Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
My last week as a college student meals!
My lease has ended here in Mankato and it was time to make the switch to moving back home. I will be finishing up my last couple classes online while looking for a full time job. Now I get to enjoy some yummy home cooked meals by my new roommate, my mom.
Here is my final week of meals living down in Mankato..so sad to see an end to an era.
I unfortunatley don’t have any pictures of the process of the meal being made because my lovely boyfriend had it ready for me while I was at work but..I will still tell you all how he made it 🙂
He cut up the chicken into small cubes and pan fried them. By him doing that it made it easier to assemble the actual salad when it was time.
We typically buy romaine hearts for our lettuce and lately have been getting the organic kind from the store. I don’t notice much of a difference but I am glad we’re trying to make the switch!
Next he cut up some cherry tomatoes, added the dressing (we used Olive Gardens Italian dressing) topped it with croutons and sat down to enjoy!
Chicken salads are a great, quick and easy meal to make that everyone will enjoy. You can customize it to your own liking by adding whatever dressing you like best.
Nothing says comfort food more than spaghetti and that is exactly what we were craving that night! The process of making it is so simple a child could make it but here is our very basic way.
Boil the noodles until you can throw at the wall and it will stick.
Cook the meatballs for 15-20 minutes and then add your desired sauce.
Assemble how you wish, toast some garlic bread and there you have it! Another simple yet delicious meal.
We usually buy a frozen one from the store, pop it in the oven for about 70 minutes and we have a nice, juicy pork roast.
As you can tell by now, we like mashed potatoes and asparagus with most of our meals. We boiled the asparagus until you could easily stick a fork through it and had our favorite microwave mashed potatoes.
It was a fun last meal in the house we’ve lived at all year in Mankato and we were sad to say goodbye!
It was Friday, so had to get the Friday Fish Fry. This was hands down some of the best fish I have had in a long time. You could choose if you wanted 2,3 or 4 pieces and I got 3. I did not think they would be this big!
Along with it, they had shoestring french fries and steamed broccoli.
And that’s it! That concludes our week, and our final week in Mankato. It was a bittersweet ending, but I am looking forward to what this next chapter of life will bring. Cheers!
Top seven!
Today I am going to switch it up and share with you all my top seven favorite restaurants! Going out to eat has always been a family favorite, and the love for it hasn’t stopped for any of us yet. I love what I love and I can’t wait to share a few of my guilty pleasures, fun stories behind what the restaurant means to me and what I get from there. Here we go…
Ummies! Located right here in downtown Mankato. This is a restaurant that I like to try something new every time I go there and last time I went I tried the fish tacos with fries. My honest opinion is that they were OK! I don’t like beans that much so I took those out but the chipotle ranch sauce they used was yummy and same with the fish.
Panera Bread
Panera was one of my favorite places to study and get homework done all throughout college and here is a meal that my friend Abby and I ate there while we were trying to knock out some studying. I got the You Pick Two with a Greek salad with their Balsamic vinaigrette. Along with that I paired it with a mac ‘n cheese bread bowl and a baguette. Abby also got the You Pick Two with a mixed green salad and broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl.
Malones
Malone’s is a restaurant in Maple Grove, MN close to my hometown. On this night that I went it was $14 steak night and it was a deal I couldn’t pass up. As I have mentioned on here before I like my steak medium rare and I wish I had a picture of it to show how perfect it was, but it really was! I prefer mashed potatoes with my steak but the baked potato was great and the veggies tasted fresh.
