!

Tadah!!! They are really easier than they sound and totally worth making for everyone you know just to try them I actually froze half the dough so that I could unthaw it and make it up another time.

I am off to finish Biggest Loser before heading out to Alcatraz & lunch tomorrow with some really cool people!

Night all!

Happy Sunday!!! Today marked STEP 2 of my Fridge Makeover ~ Restock my fridge with fresh, healthy food that will most likely include a new recipe with the fresh taste of butter, the healthier way. 

If you missed out on STEP 1 and all the details of my Fridge Makeover Challenge, Click HERE and read all about it

To help make STEP 2 happen, the ever amazing people at I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter provided me a a $100 Grocery Gift Card!! Thanks again ~ you all rock!!!

I started out by doing a little research on refueling my fridge.

I got down to business and created this HEALTHY MEAL PLAN plus my SHOPPING LIST before I headed out the door.

BREAKFASTS:

* Egg Foo Young

* The usual round up of whatever sounds good Egg white fluffies, oatmeal, protein pancakes, wafflewiches, yogurt, fruit, etc.

LUNCHES:

* Sesame Chicken Noodles

* Sandwiches with Muenster, Turkey, Ham, Spicy Hummus and maybe Cranberry Orange relish

* Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes

SNACKS:

These are just things I like to have on hand and in SIGHT so I grab them ~ I typically pair a protein with a healthy carb and/or grain.

* Yogurt, Fat Free Cottage Cheese, LF Cheeses, Fruit, Nuts, Veggies, Hard Boiled Eggs, Hummus, Crackers, Nut Butters

* I might make up some Deviled Eggs too

DINNERS:

* Caramelized Apple Salad with Grilled Onions

* Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus over Whole Wheat Pasta

* Island Soyaki Chicken Shish Kabobs over Brown Rice

* Chef Salad with Homemade Tomato Basil Soup

* Grilled Flank Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Greens

* Healthy Walnut Fettuccine over Spinach

* Optional ideas: Mini Turkey/Veggie Meatloaves, Homemade Pizza

TREATS:

* Healthy Bananas Foster over ICE CREAM!

* Coconut Banana Cupcakes!

* For Easter ~ Healthy Holiday Butter Sugar Cookies or Lemon Cookies

More recipes to come and my menu is always totally subject to change of course LOL

I did 99% of my shopping at my FAVORITE STORE ~ Trader Joe’s and picked up a few things at my local Raley’s that TJ’s didn’t have.

THE PRODUCE HALL!  TIP I try to buy organic whenever possible, but, 100% for anything that had skin on that you will eat.  Anything you peel, I do not worry about since you can peel away any residual pesticides.

TIP Whenever I buy fresh herbs, I like to put them in my HERB KEEPER because it will keep my herbs fresh for about 2 weeks versus 2-3 days.  This is AWESOME because fresh herbs can be expensive.

I start off by cutting the bottom stems off.

Then, I add 1/2 cup of water – to the fill line.

Then, place my herbs in my container.  I LOVE the top part (green) because it is a separate small attachment you can keep already chopped/prepped herbs in.  I got mine at Pampered Chef, however, I did put an awesome looking Mini and Full Sized Herb Keeper in My Open Sky Shop in case you are not going to a Pampered Chef Party and want one (the one is my shop is cheaper I think LOL).

The REST of my groceries, plus some Shrimp I picked up at Sam’s that you don’t see.

Here are all ‘”THE REPLACEMENTS”

Healthy PURE Maple Syrup and Organic Grape Jelly for The Husband.

They both do NOT contain any bad ingredients – woohoo!

I can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Baking Margarine for my cookies!

I LOVE that they add Omega’s to there buttah!  You will notice that their 0 transfat is true if you add up ALL the fat grams ~ 11 Total = all the mono. poly, sat, etc. 

Trans Fat Free White Chocolate Chips ~ I may have to make cranberry bars with these!

This wasn’t a true replacement, but a great TIP for all you out there whole LOVE Coffee Mate.  CM has transfats, but this flavored Vanilla Half and Half does not!

Pretty decent stats too which is important to me since The Husband using like 1/4 cup each day in his coffee LOL.

I fully restocked our fruit drawers.  I always keep lemons and limes on hand for cooking with ~ they are awesome replacements for salt in recipes and they add great flavor to homemade dressings or water. 

Not much else changed on Door #2!

No changed to door #1 either other than my GREEN move for the batteries

Most of the “changes” happened in the middle of the fridge.

I added lean lunch meats that were cut at the deli (less sodium and preservatives), low fat cheese and new baking goodies!

Totally restocked both our veggie drawers.

