I have been all about the comfort food lately. I love going out-of-town and trying new places but with that it brings bigger portions, unhealthy grub and an upset belly. After my weekend of yummy eats, I am happy to be back home cooking and eating healthier than I have been. But that doesn’t mean everything is boring and plain-I was all about the down home cooking on Monday night! And the inspiration for this?
Paula Deen y’all!
Oh Paula, you ride random men like a horse, are very orange and say y’all as much as you use butter but I really do heart you. I found this Paula Deen Southern Peach BBQ Sauce for only $1.80 at Big Lots while in Pittsburgh. I love bbq anything so I was excited to try out a peace bbq sauce.
I marinated two chicken breasts in the sauce for 20 minutes then cooked both on the stovetop
While that was cooking, I chopped up half of a white onion and baby bella mushrooms and cooked with extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and my new California Crushed Jalapeno spice from Penzey’s.
I sliced a sweet potato and let that bake in the oven at 400 degrees for a little over 20 minutes. Since the mushroom/onion mixture had some spice to it, I countered the sweet potatoes with sweetness by sprinkling with cinnamon
This was an interesting and fun meal since each bite had a different taste! In a perfect world I would be able to eat The Lady’s Cheesy Mac every day without consequence of weight gain or clogged arteries but I was equally happy with her sauce.
Dinner on Tuesday night was another comfort meal-breakfast for dinner! It’s been such a long time since I’ve embraced BFD and Tuesday was an especially rough one at work so I headed home to make a quick, hearty and protein healthy dinner.
The idea was to have an omelet and toast. I cooked some onions and mushrooms for about 10 minutes then added to the egg mixture along with shredded cheese.
My omelet attempts usually end up a fail due to the flipping but hello omelet success this time around!
As for my lunches, they have been Lean Cuisine all the way! And to make it even better, I’ve actually been enjoying them. They usually lack flavor or taste to me but I enjoyed these from the past two days.
And now for breakfast but before I begin you should head to Olie Pants for a Love Grown Foods giveaway!!! I’ve been indulging in cereal for the past two days-Kashi Island Vanilla Cereal. I hate cereal so for me to be crazy about cereal means it must be good!
I am not a huge fan of vanilla scented or flavored foods due to this
Ugh, Vanilla Fields takes me back to 1996 when I was working my first job at Walgreens. I was restocking the perfume and there was a nasty spill and the cosmetics section reeked of it for days. I get ill when I get a whiff of someone who is rocking it. Thank God not many people wear that crap anymore.
Oh yeah, I didn’t mention how I put in my months notice at work today did I? Yep, April 29th is officially my last day with my company. I’m excited/happy/scared/nervous all rolled into one. I am completely miserable in my job and who knows what life will throw my way next but I am sure going to try to enjoy the ride!
Anyone out there ever quit their job without having something lined up? I make good money and it’s nice knowing I have a steady income but the money just isn’t worth my unhappiness at this point.
Simply Shaka 
I quit my job in CA without having anything lined up and moved back to WI. Good luck!
I love Island Vanilla too.
Ha ha vanilla fields brings me back to middle school!
Personally I wouldn’t quit my job without something else lined up. In today’s world jobs are so hard to come by! I would be scared to death that I would be out of work for such a long time. I definitely admire people who have that kind of courage, I’m too safe for that though!
This happened to me last year…sigh…if I had it all to do over!
As I said before, I admire you for doing that and want to take more chances myself!I can’t wait to hear about what you do enxt. That omlette looks yummy by the way, I rarely eat them maybe I need to start 🙂 Here’s to happiness!
good luck in your new job adventure! everything will work out just the way it is supposed to! life is too short to be miserable! quite honestly, we spend more time at work then home, so i am all about finding happiness! are you moving to pitts??? i hope so! we will be almost neighbors then! xo
I quit my job 4 years ago to move from my home in Ireland (born and bred) to uproot to WV…most successful and life-changing thing I did ever! Everything just seemed to fall into place (into my lap!) I also quit my job last June to move to Charlotte and that move wasn’y so great, I lasted 4 weeks!! Now I am back where I was working and back in WV! It was just too hard to find a job…country roads, take me hoooommmme!!
Best of luck, though…it’s such an exciting thing to do!!!
🙂
where do you live in wv? i’m from wheeling. glad you like it!
I am close to Charleston…so a bit away from Wheeling! I have visited there once though! Nice to meet another fellow Mountaineer! 😉
I quit my job without having anything lined up b/c I hated everything about it. Then, I started my own firm. The best decision I ever made. Something will come forward – maybe not what you expected, but it will! 🙂
Happy for you! 🙂
I quit my job in Asheville in December 2006 to move down to Charlotte, to be with my man. We had been doing long-distance for 6 months and were tired of it.
I still miss Asheville something fierce – and can’t stand Charlotte, but eh, we won’t be here forever.
