March 5 2020

Metro Diner – What have you done?

Friday, 2/28/2020:

Hubby loves fish and several local restaurants have been advertising Friday Fish Fry deals, so he gave me the choice of MCL Cafeteria or Metro Diner for dinner tonight. I chose Metro over MCL because I know they have the best chicken pot pie around and that sounded great to me. I knew what I wanted so, to be fair, I didn’t actually read the menu other than to make sure they still offered chicken pot pie and there was only the one size. When I ordered it, the waitress told me it had been improved by replacing the old crust with puff pastry and that the sauce was much creamier and better tasting than it used to be. I told her I would try it and hoped that they hadn’t messed it up too badly, because it was awesome the way it always had been.

Metro Diner New Menus This is the new menu, in case you are interested. Not to be confused with the Old Menu from December 29, 2019 via The Internet Archive Way Back Machine (I just love that they archive the internet!).

So the new version is shown nice and big below. The puff pastry was alright, but not nearly as good as the crust they used to have.

Tender chicken, roasted carrots, celery and mushrooms, green peas in our velvety cream sauce and topped with a golden, flaky puff pastry. 990 cal.

Chicken Pot Pie

Tender chicken, roasted carrots, celery and mushrooms, green peas in our velvety cream sauce and topped with a golden, flaky puff pastry. 990 cal. $11.99

Now here is the old version from the archived menu:

Chicken Pot Pie

Loaded with fresh baked chicken, lima beans, corn, carrots, peas and French cut green beans. Topped with a homemade biscuit crust. Regular or Jumbo.

I am not a huge fan of lima beans but know they come in mixed vegetables and eat them anyway. But the real deal breaker for the new version which would have been a deal breaker and kept me from ordering if I had bothered to read the menu, were the MUSHROOMS! They kept the carrots but took away their bright cheerful color by roasting them to a sickly brown. There were very few peas in the new version and to make it all fancy, they took out all traces of the corn, green bean and lima beans in favor of MUSHROOMS! Yuk! I wasn’t a fan of the new sauce either. It seemed stripped of all chicken flavor, in my opinion. I will NOT be ordering the chicken pot pie again, that is for sure. I can get tastier versions from the grocer’s frozen food section and likely feed a whole crowd for the $11.99 cost of the new fancy chicken pot pie at Metro Diner. What were they thinking? The waitress said about 50% of customers love the new version but the other 50%, like me, do not care for it.

So, hubby got his Friday fish and chips and it looked like the photo below.

Wild caught North Atlantic cod fillets, beer battered and fried crispy, with tartar sauce, cole slaw and seasoned fries. 1040 cal.

Fish & Chips

Wild caught North Atlantic cod fillets, beer battered and fried crispy, with tartar sauce, cole slaw and seasoned fries. 1040 cal. $11.99

Now here is the old version from the archived menu:

Fish & Chips

Wild caught north Atlantic Cod fillets lightly fried. Served with French fries, cole slaw and tartar sauce.

If you compare the descriptions, it really seems like they were trying to figure out new words to add to their descriptions.

I may go back to Metro Diner and give them another chance, and if I do, I will try another favorite, the chicken salad sandwich.

Chicken Salad Croissant

Roasted chicken, chopped pecans, grapes, celery and mayo served on a flaky croissant with lettuce and sliced tomato. 660 cal. $9.49

Now here is the old version from the archived menu:

White Meat Chicken Salad

Chicken, pecans, mayo, celery and grapes on white bread.

This is the location we went to, in case anyone was wondering:

Clearwater Crossing

3954 E. 82nd Street Indianapolis, IN 46240
Hours
Mon – Thu: 7:00am – 3:00pm
Fri & Sat: 7:00am – 10:00pm
Sun: 7:00am – 9:00pm

Metro Night Menu (New)

Have you ever had a favorite dining place change their menu enough to turn you away from going there? When I talked to the manager, and suggested they serve both varieties of chicken pot pie, maybe on different nights or something, he said it was a corporate decision and they had to serve the new version from now on. What a shame. The prices went up. It cost over $30 (with the tip) for hubby and I to get the two meals pictured and then Hubby had a cup of chili as well, but we both drank water which was, of course, free of charge. I just was not impressed. We have been going to Metro for years and really liked it, but I can’t say I am excited about the prospect of going back any time soon.

