• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Search
  • About
    • Contact
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Oatmeal Recipes
    • Smoothie Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • 100 Oatmeal Recipes + Whipped Banana Oatmeal
    • The Best Overnight Oats Recipes
    • Smoothie In A Bowl
  • Nutrition
    • Favorite Wellness Products
    • My Wellness Program
    • Top 10 Nutrition Posts
    • Healthy Mindset
    • Real Food
    • Weight Change
    • Becoming A Registered Dietitian
  • Home
    • Home Tour
    • Home Renovation Before And After
    • Renovation
    • Kitchen Organization Accessories
  • Skincare
    • My Skincare Routine
    • my beauty broadcast
    • Beautycounter Swaps
    • What Happened To Beautycounter?
    • How to Apply Skincare in the Right Order
  • Life
    • Mazen’s Birth Story
    • Birch’s Birth Story
    • Fitness
    • Wedding
    • Charlottesville
    • Travel
  • Courses
    • Digital Clutter Course
    • Bloom Wellness Program
    • Freebies
  • Shop

Kath Eats logo

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Search
  • About
    • Contact
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Oatmeal Recipes
    • Smoothie Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • 100 Oatmeal Recipes + Whipped Banana Oatmeal
    • The Best Overnight Oats Recipes
    • Smoothie In A Bowl
  • Nutrition
    • Favorite Wellness Products
    • My Wellness Program
    • Top 10 Nutrition Posts
    • Healthy Mindset
    • Real Food
    • Weight Change
    • Becoming A Registered Dietitian
  • Home
    • Home Tour
    • Home Renovation Before And After
    • Renovation
    • Kitchen Organization Accessories
  • Skincare
    • My Skincare Routine
    • my beauty broadcast
    • Beautycounter Swaps
    • What Happened To Beautycounter?
    • How to Apply Skincare in the Right Order
  • Life
    • Mazen’s Birth Story
    • Birch’s Birth Story
    • Fitness
    • Wedding
    • Charlottesville
    • Travel
  • Courses
    • Digital Clutter Course
    • Bloom Wellness Program
    • Freebies
  • Shop
You are here: Home / Lifestyle / Dinner Party Guests

February 21, 2009

Dinner Party Guests

We were invited to Karen’s tonight to have dinner with her friend Rose Marie, who works at Davidson, and with Dr. Vasquez, who is a Spanish professor, Matt’s fraternity advisor and teacher and one of Larbs’s professors as well.

But first, Matt had a mandatory bakery staff meeting at 5:30, so I played in Trader Joe’s for an hour next door. FINALLY I got to spend a ton of time in there! There were tons of products I wanted to try, but I knew I shouldn’t buy most of them (think cookies, cereals, cheeses). I found what appears to be cooked wheatberries in the grains section. I snuck out my camera for you all!

IMG_2047 (1024x768)  IMG_2048 (1024x768)

I kept myself from buying most of the products, but I did come across a new Valencia Peanut + Flax PB and knowing TJ’s opens products to taste, I decided “what the heck” and went to customer service to see if they would let me taste it. Not only did he open the jar for me, we also opened a jar of TJ’s regular peanut butter and did a side-by-side tasting! While the Valencia was good, I actually preferred the saltier and bolder TJ’s regular salted crunchy PB. And at $1.79 a jar – unbeatable! We’re actually low on PB in this household, only having a tsp of Honey Cinnamon from Naturally Nutty and 1/3 a jar of Barney Butter left. So I put it in the cart. My peanut butter tastes have evolved so much over the past year. I used to only like Harris Teeter brand, and not the saltier and more roasted, the better! (I blame Barney!)

We arrived at Karen’s at 6:30 and I poured a small glass of red wine. My intention tonight was to stick with one (and only one) glass. I had two smaller sized ones and am very pleased with the portoin! This Atteca was amazing!

IMG_2049 (1024x768)

IMG_2056 (1024x768)  IMG_2059 (1024x768) IMG_2061 (1024x768)

For dinner Karen served her Best Vegetable Lasagna –

IMG_2064 (1024x768)

She served our plates, and I only ended up eating about half of this huge bowl!

IMG_2065 (1024x768)

Plus a side salad in Caesar dressing with almonds and bell pepper

IMG_2066 (1024x768)

And of course GH bread –

IMG_2070 (1024x768)

And my second small glass of wine

IMG_2068 (1024x768)

IMG_2071 (1024x768)

The husband Matt happily ate the rest of my portion

IMG_2074 (1024x768) 

And I had seconds on salad

IMG_2072 (1024x768)

For dessert, Karen made Hello Dollies! These were way better than the Hello Dollies I made in December – probably because hers weren’t the “light” version! I had this guy plus another equiv. when I packaged up the leftovers for us to bring home for our freezer. You’ll be seeing these again!

