chicken – Page 2 – Loving Food, Fashion, & Life

A World Cup Watch Party

Posted on June 29, 2014 by LFFL

Bread Pudding topped with caramel sauce; served with vanilla ice cream.

Another World Cup gathering and, naturally, I couldn’t resist having some good food. I started with a chicken quesadilla which was crunchy amazing. I just love a crispy tortilla. Then I had to move on to dessert—bread pudding.

This bread pudding was so huge in comparison to the bread pudding I normally get from my hometown diner. It was wonderfully delicious and helped with my nerves while watching a close game.

USA vs. Germany game outdoors.

Marinated & grilled chicken, onions, pico de gallo, and pepper jack cheese in a crispy tortilla; served with salsa & sour cream.

USA vs. Germany game indoors.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, enjoy a good game with good food along with other rambunctious people.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Loads of good food can always help when your nerves are shot.

The World Cup Excitement!

Posted on June 27, 2014 by LFFL

Ready for the game & some good food!

The GOAL dance!! Yeah, baby! Score USA!

I just love, love, love when the World Cup rolls around every four years! I actually wish we could enjoy it every year—I mean, four years is a long time to wait for the World Cup to roll around each time. Geez!

But when it does—I’m all over it! There’s so much excitement and adrenaline going all around. I love it! And to think it goes on for an entire month! I turn into a crazy person hooping and hollering all over the place jumping up and down—some of you would never claim me as your own.

These are times you have to plan your days off work so you can watch the games “live”—because, God forbid, you hear about what happened before you’ve had a chance to watch the game you taped before you get home. That’s the worst part, trying to avoid the media and people around you talking about it when you haven’t even seen it yet! So to avoid that problem—it’s much better to watch the games “live”—and it’s more fun that way anyway.

Vacation Martini made with Malibu Red, Hirman Walker Peach Schnapps, pineapple juice, and strawberry puree.

Potato skins topped with bacon, cheese, and scallions; served with sour cream.

Beef sliders with onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and cheese.

Chicken sliders with lettuce, tomato, red onions, cheddar cheese, bacon, and pickles; served with chipotle ranch.

Chicken Quesadilla made with chipotle tortilla with three cheeses, pico de gallo, and grilled chicken; served with chipotle ranch & fresh salsa.

Seasoned hand-breaded chicken tenders; served with macaroni & cheese, and onion rings served with ranch & honey mustard sauces.

Monte Cristo Sandwich made with sliced turkey, ham, and Swiss cheese on yellow bread dipped in egg batter; served with raspberry aioli sauce.

Vanilla ice cream ball rolled in cinnamon & crunchy topping, topped with honey & whipped cream.

Full slab of baby back ribs topped with barbecue sauce; served with loaded mashed potatoes, and macaroni & cheese.

I always hope the USA and England are two of the top 32 countries that make it to the World Cup to begin with—and, if so, I’ll start by following them. If and when the teams I follow drop off, I’ll start “picking” other teams to follow that I’d like to see win.

Sometimes it’s hard choosing because though I like to see the top playing “well-known” teams win, I also sometimes root for the underdog because those teams hardly ever win anything and aren’t as “popular.” I start feeling bad for them sometimes. It’d be amazing to see a small, lesser-known country beat a popular top-playing country that always seems to win. But I’m always USA and England first and foremost.

So far, I’ve been going to local sports bars to watch the games so I can enjoy some fabulous eating as well. As you can see, there was no shortage of food around me—and you know how I love being surrounded by food!

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was a vision of loveliness.

USA vs. Portugal game.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, pick a team you’d like to see win and follow them throughout the World Cup. If they drop off the map, pick your next favorite team and follow them. Keep doing this till the very end. You may be overly surprised by how much you actually enjoy the World Cup even if you’ve never been a big fan.

Take-Away Life Lesson: When you act like a crazy person over the games, your friends, family, and co-workers may not claim you as their own—especially if they don’t “get” what all the fuss is about. But WHO CARES?!! You’re enjoying life, BABY!

Chicken Noodle Soup For The Throat

Posted on December 29, 2013 by LFFL

When you feel like the dickens, you definitely don’t want to cook and you barely want to eat. A scratchy sore throat, achy body, and stuffy nose wants nothing more than some hot chicken noodle soup at 500ºF immediately, if not sooner. Oh, the agony.

I opened the box, dumped it into the pan and while waiting for the heat to kick in I decided to peruse the soup box. Wow! The soup inside the pan and the soup on the box did not look exactly the same colorwise.

Where are they getting all that ‘green’ color in the picture on the box from? No, seriously? I didn’t see it inside the pan at all. Then I figured to be fair, hmmm, maybe it needs to be inside an actual bowl like in the picture before you see it or before it looks that scrumptious.

As you can see, the bowl made no difference whatsoever. Though the soup was good, please don’t deceive me with pretty pictures on a box with unrealistic contents that are nowhere to be found.

(I tell ya, it’s the little things you notice when you have a lot of time on your hands feelin’ like the dickens.)

So, if you have nothing else to do today, inspect all your food packaging in comparison with the actual contents on the inside. That should make for an interesting day.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Things are not always as they seem apparently.

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Soups Du Jour

I Think I've Made Enough Trips To Cheddar's

Posted on December 21, 2013 by LFFL

I’ve made enough trips to Cheddar’s that I’m on a first-name basis with some of the crew. That’s how you know you’ve shown your face one too many times.

