Thomas Better Start English Muffins

I'm sick of oatmeal.

So thank goodness my co-worker Beth suggested these Thomas English Muffins; only 100 calories and full of fiber. I've been toasting one of these for breakfast this week, with just a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. It's filling and IT'S NOT OATMEAL!!!

Filippo's Ristorante

On Friday night, Barrett and Megan took Chris and out for dinner at Filippo's Ristorante to celebrate our engagement. Chris and I have wanted to check out this restaurant for months now and were so thrilled that we got to dine there with such great friends.
The service there was ify (we stood by the door for almost 5 minutes before being acknowledged and seated) but the food was INCREDIBLE! I'm so excited for our trip to Italy after dining here!

Our meal consisted of:
Appetizer: ASPARAGI DOSE'
asparagus rolled in eggplant and prosciutto topped with fontina and parmigiano, served with a lemon butter sauce

Chris' Entree: the day's special: sausage lasagna

Olivia and Megan's Entree: ROTOLO PRIMAVERA
Stuffed with ricotta, spinach and prosciutto, served in a light pink sauce

Barrett's Entree: RIGATONI NAPOLETANA
Backed rigatoni in tomato sauce with smocked mozzarella, ricotta and parmigiano cheese

Each plate looked fantastic and Chris and I both agreed we would have to come back to order what Barrett got, because it looked so flipping delicious!

We both highly recommend Filippo's Ristorante (at Webster and Clybourn) for a romantic dinner or a fun gathering of friends. Just be prepared to be there for awhile as the service is a bit slow but the food is definitely worth the wait!

Ethiopian Diamond

Last night Chris and I met up with some friends at Ethiopian Diamond in Edgewater. I've never had Ethiopian food before and was a bit skeptical about whether I would like it or not.
The evening was quite enjoyable and I learned a lot about Ethiopian culture. How you order and eat food in Ethiopia is by a system of sharing. Everyone eats off one giant plate (or three giant plates, in our case) of food. You use a flat bread (which was quite spongy and bland)to pick the food up and eat with. We played a bit of musical chairs last night, each wanting to try different foods off the other plates.

What I ate was:
Doro Tibs: chicken breast meat cubes marinated in lemon juice and garlic sauteed with onion and green pepper
Shrimp Tibs: shrimp marinated in lemon juice and garlic sauteed with onion and green pepper
Yebeg Tibs: lamb meat cubes marinated in lemon juice and garlic sauteed with onion and green pepper
Yemisir Azifa: cooked whole lentils mixed with chopped onions and green peppers, seasoned with garlic, white pepper and lemon
South African Beer: Castle (yum!)
a sifter of honey wine (super sweet)
and Ethiopian coffee (incredibly strong, with the consistency of melted chocolate)

There were some vegetarian foods down at the other end of the table but I opted to stay with the food in front of me. :)

I enjoyed the food but I don't think I would ever seek out Ethiopian food. I can't imagine craving it, but it was fun to try!

Waterfront Bristro

I found another fantastic fish I love cooking! Dominicks sells this brand called Waterfront Bistro and I bought the Pacific Cod with a Tuscan marinade (tomatoes, garlic, herbs, etc)
I put it on the grill for about 20-25 minutes, till it was opaque and flaky, and holy cow it was delicious!
And only 220 calories for a really large filet!

I'm excited to try out some of their other flavors now! I love this sort of food for weeknight cooking: delicious, reasonably priced, healthy, and super easy to make!

Grilled Potatoes

Over the weekend, Chris and I went to Waterloo, Iowa for our friends' Lindsay and Alans' wedding. On our drive back on Sunday we passed an Amish farmstand. What luck, since we missed our regular weekly farmer's market here in Chicago!
At the farmstand we picked up some onions, apples, potatoes and green beans.

Last night we decided to grill hamburgers (for Chris) and fish (for me) with grilled potatoes and sauteed green beans. It was delicious!

Here's how we grilled the potatoes:

chop up the baby potatoes into chunks
chop up half a sweet onion into chunks
smash up about 4-6 cloves of garlic

mix all that into a bowl

take some rosemary (from our herb garden!) and add it to the mix
add salt and pepper to taste
pour in some olive oil and mix everything together

wrap it all up in some aluminum foil and then lay that on the grill for 25 minutes. Turn over and grill for another 25 minutes.

The potatoes were delicious! the garlic, onion and rosemary had seeped into the potatoes for a rich, full flavor. Yum!!!

Kraft Fat Free Ranch Dressing

I'm still watching my waistline as we get closer and closer to the wedding date. I wish I was able to just avoid snacking throughout the day but I get pretty hungry so I've had to come up with healthy snacks to help tie me over to the next meal.

For instance, every afternoon at 3pm I eat 2 cups of organic spinach with 10 slices of cucumber and 1 Tbsp of Kraft Fat Free Ranch dressing. (total calories: 45) I had tried my share of dressings and this one tastes the best to me. The fat free Italian dressings were too strong in flavor and the raspberry vinagrettes were still pretty loaded with sugar (and calories).

So I recommend Kraft Fat Free Ranch dressing if you're looking for a light alternative to top your healthy salad!