First of all, thank you SO much for all of your lovely comments on our anniversary post!   Ya’ll certainly do know how to make people feel good!

Being that things have been SO INSANE this month (seriously – is tomorrow November?!?!?!) – we weren’t even able to go out on our anniversary to celebrate, we needed to wait until this weekend.

We decided to try out a new restaurant that just opened up – Market (owned by the same people who own Wine Bar, which I’ve visited many a time )

While it was too cold to sit on the patio yesterday – it looked like the perfect place to enjoy a happy hour drink!   I definitely added to the “must go back” list, for that reason alone!

The inside smelled nice and new, and was super clean – but a little too OPEN for me. There was nothing on the walls, and it almost had like a cafeteria/warehouse look.  Fine for a cafeteria/warehouse, not so welcoming for an nicer dining setting. (yeah, yeah, I’m being super critical )

The whole premise for Market is that it offers a huge beer selection (both on tap and bottled!) – they have “24 beers on tap, 76 bottle beers” – I’d say that’s a lot!

We originally ordered Thirsty Dog Raspberry Ale & Brooklyn Lager, but apparently they had just changed out all their taps, and those were no longer available.

Instead:

I got a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (shocking? ) and Mike went with a Pumpkin Ale recommended by our server.

I LOVED the wine, Mike wasn’t totally impressed by the beer.

I had definitely perused the food selection online before we left, and I knew an appetizer was in the cards for us!

Pretzel Crusted Pickles, with Homemade French Onion Dip

These were awesome!!!! I could have easily ordered 2 more servings and eaten it all myself!

For my meal, I ordered WAY outside of the norm for me – I went with red meat!

Gourmet French Dip: Grilled Filet Mignon, Horseradish Havarti, Au Jus, Hoagie Roll

This was good, the filet was cooked nicely – but I could hardly taste the horseradish havarti – I wish that would have been stronger.

I only got through half of the sandwich before I was stuffed and had to call it a day!

Mike got the Market Burger: White Cheddar Stuffed Bison, Nueske Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Brioche Bun – and ate every last bite!

Their “House Made Chips” that come with all their sandwiches, come with barbeque flavoring – which had we known – we both would have ordered fries instead.

We both tried a few but decided they were no good.  Oh well!  We saved ourselves some calories there!

Overall, we weren’t terribly impressed.

The drinks were okay (and it was weird that a place that prides itself on it’s beer selection wouldn’t have up to date beer menus), the service (while friendly) wasn’t great considering we were the only ones in the restaurant (we went right after they open at 4pm), and the food was very average, considering the price. 

Mike said he wouldn’t go back – but I’d give the porch a try (as long as I got to order the Fried Pickle appetizer! )

The night wasn’t a loss though, I got to go home with this guy, so that made everything justtttt fine!

OW OW!!! He’s all mine, hands off ladies!

Remember the other month when MyBlogSpark/Good Earth sent me their Mediterranean Chicken to try out?

Well – it obviously left an impression on me, because when I finally stumbled across the Spicy Citrus Glazed Shrimp box in my store – I immediately purchased it!

First things first (I swear this is the first step of 80% of my recipes ) – get a pot of water boiling on the stove, over high heat.  Once it’s boiling, add in your “noodle” pack!

Next – get your shrimp ready!

I personally always have a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer, so for me, I just had to take it out and defrost it! 

71/90 shrimp per pound is my favorite size!

Once the shrimp is defrosted, dry it off and add in the “breading” mix packet:

Add a dime size amount of olive oil to a pan, and then dump in the breaded shrimp*

*not sure if you can completely tell here, but the breading did not stay very well on my shrimp.  I’m not sure if I forgot to add an ingredient, or what, but it was weird.  It didn’t ruin the taste or anything, just weird.

Add the “sauce” package to the shrimp. The shrimp only takes 2-3 minutes to cook, max, so it’ll be done quick!

Right around then – the noodles should be done – just drain them, and let them hang out in the pot.

The shrimp should look like this after it’s done cooking:

Add the noodles and “seasoning packet’ to the shrimp/sauce mixture:

Stir/combine!

Serve!

Enjoy!

As you can see, I added a little bit of roasted broccoli to mine, in order to bulk it up with some veggies.

What I love about these Good Earth meals?

100% whole grain, no trans fat, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives, no MSG – just add meat and, voila! Dinner is served.

What I think they could improve on?

1 – I don’t like how there aren’t any veggies involved in the dish.  I feel like it’s as simple as adding the line  “add shrimp AND BROCCOLI”, and people will add veggies easily.  Sometimes people just need a little encouragement to get those veggies in there, they don’t always think about it on their own.

2 – While the Mediterranean Chicken was AWESOME, this box was a little bland.  Maybe it’s just that I’m such a SPICY girl, I always set the bar to high for anything labeled “spicy”.

Verdict?  I’d buy another Good Earth boxed dinner, but I’d try all the other varieties before buying the Spicy Citrus Glazed Shrimp again.

3 years ago today, I married my best friend, and the man of my dreams.

Our wedding was, hands down, the best day of my life.  I know everyone says it, but it’s totally true!

Here’s the story told through pictures.

I love you Mike – thanks always loving me no matter what, and being the best husband in the whole wide world! I can’t imagine my life without you!