IMG_2075 (1024x768) 

I’m proud of myself for eating intuitively tonight. And yes, I totally owe you guys a review of that book! I wrote down some of my thoughts during a Foodservice lecture last week and just have to type them up. Soon enough, I promise.

Three cheers for a happy weekend.

Filed Under: Lifestyle

Reader Interactions

Previous Post
Best. Sandwich. Ever
Next Post
Too Much To Say

Comments

  1. Steph says

    February 21, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    I’m so glad you like TJ’s PB! Their salted crunchy kind is my absolute favorite!!

    Reply
  2. Maggie says

    February 21, 2009 at 11:46 pm

    Can’t wait for the book review 😀

    Haha, mothers are always putting so much food on your plate – Bobby’s parents are ALWAYS feeding us when we go visit them. It’s cute though.

    Reply
  3. theoddbod says

    February 21, 2009 at 11:47 pm

    beauty dessert. excellent portion control 😉

    Reply
  4. Natalie says

    February 21, 2009 at 11:51 pm

    Cute mirror pics!

    Dessert looks great to. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Sharon says

    February 21, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    Oh my gosh, everything looks great!

    Reply
  6. Emily says

    February 22, 2009 at 12:33 am

    I didn’t know TJ’s had an open food policy. I will definitely keep that in mind. And I didn’t know their PB was such a great price, either! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Diana says

    February 22, 2009 at 1:03 am

    Ooh, I saw that Valencia PB with flax in the TJ newsletter and thought it sounded really interesting! I made a mental note to check it out next time I’m at TJs, so maybe I’ll see if they can give me a sample, too! 🙂

    Dinner looks like lots of fun and lots of good food! Yum!

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth (thelongweigh) says

    February 22, 2009 at 1:05 am

    Cute self portraits! All the food looks delicious..its been forever since I have had that dessert! I have always called it 7 layer bar though. Fun night!

    Reply
  9. Sarah (lovINmytummy) says

    February 22, 2009 at 1:14 am

    Still working on a reread of Intuitive Eating, but its making me happy. And my intuition is telling me to make some Hello Dollies!

    Reply
  10. amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) says

    February 22, 2009 at 1:58 am

    Hello Dollies look fantastic! YUM!!

    I want to check out that wine. Yum!

    Reply
  11. foodsthatfit says

    February 22, 2009 at 2:07 am

    I had no idea Trader Joe’s had that policy! I’ll have to test that out! They have a bunch of products I would love to try, but do not buy b/c I am not sure if I will like it or not and don’t want to waste the money! That is def. the sign of a good company!

    Reply
  12. Jill says

    February 22, 2009 at 2:16 am

    I loved Atteca! You should try Atrea as well, it’s pretty divine!

    Reply
  13. Anne P says

    February 22, 2009 at 3:44 am

    TJ’s has an open food policy?!?!? No way! That’s awesome!

    Reply
  14. Jessica says

    February 22, 2009 at 6:40 am

    Speaking of Karen’s delish pasta dishes…I made a lighter version of her French Beef Casserole! Andy and I loved it! I halved the recipe and then assembled the “halved” portion into two seperate smaller dishes. We are 3 servings yesterday and then froze enough for another four.

    Reply
  15. haya (living and learning) says

    February 22, 2009 at 7:13 am

    freekeh is kind of completely different from the wheatberries you know. they harvest the kernels when they’re still green and soft. after some sun drying, they burn the straw and chaff (but not the actual kernels because they’re still too wet to burn) to give the wheat kind of a smokey taste.
    they will not be tasty in your oatmeal, and they are not exactly “cooked” but they do cook much quicker than regular wheatberries. they would be much better in a savoury application.
    depending on how you feel about smokiness, you might enjoy them. the texture is good and chewy.
    (you can read up a bit more on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freekeh)

    Reply
  16. Maureen says

    February 22, 2009 at 7:19 am

    That lasagna is soooo drool-worthy!

    Reply
  17. Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) says

    February 22, 2009 at 7:27 am

    Delish! You are Matt are too cute.

    Isn’t that book amazing! The principles are so simple yet so difficult sometimes!

    Reply
  18. Nicole says

    February 22, 2009 at 7:27 am

    Fun! I did not know Trader Joe’s did that. I’ve also never heard of the flax PB! I need to take a trip to TJ’s.

    Your dinner party looks like fun. Those cookie bars look ammmmaaaazzzzing!

    Reply
  19. Lauren says

    February 22, 2009 at 7:44 am

    Were the wheatberries pre-seasoned? I better run down to my Trader Joes and see if they have them if not!!!

    The lasagna looks AMAZING!

    Reply
  20. Marisa (trim the fat) says

    February 22, 2009 at 7:54 am

    Loving that lasagna! I made a zucchini lasagna this week(no noodles) and I really liked it!

