Cajun Caesar Salad

Hi everyone!  I hope you are having a great Saturday evening!  I’ve been out of commission, computer-speaking, for a few days.  I must admit, it felt nice.

My mom and I played in a golf tournament in Northern Michigan.

It was a 2-day team tournament.  We placed 2nd in our ‘flight’!  My mom played GREAT and I helped a little along the way

 

I was a bad blogger and did not shoot ANY pictures of food, sights, people, anything!  One of the afternoon’s I went over to a local farm, Pond Hill.

(source)

The lady owner cans A TON of different food items; from jam to pickled asparagus to salsa, marinara sauce and syrup, among MANY other things.  I purchased Purple Heirloom Tomato Salsa and Caper & Mushroom Pizza Sauce. 

Pond Hill Farm also sells hormone & antibiotic free, grass fed organically raised meats.  I purchased two small skillet steaks.  With the 4.5 hour drive home today, the beef defrosted so I decided to cook it up tonight. 

 

I found a recipe for Cajun Caesar Dressing so I made a Steak Caesar Salad.

 

Cajun Caesar Dressing

Into a medium bowl stir…

• 1 egg
• 1 TBS chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black better
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 3 dashes Tabasco
• 3 dashes Worcestershire
• 2 TBS red wine vinegar
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 Cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Beat together thoroughly and chill until ready to serve.

Toss salad and dressing.

Serves 4

 

The salad was perfect!  Not too spicy, but a bit tangy.  I added tomatoes for some color! 

 

I need to detox over the next few days.  I have done way too much eating and drinking and not exercising over the past week.  I’m hoping my body liked the rest, cause it’s over now!!

Have a fabulous Sunday!

The Grill Master

This is my dad.  The Grill Master.   

 

This post comes to you a few days late.  But who’s counting?  I enjoy relaxing Sunday night dinners with my parents.  They have a really nice backyard and deck area.  Sunday’s weather was PERFECTO for dining outside.

 

Vino, of course…

Chicken Kabobs with zucchini, onion, mushrooms, and red bell pepper 

After dinner, my mom and I took a walk…to the local ice cream parlor – Dairy King!  The Downtown Plymouth area is about a 1.5 mile walk from my parents house.  Perfect for after dinner ice cream!  Guaranteed, I did not burn off the Health Bar Flurry, but gave it a good try

 

 

INCEPTION

So…I finally saw Inception last night.  It was quite the mind-bender.  The special effects were amazing.  It was a long movie for my antsy pants.  Leo is hot!  I’m still not totally sold on the story.  It was a bit hard to follow at times.  Maybe it’s just me. 

 

After the movie, we ventured over to Rojo Mexican Bistro.

 

Another gorgeous evening for dining outside.  The temps have cooled to a comfortable 80* and less humidity.  It feels like a cold front!  I even turned my air conditioning off for the first time in two months.  Last month’s $170 electric bill may have played a part in that decision as well  

 

 

Mushroom Quesadilla – whole wheat tortilla – 3-cheese blend and 3 types of mushrooms

 

Refried BLACK beans with grill veggies (instead of rice)

 

As always, a fabulous meal at Rojo.  The menu is not your traditional Mexican fare – it’s a bit more upscale.  Is there such a thing as “Gourmet Mexican”?  Sure, why not?

What’s your favorite Mexican food?

 

I’m going to be out of blog-land for a few days.  I am heading up to Northern Michigan to play in a 2-day golf tournament!  Wish me luck!  Have a great week everyone!

Indian Food-Baby

You may remember a few months back I had my first Indian food experience!  Well, I decided it was time for more Indian food in my life. 

Yesterday, I met my dad for lunch at the Bombay Grille.


Images are copied from the website. 


The Bombay Grille offers a lunch buffet, everyday.  I’m not a big fan of buffets, usually because I overstuff my tummy.  This lunch buffet was definitely the way to go.

I cannot tell you the exact names of everything on my plate.  Obviously the bread is Naan, to the left (clockwise) of the Naan is some spicy peppers, then Butter Chicken, vegetables in a cream sauce, Chicken Tikka, lentils, cabbage with a yogurt sauce, deep fried vegetables.





I think Bombay Grille is a winner!  I walked out comfortably full, but not overstuffed.  Because I took two pieces of Naan, I skipped the rice. 

After the fabulous Indian-inspired lunch, I made quick Whole Paycheck stop, enjoying this tea when I arrived home.  It was refreshing and satisfied the inevitable post-lunch sweet tooth You know what I mean!
 