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February 27 2020

What am I listening to?

Some of you are possibly wondering what is all that talking you hear coming from my car when I pull into the parking lot at work. Well, sometimes it is an audio book, but lately it has more likely been a podcast. If you are asking yourself what a podcast is and why you would want to listen to it, you’ve come to the right place. I will do my best to explain just that.

A podcast is like a radio show that is recorded and can be listened to on your computer or smart phone at YOUR convenience. If you find one you want to listen to on your computer, chances are there is a way to listen already built into your browser, so bookmark the site and keep track of which episodes you have already listened to and have at it.

If you want to listed without being tied to your computer, never fear! There IS an app or twelve for that. You DO have a smart phone, right? If not, what rock have you been hiding under? Go back to the last paragraph and see how to listen on a computer.

So, if you are reading this, you most probably have a smart phone, and are at least willing to give listening to podcasts a try.

I know there are many different apps for listening to podcasts, but I only know about the one I use, Stitcher. This is a free app and I like it because it allows me to save a few episodes to my phone while I am at home with access to WiFi and then listen to them while I am driving to and from work without using up cellular data. So to get the app on your phone, or computer just visit the website linked above or click on the picture below and then click Get The App and choose the platform you want to listen on. You can easily search for podcasts by topic or name.

When you find something that sounds good, save the podcast to a playlist such as favorites by clicking the blue + (see example below)

Then you will see various playlist choices or be able to create new ones. For now, just put the ones you want to try in favorites and give them a listen. This is one I didn’t know existed and now I want to try it out.

When I try a podcast, I like to start back at the very beginning and listen to all the episodes in order. I usually listen to an episode or two and if I decide I want to listen to the entire podcast, I usually create a tracker in my bullet journal because I like to track my progress on things. The first one I started listening to and tracking was Success Insider in 2017.

 

The in 2018, I began listening to the InvestED: The Rule #1 Investing Podcast by Phil and Danielle Town. I was late finding this podcast and had a lot of episodes to catch up on so I have tracked it across three years of bullet journals so far and because I have finally caught up with the back episodes, the grid is much smaller in this year’s BuJo:

Note, you can also watch this podcast: InvestED: The Rule #1 Podcast

As you can see I only got through the first 90 episodes in 2018, so I made a note and started the new grid from there.

This year, I guessed how many spaces to allow on the grid based on the fact that the podcast is a weekly show, then added a few just in case.I then discovered the Retire Inspired podcast that was later rebranded to The Chris Hogan Show. You can see above that I was close to caught up at the beginning of this year so it too has a smaller grid.

Note, you can also watch this podcast: The Chris Hogan Show

Knowing I was pretty well caught up with InvestED and The Chris Hogan Show, I added a new one this year based on Danielle Town’s suggestion. She recommended HerMoney with Jean Chatzky and I am only about 30 episodes into it right now, and loving it. Jean is constantly interviewing various authors and podcasters on the show so I am adding a lot of books to my want to read someday list on GoodReads. Here is my grid for HerMoney. You can visit Jean Chatzky’s Website to learn more about her and the show.

As you can see there are many episodes to listen to. I wrote out what was in the list including some called Bonus Mailbag where she answers listener questions. I figure if I catch up then I will need to add another grid on a new page in this year’s BuJo. No big deal, that is the beauty of bullet journaling.

If you like Mike Rowe, you may want to give his podcast, The Way I Heard It, a try. His are fun to listen to and usually only 10 minutes or less.

So, now that you know what I listen to, please share your favorite podcasts in the comments so we can all give them a listen.

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November 28 2019

Review: Bountiful Kit

I found a new thing to try on a recent trip to Kroger in late September. It was just $3.79 regularly and on this particular day, they had a sale for fifty cents off. The salad reminds me a lot of the Taco Bell Power Bowl and the bowls at Chipotle Mexican Grill, but this version is much cheaper. Also. this version has no meat unless you add it yourself, not super filling as it is bagged, but would be good for a lunch. To be fair, this was delicious and I would buy them again, but I would likely wait for an even better sale price to do so.

This is what the contents look like when you pour them out of the bag.

This is with all the contents combined and ready to eat.

This is the salad kit as it looks when you buy it.

