Travels in Chicago –

 Did

 you think I was done highlighting some of the wonderful food mom/dad tried when they were visiting Illinois last November?  Of course not – snorts with piggy laughter.  How could

any visit be complete to the Chicago area without trying some of their famous Chicago deep dish pizza?  And of course, there was only one place they had to go for that –

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

First up, Aunt Tina said they had the best calamari.  So everyone ordered the Calamari Fritti which was lightly breaded and fried to perfection.  They serve this delectable appetizer with a side of cocktail sauce.  Of course, Aunt Tina made sure to spritz lemon all over these yum-yum’s before everyone dug into them.

And then everyone dug into some salad.  See even Aunt Tina made daddy eat some vegetables – mom was so proud.  Of course mom told daddy he had to eat the salad because the pizza takes time to cook.  That’s right.  Deep dish pizza takes longer to cook than the regular pizzas you might order from your fast food place.

 Then after a while, mom/dad/Aunt Tina said they heard angels singing and their individual pizzas were delivered.  Instead of getting one huge pizza, they all got individual ones with side salads.  These pizzas had sausage and black olives – and lots of sauce.

What did mom/dad think about this Chicago style deep dish pizza?  Dad is a huge pizza person.  He said that he ‘thinks’ he liked it but he would have to try one again to be sure.  That sounds like dad, huh?  But in the end, he said he would give it about an eight.

Mom said it was okay.  Mom is not a fan of a lot of sauce on her pizzas and of course this one is fully loaded with sauce.  And the crust is thick and a there is a lot of it surrounding the pizza.  Mom said the crust was kind of hard too.  There was lots of flavor but this pizza left mom on the it was okay side.  So for these reasons, mom gave it about a four.

But overall, everyone had a fantastic time at a famous landmark.  Would they go back again – of course they would!  There is more to the menu than just pizza.  And if you know anything about my mom/dad, they are professional eaters – snorts with piggy laughter.

 

Travels in Chicago

Last November, mom/dad traveled to Chicago, Illinois.  Or should I say, mom planned a trip and told dad absolutely nothing about it until the car came and picked them up at the Hotel Thompson the morning of departure.  Mom had already packed everything for their adventure.  Why Chicago?  Well first up, my Aunt Tina lives there with my cousin Sherlock Bones.  Second up, daddy has *always* wanted to go to Ditka’s Chicago.  Are you asking yourself what is that?  Well Mike Ditka is a former football player, was an awesome coach and a television commentator.  He coached the Chicago Bears back in the day which was one of dad’s favorite teams.

In the next couple of weeks, we will be highlighting some of the food that everyone enjoyed during their trip to Ditka’s Chicago.

❤

Like in this picture.  This is an appetizer called Coconut Crusted Shrimp.  It is settled in a bang bang sauce with a basil oil.  A little spicy on one hand but delightfully sweet on the other hand to balance the shrimp.  And that is also a piece of fried lemon on top of the shrimp.  It was a wonderful way to start the meal.

 

Journal to Healthier Living – Week 7

Welcome my friends.  I’m tweaking my weekly journey with my healthier living.  It’s a step in the right direction for sure.  I hope you come along for the ride.  Instead of day-to-day comments, I’m going to post something from my personal journal to share.  Hope you enjoy.  Remember all of us go down this path and we are all in it together ❤

 

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Week of 02/18-02/24/2018 – Week 7

“Dear Journal – It seems like food choices are beginning to become easier in decision making.  That’s a great and awesome thing.  If you would have told me this time last year I would be choosing water over a soda, I would have laughed at you.  I was so addicted to fully leaded soda!  It’s such a relief to break myself of that addiction.  I don’t have to worry about diet soda… I would much rather drink water anytime.  And I think water is so much better for my skin as well.  This was definitely a good week of eating.  I need to pick up the exercise a bit more.  I’ve been doing a combination of walking and exercise.  There are seven exercises that I’m trying to incorporate into my routine everyday.  It’s working for me and that is what matters.  I think I’m going to rope the hub unit in doing those seven exercises with me every evening.  It may make things go faster and it would certainly help to boost both of us for sure.”

 

 

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This week walked:  8.27

TOTAL 2018 Miles:  61.57

TOTAL 2017 Miles:  541.06

 ❤ small goals turn into big accomplishments ❤

 

Travels in the South

Welcome friends to another week of Travels in the South.  This week it’s not a highlight of a restaurant.  Oh no.  It’s a highlight of a product that mom found in the store that me and dad can’t get enough of – can you say yummy!?

Mom has seen commercials on the television for this item – Skippy P.B. Bites – don’t they look awesome?  And you know that me and dad are *huge* peanut butter fans.  Neither one of us can get enough of the creamy or crunchy stuff.  We love both.  Mom had a coupon for a bucket of these bites.  With the coupon and them being on sale, mom paid right around $1.50.  It is a small container but there are lots of creamy balls in it – licks piggy lips.  I know that so didn’t sound right.  But take my word for it, these are delicious!

AND they come in two different flavors that mom saw at the market.  These which are double peanut butter and then they have pretzel peanut butter.  Right now, mom has learned something really important about the double peanut butter.  Me and dad can be bought with these balls of wonder and bribed to do anything in the Hotel Thompson.  Just give us peanut butter!

