Tonight we’re hosting the husband’s college roommate – Canada. Yup, that’s his name. We’ve called him Canada since the first day we met him at Davidson Orientation. He was “Canada Chris” for a few days and then just “Canada.” OH yeah, and he hails from Toronto 
Here they are at Homecoming this year!
I went for a 30 minute walk this afternoon in between rain showers to get some fresh air. Rachel Ray’s magazine is quite good! I started to get hungry around 5:00 when I got back and had a handful of roasted garbanzos to tide me until dinner -
We started dinner with a round of beers. I had a Raspberry Hefeweizen – YUM!!
But about 1/3 of the way through I realized I really wanted to sip on a glass of red wine, so I switched to a glass and let the husband had my beer. I’m going to remember this one for the mid-summer heat!
For dinner, we served Brie-Stuffed Grilled Chicken Breasts. Just butterfly the chicken by cutting the breast in half like a book. Then grill, and put the brie in during the last minute of cooking. We also brushed the chicken in a honey-balsamic mixture before cooking, but I couldn’t really taste it. I would recommend an apricot preserves glaze, but we were all out!
Plus grilled zucchini and squash, topped with chiffonade basil -
And FLATBREAD DOUGH!!!!!!!! This week’s was made with half . It definitely had a wheatier taste, but was still delicious with more whole grains. Unfortunately (fortunately!?) I ate about twice as much as you see here both before and after dinner. I love bread and could not resist stealing pieces from the platter. I’m guessing I had about 4 oz total.
My plate:
Dessert
Canada brought us ice wine (all the way from you-know-where!) as a housewarming gift!! It was sooo delicious. Kind of like a Reisling mixed with Mead (honey wine). Very concentrated and full of flavor. The perfect ending to a meal!
I had about 1 oz (and the boys finished the bottle).
I’m actually not full at all, although I’m estimating this dinner (1/3 beer + wine + extra flatbread + icewine) at close to 800 kcal. Guess it’s those empty alcohol calories. I might have to have a little snack later.
I’m off to watch The Simpsons like the good old college days!
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks you had a really fun weekend
Too funny about “Canada”, haha
I used to live in NC – about an hour north of Greensboro, in this really small town of Sandy Ridge. I miss the warm weather there this time of year, up in northern california its still a bit chilly now!
Enjoy “The Simpsons”, ah I gotta love them!
haha the chicken looks so little next to the big vegetables!
I have a friend we call Canada too. but his last name is Canada.
Oh yes, the Simpsons are on tonight? Woo-Hoo! That flatbread looks amazing. I can’t resist hot toasted bread, there’s just nothing like it. Brie stuffed chicken is amazing. I just found a similar recipe for that in a Cooking Light cookbook and want to make it.
Grilled zucchini = best grilled veggie ever.
- The Peanut Butter Boy
Hello to Canada from a fellow Canadian! I am in Kingston right now – just finished up my Bachelor’s … but am moving to Toronto in June for my job!
How exciting it was to see Peller icewine all the way in NC!
Oh the chicken looks amazing…now I know what to do with the brie in my fridge!
Thanks so much for answering my question on Winthrop. Right now, I’m in the early process but as I get more serious, I will probably take you up on your offer if it’s still available.
Have a wonderful, relaxing night!
Canada looks like a fun guy!!
Enjoy watching ‘The Simpsons’ – love that show :0)
That chicken looks great! I love anything with brie!
I love fruit-flavored beers. I had a Berryweiss the other day that was amazing.
And doughy flatbread?! Delicious.
I’m jealous of your summery fun! I wish I had a grill!
Exa
CANADA – GO HABS GO!
that is my favorite beer EVER!!! i went to the harpoon factory this past february and we got free tastings of it and my friends and i ended up buying tons of it. and last night i found out that my corner bodega carries it. sooo good!!!
That is my favorite summer beer & I actually have a bottle of Pellar Estates icewine that I bought during a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, just waiting for a special occasion…
I have got to try that flatbread! I am hungry all over again
Have a good night!
oh gosh- I didn’t know there was fruit flavored beer!! I hate beer but I bet I’d love this! what does it taste like? sweet?
wow – I didn’t get to check your blog until just now (9:30pm EST). I’m not really a wine drinker – but that Ice Wine looks so good. I love the bottle!
So, the hubby and I are off to Sedona on Wednesday (I didn’t even start packing yet!) We’ll be there for 5 days – so that’s about 15 meals eating out. That’s 15 chances for me to calorie-bust! Do you have any advice on eating on vacation?
On my past vacations, I usually ate whatever I wanted, because I wasn’t trying to lose weight. But now, I’m trying to lose about 10 pounds so I have to be careful.
We just bought some healthy snacks to take with us on the plane and to snack on in Sedona: fruit and nut trail mix, whole wheat pita chips, Kashi crackers, etc. I even checked the menus of the restaurants we have reservations at to see what healthy choices they have. (I know – I’m anal!) We are doing a lot of physical activity (hiking, mountain biking, etc.) I’m going to try my best to eat healthy – but I know the desserts are going to be my downfall as always.
Is anyone else going on vacation? If so, where? Just curious – since it’s that time of year where everyone is travelling.
