Held at Waring General Store, in Waring, Texas, we gathered around outdoor picnic tables in the most unique setting ever.

The sun was just dipping behind the burnt orange tips of the trees as the band took to the outdoor stage and we began to enjoy homemade quesadillas, gorditas, salsas and spinach dip that was so good there are just no words.

And that was just the appetizers.

The main course followed: Juicy ribeye steaks, potatoes, salad, NOT to be outdone by the generous helpings of peach cobbler and rich hazlenut coffee.

I sat next to Mike, wearing my “corporate wife” hat, enjoying the company of new friends and realizing just how blessed our life is. The weekend of tasty travels was off to a very, very promising start…

MJ’s appointment for the next morning fell through. I would say that he was bitter and full of disappointment…but that would just be a LIE! We made the most of it, loading up the van early and taking all the back roads to Austin. When we cruised through Comfort, Texas, along about 11:00, we pulled into High’s Cafe & Store.

If you’ve not been to Comfort, Texas – you need to go. And if you do go there – put High’s on your list of MUST SEE. After perusing the store, chatting with the owner, and generally just killing time, we ordered two of the largest sandwiches known to man.

We waved our good-byes, promised to visit again real soon, and took our sandwiches on down the road a bit. Where we detoured to find the most beautiful spot for a picnic for two. Sitting side-by-side, no need for words, we lunched on sandwiches and bottled water.

The picnic fed our bodies, the scenery fed our spirits.

Then – the big arrival into Austin for the wedding.

We were among the first to arrive, so we had a day to explore and do whatever. I pulled out my handy-dandy iPhone with the Flavortown App. Casino El Camino on 6th Street had the Foodnetwork & Guy Fieri stamp of approval, so we made that our lunch destination for Friday.

It did NOT disappoint. MJ had the Amarillo Burger while I had the Pitts Burger. We even shared a basket of Chili-Cheese Fries. If you’ve not discerned it by now, we exceeded our WW points…uh, like, TWO DAYS AGO. By now it’s clear that I will be running for two straight weeks in order to run off the delicious calories this Fall Break gave me.

Every bite was SO worth it though!

And if that wasn’t culinararily exquisite enough, we stopped in at Perla’s on South Congress for Sunday brunch on our way out of town. Again, I just can’t say enough for the best outdoor patio seating, homemade baskets of complimentary hushpuppies, and the BEST  Breakfast Crabcake and Brioche French Toast with Berries.

I am fairly certain that I just gained another five pounds for merely writing all this down. But do yourself a favor and, if you’re in the Austin/San Antonio area anytime soon, give one of these places a try. It may take you off the beaten path…

But oftentimes that is where the REAL treasure is!

4 large good baking apples (I used Golden Delicious) 

1Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash apples. Remove cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. It helps if you have an apple corer, but if not, you can use a paring knife to cut out first the stem area, and then the core. Use a spoon to dig out the seeds. Make the holes about 3/4-inch to an inch wide.

2 In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, currants/raisins, and pecans. Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Stuff each apple with this mixture. Top with a dot of butter (1/4 of the Tbps).

3 Add boiling water to the baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until tender, but not mushy. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.

If you’d like, serve warm with vanilla ice cream on the side. (MJ would have LOVED this but we were staying within our WW points so we refrained…)

Makes 4 servings.

Several of them are Weight Watcher recipes, courtesy of my friend, Kayla Mansour, who is an amazing WW leader. Though I’ve never been a huge fan of sloppy joes, nor of ground turkey, I have to say – this dish had me at hello.

It smelled just that good.

It tasted even better.

But don’t take my word for it. Try it! You’ll be glad you did.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground lean turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup Catsup 
12 oz diet Coke

Brown the ground turkey and onions together in a skillet sprayed with non-stick spray. Be sure the turkey is well browned.

Add the catsup and diet Coke. Simmer uncovered on medium heat until the cola and catsup cook down to a rich, thick sauce. Serve on whole-wheat burger buns.

DELISH!

Makes 10 sandwiches @ 5 Pts each (including the bun)
Use Sandwich thins and they are 2 Pts. each!

Recipe courtesy of: Kayla Mansour, Weight Watcher Leader

Ingredients

	2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
	1 tsp sesame oil, divided
	1 1/2 Tbsp ginger root, finely chopped
	3 small garlic clove(s), finely chopped
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
	1 large sweet red pepper(s), cut into 1-inch pieces
	2 cup(s) broccoli, florets
	2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
	20 item(s) cashews, roasted, unsalted, roughly chopped

Instructions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, ginger and garlic; cook 15 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until starting to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes; remove to a plate.

Add remaining teaspoon of vegetable oil, pepper and broccoli to same skillet; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add chicken back to skillet, pour in soy sauce and cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes more; toss with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Sprinkle on cashews and serve. Yields about 1 3/4 cup per serving.

**  A Weight Watcher recipe – 5 points

- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 banana
- 2 cups assorted frozen fruit (a mix of mangos, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries is perfect)
- 1/2 cup tofu (silken works best, but anything will work)
- 1/4 cup milled flax seed

Directions:

Blend all ingrendients in blender, pulsing until thoroughly mixed. Frozen fruit is definitely key for a good smoothie.  It means you don’t have to add any ice at all.  We just buy the mixed berry frozen fruit packages and use those so the smoothies have a little bit of everything.  

Makes 2 large smoothies.

Enjoy!

Some of our weeks are truly crazy.