    I just picked up the intuitive eating book at my library. I haven’t had a chance to peak yet, but I am looking forward to seeing your review and how it has helped you. I’m hoping to get some good advice with the intuitive eating, especially to help with those moments when I want to “throw all caution to the wind” 🙂

    Reply
  21. Beadie @ What i Ate Yesterday says

    February 22, 2009 at 8:29 am

    Looks like a lovely evening.

    Good for you for eating intuitively, I look forward to your review of the book!

    Reply
  22. Meg says

    February 22, 2009 at 8:30 am

    What a lovely evening! That lasagna looks incredible.

    Reply
  23. Diana says

    February 22, 2009 at 8:42 am

    can’t wait for the book review! dinner looks great! you guys are cute in the mirror! hehe.

    Reply
  24. Mara @ What's For Dinner? says

    February 22, 2009 at 8:45 am

    It looks like you had a great night!! I love the picture of you and Matt!

    Reply
  25. Shelby says

    February 22, 2009 at 9:17 am

    Love the mirror pics =)

    Mmm, veggie lasagne

    Reply
  26. skinnyrunner says

    February 22, 2009 at 9:34 am

    looks like a delicious meal. good job on intuitive eating! sometimes thats the hardest thing

    Reply
  27. Jim Purdy says

    February 22, 2009 at 9:49 am

    Delicious looking pictures, as always! Good thing I can’t get fat just by looking at the photos.

    Reply
  28. K says

    February 22, 2009 at 9:53 am

    What a fun dinner! I SO didn’t know that TJs would do that – PB taste test session, can’t get much better!!

    Reply
  29. Oh She Glows says

    February 22, 2009 at 9:54 am

    Wow what a lovely night. Love the mirror pics…hehe Eric and I always do that.
    Great job on eating intuitively- it can be very hard to do, especially when there is such a wonderful spread of food. That veggie lasagna looks DEVINE!

    Reply
  30. melissa (fitnessnyc) says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:01 am

    great job! looks yummy

    Reply
  31. Biz319 says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:08 am

    I love being able to have time looking through TJ’s without my kids or husband – they just don’t understand there is so much to look at!

    Karen’s lasagna looks amazing!

    Reply
  32. Tyler (Raspberry Runner) says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:10 am

    I did not know about TJ’s jar opening policy…that’s so nice!

    Reply
  33. Anna says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:13 am

    I bought that Valencia and flax PB at TJ’s a couple weeks ago… it’s really good! the Valencia’s really are sweeter than most peanuts. I like it a LOT better than the regular TJ’s PB, which I think is sort of bitter and almost burnt-tasting

    Reply
  34. BethT says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:22 am

    TJ’s PB is all I eat. It’s the best.

    Reply
  35. Vince says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:23 am

    Hello Dolly’s are a family favorite every year at Christmas. One thing that I do is cook them at a lower oven temperature for a longer period of time. This let the condensed milk caramelize without burning the bars. It makes for a yummy texture and flavor.

    Also, I think Matt should keep the facial hair. A close cropped beard looks good on him.

    Reply
  36. Red Heady, Yellow Dog says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:30 am

    I love TJ’s peanut butter! The price + taste+ minimal ingredients is hard to beat!

    Reply
  37. casinosmoney says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:34 am

    just great, I love to come everyday to this blog

    Reply
  38. Kate says

    February 22, 2009 at 10:43 am

    What an awesome night! The lasagna does look amazing. HAHA and I love the self- mirror photos!

    Reply
  39. Kareen Latour says

    February 22, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Hi Kath!
    I love your blog, I read it everyday.
    Does Karen have a blog? I would love to get her lasagna recipe, it looks delicious.

    Reply
  40. samantha says

    February 22, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    you and matt are soooo cute 🙂 i love your picture together.

    Reply
  41. Kati says

    February 22, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    that hello dolly is calling my name!!!

    Reply
  42. Kath says

    February 22, 2009 at 8:23 pm

    haya (living and learning) ,
    Thanks for the info!

    Lauren ,
    I don’t think they were seasoned.

    Kareen Latour,
    Karen is my mother-in-law and she doesn’t have a blog, but the recipe is on my sidebar and I linked to it in the post.

    Kath

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Search

Topics to browse >>

Get my exclusive promos –>

    Footer

    hi! Im Kath.

    I'm a Registered Dietitian, healthy eater, and mom of two from Charlottesville, Virginia. Here you’ll find a healthy mix of real-life meals made from whole ingredients balanced with the pleasures of life, including buttercream frosting and good wine. Plus a sprinkle of nutrition, home life, beauty, parenting, and travel.
    about | privacy policy | contact

    Please note: nearly every link I post is an affiliate link. Thank you for supporting my blog.

    Recipes

    • Oatmeal Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Smoothie Recipes
    • All Recipes

    Nutrition

    • Healthy Mindset
    • Real Food
    • My Wellness Program

    Life

    • Home Tour
    • Travel
    • Wedding
    • Charlottesville
    • Digital Clutter Course
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Copyright © // 2025 Kath Eats
    Jump to top