Big City Market

Have you ever looked at grocery shopping as a rewarding experience?

I haven't.

Until I went to Denver.

I wish I could do my grocery shopping every week at Tony's Market. It was just a hop, skip and a jump from where we were staying, right in the heart of the city.

There is just something unique about a fresh market. And let me tell you, fresh is exactly what you get.

My mouth was watering just walking down the aisles. Could you ever say that about Walmart?

This market had a large deli, a bakery with cakes that looked almost too pretty to eat, a huge selection of meats and seafood and, best of all, a little bistro that was absolutely deelish!

Mr. B.T.C. and I walked down—crutches and all—and enjoyed the best breakfast.

While we were eating, I started thumbing through a recipe magazine and quickly decided it was a must-have.

When I got home, this was the first recipe I tried.

Oh man, was it ever good.

One thing I especially liked was that the tostadas weren't deep fried. I like clean eating, so instead you lightly coat the tortillas with olive oil spray and bake them at 450 degrees until lightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes.

Tostadas

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Vegetable oil spray (I used olive oil spray)

1 lb. boneless pork butt
2 onions—1 quartered and 1 minced
5 garlic cloves—3 smashed and 2 minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp. ground chipotle powder
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

Cook the pork with the quartered onion, smashed garlic and thyme. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Discard the onion, garlic and thyme sprigs.

Shred the pork and return it to the saucepan. Add the minced onion and cook until softened. Stir in the minced garlic and oregano, followed by the reserved cooking liquid, tomato sauce, beans, chipotle powder and bay leaves.

Cook for about 7 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.

This meal was just the way I like it...easy, good and light.

I also made a healthy dessert to go with it. I picked this one up from the Food Network while waiting for one of Mr. B.T.C.'s meetings to end.

It was a hit with the kids and hubby.

This meal was just the way I like it easy, good and light. I prepared a healthy dessert to go with it (something I got off the food network channel while waiting for Mr. B.T.C's meeting to end). It was a hit with the kids and hubby.

Fresh Fruit with Lime & Pistachios

Quartered strawberries
Green grapes, halved lengthwise (I used black seedless grapes)
Blueberries
Poppy seeds
A little sugar
Fresh lime juice
Toasted pistachios

I just broiled the pistachios on a cookie sheet for about 30 seconds.

Enjoy!

And if you ever get the opportunity to wander through a fresh market in the middle of a big city, don't pass it up.

Apparently even grocery shopping can become part of the vacation.