Yesterday was my last day of work before Spring Break began. Funny how Monday through Friday went by in a flash, but Friday seemed to drag along at a snail’s pace.
Breakfast
I had a tiny bit of Scottish oats left over- definitely not enough for a full meal, so I added one of my failed almond flour blueberry muffins to the mix. I froze the batch of muffins, and every once in awhile I thaw one and eat it for breakfast.
Lunch
Seen this before? Only about one serving left! I’m hoping Stephen will eat it for me this weekend. (Hear that, Stephen?)
Dinner
I decided to go out on a limb and try this place: Copper River. I think it’s a local chain. It’s kind of similar to an Outback. Let’s just say, a place like this would not normally be my first choice, but I won a Copper River gift card during one of our office lunches.
Stephen and I decided it would be a good date to celebrate the beginning of my Spring Break!
Despite it being 9:00 before we made it, there was still about a 15 minute wait! Good sign, right? This must be a popular place!
After looking at the menu, Stephen and I decided to go all out.
I even ordered a glass of wine. Pink wine, baby! I’ve mentioned this before: I’m no wine snob. White zin’s are definitely my favorite.
We were starving, so we decided an appetizer was a must.
Onion peels. We were expecting something similar to Outback’s Bloomin’ Onion, but that is not what we got. Instead, we were served greasy onion strings. They were soggy, not crispy and were incredibly difficult to eat.
Stephen and I both ordered entrees that came with salad and a honey croissant. I took a bite of the croissant and gave the rest to Stephen. I also tried to pick off the pink stuff (ham? bacon?) from the top of my salad. 
Then the entrees came out. I ordered salmon and steamed veggies. I really liked the salmon marinade. It was a honey soy ginger glaze-very good! However, my salmon was hard as a rock. Not flaky at all, totally overcooked.
Salmon
Steamed veggies.
Restaurant pet peeve: I ordered steamed veggies. Not steamed veggies coated in a vat of garlic and butter sauce.
Neither Stephen nor I ate very much.
The truth is, we were stuffed to the gills and feeling sick before the main course even reached the table.
I guess we just weren’t used to eating so much butter and oil in one sitting! We did manage to box up our dinners and reluctantly eat our leftovers for lunch today though.
Moral of this story: Sometimes I’d rather stay home and eat prepackaged Kashi pizzas, frozen veggies, and bean soup than waste money on dining out.
How do you feel about going out to eat? I certainly enjoy it as a once in awhile treat, but I often leave disappointed. Eating out can be expensive, and a lot of times, it’s just not worth the money.
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Don’t forget to enter my Cookware Giveaway!
Enjoy this beautiful Saturday afternoon! I attended both Group Power and Group Centergy this morning. Now Stephen and I are relaxing on the couch and watching made for tv movies. Yay, spring break!
Do not get me started on Copper River. We go there every time we visit Jason’s parents (in Seneca) and I hate it. Every single salad has bacon on it and do they really all need to come with a croissant? I’ve had those oily veggies too.
so true so true…..i like to go places i know are already good because i do not want to waste the money or feel like crap when i eat out.
sorry it was not so good. i swear the most crowded places are the worst-most people do not like to eat good food…….
have a great spring break! mine starts in a week
I completely agree about dining out. I feel like I ALWAYS end up disappointed and thinking “I could have made it better myself.” But then again…restaurants don’t try very hard to make vegan things like veggies and salads very appealing!
I adore going out to eat – round where I live there are tons of lovely places, so I’m not often disapointed! I haven’t been out for a meal in so long though..,normally,everytime someone in my family has a birthday, we go out for a meal – it’s lovely and special!
Bad luck on your experience though, that sucks
We hardly ever go out to eat anymore. I don’t think we’ve been out to dinner in over a month? maybe 2? I generally think I can make the same stuff at home ( and probably do it better ) for less money. We do enjoy eating out for special occasions, though!
Yuck, I hate Copper River! There’s one in Seneca, SC and we always go when we visit my inlaws. I ordered a salad once and asked for it w/o onions and they told me they couldn’t take onions out of the salad! What!?
I agree with you. Sometimes eating a mish mash of stuff at home beats eating out!
I’m eating taffy as I type…please stop me?! Anyways, I LOVE eating out but it’s also a thorn in my side…there is really NO way you can eat “healthy” when you eat out…calorie and fat count is out of control. Even when you order something “healthy”…they cook it in butter and gosh knows what!
I totally agree– 90 percent of the times that we go out, I end up being disappointed with the meal, which is why we now cook at home 90 percent of the time! It’s so disappointing to go out and have a meal that isn’t good…and then to have to pay so much for it!
Have a great spring break!!
oh i hate it when you go out for food looking forward too it and its a big dissapointment! xxx
I think it depends…some restaurants are really good and some are really disappointing! But overall, I like to make most of my meals myself because that way I’m in control of the taste AND the nutrition. Regardless, eating out is nice to do sometimes, so its great if you can find a restaurant you love.
I hate when I get a sub-par meal when I go out to eat. So frustrating. But there are some places I know that are good, so I tend to stick to them.
ugh I hate when I go out to eat and the food is like that. It makes the entire experience of dining out so much less enjoyable!
I had some swordfish the other day that was overdone. So unncessary! I’m also not a big “outback” place kind of person. That’s what you get for not liking (or eating) red meat!
Nick and I rarely eat out, but you bet we would have gone to a restaurant if we had a gift card for it! Once we received a giftcard for a restaurant that was about 30 minutes away. We drove there, despite knowing it was probably not going to be the best. I guess we aren’t too picky. Do you know what we are most picky about at restaurants?? The beer selection! Yep, if they have good beer, we like the place
Sorry about the salmon, overcooked salmon is no bueno. And I HATE it when steamed veggies= steamed veggies coated in extra crap. Last night my mom and I went to dinner and I ordered a salad with dressing on the side. The waiter forgot and the salad was DRENCHED in dressing, it was sickening. Ugh.
Bummer! I agree. While I love dining out – selection, atmosphere, no dishes…you’re right, it’s not worth it a lot of times. My mom always says “Food tastes best when you’re really hungry” and I think that’s totally true. At a restaurant the portions are so huge that just putting a dent in the plate is usually enough. Yet, most people continue to eat more just because it’s there. Dangerous! I always have an upset stomach after a night of eating out — too much fat!!
I just read the comments and am intrigued that there is someone else (Jen) who has inlaws in Seneca. I wonder if our husbands (or my soon to be husband) know each other!
I know! I was wondering if the two of you were related or something!
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