Boring lunch- looking forward to dinner

Jackson and I have a date tonight with one of my very favorite people- my good friend Amanda!!! I can't wait and we are going to Taco Mesa as it's a place we both love and is always a good blog post. Because I am anticipating a big dinner with Amanda and Jackson I starved myself for lunch. Well, not really. But I do try to not eat fast food at all while I am at work.





Today, I lost the fast food battle and ate a cheeseburger, no pickles, extra cheese from Burger King. It wasn't bad. It was convenient, cheap, and did the trick. It will hold me over until dinner.

I need help

Ok Muffin Topzz- I need help and am looking to my followers for some assistance.

I am in desperate search of a graphic designer to help me create my logo. I know exactly what I want, and would love to create it as soon as possible. My goal is to create a logo to match the Muffin Topzz brand so people will associate the name with the brand/logo. Ideally, I would like to be passing out business cards at each place I visit for the blog so that people may start showing interest and looking at the blog!

If anyone knows anyone or has any helpful ideas please let me know in the comments section of this blog, or email me directly at:
Simmopink@yahoo.com

Thank you in advance for all your assistance and loyalty to Muffin Toppz!!!

-Sam

Guilty pleasures

Anyone know what this is???





One of life's little guilty pleasures- and I don't even like chocolate!!!

Guest Feature- Alicia Seevers, Seasons 52

Ok, so this blog is a little bit out of the norm for me- because I didn't write it!!! I stole this blog from Alicia!!! She recently celebrated her birthday, (no Alicia) I won't reveal your age online, but below is the documented journey at Seasons 52 at South Coast Plaza.

FYI- Alicia you better take me here, after reading this blog, I cannot wait to go and try the flat bread pizza! Thanks again for letting me copy your blog and steal it for a repost on Muffin Topzz.

Please note that the following was written by Alicia Seevers, and not by the author of Muffin Topzz

So we headed to Seasons 52 at South Coast Plaza.

The place was PACKED for a Monday night. I honestly thought I was back in Arizona where EVERYONE eats out EVERY NIGHT of the week. Yet it wasn't 108 degrees and Kim and Michael were missing!

I picked Seasons 52 because it's new and Nurse Claire had said it was fabulous. The fact that every item on their menu is under 475 calories was just a bonus.

While we had a 6:30 reservation. They were not ready to seat us, so we headed to the bar and ordered drinks. In the middle of the bartending island was a baby grand piano with a really great piano player. It was an added bonus and enjoyable. I ordered the Bacardi Mojito which is made with organic agave nectar instead of simple sugar making it a Skinny Mojito. Kim and I have become quite the connoisseurs. We drank many in Arizona. I joke that Chris is going to blame her for my mojito drinking during the week, but I think she's off the hook since the children (via Chris) gave me a muddler and lime squeezer!

Seasons 52 is known for their signature flat breads. Since we were 30 minutes late being seated they sent us out a complimentary one. We would have ordered one anyway. No, we did not complain, after all we were not in a hurry. But believe me, the restaurant guy and his well-trained wife did take note! The hostess informed us of this as we were seated and they apologized for not seating us at our reservation time. This is the plum tomato flat bread. Absolutely wonderful. If there weren't so many other combinations to try, I'd order it again. Poor Chris I made him wait until I had a picture of everything we ordered before he could dig in.

We shared a salad. This is the spinach salad with raspberries, goat cheese (sorry Monica and Kim), and pine nuts. I think Chris ate more of it than I did which means it was good because Chris is not a big salad guy!

Chris ordered the grilled sea scallops with pearl pasta and asparagus. He loved it and as you can see, less calories doesn't translate into smaller portions. The pearl pasta was really good and something I'd look for at restaurants in the future. I'm not a big scallop person so I left those to him and as expected he left the asparagus on his plate like a garnish!

I was torn between two shrimp dishes, but the server told me the lamb chops were the way to go. I love lamb chops and they were the special of the night. Three t-bone style lamb chops served with truffle mashed potatoes and asparagus. Unlike Chris, I cleaned my plate!

Seasons 52 has a copyright on their Mini Indulgence desserts. The server brings out a serving dish with approximately 8 of these dessert on display. The idea is that you "get what you pick." You take it right off the display and it's yours. This is the peanut butter and chocolate that Chris chose.

I went with the red velvet cake. I honestly never understand why red velvet items are often garnished with a raspberry. Yet the desserts were excellent. I will try something else next time. The Meyer lemon or server recommended blueberry crumble.

The entire dinner and experience was to die for. We will definitely be returning sometime soon! I want to go there for lunch some time as well. Heck I'd go there for mojitos, flat bread, and the piano player!

A Day in the life of a Muffin Top

So, the title is a little bit misleading- it should say "A not so typical day in the life of a Muffin Top." But today I decided to document what I ate and it happened to be a little bit of an exciting day; at least for dinner.
For now, we can just start with lunch.

