Fresh Kale salad

I made this delicious Kale salad and it was so simple but so good!

fresh Kale

toast the pine nuts in coconut oil for just a few minutes

mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and honey for the dressing

combine! I also added raisins after the picture but forgot to snap another one:)

This is a great winter salad that is so simple to make and surprisingly delicious!

A beautiful Winter Wedding in Champaign, Illinois

On my trip to Chicago I took the train a couple of hours to Champaign to the home town of one of my friends. Ainsley lived in Oregon for a couple of years and worked with me. She then got promoted and has since been living in Nashville. I am so happy I got to go to her wedding! She was literally the most beautiful bride I have ever seen, rivaling Kate Middleton. Her wedding even seemed like royalty, in a catholic church with trumpets. Seriously. Trumpets. She is so posh.

a beautiful reception room. I loved the different centerpieces. I even got to help set-up the day before the wedding! It was so much fun and my first real experience helping with a wedding.

another centerpiece. The photos don't even do it justice. The room was just magical!

of course her kick's were shiny nike's! silver with lace!

What a beautiful bride!

The brand new Mr.s Keller!

My friend Kristen and I. She was a bridesmaid.

I just loved this winter wedding. The neutral white and grey with a hint of glimmer with the silver accents was so beautiful! I loved the glamorous wedding. It almost makes me nervous to plan my own wedding one day because it was so well done---I don't even know how I could come close to how this one was pulled off!

Molly's Cupcakes in Chicago

I am still getting up the last of my posts about my trip to Chicago. For something sweet we wanted to try cupcakes! Although Hillary from Happily Ever Healthy suggested we try More cupcakes on Delaware Ave in Chicago, they didn't have the famous margarita variety when I checked. Since that is the one that I have heard the most about, I decided to keep checking back to see if they would make it one of the days I was there. Since it was located on the same street where I was staying, it wasn't a big deal. In the meantime, my friend's sister took us to Molly's cupcakes, where I had the BEST cupcake I've ever had! It was a chocolate peanut butter one and the fudge frosting was incredibly rich.

This place is so cute that they have swings for seats at the bar!

I LOVED Molly's cupcakes! So divine. I seriously wish I could order them to Portland! I never did end up finding the margarita cupcake at More....maybe next time I'm in town!

Chik Filet

Yep, I went there. Since Christina from Hungry Meets Healthy is forever raving about Chik Filet and I can tell she seriously loves it, I had to give it a try while I was visiting a city that actually has one (Chicago). Christina and I have so much in common already----running, working out, trying new foods, Trader Joe's, a weird obsession with fiber, and ironically, healthy eating. So if she loves it, I was sure I would too. Since I'm from Portland, Chik Filet has always been like a mystery to me. I've heard people talk about it, but never quite paid attention. I'm so glad I got to try it--and I'm sure I will be back whenever I'm near one!

It was quite the experience, with a professionally made bulletin board telling their history of the family business and the employees saying "My Pleasure" when you thank them. Over all I thought it was delicious, and I wish I could have tried more things on the menu. Although I hardly ever eat fast food (read--maybe once a year in a desperate situation) I didn't really consider this as bad as McDonalds or anything. It was a little bit more of a family environment and the menu had some really healthy things on it! Not that I ordered the most healthy....I just got the original. Here is the evidence:

It was snowing when I took this photo, obviously

The story of Chik Filet. A family owned business, still never open on Sundays. Interesting!

The vast menu!

Peppermint chocolate chip shake

Happiness!

So, I'd like to hear your opinion. What's your take on Chik Filet---is it serious fast food that you would compare to McDonald's? Or are you on the fence since they have things like Chicken Salad sandwiches, salad, fruit, oatmeal, ect? I'd love to know!

Weekend breakfast--The Bongo Room in Chicago

When I looked up breakfast places in Chicago, I kept reading about The Bongo Room. Stephanie also suggested this place---so we figured we had to go! She was right, it was completely amazing and they had some really unique breakfast options!

Apple french toast with crumbled brown sugar and vanilla and caramel sauce. Divine!

Breakfast burrito--cilantro- jalapeno tortilla filled with guacamole and
scrambled eggs topped with melted cheese and sour cream,
salsa on the side, served with house potatoes. SO GOOD! The jalapeno tortilla made this extra good. I ate about half of it...even though this was my friend Nicole's order!

this is what I ordered....PRETZEL PANCAKES! So delicious...with caramel and vanilla sauce. There were small broken up pretzels in the batter which gave a yummy crunch. The sauce was super sweet but delicious!

croissant egg sandwich with roasted potatoes. I think I tasted dill on the potatoes which was yummy!

