Eating out on Vacation

Aaaahhh...summer time is winding down, vacations have been had...and I am here to share a few good eats with you.

We recently came home from a trip to Los Angeles.  My husband is from the area, and he was actually doing a gig with a band from here.  We made it into a mini vacation and did the beach and Disneyland too.

One of our favorite things to do on vacation is to eat out at only places that we CANNOT eat at where we live. Being that my hubby transplanted almost 20 years ago from LA, there are many food joints he speaks of with fond memories...that he misses. We hit quite a few of them. :)

We actually saw this on the Travel Channel, so we made it a point to visit. Slater's 50/50 is an amazing burger joint in SoCal, and we happened to visit the Huntington Beach location.  They make incredible burgers...50% ground beef and 50% BACON. yummmmm

After spending hours at the beach, we were all so hungry. El Pollo Loco was a childhood favorite for Mr Toddlerwhisperer...so we stopped in. It was SO good. Even the kids picked their chicken legs clean!

On our way out of town, we stopped at a Tommy's Burgers...for the YUMMMMy chili burgers and chili fries. The kids have stated a few times that they wish there was one in our "country."

Literally since Mr. T and I started dating in 2000, he has mentioned this place. Soups in bread bowls, delicious sandwiches. Boudin's did not disappoint.

There were some other really fantastic stops we made out west, but these are some of the only photos that were taken..(all by Mr T)

One of my favorite food experiences was actually at my cousin and his wife's house. My cousin is an amazing cook, and he made a crab salad that is SO absolutely delicious...I will be sharing it here with you soon.

What are your favorite restaurants to visit? Do you crave a restaurant you visited once on vacation?

Foodie Friday-Mudslide Fudge Cookies Pinterest Recipe Review

Source: foodrenegade.com via toastycrow on Pinterest

Looks nommy? Well, I made them today, and they are quite tasty!  Mine however, weren't as flat, (perhaps too much cocoa powder to egg white ratio? I measured, but did use two different brands for measuring cups.

The flavor really is dependent upon the quality of the items you use. I used TJ's cocoa powder, and for the chocolate chips, I used mini nestle chips because that's what I had on hand.

Extremely rich, not bitter, not overly sweet either. These will be a good go to when I am having a horrid craving for something carbarific, but don't want to walk that road.

Here's a pic of mine:

Make it fun

Like I was telling you last Friday, we've started back on Paleo. (except we allow for dairy every now and then)
Well, the other night I wanted something easy and fun for our family, so I chose this taco recipe . My husband got home from work and saw that I was flustered from all the cleaning and decluttering I had been doing in my son's room that day and asked if I would let him cook. (I ain't no dummy...Mr Toddlerwhisperer is a GREAT cook!)
He is so creative too, and I think that is what made our dinner really fun. He took down some of my vintage glassware and used it to display our food in a way that even our pickiest eater was eagerly anticipating dinner. I literally had to tell them each to MOVE from the table so I could snap this picture, because they were so interested in dinner. And let me tell you, that is not something that happens on a regular basis.

Presenting.......

....build your own taco night... minus the meat, we hadn't added it to the table yet.

I really really loved how he stuck all the lettuce leaves in the vintage anchor hocking humidor for height and variety...The tacos were so good too...we didn't even miss processed taco shells...the lettuce was fantastic!

My Take on Grain Free Granola

Our family has discovered a wonderful diet lifestyle, the Paleo diet. We did it consecutively for two months and really loved how we felt, how our clothes were fitting and how delicious it was. Unfortunately we allowed the holidays to dominate our diet, and we threw healthy eating out the window for sugar and gluten. Yick. This week we are back to Paleo, and I want to share a delicious recipe with you.
I adapted it from this WONDERFUL recipe over at www.paleoparents.com.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds removed from their shells)
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chopped cashews
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup fresh dates diced
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (Trader Joes has a delicious one)

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the honey and oil. Pour over the nut and fruit mixture mixing well. (I used my hands to really get it all over) Spread on a large lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes at 275 degrees stirring once after 15 minutes.

This makes a yummy little snack, or better yet, pour in a bowl with your favorite non dairy, non soy milk, and enjoy the first bowl of cereal you've probably had since going paleo!

(awesome dishwasher spots on my plastic, right??!!)