Armchair Dining on DP

I have never baked anything in my life. I know that there is an oven somewhere in the kitchen, but... A few years ago, my wife did try to make a fruitcake and it was okay, but not worth the effort. There are some packaged brands that I really do like, but have not come across them yet this year.

LOL, this is the holiday season in which I am in the "Yo!" part of my yo-yo dieting. This part of my yo-yoing diet involves me eating anything I want and calories and carbs be damned. Of course, it will be back to being lashed to a wall and beaten in the dungeon to start the other "yo" in the diet in January. More storm clouds on the horizon: I have my annual physical on January 2nd. Doctor is already mad at me for cancelling multiple appointments. He is now going to be less than pleased with my weight that day. I wonder if he can fire me?

Doesn't it look great! The typical fruitcakes you find in grocery stores are not so good. But, I have had a few from specialty shops and online ordering that were very, very good. Getting so late now, that my options are getting pretty limited. I will likely just drown my sorrows in a whole bunch of other sweet things.

 

Your resolve and willpower are absolutely amazing. I cannot for the life of me comprehend why you have trouble with your diet.

 

I know, I know...I guess it is just a gift...

 

Yes it is indeed a gift, and it keeps right on giving to your waistline.

 

I have previously posted that the white chocolate covered Oreo's are my favorite and only come out for a limited time during the holidays. Have now found my second favorite Oreo:


Never saw these before, so they could be quite new. At any rate, they are my new #2.

 

I wish to dedicate this song to @jrbiz's waistline:

Nananana....nananana....hey,hey,hey....goodbye!

 

Wife is visiting her family. Home alone. My first shot at chili soup. I should've let it simmer for several more minutes to make it less soupy, but I tell you this: It tastes AWESOME. I ate chili soups made by people who knew what they were doing, yet this one is just as good.

1. A small can of chili beans (I am not big on spicy food, that gave it just the right amount of heat)
2. A small can of plain beans
3. 5 medium size diced tomatoes
4. Onion
5. Garlic
6. Ground beef
7. Salt

Took about 45 minutes to cook. Garnish it with grated cheese (or sour cream) and you're good to go.

 

Wow, looks and sounds great! Did you brown the hamburg before adding it to the chili? Glad that you did not add bell peppers; I like onions alone. May have to try the recipe for Super Bowl Sunday.

 

No, I didn't brown it. I bought the leanest one I could find (92% lean). Bell peppers overpower everything with the flavor. I barely use them in cooking. The soup is lightweight. You don't see any fat floating on the surface. I forgot to add that I added a bit of water (maybe a cup and a half). Simmer it for at least 45 min to an hour. Look at me, I am already talking like an expert, lol. This was my first try.

 

So, I thought I would visit a local grocery chain that is smaller than most and it has a strong focus on Latin American and Portuguese foods. They have a lot of "quirky" foods (to me, anyway) and I thought that they might have that mythical fruitcake that I was looking for. Right as I walked in the entrance, the first display item was a Bolo Rei which is Portuguese for King Cake. I am of Portuguese descent, but had never really heard of it. It looks like this:



That is candied fruit like apples, pears, cherries, and much, much more completely draped over the "cake." The "cake" is, to me, more of a sweet bread and not so much a cake as you get with fruitcake. The texture and taste of the "cake" reminds me of a hot cross bun, if you have ever had one of those. And no nuts; just a TON of candied fruit covering the entire top as well as being embedded in small chunks inside the cake. Anyway, it was GREAT!!! This might edge out fruitcake next Christmas...

 

Will you still be watching it?

 

I like to watch it for the commercials, if nothing else. The NE Patriots surely will not be in it, this year.

 

Hey, I just came up with a genius idea. Why don't we talk about hamburgers?

 

@Spoiltdiva tdiva must be psychic to know that I was going to post a follow up to my previous post about the Impossible Whopper!

Anyway, A few days ago, I saw an ad on TV in which the Impossible Whopper was part of their "buy two sandwiches for $6.00" So, it is now the same cost as their original Whopper. This means one of two things: either they knew that they could take advantage of people who bought the Impossible Whopper out of curiosity (like me) and always intended to sell it at the same price as a regular Whopper or they have been seriously disappointed with initial sales and trying to make the new product work by drastically reducing the price. In either case, I will be sticking with the original Whopper at the same cost as this new one.

 

My favorite is the Wendy's burger. Someone on here told me recently that the incredible flavoring comes from the fact that they do not freeze their meat. My 2nd preference would be the Grandpa burgers from A&W. These are triple patty affairs with cheddar cheese and bacon. They are so immense that I can never eat it in one sitting, and always have to wrap it and eat the left overs later.

 

It is deja vu all over again. I also prefer Wendy's and it may be because they use fresh meat. That said, my son and I prefer the old McDonalds Quarter Pounder cheeseburger (made with frozen meat) versus their new one (made only with fresh meat.) I need to try the A&W Grandpa burger some time this year (I know that there is at least one in Rhode Island.) Of course, I first need to get off the miserable diet I am on right now.

 

I know, it's uncanny. It's like we've been here before.....But how can that possibly be? It's got to be all those greasy hamburgers....I don't know about you, but I for one am cutting back.

 

OMG, you do not know cutting back until you have been on one of my miserable diets. Basically, my only hope is that we can continue this time/space incongruity until I am transferred to another dimension in which I can eat 6,000 calories per day of pure junk food and remain slim, healthy, and well-nourished. Am I asking that much???

 

^^^^^

 

It is always a pleasure to eat Mexican food in Southern California. I assume it is because there are a lot of actual Mexicans in the kitchens of most restaurants. Anyway, I have been in San Diego for a couple of days on a business trip and managed to have some chicken and cheese enchilada's that were wonderful. They looked like this:



There used to be a restaurant here called El Tecolote (The Owl) and they served authentic Mexican food (not Mexican/American food we get here) and they were fantastic. Alas, they disappeared many years ago. But, again the enchiladas were the best Mexican food I have had since I was last in Southern California a couple of years ago. Oh well, back to New England and its sad excuse for Mexican food.