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Typing Test

MSN put out a new article today about America’s Healthiest Restaurants. Do any of these top your favorite places to eat? You can click on the link to see the article and the reasons for their decisions.

I like Chipotle, Panera, and Macaroni Grill, none of which we actually have in the town I live in. The closest ones are in Colorado Springs, about 45 miles away. They are building a Chipotle here (FINALLY!!).

I was surprised that Denny’s made the list. Do any of them make you say hmmm?

Best Casual Dining Spots:
1. Uno Chicago Grill
2. Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes
3. Mimi’s Café
4. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
5. Bob Evans Restaurants
6. Ruby Tuesday
7. Macaroni Grill
8. Chevy’s Fresh Mix
9. Olive Garden
10. Denny’s

Fast Food:
1. Noodles & Company
2. Chipotle Mexican Grill
3. Cosi
4. Panera
5. Au Bon Pain

Independents:
1. Los Angeles: M Café
2. Berkeley, CA: Chez Panisse
3. New York City: Blue Hill
4. Chicago: Green Zebra
5. Detroit: Inn Season Café
6. Atlanta: Bacchanalia

I’m going to McDonalds now. See ya later. :o)

Chili-Lime Pork Tenderloin

I got this recipe from All*You, one of my favorite magazines. My whole family absolutely loved this pork tenderloin, even the kids, so I wanted to share it with ya'll.





Chili-Lime Pork Tenderloin

Prep: 8 min.
Cook: 27 min.
Serves: 6
Cost per serving: $1.56

* 1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin
* Salt and pepper
* 1 tsp. chili powder
* 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
* 1 tsp. soy sauce
* 1/2 tsp. sugar
* 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Pat pork tenderloin dry and season on all sides with salt and pepper.
2. Blend chili powder with lime juice, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Use your hands to rub mixture thoroughly into tenderloin. Warm a large ovenproof skillet over high heat, then add oil. Add pork and sear on all sides, turning meat with tongs, about 2 minutes total. Place skillet in preheated oven and bake until a thermometer inserted in center of tenderloin reads 145 degrees F, about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of tenderloin. Baste with any juices that have accumulated and add 2 Tbsp. water at a time, if necessary, to prevent scorching.
3. Remove tenderloin to a cutting board, cover losely with foil and let sit for 5 minutes. Slice on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces and serve.

PER SERVING: Cal, 9g Fat (2g Sat.), 74mg Chol, 0g Fiber, 24g Pro, 1g Carb, 205mg Sod.

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Even my husband, who isn't too fond of pumpkin anything, thought these were good. Give it a try. I hope you like them as much as I did!



Prep Time: 25 min.
Cook Time: 25 min.

Ingredients:

* 4 eggs
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
* 2 cups flour
* 2 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 2 tsp. cinnamon*
* 1/2 tsp ginger*
* 1/2 tsp. ground cloves*
* 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg*
* 4 oz cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl. Using a wire whisk, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour into greased and floured jelly roll pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract, gradually add powdered sugar. Frost cooled cake. Cut into bars.

*May substitute all these ingredients with 1 Tbsp. and 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice.

My Dog Cut Her Leg Again....

I went out onto the patio this afternoon to check on the kids outside. There was a ton of blood all over the entire patio. Immediately I start freaking out, asking the kids who was bleeding. They told me it was one of the dogs, but they didn't know which one.

I called all the dogs up to me. I couldn't go to them because I didn't have any shoes on or near me. Turns out my princess dog, Goldie, cut the back of her leg yet again. The cut is about 2 inches long and it's all the way through the skin, down to the fascia that covers the muscles and tendons.

She does this more often than I'd like. The first time was in December 2006. Both her and one of our other dogs, Gruff, cut themselves on the same day. He cut his foot and would have bled to death had he not been taken to the vet. Of course it was a Sunday too, so that bill was well over $1,000. The second time she did it was January of this year. That bill was only about $300 (only?). Now she's done it again, not even 10 months later, the poor thing.

Luckily we have money in savings. Unfortunately I have to pay it back, because we don't have very much in savings, and it seems like it always dwindles this time of year. Birthdays, holidays, what not.

I'll be taking Goldie into the vet first thing in the morning, so I'd like prayers or whatever you do, that her leg will heal quickly and without complications.

(And I'm sorry, this wasn't supposed to be a "poor me" post. It really was just intended to be about my poor puppy).

My Daily Rant ~ Can you PLEASE pull all the way over when using cell phone?

So, most of us are in agreement that it can be dangerous to drive while talking on a cell phone, especially when you don't have a hands free set. Got it.

Most of us then agree that if you receive a phone call, you should pull over to a safe place to take that call. Got that too.

Then why IN THE WORLD would someone stop in the middle of a two lane road that gets a decent amount of traffic to talk on their phone. Why could this person not pull over to the SIDE of the road?

Yep, she stopped in the middle of her lane (of course it had to be a woman). Three cars had to wait for other traffic to pass so we could get around her.

Some people are so amazing.

I realize that most of the posts about my children, especially the boys, tend to be on the negative side. Well, we had some GOOD news last week!

The school they go to has a system where when they do something good, a teacher or other school employee, can give them a PRIDE card. The child then puts that card in a bin by the office and every day one name gets picked from each grade level. Then they get something small, like a pencil, or whatever.

Last week BOTH of my boys got a PRIDE card. Michael's name was drawn on Tuesday and he received two pencils. Dylan's name was drawn on Wednesday and he received two pencils. Dylan's name was drawn AGAIN on Thursday and he got a book!

I am so proud of my boys. I am overjoyed that the school is recognizing good behavior this year instead of just focusing on the negative. Kudos to the school and to my boys!!