Date Night in Coeur d' Alene

I had a Groupon for Bonsai Bistro in CDA that was going to expire in 4 days. Cam and I both felt like we haven't had a whole lot of time to relax and we desperately needed a date night. 

I don't know why, but for some reason I imagined Bonsai Bistro to be more casual than what it was and it turned out to be fancy shmancy. There was a Koi pond, and an island that was also used as dining space. 

There's a turtle!

We were seated right next to the pianist - that's right, they had a live concert pianist.

The food was good, but both Cam and I felt that it wasn't as good as other places around the area. There was also some amount of confusion between us, our order, and the waitstaff. Here's a list of everything that happened:

1. Cam ordered General Tso's Chicken (Spicey Sweet and Sour Chicken) and an egg roll appetizer. I ordered Spyder Rolls and California Rolls (I know they're very similar rolls), and 3 pork pot stickers.

2. Immediately right after the waitress leaves with our order, another waiter came and dropped off 5 pork pot stickers and leaves before we can say anything. Cam assumed that it was my order of 3 just wrong, so we ate them. 

They were yummy

3. Then 10 minutes later, he comes and brings us an order of 2 pot stickers. I know there's been a mistake, but the guy never stays long enough for us to talk to him about it. So Cam ate them, lol.

4. THEN, the guy comes with an order of Mongolian Beef. I then say: "Ok, you must have the wrong table here, we didn't order that." He then leaves confused.

5. A little while later the waitress comes and we try to explain to her that there must have been some kind of mix up. We weren't rude about it at all, we actually apologized for possibly confusing her. She however was sure we ordered all those things and seemed a little annoyed at us like we were trying to pull a fast one on her. 

6. She thought Cam had ordered pot stickers instead of egg rolls even though we were positive that he said egg rolls. She didn't seem to believe us when we told her that the guy brought us some one else's meal of Mongolian Beef. 

As we waited for our food, Cam got a little silly.

7. We finally got our food. 

Again, it was good, but we probably won't be going back anytime soon.

Taco Salad with Baked Tilapia

I bought some taco bowl molds at the kitchen collection today. I bought some whole wheat tortillas which taste like cardboard, but because i'm trying to eat better, I have to eat.

I baked the tortilla in the mold for 10 minutes on 400 degrees.

Tilapia Baked in Herb Butter

Herb Rub

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp paprika

Rub all over the tilapia fillets.

Melt 1/2 of a stick of butter in a pan with 1 tsp of lemon juice. Pour butter over tilapia in a small pyrex dish. 

Bake for 7-10 minutes on 350 degrees. Meat will turn white when cooked.

Psych!! The New and Improved Diet

OK, let's get real. 

Maybe some people can eat veggies and fruits only, but I couldn't even get through one day of that. So I consulted with myself and came up with these 10 rules: 

1. 3/4 or more of my meal HAS to be made up of veggies and or fruits.

2. Some meat is OK, but needs to be less than a portion sized (For now).

3. Even though I think beans are gross, i'll force myself to like them.

4. Fish is ALWAYS OK.

5. Grains or carbs are alright as long as it's in small portions. Enriched bleached (white) flour is never OK. 

6. No Dairy!! Unless it's in salad dressing and in a small, small portion.

7. Eggs are OK,  but in very small small amounts.

8. No soda!!

9. No sugar!! Or as little as possible.

10. No desserts, ever. This shouldn't be that hard for me, i'm not that into deserts.

I really do admire people who can go straight up vegetarian or on these cleanses. I am not one of those people though. 

I laid in bed last night lamenting over my lettuce filled stomach, crying out "why me?!" to the heavens. 

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salad Ingredients

1 head of romaine lettuce

1 cup of Napa cabbage

1 carrot shredded

1 cup of sugar snap peas

1 cup of bean sprouts

1 can of Mandarin oranges
1/2 of a pear, sliced

1/2 cup cashews

a couple slices of red onion, rings separated

Green onions (garnish)

Fried Wontons (garnish)

sesame seeds (garnish)

Dressing Ingredients

3 Tbs honey

2 Tbs of Orange Marmalade

1 1/2 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar

1 tsp honey mustard

1/8 tsp sesame oil

Asian Sesame Chicken

Marinade

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 Tbs sesame oil

1 tsp five-spice

Let chicken sit in marinade for at least 15 minutes. Saute in olive oil.

Sauce

1/3 cup Hoisin sauce

1 Tbs soy sauce

1/3 cup orange marmalade

Cover chicken in sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Going Vegetarian...Well, sort of.

So Cam and I have been thinking lately how much we want to lose weight. We've tried a couple diets in the past, but none of them really worked. I remember the 

"The Group Weight-Loss Strategy of 2010"

This was unsuccessful. Before our wedding we all (Cam, myself, Karen, and Jon) decided that we would all lose weight together. We would weigh-in each week and keep each other accountable. I'm not even sure we made it to week 2. I remember the Weight Watchers meeting we had though, it was full of energy and high-hopes. 

then...

"The Actual Weight Watchers Diet Plan of 2012"

We didn't really try to lose weight in 2011, but come 2012 I was focused. Cam knew he wanted to lose weight, but didn't want to have to go without good food. I promised that I'd take care of everything, and did so for more than expected.

We bought a food scale and I weighed out all our food and used a WW calculator online. I fluctuated between the same 10 lbs....that was fun. Cam lost almost 20 lbs but ended up gaining it back. We finally gave up on it and blamed it on the diet. We've been at the same miserable weights for about a year now...which has sucked!!!