Anyways, it was July 2007 before I found a suitable job… in a completely different field than I had been working in, in Asheville, to boot. I had savings, and someone else to help me carry the load of rent and bills – but it was still a pretty rough time of things back then.
I wish you luck!
~
Haaa! I love the way you narrate! Paula Dean rides random men like horses! hahahahah
Congrats on making a new change! I quit my job before we moved last year without having one…thankfully I found one when we moved! It was scary, yet exciting at the same time!
im too scared of not having money to quit my job just yet. but i have been thinking about it more and moving back home to hawaii.
i bet youre counting down the days and have a big countdown calendar 😉
That Paula Deen picture is way too much. I am cracking up.
Congrats on the notice! I felt similarly before I left the bank. I haven’t seen a paycheck in months and honestly it’s been okay. I am happier making no money and going back to school. I think you’ll be happy and find something perfect for you.
If my financial situation were different (lots of savings instead of lots of debt), I would definitely consider quitting my job without having another one lined up right away. Still a degree of risk though. Best of luck with that decision!
And girl- you totally have me thinkin’ breakfast for dinner tonight with that hot omelet action. Mmm!
Looks like you love mushrooms as much as I do! I had a spinach and mushroom omelette myself this morning 🙂
Congrats! You are right! Misery is not worth it! I know it’s scary, but you’ve got this!
Nice work on the omelet! I have success maybe once every 6 or 7 tries… no idea why this happens (especially since they’re all very similar). But the stars apparently have to line up *just right* for it to work out!
Good luck with the job! That is scary I have taken that leap before and it was the toughest year of my life. I learned a ton about myself.
They finally found my replacement who trains with me starting this Friday! We quit the same day next month! Offer is still up about NYC! Anyways I love trying new grub in new towns but always need a cleanse when I come back! Happy one month left!
My heart is swelling with happiness at the separate pans LOL. Love you.
The bbq sauce sounds awesome! Anything paula deen at this point sounds awesome. I want to be saucy like paula when i get older. SHes a fiesty old thang.
I am happy that you are happy about your giving notice! I hate not liking my job. I once quit my job at CVS becuase the staff were mean to me…i quit during a rush too… and I didnt have a job lined up. I was a bad ass taht way.
I didn’t technically have a choice but I had to quit my awesome job to move here to NC this fall and I still don’t have anything lined up. whoops? Your meals look so good. I wish I had mushrooms on hand. oh I wish they would just appear in my fridge, jump out, and cook themselves!!!! =)
Congrats on putting in your notice! It takes a lot of courage to do what you’re doing. Your a confident woman and you’ll find something soon. I wouldn’t even worry about it. Very exciting!
I love Lean Cuisine pizza!
Omg, now I’m super super hungry! Everything looks so delicious!
And good luck!!!!!! *crosses fingers* 😀
I quit my job about 3 years ago to become a nutritonist. It was SCARY and while I don’t regret that decision I do miss the steady income from my corporate job.
Ugh, sounds bad about the vanilla perfume, hard to get rid of the feelings you connect to certain smells…
And you are so brave!! I am sure things will turn out great for you 🙂 Always happiness over money!
congratulations! i think thats the same day as the royal wedding as well…celebrations all around!
you’ll def find something fantabulous that you love : )
What are your plans money-wise? I guess you have some savings right now? All my savings have to go to the Tax Man and for my bills…:( – otherwise, I’d be out of here as well. Urgh.
Any opportunities around that you like?
I so hope things work out for you – I’ll live vicariously 😉
I am SO PROUD OF YOU THOUGH – like you don’t even understand…your an inspiration.
If your not happy – then really, what else is there? Life’s too damn short.
…and I want all of your sweet potatoes NOW. Thanks alot – it’s midnight! 🙂
Mmmmmm…BFD is always a good idea!
Me and the hubs are both quitting our jobs in June. YIPPEE! Our only plans are that we HAVE NO PLANS! Only to travel around the U.S. and Canada!
Meant to add…CONGRATS on choosing to be happy!!!
Sometimes uncertainty is a great motivator. Id be to chicken to do what youre doing but Ive seen it work out great for people.
Congrats for having the courage to leave your job. Fear holds people back, and I’m sure you will find something that feels meaningful.
Aw hooray! I am so excited for you! Congrats! 😀 Hopefully you will become a northerner! Though the snow does get old.
Ew, vanilla fields. That stuff smells like garbage!
YES-garbage- that is the perfect way to describe it!
Good luck! It seems scary, but also, you need to do what keeps you sane and happy. You should be proud of yourself for betting in yourself.
I’ve fallen behind in the last few days but I’m so happy to see this post! It’s my dream to leave my craptastic job and find something else. You are really encouraging and you will find something fantastic. Life is really to short to be miserable!
And vanilla fields is nasty.