Enjoy the plethora of my visits.

Honey Butter Croissants

Chips with Spinach Dip & Queso

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Honey Butter Croissants, Chips with Queso & Spinach Dip, Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

I can never get enough of the honey butter croissants, that’s for sure. No matter what I order from the menu, I guarantee the honey butter croissants are making an appearance in my mouth at each visit.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cornmeal Catfish with Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Monte Cristo with French Fries

Mushroom Swiss Cheeseburger

Philly Cheesesteak with Honey Butter Croissant & Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Cornmeal Catfish, Monte Cristo, Mushroom Swiss Cheeseburger, Philly Cheesesteak

Chicken & Waffles

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Fajita Quesadilla with Chicken Tortilla Soup

Grilled Chicken Alfredo with garlic bread

Chicken Tender Platter with Onion Rings & French Fries

Chicken & Waffles, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Fajita Quesadilla, Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Tender Platter

Shepherd’s Pie

Baked Spasagna with garlic bread

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Shepherd’s Pie, Baked Spasagna, Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

So, if you have nothing else to do today, take yourself to the nearest Cheddar’s and enjoy a feast of food along with the honey butter croissants.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Look at all the fun you can have when you work your way down the menu.

More Fun Times At That Newfound Diner

Posted on December 1, 2013 by LFFL

French Toast made with thick sourdough bread dipped in a secret batter, topped with butter, powdered sugar, and maple syrup.

How can you not love three thick pieces of buttery goodness French toast?

Ranch Wrap

Wrapped Up

Ranch Wrap made with fried chicken, avocado, bacon, tomato, ranch dressing, Jack & cheddar cheese, and a spring mix wrapped in a garlic-herb tortilla.

Wrapped Up made with egg whites, turkey, avocado, mushrooms, and Jack cheese wrapped in a spinach tortilla; served with salsa and fresh fruit.

Fried Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Fried Chicken Salad made with fried chicken, chopped romaine, tomatoes, Jack & cheddar cheese, onions, cucumbers, bacon, egg, croutons, and ranch dressing; served with a muffin.

Chicken Salad Sandwich made with chicken salad, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese on a croissant; served with fries.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, keep going to your favorite diner till you’ve tried everything on their menu at least once.

Take-Away Life Lesson: There’s nothing wrong with having found a new little diner as your second home.

Still Loving The Diner

Posted on November 3, 2013 by LFFL

Burrito Platter served with Spanish rice and soupy beans.

Here are more of my little trips to my hometown diner. Such yummy good food.

Catfish Fillet with tartar sauce and a side of Cabbage, Corn Nuggets, Ham & Beans, and Cornbread.

Chicken Fillet Sandwich

Chicken Fillet sandwich deep-fried with cheddar jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.

This here is why I like dealing with the same one or two servers over and over once they know me well enough and I realize they are really good at their jobs.

The day I ordered the chicken sandwich on the left, I specifically called-in my order and asked for LETTUCE ONLY with my sandwich. I told them to leave off the pickles and tomatoes.

As you can see, my sandwich came with the usual on it—EVERYTHING.

Another day I called-in and ordered the chicken sandwich on the right and specifically asked for LETTUCE ONLY. I told the person what happened the last time I ordered and she said she would check the order herself personally AND give me EXTRA lettuce even.

Now as you can plainly see, the one on the right came with absolutely NOTHING on it. I even looked under the bun to make sure the lettuce wasn’t hidden inside the sandwich somewhere. Needless to say, I didn’t get the EXTRA lettuce she said she’d give me because I didn’t even get the regular lettuce they normally put on it.

Unfortunately when I placed my orders, I couldn’t ask for the person who usually takes care of me because he had already gone home for the day. So I just placed my order with whomever answered the phones on both occasions.

I cannot understand how I can be so specific, thorough, and detailed—even down to explaining how my order was screwed up the last time, only to have it screwed up again!

French Toast

Apple Pie

French Toast made with thick-cut egg bread dipped in egg, topped with whipped butter and powdered sugar; served with maple syrup.

A slice of Apple Pie.

Another day I walk into my local diner and I’m standing at the counter for 5 long minutes waiting to place an order to-go. I turn and I see a diner pow-wow meeting or gossip-fest of some sort going on.

I’m not sure what it was, but no one even looked up to say hi or take my order. After 5 minutes of standing there, someone else in the restaurant (who was NOT part of this group) finally came and helped me. Unbelievable.

But, nevertheless, I still love my local hometown diner.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, continue to frequent your favorite diner even if you get irritated every now and again with the little mistakes that keep happening to you.

Take-Away Life Lesson: We’re all only human.

A Smile At Houston's

Posted on November 2, 2013 by LFFL

Hand-Cut French Fries with honey Dijon and ketchup.

Here was the highlight of my day today—FOOD at Houston’s! I started off with a fabulous appetizer of none other than fries. These put a smile on my face all on their own.

Club Salad made with crispy chicken, smokehouse bacon, avocado, egg, and tomato with buttermilk garlic dressing.

Five minutes later, there’s my club salad looking lovely as always. Naturally, I always have to ask for an extra side of dressing. The amount of dressing they put on the salad just doesn’t cut it for me. I need it loaded with a blanket of that creamy goodness.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, eat fabulously at a place whose food always puts a smile on your face.

Take-Away Life Lesson: It’s the little things in life that can make your day.