My favorite breakfast spot in the whole world..Fat Nat’s Eggs located in New Hope, MN. This place holds a special place in my heart. Its a hole in the wall breakfast diner that is a few blocks from my house and growing up a group of friends and I from 2nd grade until 5th grade would go here every Thursday before school. And each and every time I have gotten the same thing because it is so dang good. It’s called the Elmer’s and what comes with that is eggs, hashbrowns, toast, bacon and two pancakes bigger than your face! I always choose the blueberry ones 🙂
Sammy’s Pizza
Here is me enjoying a large half pepperoni/half sausage pizza from Sammy’s-Lakeside in Duluth, MN. My parents grew up in Duluth and my grandpa’s dentist office was right around the counter from Sammy’s. Each and every time we go to Duluth, a meal is saved for this pizza, some chicken wings and coleslaw. I have had this meal countless times and each time I think of it, it brings me the happiest memories. Both of my grandparents have passed now, but we still keep the tradition alive.
Pub 42
The pub, what the locals like to call it, is a family friendly place where no matter what you order, the food will be great and the atmosphere will be better. Each time I walk into those doors I see a familiar face and many that follow after. It’s my neighborhood and the City of New Hope favorite gathering place. This meal, the Millionaire’s BLT, is the Pub’s most famous meal. The maple glazed bacon is stacked on freshly made bread and served with their made in house chips. This quickly becomes everyones favorite and it’s one of mine too.
Sunshine Factory
For it s being my number one, most favorite restaurant and meal in the whole world, you would think I would have a better picture then this! The sunshine factory used to be located where Pub 42 now is, but moved 7 years ago because they wanted a bigger space. This is another restaurant where I always order the same thing, chicken wings and fries. I get the dry rub, no seasoning with ranch. The wings are always perfectly made and I think I need to go get some and take a better picture now after talking about it!
Those are all of my favorite and staple restaurants I enjoy. I hope some of you have the chance someday to try some of these out and love them as much as I do!
Being creative..
Welcome back foodies! This week was a short one due to the holiday but was still able to make a few of my favorites.
First up is a wonderful Sunday morning breakfast at Rounders restaurant in Mankato, Minn. I went basic and not so adventurous with this meal and got the two egg combo.
– Breakfast potatoes
– Sausage patties
– White toast
– Spicy Bloody Mary
I am a huge restaurant girl and I love to go out to eat, but always tend to get the same thing for each meal..something I am hoping to break soon! Next up was a dinner favorite I made for my boyfriend and I with a little twist.
– Toast bread
– Spread mayo (or butter)
– Add lettuce, tomato and then the bacon weave.
– Repeat on other side of bacon and you have your weaved BLT!
BLT is a classic dinner I like to make and it is easy enough to make when you don’t have much time.
Since I was out of town for the rest of the week, I mostly ate out or snack type of meals so this is the last homemade meal I ate last week. My boyfriend had a craving for steak so decided to make it, but quickly realized we were out of propane! So plan B was put into place..pan fry the steak.
– Thyme
– Garlic cloves
– Salt and pepper
We also added asparagus that we boiled in water and added parmesan cheese to!
Personally, I like my steak more medium rare than rare which this is.
Overall, this week was filled with great, yummy meals and I was even more blessed to spend the holiday weekend with friends and family. I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things and come up with new recipes to share!
Welcome!
Hello! My name is Nicole and I am finishing up my degree in Communication Studies with a minor in Mass Media at Minnesota State University, Mankato. I am starting this blog for an assignment for a class I am in and I am excited to share the meals I eat on a daily basis, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I like them all! I am a college student soon going onto the real world where I should start to learn the skill of cooking so this blog will help me strengthen that skill, while having fun along the way.
Since having a boyfriend, I have found it a little bit more enjoyable to make a meal for both of us to enjoy and doing it together is a favorite. He is the better cook out of the two of us, so some meals will mainly be cooked by him but eaten by me. The first meal I want to share with you is homemade chicken strips and homemade french fries.
Chicken Strips: https://sixdollarfamily.com/homemade-chicken-strips-easy-homemade-chicken-fingers
French fries: 5 whole potatoes
2-3 cups of Vegetable oil
Cut potatoes into thin strips then put into oil until golden brown. Remove fries and put on a plate with paper towel then add any seasoning. (we use salt and pepper)
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
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The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
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You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
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