One more thing on the menu that I SO wish I could have tried was the banana flapjacks with crumbled bacon pieces, topped with warm praline sauce
and fresh bananas. Um, how good does that sound? But I had to try the pretzel pancakes and it was worth it!

Have you ever heard of The Bongo Room, or better yet, have you been there? What did you order?

Lucky's Sandwiches in Chicago--As seen on Man vs. Food

I am so excited we got to try this place! It's crazy what Adam Richman will eat! I had trouble finishing half of one of these sandwiches and the challenge that he completed was eating THREE of them! Crazy!

The restaurant/bar/pub is located near Wrigley Field

These frames are pictures of the winners who have completed the challenge---eat three sandwiches within an hour---and the middle one is Adam Richman from Man vs. Food

Jackie and her man, preparing to eat!

They served awesome bloody mary's!

and here it is...half of the roast beef sandwich! It comes with coleslaw, tomatoes, french fries and whatever type of meat you ordered, all on huge french bread. It was SO GOOD!

so yum!

Chicago's famous--Portillo's Hot Dogs

My last post about Chicago! We had to try Portillo's hot dogs while in the windy city, and they didn't disappoint. I'll let you see for yourself how crazy good they look! And they were!

And a shot with the fries---which were extra good dipped in their cheese sauce!

These hot dog was covered in mustard, tomatoes, a couple of jalapeno's and a huge pickle, on a poppyseed bun. It was a fun experience to go into the restaurant---here is what it looked like:

 There were several different windows where you could order, and TONS of other menu options besides hot dogs. But of course I had to try the basic! 

As you can see we ate our way through Chicago...with deep dish pizza, The Bongo Room breakfast, Molly's cupcakes, Chik Filet,  Lucky's sandwiches and now hot dogs! Not to mention the amazing food at the rehearsal dinner and wedding I attended while I was there. Now it's back to the grind at home, working out and working off all that delicious food!

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Of course I couldn't miss trying famous Chicago pizza while I was there last week. My friends and I headed to Gino's East to try their famous deep dish pizza. The crust is delicious---I found out they put cornbread in it to make it even more thick and tasty. Yum!

they bring the pizza's next to your table and then slice them and serve you individually!

meat lover's pizza....so.freaking.good.

our server was awesome! Yes, he posed for the picture.

veggie pizza....soooo yummy! That crust is the best part. The cornbread is the secret ingredient.

Jen finding a place to sign her name...

Gino's is famous for having graffiti all over their walls. Guests sign their names and messages with a marker. In fact, we were told to bring a sharpie with us by the person who recommended the restaurant! It was so covered in ink we could barely find a place to write our names!

"Mandee 2012"

The best part of the night? I met up with one of my best friends from college! She lives in NYC but was on business in Chicago. Just happened to be there one of the nights I was there! It was so awesome to be able to get dinner and see each other!

Have you tried Gino's East in Chicago? What other pizza places have you tried?

The Windy City!

I've just returned from 6 days in Chicago! We basically ate our way through the city---trying famous Chicago pizza, hot dogs, cupcakes, an amazing breakfast spot recommended to me by one of my blog friends, Stephanie, places seen on the Food Network. Stay tuned for those posts--and here are some snaps of the city to hold you over!

I can't wait to share with you the amazing food we ate in Chicago!

My two-day work week

I've just wrapped up my whole two-day work week and am off to Chicago in the morning! I'm spending a couple of days with friends in the Windy city and then heading to the small town of Champaign, Illinois for a beautiful winter wedding of my friend Ainsley. She moved away for her dream job about two years ago and has been back to visit a few times---but this will be my first time to Illinois! We have plans to eat some pizza, do some shopping and try to stay warm!

Bonus: just found out one of my best friends from college is in Chicago for work this week---I may be able to see her tomorrow night!

Thanks for all the suggestions of what to do in Chicago! Let me know if you have more:)

NW Pub House Brunch--weekend breakfast

NW Pub House is located on NW 23rd & Kearny, in an old house that used to be a different restaurant. I had my first eggs benedict there about three years ago, and since I have become a benedict lover! When this restaurant switched over to the new owners we knew we had to try it. It actually didn't feel much different than before, and we enjoyed the food.

Salmon Cake Eggs Benedict with chipotle hollandaise sauce

Shane ordered the 3 Cheese Breakfast Enchilada with Chorizo, 3 cheeses and eggs

I liked the spicy kick the chipotle sauce offered on the benedict. While there, I peeked at the dinner menu and decided I'd want to go back for dinner too! They have a homemade veggie burger made with quimoa that sounds delicious!

What about you, did you try any breakfast places this weekend?