My Go-To Favorites!

I love to try new foods. One of my favorite things to do is go to a restaurant with a brand new type of cuisine that I've never had and "give it a whirl." As much fun as that is, I always seem to find myself craving those "go-to meals" that I love no matter how often I have it, or how long it's been since I made it.

These are some of my favorite "Go-to's"

Breakfast:

~ Peanut Butter Toast. Creamy, crunchy, and stays with me throughout the day. YUMMY!

~ Cheerios. Cool, refreshing, crunchy, and no extra sugar needed :)

~ Bagel and Cream Cheese. There's just something about the combination of cheese with the toasted bagel that I can't get enough of.

Lunch:

~ Albacore Tuna with Triscuts and a side of string cheese. Sounds yucky if you are not a tuna fan, but such a healthy meal that is very quick and easy. Although, I don't ever take this with me to lunch at school...I am mindful of the smell tuna leaves lingering around.

~ Old fashioned PB and J. Nothing brings me back to being a kid than grape jelly oozing out from the back end of a perfectly filled sandwich.

~ Hot dogs and mac and cheese. Another meal that brings me back to snow days home from school when I was a kid. Warm and satisfying!

Dinner:

~ Anything with mashed potatoes and gravy. As a kid I could not get enough of those...as an adult I am much more mindful of how many "taters" I pile on to my plate...even though I would LOVE to be able build a mountain!

~ Spaghetti. A definite go to meal. Easy to make and even tastes great as leftovers.

~ Pizza. I don't think we ever go a month without having some kind of pizza :)

Mmmm...I think I'll finish this off with a warm slice of peanut butter toast and a cup of coffee!

Applebees

Applebees has never been my favorite restaurant. I like it fine, but there weren't many choices of nicer eating establishments in Emporia, Kansas. So I believe I kinda got burnt out on it. Seeing the same choices on the menu time after time. Needless to say, now that I live in Wichita and have many options, Applebees is not usually one of my suggestions when my husband and I venture out for a meal.

However, Friday night, after realizing that we had no hamburger to cook the Mexican casserole I was planning I did suggest that we go to "Everyone's favorite neighborhood." Two reasons led me to choosing Applebees that night. 1.) I had seen some commercials about the 550 calorie menu that they have and knew that I would be able to find something to eat there that wouldn't completely ruining my figure. 2.) I had a coupon for buy one entrée and get a second half off. So we jumped into the car and headed out.

I was impressed.

We got there and were seated right away on a Friday night. We did decide to sit at the bar in order to get seated sooner. The bartender handed us our menus and after sifting through it I realized that my decision on what to have was going to be MUCH harder. Not only did every item on the "under 550 calorie" menu look great, but they had so many new and different choices than the last time I was there. Everything looked great.

My husband and I ordered and appetizer of potato twists and queso blanco. The seasoning was excellent and I really wish I knew how to make that queso! Ethan chose to have provolone stuffed meatballs with fettuccine alfredo and I chose a 550 calorie chicken teriyaki pasta. Both meals were fantastic. We both raved while we ate about how good it was, and were happy to take some home with us.

I left there thinking..."I could come back here real soon and try something else." Maybe I had stayed away from Applebees long enough for them to revamp their entire menu (except for a few classic items) and rekindle my liking for it. So if you haven't been there in a while, you might give it a try. You might just be as impressed as I was.