Super Duper Weenie...the BEST

Yep, that's really the name of the place, Super Duper Weenie! If you watch the Food Network and ever watch Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, then you have seen this place on one of the episodes!!! Guy did an episode on Super Duper Weenie. It is located in Fairfield, CT.

To look at the place you would think "Yeah, right. It's a little shack and probably not too good." But boy would you would be wrong!!! This place is fab-u-lous!!!! OMG!!! really, really good. It is a little shack, but it has humongous character and flavor!! :)

They have about 15 different kinds of hot dogs to choose from. This time I got the California Dog, which consists of fresh cut onions, a homemade chili sauce and American cheese. It was really good!!!

And OMG!!! can I just tell you how AMAZING the french fries are?!!!!! They are fresh cut and just sooooo good. YUMMY!!!!!

If you are ever driving up I-95 through Connecticut in Fairfield and see a billboard for the Super Duper Weenie then you have got to stop!! It is right off the highway and so easy off, easy on.

What do you like on your hot dogs?

It's Like Sticking a Straw in a Coconut

That's what the container says. :) I bought some of this coconut water last week at Whole Paycheck, that's what my friends and I in grad school called Whole Foods! :) The water is by Vita Coco. I was thinking it would be like milk, but it really is like water. Silly me, not sure what I was thinking. I mean, c'mon it says coconut "water". Duh! :)

It has an interesting flavor. Not sure what I quite think about it. I wish it were more coconutty. (Not sure if that is a word, but as I tell my students, it's a words now.) It is 100% pure coconut water. I've never cracked open a coconut and drank the water out of it and so I wasn't sure what to expect. If I ever make it onto Suvivor, I am all set though. (It is an obsession of mine to make it onto Suvivor one of these days!!!)

Have you ever tried this coconut water before? Or any type of coconut water before? Did ya like it?

The Salmon Aren't Running Yet, But...

Last year at this time when I was in Alaska visiting my brother the salmon had just started running and so the fisherman were lined up, really lined up. Seriously, they park along the side of the road put their rods in the water, catch their daily allotment (depending on how many salmon are running determines how many you can catch in 24 hours), then they go sit/sleep in their cars until midnight and then get out and fish again to catch the next bunch. In the summer there is no darkness, it only gets dusk, and so you can easily fish at midnight.

Well, I don't like farm raised salmon and so I normally only get Alaskan Wild or the ones my brother sends me. We were at Trader Joe's the other day and so I bought some. My mom and I grilled it up last night. I don't get all fancy with it normally and so I just put some olive oil and salt and pepper on it and put it on the grill. Salmon is soooo good for you. It can be fishy tasting at first, but if it is made correctly then it is tasty!! I like mine a little more crispy/blackened than this, but it was still good.

OMG!!! It was really good. It goes to show that you don't always need a lot of ingredients to make something good. :) How do you like to prepare your salmon/fish dinners?

On a Mission

I made these fab-u-lous quesadillas the other night. I thought I would try a different kind of tortilla and so I bought two different flavors of Mission's Tortilla's.

I bought the Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil

and the Garden Spinach & Herb. They are really good. I cannot say I could really taste the individual flavors that greatly but they were good and they're pretty too right? Ha! :) You know it's all about the prettiness.

I added, of course, my favorite go to...spinach and mozzarella. Don't forget that you can really add in tons of the spinach because it wilts down to normal size once it gets warm. But then I also added some black beans. I think black beans don't get their just exposure. I mean, they are good and good for you. They practically have no calories and fat and so whats not like???

Have you ever tried different flavors of the Mission tortillas? if so, what's your favorite? What do you use them for?

Giddy'Up Pizza

Not sure about this title but I was thinking fresh foods from the farm, hence the giddy'up and it is a pizza. Ha! I guess sometimes my reasoning only makes sense to me. :)

This is one of my mom's and I's favorite homemade pizzas. It is so simple and really, really good. First you just drizzle some olive oil on the crust and then add some fresh spinach, fresh basil and some goat cheese. Those are definitely the staples. You can also then add whatever you like. We added cherry tomatoes last night. My sister, Missy, doesn't like tomatoes which is why only half of the pizza has tomatoes. Sometimes we also add mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes.