Plus a little produce over flow….You are more likely to use it if it’s at eye level, right

The fun new things for The Husband…Plus my herb keeper and I am giving the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray another go now that it’s Transfat Free too ~ can’t be 0 calories!

AHHHHHH!

Not much changed on the Freezer side other than the addition of some slow churned 1/2 the fat French Vanilla Ice Cream.

I feel like our Fridge is all brand new again and we only just got it this past June when our old fridge broke.  I do LOVE our Fridge ~ you all are right – this is my DREAM fridge and now it’s stocked up and healthy the way it deserves to be!  I think our next mission will be to work on eating our “supply” down

Are you all ready to do your own Refrigerator Makeover???? Check back tomorrow because I will be hosting a GIVEAWAY for ONE LUCKY READER to do their very own Makeover!

It’s movie time ~ NIGHT ALL!!!

Do you all remember me falling IN LOVE with that Trader Joe’s Cranberry Orange Relish?  One of my loyal readers (Thanks Suzanne ~ you rock!!!) offered up her FAVORITE version that she uses for Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.  I cannot WAIT to make this when I get back, but, I thought I’d share the recipe with you all in case you wanted to try it out next week!

Cranberry Orange Relish

1 bag of fresh cranberries (approx. 2 cups)
1 cup of orange juice
1/2-3/4 cup of sugar (this could be modified with a mixture of sugar/agave)

** Danica’s optional add would be to add 2-3 tsp of orange zest for color and flavor

Heat orange juice and sugar in pan on low until sugar dissolves.  Add cranberries.  Simmer on low.  Cranberries will start ‘popping’.  Simmer approx. 10 minutes until cranberries break down.  Careful not to boil over as it makes a mess!  Cool and refrigerate.  Yummy!

I buy the bags of Ocean Spray cranberries when they’re in season and throw them in the freezer.

Enjoy and be sure to leave a comment letting me know if you make it!!!

BON VOYAGE!!!

Happy Early Turkey Day all!  (Our Anniversary is actually ON Turkey Day this year so we definitely have Extra Thanks this year!!!)  The Husband has a special Guest Post on that day but I have to wait to read it – AHHHHH!

Be sure to check back each day as I have an AWESOME group of guest posters lined up for you all

xoxo,

Danica & Jay, A.K.A. The Husban

Happy Friday all!  I am not sure I’ve ever been so glad it’s Friday ~ this week was SOOO long recovering from the Foodbuzz Festival and busy super busy at work.  This morning I decided to celebrate it was Friday by stopping at Peet’s.

I ordered a reduced fat Berry Peach Scone ~ MMMMM – soooo good, but, I am not sure it’s worth 330 cal, 7 g fat, 2 g fiber (7 pts) good.  I tried eating 1/2 but seriously, who eats just 1/2 a scone….. 

I paired it with a small (not tall!) Fat Free Chai Tea Latte that honestly sucked.  Starbuck’s chai’s are SOOOO MUCH better.  This was like watered down tea with milk added   I still drank it though……

I had to have lunch early because I had training all afternoon.  I whipped up my latest FAVORITE sandwich that I cannot get enough of. 

Two slices of Mulit-Grain Bread ~ 1 topped with Trader Joe’s Spicy Hummus and the other topped with Trader Joe’s Cranberry Orange Relish.

Add 99% FF Maple Turkey & LF Jarlsburg Swiss Cheese….

Slice in half and dig into that creamy, sweet, spicy amazingness!

I made up a side organic broccoli slaw salad with spicy peanuts and TJ’s Low-Fat Spicy Peanut Dressing.

Plus crunch ~ Stacey’s Parmesan Garlic Pita Chips – I LOVE these!!!!

The training I went to was for Microsoft Office 2007 and I have to say it was AWESOME.  I LOVED learning about all the super cool new things and that they actually have an online interactive guide that you can use to look up how thing appeared in the old version and how they appear in the new version.  The highlight of the training was my computer’s name Daisy Duck (donald’s girlfriend) and I got to be called Daisy all day

I was STARVING on the way home so I whipped out the rest of my pita chips with a cheesestick.  See why I can’t be around these things….I think I’d eat them at every meal (ooohhh and add spicy hummus) and I may never eat anything else.

Dinner was super easy tonight ~ Leftover Chilaquiles Casserole.  I LOVE this casserole.  I was actually sad that there isn’t any left.  I NEED to make this again!

Plus 1/2 an orange.

All together with homemade FIZZY WATER!!!

After dinner we opened the FUN MAIL we got from my Momma!  She sent us the CUTEST anniversary card……

That blows a ships horn and birds chirp when you open it….So funny!  I can’t believe we leave in 6 days – WOOOOHOOOO!!!

