As a mom of 4, it's not often that I can take the time to create or find a big, fancy meal that everyone will enjoy. In fact, usually it's hard enough to find something quick and easy that everyone enjoys. But what I found out tonight, it's not about the preparation, it's about the perception! If the kids get mac-n-cheese and nuggets 2 times a week, of course anything different, like enchiladas, is going to blow their minds - even though enchiladas are relatively easy to make. And no, my kids don't eat mac-n-cheese and nuggets twice a week, nor do I make enchiladas more than once in a blue moon, even though I just confessed that they're easily prepared...but I digress.
Last month, my husband, my best friend, and I went out to dinner at The Iron Cactus in Austin, Texas. I was on a health kick, as I usually am, so I ordered a salad. It turned out to be the best salad I had ever eaten in my life. It was a bed of raw spinach topped with blueberries, strawberries, grapefruit pieces, orange pieces, candied walnut pieces, goat cheese, grilled chicken, and a citrus vinaigrette. Absolute heaven! I knew I would have to eat that salad again! I don't make many trips to Austin, so last time I went to HEB for some grocery shopping, I picked up a few of the items from that amazingly wonderful salad.
Well, tonight I decided that it would be salad night for everyone! It couldn't have worked out better for me because it was one of the easiest meals I have ever prepared, and it was a huge hit! Since I have a very picky husband, and the babies aren't really into salads yet, so I decided to make this a do-it-yourself buffet style dinner. Best idea of the day!! I boiled, cut, and chilled some chicken thighs (breasts or tenders would work as well, but thighs are what we had) and put them on a plate. The next plate had green apple pieces, sliced strawberries, and grapefruit pieces on it. I also cut a few pieces of fresh broccoli, had carrot slivers, and pecan pieces out for everyone to pick from. As a base for the salads, I had a bag of Spinach and Spring Mix, and a bag of Classic Romaine Mix. I brought out every bottle of salad dressing we own - which is about 7 bottles ranging in everything from Ranch, to French, to Citrus Vinaigrette.
Everyone built their own salads, and every bowl was clean at the end of dinner. The best part was the fact that the kids thought it was such a cool dinner because they got to build it themselves. If they didn't want grapefruit in their salad, they didn't have to put any in their bowl. If they didn't want pecan pieces, they didn't have to pick any out of a pre-made salad. This is definitely a dinner we will be having again, and often! Healthy, fun, and it made mom look REALLY cool!!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
This is SO not a good time...
Tonight was not the night for Starbucks to decide that they "didn't want to make a whole pot" of decaf coffee JUST for me. Especially since I worked for the company for over 3 years and I know for a FACT that they have a "Just Say Yes" policy, which means that if their doors are open, everything on the menu should be available to every customer. No excuses.
Yes, I know from experience that it sucks to be 5 minutes away from closing and have a car drive up and order 8 different Frappuccinos at the drive-thru. Yes, I know that they want to pre-close and just want to save themselves for doing any more dishes or cleaning than they have to. But I'm the customer - the paying customer, who is helping their stocks do well (which they get for free every year!) - and if I want my $3.30 Non-Fat 6-pump Vanilla Misto to be decaf, you better either take the 4 minutes to brew it, or start a French Press for me! No, I don't want a decaf Americano, but thank you for asking.
At this point, I'm literally shaking...not because I'm mad...but because I now have 16 oz worth of caffeine coursing through my veins and it's 2 am. I'm also more annoyed than anything. Annoyed that people don't follow rules that have been in place for YEARS - and then pretend that you have no idea what you're talking about when you call them on it. I once had a barista argue with me - ARGUE WITH ME, THE CUSTOMER - over how many shots came in an iced venti drink. (It's 3, by the way; always has been.) She swore up and down that I was wrong and that they only came with 2 shots. I just walked away at that point because you can't really argue with an idiot and get anywhere. Now that I think about it, I should have asked her to get the recipe book out and show me. I'm sure that would have gone over well...when she was proven to not have a clue what she was talking about.
Well luckily, Donnie was the one that was dealing with the whole decaf vs. caffeinated fiasco, so I only heard about it when he got home. And thank God I wasn't the one dealing with this whole thing, because tomorrow's headlines might have read: "Killeen woman wanted decaf, Baristas got 'brewed' awakening" <--- that's the caffeine talking, folks! Forgive me.
Anyway, I think I'm going to head on over to our friendly neighborhood Starbucks in the morning and speak with the manager about my last few experiences. I'm going to be as nice and as pleasant as possible, and hopefully he/she doesn't feel like being argumentative...because I would hate to have a "Snapped" moment so early in the morning on a Wednesday.
Yes, I know from experience that it sucks to be 5 minutes away from closing and have a car drive up and order 8 different Frappuccinos at the drive-thru. Yes, I know that they want to pre-close and just want to save themselves for doing any more dishes or cleaning than they have to. But I'm the customer - the paying customer, who is helping their stocks do well (which they get for free every year!) - and if I want my $3.30 Non-Fat 6-pump Vanilla Misto to be decaf, you better either take the 4 minutes to brew it, or start a French Press for me! No, I don't want a decaf Americano, but thank you for asking.
At this point, I'm literally shaking...not because I'm mad...but because I now have 16 oz worth of caffeine coursing through my veins and it's 2 am. I'm also more annoyed than anything. Annoyed that people don't follow rules that have been in place for YEARS - and then pretend that you have no idea what you're talking about when you call them on it. I once had a barista argue with me - ARGUE WITH ME, THE CUSTOMER - over how many shots came in an iced venti drink. (It's 3, by the way; always has been.) She swore up and down that I was wrong and that they only came with 2 shots. I just walked away at that point because you can't really argue with an idiot and get anywhere. Now that I think about it, I should have asked her to get the recipe book out and show me. I'm sure that would have gone over well...when she was proven to not have a clue what she was talking about.
Well luckily, Donnie was the one that was dealing with the whole decaf vs. caffeinated fiasco, so I only heard about it when he got home. And thank God I wasn't the one dealing with this whole thing, because tomorrow's headlines might have read: "Killeen woman wanted decaf, Baristas got 'brewed' awakening" <--- that's the caffeine talking, folks! Forgive me.
Anyway, I think I'm going to head on over to our friendly neighborhood Starbucks in the morning and speak with the manager about my last few experiences. I'm going to be as nice and as pleasant as possible, and hopefully he/she doesn't feel like being argumentative...because I would hate to have a "Snapped" moment so early in the morning on a Wednesday.
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