 

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October 24 2019

Review: Laptop Bag (for acrobatic computers)

Today I tested my laptop bag, quite by accident. Twice. This morning I bagged my laptop and had everything zipped securely in place and resting on my desk. I went back into the kitchen to pack my lunch and out of the corner of my eye, I spied movement coming from my office. By the time I realized it was my laptop bag about to dive off the desk, it was too late to actually catch it. I didn’t hear anything break and decided that I would wait to see if all was well until it actually came time to use the laptop this evening lest my whole day be ruined and went to work.

This afternoon I grabbed my laptop bag and hoisted it up onto the desktop so I wouldn’t walk off and forget it when somehow I turned around suddenly and my laptop had once again turned a somersault off the desktop and landed unceremoniously on the floor. I commented at the time that it would be a wonder if the computer actually still worked after the day it had already had. I told my coworker that if the computer still worked when I got to my writing group, I just might have to write up a review on the laptop bag that saved it not once, but twice in the same day.

Well folks, guess what. I am writing this review on the acrobatic laptop and it seems none the worse for wear. So, I am thrilled that I chose THIS bag. It lives up to the shockproof claim.

So, for those of you who are wondering what this wel-padded bag is, here is the one I got for myself. (Yes, these are affiliate links)

CoolBELL Shoulder Bag 17.3 Inch Laptop Bag Messenger Bag Large Capacity Business Briefcase Multi-Compartment Handbag for Men/Women/College (New Black)

I also bought Hubby one of his own since we have matching laptops, and he chose the dark blue one. Same bag, different color.

CoolBELL 17.3 inch Laptop Messenger Bag Multi-Functional Briefcase Multi-Compartment Handbag Include Shoulder Strap for MacBook/Acer/HP/Dell Alienware/Lenovo/Men/Women (Blue)

If you look up the bag on Amazon, there are several photos of the features in the bag. I could take my own, but they wouldn’t be half as good as those that already exist. There are three different compartments and a special Velcro closure for the laptop sleeve space. This bag has so much space I have to be careful not to load it completely full or I can barely lift it. I could likely carry three laptops in this bag if I had to. It is that roomy. I would buy this bag again and Hubby has had no complaints about his either. This bag also comes in a really pretty shade of purple, but I was afraid it wouldn’t look very professional, so I opted for boring basic black instead. My only complaint with this bag so far is that one of the strap hooks lost its spring and doesn’t stay closed. I solved this problem by jamming a piece of an eraser into the spot where the spring would have been so now it won’t open at all. I don’t take the strap off my bags, ever, so this is not an issue.


Two dives off the desk and it still it works! Click To Tweet

I am so happy this bag protected my new laptop so well. I had to buy a new bag when I got this laptop because it is too large for any of the other bags I already owned. I am sure it would NOT have fared so well in the less padded tote bags I carried it in before deciding to get an actual laptop bag.

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September 26 2019

Review: “Steamables” Red Potatoes

I have found a new and easy “cheat” for dinner time. Yep, you guessed it. These little bags of potatoes can be bought at my local Meijer store for just $2.99. These are just perfect for the two of us with no leftovers and no way for us to overeat. They are so perfect and yummy straight from the bag, hot out of the microwave. No need for butter or toppings of any kind. They are delicious just the way they are and Hubby agrees.

The flavor is so good, I eat them naked. Not me, silly! The potatoes are naked, I am fully clothed while eating, I assure you. We have splurged on these little gems about three times so far. Yes, I know you can get a lot more potato for you money in a much bigger bag, but sometimes it is all about convenience and portion control.

 

Yes, I can read. The bag says it contains four servings. That means the photos below contain two servings each. There were exactly eight small potatoes in this particular bag, and yes, we each ate four potatoes or two whole servings each. No, I am not skinny, why do you ask? Note the potatoes below may appear larger than actual size. It’s a close-up folks. I was doing my level best to capture the yummy taste in a photo, no do NOT lick your screen. Just go get a bag and give them a try if you want. They aren’t cheap as potatoes go, but perhaps you could give up one of those fancy coffees “they” think you are buying all the time and busting your budget all to pieces for and try something new for a change.

Yes, I cut through that potato with just the side of my fork. They are that tender.

These were so good, I just had to tell you about them. If you have tried them, let us know what YOU thought in the comments below.

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