At Home With Chick-fil-A

For several years, Rinar and I lived in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of Chick-fil-A.  I love Chick-fil-A. As a kid, this restaurant was only found in a mall but in Atlanta, there was a drive-thru about one mile from my house.  I would go there at least once a month and that chicken sandwich was heavenly.

Then we moved to Nevada.  No Chick-fil-A...like, anywhere.  Seriously, I think the closest one was in Salt Lake City.  After several years, Rinar got a job where he would work half of the week in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first thing I asked him when he started this new career adventure was if there was a Chick-fil-A in Albuquerque. I mean, the plane ride was only an hour long, so I figured he could bring one home to me every once in a while. And he did.  Plus, he would have done just about anything for me since I was pregnant at the time.

Sadly, Reno does not have one either. And every time we have driven to California, we always make it a point to stop at one of their restaurants in Sacramento. I have always thought that two hours away was not too bad. It is a heck of a lot closer than Salt Lake City.

But now I am free of the Chick-fil-A curse.  Why, you may ask? Is it because they are building one here in Reno?  Well, no.  I don't think so. But it really does not matter, thanks to my new favorite obsession, Pinterest.

A few weeks ago, a recipe popped up that said it was the secret Chick-fil-A concoction.  What!?! No way. I pinned that thing in about 1.3 seconds. And tonight, the recipe made it on to my menu plan.  I made Chick-fil-A chicken bites. And let me tell you...they were delicious.

Mine did not turn out as pretty as this picture, but they sure tasted like Chick-fil-A.



I think that my life is now complete.

What I Didn't Eat

It was a small victory today, but I am going to celebrate.  I went to a ladies night dessert thing at Mandy's house. I drank bottled water, I carefully selected one small desert, ate a lot of fruit and dipped only a handful into some healthy dark chocolate. 

I am usually the girl that has one of each dessert.  But I decided I didn't want to be that way, and I wasn't.  Will it always be so? Probably not, but at least I have something I can build on.  Each time I am successful, I get a little bit stronger. Plus, I have been trying to reprogram my thinking a bit.  I mean, I have eaten all of the goodies before. I know what they taste like. I know how I feel after I indulge too much.  I can remember the good tastes, and avoid the yuckiness that follows.

I really want to get rid of the baby gut I have been carrying around as a result of two consecutive pregnancies.  I know I am never going to have washboard abs, but I know that I can do better. I am just hoping I can make it through this holiday season relatively unscathed.

I am just going to do my very best, and I will be happy with it. The small things really do add up.

Thoughts on Grocery Shopping

Drive to the grocery store. Walk down every aisle.  Put items in the cart. Take it out of the cart. Pay for it. Put it back in the cart. Take it out of the cart. Put it in the car. Take it out of the car. Put it in the kitchen. Put it away.

There is no food in this house. 

Let's go out to to eat!

It's About Bacon

I actually made a grocery list, searched for coupons, and went shopping today. The amazing thing is that I stuck to the list. I even made a menu for the week. What is wrong with me??

I found a coupon for bacon and so it got me thinking about bacon. (Yes, I really do occupy my time thinking about things like this.)

I am going to unequivocally state that bacon is the perfect food. Would you dare to disagree with me? I have spent a lot of time thinking about this very important subject and this is the conclusion I have made. Bacon is perfect. It goes with everything. If you are cooking something and you want to spice it up, don't over think it. Just put some bacon on it, and you are set.

Hamburgers with bacon. Uh...hello? Yeah!

Pasta salad, tuna sandwiches, garden salad, green beans, broccoli, eggs, steak. Yes, yes, yes. I really could go on and on.

Let me just illustrate my point here. My menu this week includes pasta shells, vegetable soup, steak and potatoes, and chicken crescent rolls. Now picture some bacon on with every single dish. Take the yum and add a my to that. Yum-my.

Bacon even goes well with chocolate cake, yogurt, chocolate chip cookies. Why not? Take that bite of cake. Swish it around in your mouth. Now chase it down with some bacon. You're not hating it, are you?

Please tell me a food that would not be compatible with bacon. I can't think of anything.

And in a completely different and totally unrelated topic, I told Rinar yesterday that I really need to lose about 10 pounds. Too much flab around my mid-section.

Totally unrelated to my bacon thoughts.

But do you think they could make some kind of bacon perfume? {sniff, sniff} Aahhhhh!

A Little Confession

Today I want to make a confession about something that is very important to me...

FOOD

I love food. I think about food. I eat food. When I am not eating food, I am talking about food. Sometimes I get overwhelmed thinking about all the things I could make, and then mourning the fact that there are not enough days or calorie allowances in one day to eat all the things I want to eat. Food is just a wonderful invention.

My favorite talk show host is Glenn Beck and the reason I think I like him so much is because he loves food too. He loves to talk about food on his show. It is great. Finally, somebody as weird as me.

I watched the Discovery Channel series called "I Can Make You Thin" and he says that you should eat what you want (YEAH!) but when you are full, stop (BOO!). I have definitely got one of his pointers down, no problem. I eat what I want. But the stopping part is really giving me fits.
So to combat my love affair with food, I have a gym membership. I make a point of going at least 3 times a week. If I didn't, I don't think I would be able to get out of bed.

One of my good friends loves food too. But she also likes to exercise a lot more than me. I am going to confess here on the internet that we are having a food affair. She will come over here just to see what is in the basket above my refrigerator. That is where I keep all the good, yummy, highly fattening stuff. Even tonight, she stopped by to drop off a book and get some cookies I had just made. She also popped some kettle corn to take home to her hubby. She loves the kettle corn. She never refuses a cookie or treat. I knew I would love her from the moment we first met. What makes it even better is that she is a dietician. haha! (Love you, Mel)

You see, when we are not eating together, we are on the phone talking about food. I was just mentioning to her the other week that I wanted to go to Roy's Hawaiian Fusion again just for the Chocolate Molten Cake. I must have had that a year ago, but I was thinking about it the other night. It happens to me alot. I will think about something yummy that I am dying to eat again. By the way, they are building a Chick-Fil-A in town and I have been obsessing about it for months now. Imagine a world where there is no Chick-Fil-A. That means you are in Las Vegas. I also constantly dream about a certain eclair I got at a bakery in Solvang, California. It was near enough to heaven as you can get, and probably only about 2000+ calories. I want another one!

I don't think this is healthy. Do you have food confessions?