Missy made this pizza. If I would have been made by me it would have a ton more spinach on it. I really load on the spinach. Don't worry if it looks like too much because it never is. The spinach wilts down once it gets warm and so it is never too much. :)

Do you make your own veggie pizza and if so what are your toppings?

Pop' ems!

I just totally looooooooove the Pop' ems donut holes!!! They are soooooo good! They come in glazed or chocolate. I usually only get the glazed ones. OMG!!! They are fab-u-lous!!! I am getting excited just writing about them right now. Darn, I wish I had some to eat. Ha! Hostess makes them and so you should immediately, at once, go out to your grocey store or convenience store and buy them!!! You will not regret it. That is, unless you are like me and you end up eating the entire box in one sitting!! Ha! Ha! :) Oh yeah, I so wish I was joking. Have you ever tried them? Pop the Pop' ems in your mouth.

Only the Berry Berry Best

It is berry season!!! Besides the colors of the fall in New England, berry season is one of my favorites! Love, love, love strawberries and blueberries!!!! I mean really, look at how colorful they are. They are amazing. Plus, I love my new camera and the detail I can get with it! :)

I seriously could eat strawberries and blueberries every day and I have actually lately. Ha! The sweetness of the strawberries and the pop in your mouth when you bite into a blueberry!
Fab-u-lous!!!

I am heading home to Pennsylvania on Friday for the rest of the summer. I know strawberry season is early this year and so I am hoping I can still find strawberry patches when I go picking this weekend. Keep an eye out for some photos of that. I am taking my niece Danica with me. Ever since she saw Cailliou go strawberry picking she wants to go to. :) Good times!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Leslie over at Out of Their Mouths won the $40 tastefully Simple Gift Certificate!!!!! Yea Leslie. I am so excited for you. Please email me at nina_tarner@hotmail.com so I can give you more information on the gift certificate. You are going to absolutely love the Tastefully Simple products! Hope you're hungry!!

Bacon Bacon Garlic Garlic Potato Skins

Who doesn't love potato skins?? I mean really, potatoes, spices and melted cheese. Mmmmm....so good, right?

I had a Tastefully Simple Success Event (meeting) last night and took an appetizer.

I decided to use the Bacon Bacon and Garlic Garlic as my products in the dish. These are some of the best spices EVER!!!! I mean people go CRAZY over them!! These bottles are huge and they last a loooong time. If you have never tried Tastefully Simple products or heard of them then you have to check it out here. I'll mention a giveaway at the end of this blog. :)

The potato skins were really easy to make. I simply baked 10 potatoes in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. You can easily use less potatoes, but if you are serving quite a few people I suggest making more rather than less because everyone loves them. Seriously, they were ALL GONE very quickly!

Once done baking, split the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the potato.

Next, mash the potatoes a bit so they are not so lumpy. Isn't the potato masher one of the BEST kitchen utensils ever??? Love it!

I next added some of the Bacon Bacon and some of the Garlic Garlic. I also added some sour cream and some cheese. Then just stir it really well so it is well mixed.

Now, spoon the potato mixture back into the potato skins. I didn't use that much because I wanted them to be more like potato skins rather than twice baked potatoes. I also pressed the potato mixture down some.

I then added some more Bacon Bacon

and also more cheese. You can never have too much cheese right?

Then I just put them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. OMG!!! Soooo good!!! What are your favorite toppings on potato skins???

I am giving away a $40 gift certificate to the Tastefully Simple products of your choice. From today through Sunday if you leave me a comment you will get one name entered in the drawing. If you also leave a post about my giveaway on your blog you will get your name entered twice! If you post about my giveaway on your facebook profile you will get your name entered three times and if you follow my blog you will get your name entered four times!!!! You can check out the Tastefully Simple website here.