Happy Veterans Day

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. “
—Joseph Campbell

 

In this day in age a lot of people, let's be honest, really just think about themselves and what they can do to better their own life. But today we honor those that thought about others and how they can better our lives. I feel like everyday should be Veteran's day because we have them to thank for our everyday life. We have them to thank for our freedom. What is freedom one might ask? Freedom is being able to act, speak and think what we want without having someone else telling us differently. Being an American I am thankful to be able to wake up in the morning, get ready to the music that I want to hear, drive to work in a car that I own, speak my opinion throughout the day and return home and spend time with my husband and do whatever we want to do. In some countries they don't have that luxury. Some countries they are told what to wear, what to say and what to believe. I believe that America has gotten a little spoiled, some of us whine and complain about problems that other's in different countries would dream about. We have options that many don't have and we have those options because of our heros that risk their lives every day.

 

This post is dedicated to all of those heros that have risked their lives and provided us with lives that we should all thank God for. So today I hope you thank those that make your life worth living because without them, who knows what America would become.

 

Thank you all for my freedom, your dedication, strength and courage makes you all heros in my eyes.

 

 

 

 

Now I do have soft spot for Veterans because my husband is one, he served as a Marine. I feel like when I met my now husband he really opened my eyes to what our armed forces really do. I felt like before him I took things for granted.  After I learned more and more of what they do for us my heart just went out to every individual that serves.

 

I thank God everyday for giving me a hero as a husband.

 

 

He brings so much happiness, joy & love to my life that sometimes I don't feel like I deserve it.

 

So tonight as soon as I got home I got in the kitchen and cooked him a yummy (hopefully) dinner. I will be sharing the recipes tomorrow so make sure you check them out,

 

So again. Remember to thank those today and every day for the life you have. We owe them so much more then we give them.

 

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY 2014!!!

 

High Cotton

 

Since starting my current job I have been to many "fancy" restaurants and they all have their own different touches. But whether they are good or bad they all have the beautiful city to look at while you eat.

 

 

Another thing I love about this city is the art.... it can be breathtaking and sometimes it is just nice to walk around and take it all in.

 

Tonight our dinner was at High Cotton. Now for me, even though I was raised in a very "boondock" town, I am not a fan of southern food. I don't see what is so great about sweet tea, fried chicken and mac n cheese. Now what I do know about is basically anything Asian. I could eat Asian food all day every day. But back to dinner. I was a little skeptical about the menu when I checked it out because it was full of all of those southern foods that I am not in to. But I will say this place didn't have fried chicken.

 

 

When I walked through their swirling doors I fell in love with all of their light fixtures. They were all so different and to me a little magical.

 

 

After our entire group got there, the sweet hostess took us to our table. The place is two stories and I was just amazed with all of the beautiful art on the walls and how well kept everything was.

We all found our seats and started ordering our drinks and as we were doing so I started checking out the menu. I noticed something.... If you know me, you know what I am talking about. :)

 



 

We started with appetizers but the only thing I would change about this place is more appetizer options.

 

So I started with a salad but I wasn't disappointed. It was so fresh and tasty.

 

 

 Now to the main dish... I will probably be talking about this dish weeks from now. I am also going to try and recreate it because it was that amazing.

 

I had the sweet potato, eggplant "lasagna". Now I really do not like noodles, I am just not a fan of the texture. (not to mention the carbs).

 

But with this dish instead of noodles they used sweet potatoes and eggplant.

 

Even though this meal sounded absolutely amazing it was vegetarian. I have nothing against being a vegetarian but I have to have some sort of meat.

 

So I got the chef to fix me up a side of grilled shrimp.  

 

This meal was probably the best meal I have had in a while. The flavor and everything was on point and you could just tell everything was so fresh.

 

So to end this post.. don't ever judge a book by it's cover because you never know the greatest that it may bring you.

An update on my 21 day challenge & Tex Mex Chili

Today is "Day 3" of my 21 day challenge so today I thought I would give you a little update on how it was going.

 

I have made sure to eat breakfast every morning. I mostly stick with scrambled eggs. Sometimes I like to spice it up and add hot sauce. I stay away from the fatty breakfast meats and toast.

 

 

For my lunches I have been eating leafy green salads with grilled chicken and dressing on the side.

 

Dinners have been veggies with lean meat.

This was teriyaki chicken with veggies.

 

This was lean sirloin tips with low fat gravy. (even though it is low fat it must still be good because the hubby loves it)

I also made my low carb squash casserole. It is just squash, low fat cheese, greek yogurt and eggs.

 

So as you can see I have been back in the kitchen which is not only healthier but better on the wallet as well.

 

Now to my Sunday. Sunday used to be my cooking & Lifetime movie day so when I woke up this morning I did just that.

 

I pulled out everything I would need to surprise my hubby with a delicious breakfast.

 

 

His breakfast consisted of cheesy eggs, bacon & hashbrown casserole.

 

My hashbrown casserole was not in the least bit healthy so I left it all for him.

 

Maybe I should attempt a healthy sweet potato hashbrown casserole?

 

For my breakfast I had scrambled eggs and vegetarian sausage.

 

 

After we stuffed our faces I cleaned up the breakfast mess and then pulled out everything I would need for my next cooking session.

 

Next up Tex Mex Chili

 

What you will need:

 

Tomato puree

Ground turkey

Turkey sausage

2 cans of low sodium black beans (drained

2 cups of water

low sodium tex mex chili seasoning

 

Start by cooking your ground turkey, then drain and add your turkey sausage and let cook.

 

Once cooked add the rest of your ingredients.

 

Cover and let cook on low/medium for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.

 

Then enjoy your healthy Tex Mex Chili. Perfect for these "chili" fall days

 

Hope everyone has a healthy, happy week!!