With MJ’s work schedule, we’re sometimes separated for two - three days and nights at a time each week. By the time he drives back into town from whatever kind of week he’s had, he’s ready for a few good things.

Namely –  his home, his bed, his table.

I guess my burgeoning love for cooking and spending time in my kitchen originally stemmed from the sheer knowledge of this. It became important to me to find ways to make his arrival home each week something for him to anticipate.

That’s not to say that there is always ample time on my part – or in my own schedule – to prepare a labor intensive meal or spend loads of effort on ambiance. But I’ve learned that in setting a table I’m also setting a heart, and that doesn’t require a lot of time or money or even effort.

It merely asks that I care.

I care deeply.

The next time you find an occasion to prepare a table – or a heart – here is a great recipe that is beautifully pleasing and deliciously memorable!

Farfalle with Tomatoes & Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1  tablespoon  plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8  ounces  uncooked farfalle pasta
• 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1  cup  vertically sliced yellow onion
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 5  garlic cloves, sliced
• 2  cups  grape tomatoes, halved
• 1  tablespoon  white wine vinegar
• 3  cups  baby spinach
• 3  tablespoons  shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Easy Bavarian Cream

Fold 3 stiffly beaten, pasteurized egg whites into a bowl of prepared, cooled instant sugar-free/fat-free vanilla, butterscotch, white chocolate, banana or chocolate pudding. Chill for 2 hours in individual custard cups or one large serving bowl. Now you’re on the way to the elegant dishes below.

To make a trifle: Layer the Easy Bavarian Cream in a 2-quart glass bowl with 24 purchased lady fingers and 3 cups fresh berries or sliced fruit.

To make a Bavarian cream parfait: Spoon alternating layers of fruit and Easy Bavarian Cream into clear wine glasses. Here are some flavor combinations we enjoy:

• Vanilla Bavarian cream with orange sections
• White Chocolate Bavarian cream and raspberries
• Butterscotch Bavarian cream and sliced bananas
• Chocolate Bavarian cream with strawberries
• Banana Bavarian cream with kiwi fruit slices

Creamy Chocolate Mousse

Prepare a cook-and-serve sugar-free/fat-free chocolate pudding mix according to the package directions. Transfer the hot pudding to a bowl and place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill 1 hour or until cool. Fold 1 1/2 cups fat-free, non-dairy whipped topping into the cooled pudding. Chill 2 hours in individual custard cups or in a large serving bowl, or make one of these tasty desserts.

To make a frozen chocolate mousse pie: Pour the mousse into a baked low-fat pie shell and freeze.

For a frozen chocolate mint mousse cake: Add 1/2 teaspoon mint extract to the pudding with the whipped topping. Coat an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Crush 16 low-fat chocolate wafer cookies and sprinkle them on the sides, pressing if necessary to make them stick, and on the bottom of the inside of the pan. Pour the mousse over the crumbs and freeze for 4 hours.

For individual frozen chocolate mousse desserts: Line 6 muffin tins with paper muffin cups and fill with the chocolate mousse mixture. Freeze until firm, then serve with a spoon.

Other Pudding Dessert Ideas

• To make a pudding jelly roll, bake a packaged angel food cake mix as directed by the box. When it’s cool, spread the roll with prepared sugar-free/fat-free pudding (any flavor and either instant or cook-and-serve) and roll up as directed.
• To make pudding ice cream, prepare any flavor sugar-free/fat-free instant pudding as directed on the package. Pour immediately into a pre-chilled ice cream machine and churn until frozen. Serve immediately.
• To make frozen fudge pops, prepare instant sugar-free/fat-free chocolate pudding as directed. Pour into small paper cups and freeze 1 hour or until a popsicle stick will stand up when inserted. Insert one popsicle stick into the center of each; freeze until hard.

Weight Watcher recipe – healthy & light!

Ingredients:

• Corn, 2 cobs
• 1 medium sweet red bell pepper
• 1 medium sweet yellow pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 cup mushrooms
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Shrimp, deveined, cooked
• Lowry’s herb & lime seasoning, 2 tbsp

Directions:

Mix Lowry’s seasoning and olive oil in a ziploc bag. Add shrimp and massage well to coat. Place in refrigerator for one to two hours to marinate.

Cut corn from the cob. Chop peppers and onion.  Dust with salt and pepper.

Saute corn and vegetables in olive oil on medium heat until tender, about ten minutes. Remove shrimp from refrigerator.

Slice mushrooms. Add to vegetables once they are tender. Remove succotash to serving dish.

In the same skillet, saute the marinated shrimp until opaque. Serve alongside succotash.

Delicious and healthy!!

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

1. Toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium high heat until barely brown. Cool.
2. Combine greens, fruit, and nuts.
3. Combine dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and enjoy!

• 3 cups cilantro
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
• 2 medium yellow peppers, seeded and sliced
• 2 medium red peppers, seeded and sliced

Instructions:

Puree the cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt, hot pepper sauce, and water in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a zip-close plastic bag and add the salmon. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag; turn to coat the salmon. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with olive oil nonstick spray. Arrange the bell peppers in a single layer in the dish. Bake, turning once, 20 minutes.

Drain the salmon and discard the marinade. Place the salmon on top of the bell peppers. Bake until the fish is just opaque in the center, 10–12 minutes. Remove the skin before eating. Yields 1⁄2 salmon steak and about 1 cup peppers per serving.

*Only 8 Weight Watcher points. Delicious!! This is a MUST TRY!