That girl was afraid. That girl was cautious. That girl was silly. Spam is delicious! For some reason I have never partaken of this tasty fake meat. No spam musubi, no spam fried rice, no spam and eggs. So when I spotted these individual slices at the 99 cent store, I bought one and forgot about it in the cupboard. Then I was searching for a snack the other day and fried that little baby up. And it was good! Probably no worse for you than scrapple, sausage or haggis either lol. I actually thought it would have a stronger flavor, but it just tasted like thicker fried bologna. Yay shelf life!
The happiest place on earth. Hmmm... my last trip involved me almost strangling my two usually perfectly behaved nephews. Let's not focus on the negative though. That Girl loves a good corn dog, and this is the best you will find, period. Corn dog at the fairgrounds? Eh. Disneyland's version has been consistently crunchy luscious for years. Happiness... on a stick.
So it has been brought to That Girl's attention that people actually read this thing. ??? I am honored and humbled by your support. With that said, it's time we got something out in the open. I'M VERY LAZY. Any users of blogger can attest that the layouts, pic uploading, etc. can sometimes be a little tedious. That is usually what keeps me from posting more. But the people have spoken and voila... two posts in one day! Granted, one post has no text, but let's not focus on semantics, k? Instead, let's focus on hot, delicious egg rolls! 
99 Ranch is my new favorite grocery store. And no, I am not a white hipster trying to be cool. I am white though he he. Half of the ingredients for these fried fingers of fabulousity were procured here. The other half came from my favorite, the 99 cent store! Seriously, a bag of peeled garlic for a buck? Awesome juice! Oh, while we're revealing lame secrets, "awesome juice" is one of my annoying sayings. Nerd alert! 
I "loosely" used a recipe from the internets for these morsels. Basically, brown up a bunch of ground pork with onions and garlic, add cabbage, carrots and green onions and season to taste. Roll up the mixture in egg roll wrappers (or lumpia wrappers... whatever floats your boat) and deep fry until golden goodness occurs. 
A great tip I learned from a fellow blogger... just use cole slaw mix for the cabbage and carrots. Saves you chopping time... and 99 Cent Store always has it! Yes! I fried them in peanut oil, but I'm sure any oil would work great. Serve with bottled sweet chili sauce and get ready for greasy greatness, Lloyd! If you get the movie quote I just paraphrased, I LOVE YOU! 
Feeling saucy, I whipped up some broccoli beef to go with. You can't exactly eat egg rolls by themselves for dinner. Well, you could, and I have, but... damn another secret leaked out!
So I kind of have this addiction to the 99 cent store. Any dollar store for that matter. Yes, that girl loves a deal, especially on foodie stuff. So when I picked up this mondo container of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning, I started rackin' my brain for what I could make with it. 
I came up with a stir fry of sorts, kind of like if jambalaya and shrimp creole had a baby. Sauteed some bacon 'til crisp, removed from pan and added celery, onion, tomato, red bell pepper and garlic. Tossed in some boneless chicken breast and a pound of shelled shrimp along with several liberal shakes of that spicy seasoning. 
Let me tell you... so good with white rice and semi-healthy to boot! The best recipes are made up in your head I tell ya. Keep daydreaming, foodies.
That girl realizes she has been neglecting her little bloggie blog. Honestly Yelp is just so much more entertaining to me lately and is threatening to take up all of my free time. HOWEVER, my new year's resolution for 2009 is to seriously try and blog more! So I give to you, my sweet sweetest readers (all 3 of you lol), Tropicana. 
The cuban sandwich. The first I'd heard of these was in the movie Scarface. I really think Tony Montana could have taken the high road, started his own fabulous twenty four hour cuban sandwich joint, franchised across America and everyone lives happily ever after. I am not ashamed to say that my favorite cubano is from The Cheesecake Factory. But the one at Tropicana is delish and filled with greasy goodness. For those of you out of the loop, take a cuban roll, fill with ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard and mayo. Then toss that baby in the panini press. That's when the flattened crunchy grilled golden magic happens. Mr. That Girl and I love these so much we are having mini ones at our wedding this October. That's right kids, That Girl is becoming an honest woman hee hee. 
Another tasty treat here are the potato balls. Seasoned ground beef is mixed with spanish olives and then mashed potatoes are molded all around it. Deep fry and your hangover is cured. Seriously, wouldn't these be so great after a night of drinking and debauchery??? 
