Ben and I have been busy making the most of our sunny Sunday. We’ll be snowed in before we know it – there’s no time to waste! ;)
An early morning grocery shopping run was followed by a quick trip to the mall for new work kicks for Ben, and a mad dash to the onsite Panera for lunch. We were shopping away just fine, then all of the sudden both of us were ravenous!
(Totally repping for my fallen Hawkeyes…)
I was going to be adventurous and try the Thai Chicken Salad, but panicked from my aforementioned hunger level, and went with my standard order – You Pick 2 with Cream of Chicken Wild Rice & Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich.
You can’t go wrong with this combo! Creamy soup with chewy wild rice,
and the zestiest sandwich ever. The combo of cilantro hummus, feta cheese, cucumber, red onion, lettuce and spicy peppadew peppers is so delish.
I HATE peppers, but I just love those peppadew ones. They’re like a cross between pickles and banana peppers- which, ok I guess I love too. :)
A sweet apple served as dessert.
We were both to the point of stomach-shrinking hunger when we walked in, and were stoooofed by the time we walked out.
We decided to push through it though, and drive 20 minutes west to Adel, IA for a stroll on the local bike trail afterwards. It is gorgeous out today – no time to stay indoors!
Adel is home to the free sweet corn festival every summer (which I tragically missed this year!) and sits in a great spot right on the Raccoon River Valley Trail.
Normally we park and head east on the trail, but today we decided to switch it up and head west!
Ummm, it was kind of creepy!
The first 1/2 mile was normal enough, but then the trail emerged from a thick canopy of trees and started running right next to this eerie looking brickyard.
The whole vibe was totally horror movie-esque, and the abandoned warehouse-like structures randomly running along the other side of the trail didn’t help matters.
Ben, on the other hand, thought it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen.
Babe, let’s LIVE HERE! he pitched, regarding one of the most-busted looking buildings we encountered.
Seriously, we’ll buy the place, turn it into a bar for the bikers, and live upstairs!
Uh-huh! I semi encouraged.
Sorry, I just love old, decrepit things…
Teeheehee. ;)
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Once we finally got past the 1/2 mile long brickyard, the trail led us back into the trees and sweet, sweet nature!
That’s better. :)
Favorite thing to grill? Grilled stone fruit and pineapple served with a big creamy cold scoop of frozen yogurt!
I’ve liked Mr. Bar-B-Q’s facebook page
I always eat grilled vegetables and have tried different grilling methods. I’ve never seen this skillet before! My favorites are red peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomato, and so on.
I’ve recently become obsessed with grilled steak! i used to be a vegetarian, but now I’m a hardcore carnivore, so i think I’m making up for lost time :)
I really love sweet potatoes and potatoes grilled. YUM!
Portabello mushrooms! They are my favorite!!!
My favorite thing to grill is bacon wrapped jalepenos stuffed with chicken. So hot and so good!
I liked Mr. Bar-B-Q’s Facebook Page!
Anything my hubby grills is fine with me! He is a grill master! If I HAD to pick on thing, I guess it would be salmon or venison….yummm!!
I absolutely LOVE grilling salmon marinated in a soy-terriyaki sauce along with aspargus, red onion slices, and russet potatoes!
My favorite thing to grill is corn on the cob, wrapped in foil with butter, parmesan cheese and s&p!! served with a grilled steak :)
favorite thing to grill: steak with a few white onion pieces, just long enough to get a little charring going on.
I love grilling ahi tuna or flank steak!!!