My Mom is super crafty and her latest creation is a Pocket Scarf!  She makes them and sells them ~ so fun!!! Have you all ever seen or heard of these? I never have but I LOVE the idea. 

It’s a scarf with pockets!  The pockets are big enough to fit your pumpkins in

The Husband had me model it.  So, I didn’t expect him to actually take pictures of me clowning around, but, ummm….ya, he did!!

She makes them in all colors, themes and sizes from little kiddos to tall adults.  If anyone wants one, feel free to email me and I’d be glad to have her make you one

After my brief debute as a model, I grabbed some dessert.  These Christmas Taffies are my absolute FAVORITE candies ever.  I wait all year for them to come out and then buy them until I can’t anymore.

One last fun thing for Friday in case you all didn’t catch my tweet earlier……Here is a link to a coupon for Buy 1 get 1 free Peet’s Coffee Beverages.  The coupon is good through 11/22/09 – so feel free to print share, make copies and get your coffee fix on as much as you can.

I am off to take my corny self to the couch and possibly watch a movie with The Husband….Yeah for the weekend!!

Catch you all tomorrow ~ Nite!

Happy Hump Day all!  I think I am STILL in recovery mode from the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival but at least it is making the week is flying by FAST!  The past few days I’ve reviewed a few products that I wanted to share with you all.  I decided to make this post all about product reviews ~ fun, no?  I will get back to daily eats and recipes tomorrow….for now, be sure to check out these things that I am currently digging.

Do you all remember when Kath gave me that FANTSTIC looking seedy Dakota bread?  I tested it out on Monday by toasting it up ~ It’s pretty tasty.  I LOVED the toasted nuts and the thick doughiness of the bread.

The seeds are not just on top, but, loaded within.  I highly recommend picking up some of this bread from Great Harvest if you are lucky enough to live by one ~ you definitely will not be disappointed.

Whenever Trader Joe’s comes out with something new, I almost ALWAYS feel compelled to try it ~ especially if it has a great ingredient list and nutritional stats.  I found 3 NEW things this week that I am seriously IN LOVE with.

1.  Classic Lemon Bars

2 Weight Watcher Points each!!!

I LOVE that they come frozen in pre-cut squares ~ it makes it so easy to grab just one and eat that versus the entire container (umm, I could do that with lemon things!!!)

The little bars are AWESOME and totally worth 80 calories.  They are thicker like a cheesecake versus pudding like, but, the buttery lemon tartness just melts in your mouth.

2.  Cranbery Orange Relish!!!! 

It only comes out once a year so be sure to stock up and freeze it.  It has the perfect balance of cranberries with hints of orange.  I LOVE adding it to oatmeal, my turkey sandwiches or having it with LAUGHING COW and Crackers.  1/4 c is only 100 calories!

3.  SMOOTH & CREAMY SPICY HUMMUS

I first found their Sabra type Roasted Red Pepper Hummus a few weeks back.  I was super excited when I saw that they have more flavors ~ Spicy, Cilantro/Jalepeno, Basil, etc.  I was thinking of the Spicy Hummus with Harissa that I used to get from The Hummus Guy at the Farmer’s Market when I bought this.

WOW!!! This is officially MY ALL TIME FAVORITE HUMMUS!!!  It’s like they took salsa and added it to the hummus.  FANTASTIC nutritionals and clean ingredients – yeah!!!

I have been enjoying it with kashi crackers and mixing Spicy & roasted red pepper hummus on my sandwich.  However, today was my ALL time FAV new creation ~ spicy hummus plus TJ’s cranberry orange relish on my turkey/swiss sandwich ~ spicy sweet ~ YUM!

The next two things are from Frog Hollow Farm and were given to us at the Food Buzz Blogger Festival.

1.  Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I LOVED the ingredient list especially when I saw Scharffen Berger Chocolate!!!

I brought these into work and shared.  They are crispy and chocolatey but you do not really taste the cherries.  There are dried cherries inside, but they are in pieces.

2.  GRANOLA!!!!  This granola is so addicting!  I started off topping my Chobani with it and ate the entire sample bag in one day (handful by handful ~ oops!).  It’s sweet, salty and crunchy with a few raisins throughout.  Delish!

I also tried a new Chobani flavor ~ Blueberry!  I have to say I am really digging that all the fruit is on the bottom and you have to stir it in.  I think that makes it fun!  I liked the blueberry flavor, but, pineapple is STILL my favorite so far.

Speaking of Chobani ~ You can win an ENTIRE CASE with EVERY FLAVOR ~ Click HERE to enter!

See you all tomorrow when I decide to get back to normalness Nite all!