On the way home from Utah yesterday, Cam said that he was ready to lose weight but not only that, he was ready to change his diet. This was huge progress! Before I felt that I was forcing him into a diet with me, but now he wants to. So now, we've come up with 2 plans that will work for us.

"The Eat Smaller Portions and More Fruits and Veggies Plan of 2013 For Cam"

Has a nice ring to it, I know...Soon this plan name will be in households across America.

And then...

"The Mostly Vegetable and Fruits Diet of 2013 for Rachelle"

I'm only going to do this diet for 3 weeks just because I want it to be more of a cleanse than an actual diet.

 Of course this wouldn't exclude some (very small amount) of bacon as a garnish...I'm not completely crazy.

I might extend it if it goes well, or add a little meat after 3 weeks. Forsaking meat is a hard thing to do, even if it is for 3 weeks. 

I'm excited and I hope that we'll actually stick to our diets. I'll be posting a lot more Veggie/Salad recipes. Hope you enjoy!

Utah Trip

So we started our trip out on Friday the 12 at 

6:30am. It was early, and I wanted to crawl back into bed.

Bruno was really cute sleeping in the back.

We went to UVU campus on Sunday and relaxed for a bit as Bruno played in the grass. We played fetch with his bone.

Cam enjoys body slamming Bruno. 

Then, Bruno chased a stranger around campus for a while, and you'd think he'd be tired.

But no, we then went to hang out with Jared and Ellie that night and Bruno was really silly.

We managed to go to Zupas, which is one of my favorite places. Spokane really needs a Zupas...they should really get on that.

We went to Brick Oven pizza on Thursday night with Dana and her hubby. I missed her so much!!!!!!! It was really nice to see them.

Wednesday afternoon, I came home after picking Bruno up from Ruff House, and we both passed out on the bed. It was a much needed nap for the both of us, I'm sure.

We introduced Bruno to pig ears, which he loves. 

He eventually fell asleep with his pig ear, he's so cute.

Once he saw me holding the camera though, he started getting silly.

Bruno liked resting his head on Cam's shoulder throughout the trip.

Yeah, yeah, they love each other...we get it.

We watched/listened to a lot of HIMYM on the way home.

It was really beautiful coming down into the Coeur d Alene area. So pretty!!!

Sunday Morning, Sun is Shining.

We took Bruno to the UVU campus. There was no one there, and it was a perfect spot for him to run around and be his crazy self.

Bruno laid down right where I was laying, so I laid on top of him.

We stopped by Andrea's home to see her and the kids for a little bit on the way down to Utah. Ethan really liked Bruno. Violet was excited at first, but Bruno kept knocking her down...oops.

Cam Does My Makeup

Steak Night, Date Night!!

Prepare the Grill!!

Stack the briquettes in the grill like a pyramid. Light on fire, and wait till the coals get white. Once white, spread the coals out a bit. 

Let the steak sit out for 10 minutes to bring to room temperature. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper (I prefer Kosher salt). 

Helpful tip: Salt is the best thing you can do for a steak. It intensifies the flavors that are already there.

Place on the grill.

After a couple minutes, move the steaks to a different direction to provide the criss-cross marks.

Heat some butter in a pan with a Tbs of olive oil.

I wanted to sweat my onions as opposed to caramelizing them. 

Helpful tip: Salt brings out moisture. So if you're sweating your onions, add the salt after you throw them in the pan at the beginning. If you're caramelizing them, salt them once they're done cooking.

Saute mushrooms in butter.

For the carrots, I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and some thyme. I drizzled them with olive oil and then roasted them in the oven at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, brush them with orange marmalade or honey. Roast them for another 10 minutes after that.

Taco Night

I first fried the corn tortillas in some oil in this pan, and then coated the chicken in flour, salt, and pepper and fry it.

Then, put the chicken through the Ninja.

We got these really funny taco holders as a wedding present. They were always a joke between Cam and I, and we figured we'd give them away as a white elephant gift. However, the joke is on us now. I decided to open one of the two packages (Did they think we were going to have a taco party), and they actually really came in handy. They're cool, because they can come apart for single taco use, or be put together for multiples. 

So thank you, whoever it was who thought this was a good idea. I'm sure he sells a ton of these =)!

Till Kingdom Come

The New Hair

After washing my hair at least 10 times with some Dawn, it finally calmed down a bit. I still wish it were more brown, but I don't absolutely hate it anymore.

Pork Chops

The Rub

3 Tbs Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

2.5 Tbs Garlic Powder

3 Tbs Sage

2 Tbs Thyme

2 Tbs Rosemary

1 Tbs Ground Mustard

Mix together 

These are my new spices. I got all these jars at Hobby Lobby and then got the spices I use the most; you know, instead of getting a spice rack I hate full of spices that no one is ever going to use.

I love it! Plus, it adds great color to my kitchen which is a nice bonus!

So! Back to the rub. Mix the rub together and coat the pork chops in the spice rub.

After I cover the pork chops in the spice rub, fill a plate with olive oil and coat the pork chops in the olive oil.

Cover the pork chops with Seran Wrap and let sit in the fridge - overnight is best.

The Green stuff that the pork chops are sitting on is "Creamy Broccoli-Parmesan Orzo." It was really delicious and a really great recipe, but for another time.