Rino's Italian Restaurant

My husband took me to Rino's Italian Restaurant in Lorain when we were dating. We went for lunch so we each just ordered off the appetizer menu and didn't even look to see what else they had. This time we went for dinner and it was a much more memorable experience. 

We started off with a fried cheese ravioli appetizer topped with fresh mozzarella and diced tomatoes. The coating on the ravioli was light making it the perfect pre-dinner snack. I then ordered there homemade Gnocchi. It was AMAZING! It had an incredible creamy blush sauce. It came with there homemade rolls and choice of soup or salad. I was pleasantly surprised when the waitress told me that had a tomato basil soup that was meat free. I went with the salad but did sneak a taste of the soup since my husband picked it.The soup was a very light broth and was very tasty as well. 

I am looking forward to going again! 

Moosehead Grill

So Friday my husband and I went to Moosehead Grill, which we had been looking forward to for weeks! Unfortunately, when we sat down and began to look at the menu we both instantly notices that the artichoke dip was no longer listed as an appetizer. It makes me sad because it really was the BEST creamy artichoke dip I have ever had! The waitress came over and we asked if they still had it. She explained that they took it off the menu. I asked her if there was any items that were meat and seafood free she could recommend and she said salad. I was surprised that that was her only suggestion since they do have pasta dishes on the menu. Oh well, we left and ended up with a very enjoyable meal somewhere else! 


See next post to find out where we ended up! 

Lean Pocket

Lean Pocket has a new vegetarian Pretzel Bread Sandwich. It is Spinach and Three Cheese! The pretzel bread is stuffed with spinach and reduced fat mozzarella, fonina and romano cheeses. It is very tasty! 

String Cheese Stuffed Shells

While student teaching, one of the paraprofessionals taught me a creative use for the extra sting cheese we had leftover from school breakfast....stuffed shells. I made this for dinner yesterday because it is easy and I don't like ricotta cheese.


 You simple cook the shells as directed on the box (I make 24). Then cut 12 string cheese sticks in half (I use mozzarella but any would do). Put string cheese half in each shell. Place shells in a baking pan with some of your favorite spaghetti sauce on the bottom. Sprinkle with italian seasonings, shredded mozzarella cheese, and the rest of the jar of spaghetti sauce. Bake on 375 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Luchitas Mexican Restaurant

I love Luchitas! They have a friendly staff as well as great food, margaritas, and are vegetarian friendly! I have only tried 2 menu items the Guaccamole Picado and Tinga de Pollo Vegetarian. Both items were delicious! They have other items that are always meat free and options like Tinga de Pollo that list "vegetarian available" (pictured above) on the menu. I went there on Friday and had the item that I get the most....Tinga de Pollo Vegetarian!

Tinga de Pollo - "Shredded chicken in a smoky chipotle, tomatillo, chorizo, and a tomato-based salsa, topped with homemade Mexican cream and slices of avocado. Served with Mexican white rice and black beans. Vegetarian available."


The picture above shows the vegetarian one. It is also severed with tortillas. As you can see the meatless option varied quiet a bit from the menu description. The chicken, chipotle, salsa is replaced with a mix of veggies. To be honest I'm not sure what all is in it but it is a great blend. Layed together on a tortilla with some of their amazing salsa makes a great meal with enough to take home for a second meal! If I is not hungry enough for a meal then I order the Guacamole Picado. It again is amazing and just like the Tinga de Pollo, I add their salsa to spice it up.


Guacamole Picado - "Made fresh to order. Avocados diced with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, and fresh lime juice."


I forgot to take a picture of the Guacamole Picado (sorry...next time). I will show you a picture of the Golden Margarita's. They need no description but I will tell you that after the picture was taken it was suggested that we try the Golden Pom Margaritas. It is the golden margarita with the addition of Pomegranate liquor. Not only does this make it a pretty pink, it gives it a nice fruity taste.

Pizza Hut

Oh Pizza Hut! Why do I continue to give you another chance!? 

After seeing several commercials advertising the cheesy bite pizza, I  tried it today! In a word CARDBOARD! So now for the long explanation. The best tasting part unfortunately was the cheese bite crust. It is unfortunate because it wasn't oozing with cheese like shown on the commercials. The bites were not only over cooked and crunchy, but once you actually was "lucky" enough to bite into cheese it was a hard. Now this could very well be due to the fact that the pizza arrived 20 minutes past the estimated delivery time and was cold. But the part that puzzles me the most, it how the cheesy bite crust was so hard to bite yet the pizza fell apart when picked up because it was so thin and soggy. 

New California Kitchen Pizza

Seven hours ago the California Pizza  Kitchen Facebook page posted that the winner of the new limited edition pizza flavor is "Chipotle Roasted Vegetables". It is a "crispy thin crust pizza topped with roasted read and yellow peppers, poblano peppers, roasted corn, black beans, chipotle lime sauce, parmesan, asiago, romano and mozzarella cheeses". It is AMAZING! My only complaint is that the box says "Limited edition". Thin crust is my favorite type of pizza and to have one that is a spicy vegetarian pizza is even better. I did add some jalapeno hot sauce to it but only because I like a lot of heat! This pizza is definitely my new favorite!

Buffalo Wild Wings

I enjoy Buffalo Wild Wings...well at least the bar and grill! =) They have several options included mozzarella sticks, potato wedges, fried pickles, soft pretzels, queso dip, onion rings, artichoke dip and in case those already meatless options don't sound appealing, they make many other menu items minus meat (at full price of course).


So last night I had one of my favorite "minus the meat" menu items... The Grilled Chicken Buffalitos. It is "two soft flour tortillas with grilled chicken, lettuce, pico de gallo, a blend of cheese, sour cream, and your choice of your favorite buffalo wild wing sauce" VERY TASTY!

Healthy Choice Three Cheese Marinara

To sum it up in one word it was DISAPPOINTING!


According to the Healthy Choice website, The three cheese marinara will allow you to "Take a trip to the heart of Italy with this wholesome nine-grain pasta dish. Hearty tomatoes, yellow zucchini, and zesty onions are tossed in a savory marinara sauce and topped with Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheeses. And with just 310 calories, your taste buds—and waistline—are sure to find this saucy combination simply "delizioso!"" but really I thought it lacked both sauce and flavor. I totally get that it is suppose to be a healthy low calorie meal but I have definitely had a lot better tasting healthy pasta meals. The cheese was not nicely shredded throughout as pictured but rather a thick mass that wouldn't separate and I also got the joy of biting into a huge salt chunk. It had enough basil to last an Italian family of 4 an entire week...and I like seasonings! But please feel free to try it for yourself! I am still going to try some of there other vegetarian selections in hope to find one worth of a blog posting!

California Kitchen Pizza

Yesterday for dinner I tried a Limited Edition frozen crispy thin crust fire roasted vegetables pizza. It is  topped with roasted red and yellow peppers, spinach, garlic and mozzarella, smoked gouda, parmesan, Asiago and Romano cheeses. I love thin crust pizza and was very pleased to see a vegetable pizza without mushrooms. The sweetness of the peppers and the crispy crunchy crust  is to die for. I really hope they change their minds and take the "limited edition" off the box.