So the next time you are at the market, look these bad boys up on the peanut butter aisle.  Let me know what you think ❤

 

Travels in the South

Okay friends – today’s Travels in the South is brought to you by daddy.  He likes to think of himself as a professional eater.  I’ll admit it.  He’s *almost* as good as me at packing some food way.  Almost.

Now there is one restaurant that is open seven days a week 365 days out of the year.  I’m sure a lot of you will recognize the name – Waffle House.  This is a southern restaurant chain that opened in 1955.  You walk in, the waitresses and staff get to know you and call you by name.  You order and can then watch the cook prepare your breakfast right there in front of you in their kitchen at the grill.  All of the food is prepared fresh – from waffles to omelets and everything in between.

Daddy has the craving lately for a new dish on their menu.  It’s called the Philly Cheese Hash Brown Bowl.  It starts with hash browns (cooked however you want them), topped with cheese and Philly steak.  Sometimes, dad even adds add a couple of scrambled eggs.  It’s a bowl that has everything.  You can also get the bowl with other breakfast meats…. but we won’t mention them okay.  Snort sand oinks.

 

Travels in the South

Hello sweet friends.  How was your Valentine’s Day yesterday?  In honor of the sweetest day of the year, mom/dad shared a little love yesterday as well.  They went out to dinner and afterwards enjoyed this delicious concoction.  And hey, splitting a dessert means half of the calories, right?  But who’s counting calories on Valentine’s Day – snorts.

This lovely creation is called a Margarita Cheesecake which is seasonal special at a local steakhouse called Logan’s Roadhouse.  Now, it’s like other cheesecakes made with cream cheese but it has Logan’s signature margarita blend on the graham cracker crust.  And don’t forget about the sliced strawberries all over the place.  Mom said it was – what was the phrase she used – delightful to the fullest!

So, if you are near a Logan’s Roadhouse, make sure you check it out for this wonderful dessert.  You won’t be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

Travels in the South

Welcome my friends to another week of Travels in the South.  Today we wanted to share with you one of mom/dad’s favorite appetizers.  A couple of weeks ago, mom/dad was craving this delicious dish and went to the restaurant ordering and splitting just this plate.  What is it you ask?

Let me present to you Carrabbas Italian Grill Calamari.  It’s hand breaded to order and normally served with a marinara sauce.  But mom/dad, they like to get the lemon butter sauce on the side with the sliced peppers for just a little heat.

For those that don’t know what calamari is – it’s squid.  Now before you go eeww, don’t know it until you try it.  Honestly.  Even I have tried it and I like it.  Like in this dish, it’s fried crispy and is wonderful.  Sometimes it can be a little salty but for the most part it’s an awesome dish.

So the next time you are at  Carrabbas Italian Grill, give it a try.  I bet you will fall in love with it as well.

 

Travels in the South

Welcome friends to another Travels in the South.  This week mom/dad went seafood.  At our local Joe’s Crab Shack, they have an appetizer that mom/dad like to get and share.  Pair it with a salad and you can say perfect meal.  What is this appetizer?  Joe’s Crab Shack calls it Crab Nachos.  Mom/dad call it a little heaven.

It has almost everything in it – lots of delicious crab dip, pico de gallo, black beans, lettuce, corn, cheese and an awesome avocado lime dressing.  And there are plenty of nachos to scoop everything up with and enjoy.  And the bonus is that the nachos don’t get soggy.  You know how sometimes they get limp and wet with regular nacho toppings.

So the next time you are craving something seafood but with a curb of delight, check out your local Joe’s Crab Shack for this delicious appetizer… or make it a meal like my mom/dad do.

 

Travels in the South

Hello friends – welcome back to mom/dad’s Travels in the South.  Today is a good one…. snorts – I say that every week don’t I?  Rolls with piggy laughter.  Well as you know mom/dad have been changing their way of eating.  It’s definitely a work in progress for sure.  Well, a couple of weeks ago mom took dad out for his birthday.  Dad wanted to go to a local steakhouse for dinner.

Dad went for a steak of course ❤   He ordered a prime rib and mom said since it was his birthday he could have french fries.  Nice of her huh?  Snorts!  Mom went with the strawberry fields salad.  Doesn’t that look awesome?  It has everything in it from nuts to grapes to strawberries to oranges.  Yummy huh?

 

Travels in the South

Are you asking yourself, “Self, just what is this creation on Bacon’s Travels in the South this week?”  I’m glad you asked my friends.  See last week for dad’s birthday, he wanted to go to our local Bojangles where he wanted to try this creation.  Now I’m going to let mom describe what it is… she says I don’t need to know what’s inside of it.  I think we all knows what that means.

This fabulous looking bowl is called the Pulled Pork Bowl.  It starts with Bojangle’s spicy Cajun pintos, then they add a sweet and smoky sauce along with pulled pork and topped with cole slaw.  Even I was questioning if this would be good or not.  In fact, I tried not to like the taste I got out of the hub unit’s bowl.. but I couldn’t help myself.  It was delicious!

So if you have a Bojangles in the area, stop in and try this creation – I think you’ll like it too 🙂