SHOPPING WITH THE "BOSS".................with a litle cooking thrown in.

I have mentioned in the past that I happen to have a husband that actually loves to go shopping....Any kind of shopping.....he just loves to shop.

So when I mentioned that I had a $10.00 certificate to Sur la Table burning a hole in my purse he was game to make a day out of it.....He loves a good cooking shop....not that the man can cook....he can't....but he does love a good gadget or two....

So off we went on a very rainy day to the Perimeter Mall here in Atlanta......I have said bad things about Atlanta in the past but I must admit we have great shopping....Everything you could possibly want....there's a store for it.....

Sur la Table is nice enough to send $10. coupons out every so often.....what's nice about them is you don't have to spend any amount of money to use the ten dollars.....It's just a free ten dollars...Nice, Yes?

I went to buy a pastry bag and tip for Miss B's upcoming birthday party....the free coupon covered the cost of those items....The Boss bought me the Boos Block.....I love Boos Blocks and this one came with feet!!

If you haven't bought the new Food Network magazine it's worth buying.....I just wish it would come out more often.....there's no rhyme or reason when the next issue will be available...I didn't get the magazine at Sur la Table but I am going to tell you about a recipe I found in it that we used today....


The Boss collects these wacky Chinese teapots......he has quite the collection and ofcourse I couldn't keep him out of "Teavana".....I usually hate going into this store...the salespeople are obnoxious with their pitch about the "story behind the teapot".....We already know the story....We don't want to hear it again for the 50th. time.....
But the girl was nice today and we walked out with two teapots and these cute little matching cups....the Boss was very Happy......

While I was looking through Nordstroms he further inspected his purchase and noticed a small chip on the lid of one of the pots....He went back to Teavana while I stayed wandering in Nordstroms....on the way back in true husband form he forgot where he left me....
Wondering what was taking him so long about 20 minutes later I see him coming.....He went to Bloomingdale's......found the Ralph Lauren department and thought I was probably in the dressing room.....Sitting down to wait...he finally realized he was in the wrong store.....I guess he noticed there was no grand piano near where he left me........
After the mall we made a pit stop at Michael's.....Yes, I can even get him into Michael's and Jo Ann Fabrics....again he loves the little doo-dads....art supplies....paints...crafty stuff for his soldiers....

After getting home and being very good about not eating fast food out......You know we are on a diet before the big birthday at the end of the month.....Miss "B" does not need
"Grandparents and a Half"...
We started cooking.....The husband made the salad while I grilled the chicken....this diet seems to work...he has lost 14 pounds since May 1st.....I have lost 7 pounds....
Anyhoo, he isn't a big fan of bottled salad dressing so I tried the Copy-Cat recipe for the Olive Garden salad dressing in this months issue of The Food Network magazine....
I was surprised it was really good although I was a bit taken back that one of the ingredients was
Miracle Whip!!
It screamed Paul Dean.....
here's the recipe.....If you like the Olive Gardens salad this is pretty darn close to what it tastes like....
ALMOST-FAMOUS GARDEN SALAD DRESSING

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of Miracle Whip
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning
Combine the dressing ingredients and 1 tablespoon of water in a blender or food processor...puree until smooth...

I hope you all had a good weekend too!!