Rounding out your meal is a wide selection of desserts and pastries. I'm partial to the mango mousse cake, my FIANCE (I know I'm out of control) likes the strawberry cheesecake. For those of you that were fans of Clifton's Cafeteria, this cheesecake is almost identical. Say hello to my little friend!
That girl loves a good donut. Really, who doesn't? Donuts on my side of town had been sadly lacking until Angel Food Donuts came around. Simply the freshest and tastiest donuts you can buy my friends. The cake donuts are moist inside, crisp outside. Just perfect. Plus they have a drive thu! Two of them in fact! Evil!
That girl really doesn't need any new ways to expand her waistline. Which is exactly why I have mixed feelings about Arturo's Puffy Taco. On one hand, this place is a great find near my work. On the other hand, I need to look good in a wedding dress in less than a year!!! What the hell am I doing gorging myself on their irresistible carne asada deliciocity? Quite the predicament indeed. 
To be honest with you, the signature "puffy tacos" are not the best thing on the menu, but they are yummy nonetheless. Puffies are kind of a cross between a sope and a crunchy taco, filled with your choice of ground beef, carne asada, chicken or carnitas. 
The carne asada is fantastic here. They cut it up into little pieces so each morsel is perfectly caramelized and tender. Try this mouth watering meat in a burrito here and then don't plan on moving for at least an hour.
"Strips Supreme" (nachos) were pretty good, but seriously, AVOCADO SAUCE??? Noooooooooooo!!! Such a sin and so sad. 
Okay, it's time to get serious. Goodbye burritos, hello broccoli.
So basically the only time I will allow myself this tasty treat (and actually be decent enough to leave the house before 10:30am) is when I'm either having a yard sale or going on a road trip. They put something in the Sausage McMuffin with Egg that is so addictive. And while we're on the subject, seriously what's with the "with egg"? Is it really necessary to point out this fact? Me thinks not. Combo this little baby up with hash browns, well done (or two... thirty nine cents for an extra... yum), "fancy" ketchup packets (???) and a Coke. You must have soda with this, I don't know why I don't make the rules. Then you eat everything while driving, making the guy in the car next to you very jealous. McBon Appetit!
Three leftover potatoes became crispy wedgy fries recently and they were amazing paired with a grilled steak. Once again I seasoned the beef with my favorite Konriko Greek Seasoning. This stuff is sooooo yummy and you should try it on chicken too. 
I don't have a lot of frying experience but basically I cut the potatoes in to fatty chunks, soaked in ice water for about half an hour (to remove some starch) and then paper towel dried each individual wedge. This is a pain but if you love golden crunchy goodness and I do, it's worth the effort. Then I just dropped them in deep boiling oil and after about twenty minutes, they were perfect. A liberal dusting of salt was all these little babies needed before they took roost in their new home, MAH BELLY!!! Since steak was on sale, this meal for two cost about six dollars and four hours on the treadmill. Zoiks.
Lately That Girl has been trying to work the whole South Beachie low carbish angle and it has it's pros and cons. On the up side, cutting back on delicious white flour and sugar based treats certainly can do wonders for your ginormical backside. The only problem is, cutting out soul soothing carbohydrates can make you act a little... well, cranky. You find that many of your sentences end with an exclamation point. You're not hungry, but you feel slightly "off". And we all know what can make any carb-deprived woman feel better... PIZZA! 
A reader of TGCE recommended Catalano's to me a while back and omg it is now my favorite local pizza joint, MUCH TO MY BOOTY'S CHAGRIN. A no-nonsense place that tosses every crust to order, thick or thin to your specifications. The mozzarella is whole milk (as it should be) and is super creamy and stretchy. Pepperoni is spicy and authentic, can't really say the same for the sausage, which is a little weak. Needs a little more fennel and it would probably be perfect. Sauce is not sweet and has a deep, rich, cooked on the stove for hours taste. 
Boyfriend and I decided to get individual pizzas a couple of weeks later and they were also good, but I think you get the whole experience with a big pie. Definitely avoid the wings, egads what a soggy and poorly executed mess.
So if you are trying to be good but you find yourself yelling at your boyfriend for oh I don't know, NOTHING, maybe a slice would do you good. Just don't go crazy and you'll be all right. I won't tell Dr. Atkins.
Awesome. Just... awesome.
