Dinners of Dreams

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? I was a little M.I.A. last week – tons of school work kept me quite busy as the semester comes to an end. I really focused on school, eating right, exercising and sleep so blogging kind of fell by the wayside. But, I’m back!

I hit the gym this morning and ran 2 quick miles on the treadmill before completing an arm workout that has my triceps hurting!  It felt great.

Breakfast

A return of an old favorite this morning – Tina’s Oatmeal Minus the Oats. So good!

Are you loving the Christmas colors!?! I am!

This weekend was awesome. After a busy week, I made sure I finished all of my school by Friday evening. Jon and I headed out for Mexican. We went to Don Ricardo’s. It’s such a fun place! The ambiance takes me straight to Mexico.

Friday night’s dinner

We thought we ordered a small margarita pitcher – just regular, not frozen or flavored. Well, a woman came to our table with a pitcher  of frozen strawberry margaritas. Sending things back makes me feel awful so Jon and I just kind of looked at each other, smiled and drank away. They were delicious but I just prefer a good old margarita on the rocks. For my entrée, I went with a bean enchilada and a guacamole tostada. I omitted the cheese. My picture just looks like a mound of “stuff” but I assure you, it was delicious!

Saturday night’s dinner

In the winter time, there is nothing that makes me happier than a hearty bowl of soup. Packed with nutrition, Minestrone is the answer to this! I always use Giada’s recipe. I also made one of my favorite breads: Courtney’s Hearty Oat Loaf.

Sunday night’s dinner 

Jon requested gumbo for Sunday night’s dinner. Gotta love a Southern boy! We had all of the ingredients except for shrimp so we decided to go for it. I used Paula Deen’s recipe (of course) but used chorizo and  omitted the okra. We served it over Jasmine rice and it was so great! My whole family loved it.

Yummy meals bring a family together for quality time. I absolutely love cooking a big meal for my family.

Question: What was the best meal you ate this weekend?

I loved everything but that Minestrone…. mmmm I just love veggies!