Be our guest

We had a wonderful weekend.  My girlfriend came into town to spend the night with us.  It seems when it's just a day visit, the time goes by way too fast so it was nice we'd have her to ourselves.  Overnight guests (or guests in general) bring out the entertainer in me.  My step-grandmother made quite the impression on me as a young girl with her elaborate dishes she would prepare and the care she took in making guests in her home feel special.  Unfortunately things didn't work out for her and my grandpa but her flair for entertaining always inspired me.  When my friend came over, I put together my usual basket I have for overnight guests; things that someone might need to use but may not always want to ask their hosts for.  I made up some cute little tags on Picmonkey to affix to the berry basket.

"Be our guest..in case you need to freshen up, plug it up or open it up,we've got you covered."

I had a sample of shampoo and conditioner, a beauty puff with cleanser inside, toothpaste and lotion (freshen up), pad and tampon (plug it up) and a sample Breathe Right strip since she can have sinus issues.  (open it up)  I always like this touch and she mentioned it and said she always feels so cozy when she stays here and she always knows she going to eat well.  Oh yeah.

Entertaining sparks my creative juices in the kitchen.  Of course many of these things I make regularly anyway.  The Mr used to say "I'm glad when company comes because I eat well!"  Not that I didn't make good stuff before but none of it was outstanding by any stretch.  But the more weight we've lost, the more creative I get in the kitchen so that I can make sure we're not "suffering" by not being able to eat out as much on the weekends.  Here are some of our eats from the weekend.

Spicy sriracha chicken tenders on maple chipotle biscuits on a bed of caramelized onions and roasted garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes.  One of the Mr's favorites.

One of my friend's faves is Long John Silvers.  We have one up the street but it's SO greasy and sits heavy. So I made my version of her favorite...chicken planks, a piece of cod, baked fries (which she said tasted like the kind you'd get at an amusement park) and since the Mr was craving them, he ran up the street and got some genuine LJS hush puppies.  It was awesome!

When we all finally drug our butts out of bed, I made my apple french toast cups and an omelet with smoked gouda.

Happy face, happy tummy!

After she was on her way, we did our workout then went out and did a little window shopping, walked a few miles in the scorching heat (something we NEVER would've done a few years ago) and headed to the farmers market and groceries to stock up for the week.  But that doesn't mean the good eats stopped there.  I made pork chops on the grill topped with pineapple and caramelized onions and chipotle cheddar bites.

It was a wonderful weekend and we're trying to figure out some trouble we can get into today before we have company next weekend for a birthday BBQ for our friends.

What did you do this weekend?

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