Happy Sunday everyone!
How would you make an apricot preserve glaze? I tried once and had no idea what I was doing!
My last name is Canada! And unlike Canada, I’m from Georgia, but I always get asked if I am from Canada when people learn my last name! It will be Clark next year though since I’m getting married!
Just curious, you look great now (phenomenal change!), but did you family ever encourage you to lose weight? or was that totally you who wanted to?
I hear you about height, 140 on someone 5’7 looks fine, totally different on us shorties!
mel – try a BLUEBERRY BEER! or a blue moon with an orange slice in it!
Wow I didn’t know fruity beers existed either, how fun!
That brie chicken looks so yummy
Kath, I had another question about weight loss. I have an hourglass figure and I’m fairly busty. From the pictures, it looks like you are too (or were, depending on your definition!). I was wondering how much that changed with your weight loss. Thanks!
How much brie is that?
courtney – i *thought* i was busty until i lost 15 lbs and i dropped from a D to a B.
i’ve known a lot of women who lost their weight in their boobies, too! it came from there FIRST!
this meal combines probably ALL of my favorite foods: beer, wine, cheese, bread!!
Other good summer beers to try:
*Magic Hat #9 (has a mild apricot taste–might be hard to find in NC since it’s from VT)
*Long Trail Blackberry Wheat (usually not available south of NY, again from vermont)
*Dogfish 60 minute, 90 minute IPAs (these are very hoppy but SO Delicious if you like strong tasting beer–this company is from Maryland
*Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale (I have only seen this in Maine/New England)
I’m seconding the Dogfish Head brews! They really are good and kind of fruity. I like the lighter ones best.
Looks like a great evening. I LOVE brie…so that chicken looks fantastic! And that ice wine looks so good. I’m going to have to find some of that to try for myself!
Hello Kath! I’ve been reading your blog for about a couple of weeks now and trying some of your recipes. They are really good!
I had a quick question for you….it seems you “grill” a lot of your foods. Do you heat up the grill every single night for dinner or do you use an indoor grill like a George Foreman? I was just curious cause I would think it would be a ton of work to heat up a grill every night for dinner and clean it, etc. But if you use an indoor grill…what’s your secret?! My stuff always comes out drier than a plain potato.
Thanks!
I LOVE ice wine! SO delicious!
I love love love ice wine. YUM!
Suzanne ,
Here are a few quick vacation tips:
1) Try to eat like you’re at home. Eat the amount of food you would have if you were to prepare dinner for yourself. So if you’re served a HUGE plate of something, try to stick with home-prepared portions.
2) Get as much physical activity as you. Walk everywhere. Go for a romantic walk before dinner hand-in-hand. If you can, hunt out the hotel gym and get in 1-2 “real” workouts.
3) Choose between appetizers, bread, dessert, and a second drink. Don’t have all four.
Susan ,
Just brush on the preserves. Simple as that! You might want to heat it in the microwave first to get it runny.
Susan ,
My desire to lose weight came 100% from me just feeling horrible about myself. I was unhappy so much of the time, and I am one of those people who feels that my extra weight covered up my “true self.” I feel strongly that the desire to lose has to come from within and have vowed to never tell someone (my family, friends, kids) that they “could lose some weight.” If the person wants to lose, they will. My parents did make some comments over the years – politely and with good intentions – but I remember those comments word for word and they did more harm than good to my self esteem and desire to lose weight.
Courtney ,
I have DEFINITELY lost in the bust. I’d say 2-3 cup sizes. A big plus because that was one of the things I hated most about my “before” body.
sirenjess ,
It was about 3/4 of an oz to an ounce of high quality French brie.
Ashley ,
Glad you like the recipes! We have a gas grill on our patio that takes about 10 minutes to heat up and 5 to clean, so it’s not a big deal to grill out frequently at all. I’ve wanted to get a grill pan for winter grilling but the husband is willing to stand out there in the cold, so we haven’t ever gotten anything for indoors.
Kath
Thanks, Kath. That’s great advice – I’m going to following all your vacation eating tips!
I see you’re going away in two days as well? To the beach? Where to? I hope you have a blast! Will you be posting your meals from the beach?
So funny his name is Cananda! I bet he got teased a lot! Sounds like you guys are having lots of fun!
That Raspberry Hefeweizen Looks and sounds so good! I love LOVE raspberries.
Courtney,
I had quite large breasts and even with a significant weight loss (around 25 pds), I pretty much stayed the same size. I ended up having a breast reduction and a lift in oder to balance out my size. It really was the absolute best decision for me.
O-M-G my brother has a friend in his dorm and they call him Canada too!!!!!!!!!!! omg thats hilarious i will have to tell him about this!!!!! lol.
Yay Canada!
Glad you enjoyed your icewine so much. I could drink glasses and glasses of that stuff… so dangerous!
You should visit “Canada” in Toronto sometime and visit Niagara on your way, you would love it
Meredi
(from Toronto!)
Wow, usually when there’s this much discussion about me online, I’ve done something bad. The Peller Estates was great and the Southern hospitality was as good as ever.
Haha! Hi Canada! Glad you made it home safely and caught up on your blog reading
K