Steak & Bleu Cheese Salad

Hot Cuban Panini 

Above, you will see my selection from Panera Bakery. I ordered the "You pick 2" menu option, and ordered the Signature Steak & Bleu salad, paired with a half of a Signature Cuban Panini.

The Cuban Panini consisted of "All-natural, antibiotic-free chicken, smoked, lean ham, sweet & spicy pickle chips, Swiss, chipotle mayo & sun-dried tomato ale mustard on our Focaccia." It has a hint of spicy from the tomato ale mustard which is amazing! I hated the pickle chips to be honest, but it was a hot pressed half of a panini so I couldn't exactly take the pickle chips out of the melted cheese.

The Steak & Bleu salad was incredible. I love a salad, but have to be in the mood for it, as I am sure, anyone does. This salad sounded so good to me. It was filled with "Seared top sirloin, romaine, frizzled onions, tomatoes & gorgonzola, all tossed with blue cheese vinaigrette and drizzled with a cabernet reduction." The portion was perfect. Not Huge, not small, just a perfect small half salad to accompany my sandwich. I think its funny that they called the fried onions "frizzled." It makes no sense to me, why can't they just cal them fried onions like any normal person? I will never understand that!

http://www.panerabread.com/

Dinner was a treat. Jackson and I went on a date with my very sweet and dear friend Marissa. Marissa has been a friend to me through the good, the bad, and the ugly, and continues to be such a good friend. I love her so much and am lucky to have a friend like her; she always smiles and it is contagious.

We went to a really Delicious restaurant in Old Towne Orange called Rutabegorz- pronounced ROOT~EH~BAH~GOOR~AHS

The story behind the restaurant is as important and impressive as the food.

Way back in 1970, four college students opened the doors to a small "hippie joint" which took its name from a spin on the word for the unloved turnip, the rutabaga. In the beginning serving only coffee and desserts, Rutabegorz has evolved through numerous menu additions and changing consumer tastes over the years into today's full service health conscious restaurant.

In addition to its many vegetarian dishes, Ruta's also offers white breast of chicken, turkey, tuna and assorted lean deli meats. All our unique salad dressings as well as our mayonnaise, sour cream and milk are low in fat content. As usual our fresh fruits and vegetables are of the highest quality available. We use no MSG in any of our recipes. Try one of our famous desserts, always made in-house.

Our mission is to provide the community with a healthy alternative to traditional restaurant offerings, without sacrificing taste. We strive to make your experience positive, and hope you'll enjoy our unique food, casual atmosphere, and friendly servers.

Remember, you are what you eat, from your head to your feet. Don't be a fast-food junky. Feel good, feel energetic and remember to eat all your vegetables.

http://www.rutabegorz.com/home/index.html

So between our fanning over Jackson, feeding him a healthy, fresh, and MSG-free dinner, Marissa and I gossiped, caught up and just had a great time! We eventually ordered dinner and kept up with the chit-chat.

My dinner is seen above- I ordered the Chicken Enchiladas Verde. The serving is huge and delicious! Chicken and cheese stuffed in corn tortillas and covered with green sauce. Served with avocado, rice, beans and chips.   $10.75

For the price, you get tons of food, and everything is full of flavor. The enchilada sauce is light, but slightly spicy, and tastes very delicious. I love the avocado which is served on top, dipped in the verde sauce. Jackson did too!

Peasant Mushrooms
Mushrooms stuffed with a vegetable medley. Served on top of rice pilaf. Topped with cheese and broiled to perfection. Served with cheese bread.   $9.95

Marissa ordered the Peasant Mushrooms, which was a bit risky I thought! She loved them from what she told me. She gave me a bite, and I really liked it as well. I loved the wild taste of the mushrooms.

The menu at Rutabegorz is really large, and after going to all three of the locations over the years, Tustin, Orange, and Fullerton, I can honestly say that I have eaten and loved everything I have tried. In the winter, I love the Cocky-Leeky soup. In the summer, I love the Turkey Cranberry Sandwich with cream cheese, and year round, I love the homemade desserts.

The ambiance is casual but homey and the staff is always nice. If you have not been to Rutabegorz, I suggest you go! It is perfect right now in summer to sit outside, have an iced tea, and catch up with an old friend!

Mariss- Thanks again for the good time. Jack and I loved to see you and loved catching up! Can't wait to do it again.

Mesa Grill- Las Vegas

Happy Anniversary to my Aunt and Uncle, Casey and Andrea!!! I have to give them a shout out because despite being on vacation and celebrating their honeymoon in Las Vegas, my uncle took the time to send me a picture for Muffin Topzz!!!

They went to Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's restaurant. I AM SO JEALOUS.

"Had lunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Vegas. These are the spicy chicken and poached eggs over sweet potato hash. The BBQ duck in blue corn potato pancake was awesome too."

Lucille's Bar.B.Que

I feel that this blog is 100% self explanitory. If you have been to Lucille's- you understand. If not, you need to go ASAP!!!