Also, upon arriving home, there was a box on my porch.  What could it be?





Two boxes of cereal – score!  Thanks, FoodBuzz!  I haven’t tried them yet, but can only imagine great things from Kellogg’s. 

Bikram called my name this morning, bright and early.  Post-Bikram fruit smoothie protein drink…
 

Strawberry-Banana with Vanilla Sun Warrior and Skim Milk.  Very refreshing and healthy. 

I know most of you are familiar with Nicole of Prevention RD!  I’m very excited to write a guest post for her coming up this week!  So…be on the lookout for that   

Have a great Saturday!

Half-Plate-Full

Why does the summer fly by?!  It’s going by way too fast for me right now. 

So…what have I been up to the last few days?

More filming of Scream 4.

This week, the film crew was in my hometown of Plymouth, Michigan for two days.

       

Hello, Courteney Cox…

Sea Scallop Scaloppini

(say that 10 times fast)

SUMMER YOGA CHALLENGE UPDATE

Continuing with the Summer Yoga Challenge, I have now completed 21 out of 50 days of yoga (within the 94 days of summer).  I am on track thus far!  I am enjoying yoga more and more each practice.  I notice that I have more energy and of course more strength and flexibility. 

Duplicated from the Summer Yoga Challenge Page…

50 Days of Yoga

(Pilates counts in my book too.)

June 21 - September 22

Day 1:  (6/23) Fitness Pilates (with Anna)
Day 2:  (6/24) Less Is More Yoga (Exercise TV)
Day 3:  (6/25) Pilates Abs
Day 4:  (6/26) Vinyasa Yoga (with Trish) 
Day 5:  (6/27) Vinyasa Yoga (with Lauri)
Day 6:  (6/28) Ashtanga Yoga (with Lauri)
Day 7:  (6/30) Bikram
Day 8:  (7/2)  Bikram
Day 9:  (7/4)  Vinyasa (Freedom) Yoga (with Kim)
Day 10:  (7/5)  Bikram
Day 11:  (7/6)  Bikram
Day 12:  (7/8)  Bikram
Day 13:  (7/11) Vinyasa Yoga (with Marc)
Day 14:  (7/12)  Less is More Pilates (Exercise TV)
Day 15:  (7/13)  Bikram
Day 16:  (7/14)  Vinyasa Yoga (with Tammy) + Yoga Fitness Plus
Day 17:  (7/16)  Pilates Core Fusion (with Monique)
Day 18:  (7/17)  Bikram
Day 19:  (7/19)  Bikram
Day 20:  (7/20)  Hatha Yoga 2 (with Sinah)
Day 21:  (7/21)  Bikram

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Today’s lunch was nothing short of amazing.  I had beef on the brain.  I cooked up an Applegate Farms Organic Frozen Beef Burger.

 

Added some mashed avocado, provolone and tomato.  Then I sautéed some leftover yellow squash, orange pepper, onion, and mushrooms.  I think I overestimated my hunger – what else is new?

 

“They” say half your plate should be veggies, right?  The burger (on a Sandwich Thin) looks so tiny – it was not small.

Blurry Burger 

Dessert.  I’m on a Chobani w/ Dark Chocolate Chips kick.  I added a few Sunflower Seeds for good measure, as well.

 

 

What’s your favorite ‘mix-in’ in yogurt?

 

By the way, THANK YOU all for your nice words and advice on moving Pickley Pear over to WordPress.  It’s taking a bit more time than I imagined.  So…I’m going to hold off for the time being, and continue blogging as normal. 

A Working Document…

Pardon my dust.  I am still in the process of moving to WordPress, but am having trouble transferring the domain.  WP gave me a new domain, but I want to keep PickleyPear.com, and am having trouble.  I am in the process of getting help with this (probably very simple) task, so for now, I am going to continue to post here

 

So, I hope you all had an exciting weekend!  From glancing at my out-of-control Google Reader, I see lots of Shrimp, Feta and Orzo concoctions have been invented!

 

Shrimp is so versatile, easy and quick to cook.  I whipped up some Shrimp Stir-Fry the other night. 

 

Onion & Garlic

   

Orange Bell Pepper, Yellow and Green Zucchini

Broccoli

 

All together now.  Add Soy Sauce and Mixed Nuts, Black Pepper and Garlic Powder

        

What’s your favorite way to eat Shrimp?