I Got A Coupon So It's Decided

Name of the game is expiring coupons when it comes to picking out food to eat sometimes. Mama didn't raise no fool as I do love myself some good bargains.  Today's breakfast was actually a free pickup from Jewel. You might be a true South side Chicagoan if you pronounced that JEWELS. In case you're not familiar with Jewel, its a Chicago grocery store. Fairly certain it might be limited to just Illinois  but could also fall into a surrounding state or two. Similar to a lot of grocery stores they have their own coupon type application called MyMixx. Part of their digital coupons they give away a free item here and there.  The item of choice this week?

Noosa Pineapple Jalapeno Yogurt

Noosa's Pineapple Jalepeno yogurt- or as the container states yoghurt! I think a while back I posted that I had tried another variation of theirs which  was a combination of blackberry and serrano peoppers which is fairly tasty. This one pretty much had me confused. Not sure if I didn't mix it properly or what the deal was but seemed like three separate flavors just put in a container that didn't mesh well together. The jalapeno was pretty much a non factor to the point that I questioned if there was even any in there. The pineapple was okay but not that much more quantity wise. Is this why compartmentalization happens? Will have to consult with the experts...(insert shifty eyes here). All that said it was free so not truly a waste. Would I get it again- most likely no.

Karen saw some expiring coupons for Noodles and Company and thus dinner was decided. She loves that place. I on the other hand am not a big fan of Noodles and Company as I find their stuff to be generic tasting. Not sure its as bad as Chipotle generic though. Chipotle burn aside, I debated getting a Whopperito instead for myself but couldn't see how that would be any better. Plus Karen's coupon was buy one get one free so might as well get the cheaper deal there. Also I might have been tricked by my old kryptonite: "NEW".  

On the ad that Karen got the coupon from, it showed a new dish they offered: Spicy Korean Beef Noodles. So add "new" with the disappointment of the Jalapeno yogurt earlier and unappealing look of the Whopperito, it was the logical choice. Per the website's description: Ramen noodles tossed with a sweet and spicy Korean-style Gochujang sauce, naturally raised steak, napa and red cabbage, Asian sprouts, spinach, topped with cucumber, green onions and cilantro

Noodles and Company: Spicy Korean Beef Noodles

It was damn good and hit that spiciness I was was hoping for. Gochujang sauce (per the always trusted Wikipedia) is a savory, spicy, and pungent fermented Korean condiment made with red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. As appealing as that sounds to read, its actually not pungent. The flavor was on point, everything was cooked well, and I apparently mixed this better than I did the yogurt. I definitely was go back for this one again although calorie wise it's a killer (450/900 calories). 

Karen got another staple in her food choices by ordering the Pesto Cavatappi. Actually had no idea this was her favorite as I don't typically go with her to Noodles- that's Tina's job. (THANK YOU TINA!) Per the website: Curly pasta, basil pesto, garlic, mushrooms, tomato, wine, cream, parmesan and Italian parsley.

Noodles and Company Pesto Cavatappiti

Since it is one of those automatic selections, it was safe to say that Karen loved it. Mostly like cause it has wine in it...just kidding Karen doesn't drink at all. I did try it and it was alright by my standards but I'm not a big fan of pasta overall. Not really sure where that comes from- maybe I don't find it that savory? I suppose maybe it falls on the sauce or lack there of. In the interest of getting food from folks, if you're an awesome pasta maker hook a brother up.  

Funny enough I tell my sister that she ruined spaghetti for me. Once when she lived in Maryland me and my brother went to visit her. She had made a giant pot of spaghetti I think the day before we got there. Legit did a 14 hour drive straight like the dope I am from Illinois to Maryland. If I recall it was around the time that there were snipers shooting folks in West Virginia so that probably was more scary than anything but I digress. Any how she made this giant pot of spaghetti which apparently must last her for weeks. Not really sure why you make that much spaghetti but hey she was recently out of college so probably still in that food mindset. So she tried to feed us that spaghetti every day we were there. I never wanted spaghetti ever again and avoided it for a long time. I think I'm finally coming around to accepting it as being good again. 

Lily got the classic mac and cheese in kid's meal format. 

Noodles and Company: Kid's Mac and cheese, carrots, and apple slices

Not really sure that I've met a kid who doesn't love mac and cheese completely. I didn't try it but I can only assume it good. I still stand by my homemade garlic mac and cheese. So if you ever come over for a meal I'd be happy to make it and see what you think.  Overall had some ups and downs with the food but the coupons were all the rage today.

#CheapEats,

Reef

Gyros, Gyros on the wall...

This past weekend Jeremy was visiting, and in talking it came out that he had never eaten gyros before. So, being the Chicagoland area, we have LOTS of choices for Greek food. Sooooooo we went to a delicious hotdog stand. Nicky's Red Hots in Naperville. Nicky's Red Hots. They have gyros, hotdogs, ribs, all kinds of delicious fare. I hadn't been there in YEARS but it did not disappoint. At all. I had a gyro. It was so good and oniony and tziki saucey. It was a success and Jer totally liked it. Mmmm now I'm hungry again.....

 Jeremy had the Naperville Steak Sandwich, which had BBQ sauce, onions and mozzarella on it. Pretty tasty, and though I would never *choose* a steak sandwich, it was really good. The meat was super thin, which I like.

 

We also got fries and jalepeño poppers. The poppers had cheese on the inside and I did not take a picture and I don't know why. I was tired this weekend. Probably also because I accidentally dragged poor Jeremy on a five plus mile walk. We were going to "get coffee" which we TOTALLY DID. And just walked a bunch more. Oops. Sorry. 

 

I also did a BOATLOAD of cooking this weekend only half of which, I kind of took pictures of. 

I first made these copycat Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls  which I did not take a photo of. Then I made this Summer Gnocchi Skillet and I grilled four ears of corn for it. I think it made the difference. I took a picture of my leftovers at work on Monday sooooo sorry about that....

 

Yeah, that doesn't look appetizing. It was really good though. I also made a baked mac n cheese where I made up the recipe and sort of copied Reef. And I took this super dark photo of it because I was tired. 

 

My kids told me it was "one of the best batches of Mac n cheese I have ever made". That's pretty good for them. Then they complained I have them too much to eat. Oh well. Lastly, I made Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes, which, if you like pumpkin pie, these are like baby ones with no crust. I took a stupid picture of one before Gav stole it and ate it in two seconds. I will absolutely make them again. 

 

Overall, a good weekend of eating. And now I'm still so, so tired. Ha! More home cooking coming up today!!

It Takes a Village...or Blue Cheese Revenge

The family and I ended up going out to Geneva area to hit up Barnes and Noble bookstore today. Kind of missed the days  where bookstores were all over the place . I suppose online shopping and e-books kind of killed the need for physical stores but I'm still old school and like an actual book in my hands when reading. Not really sure if its based on  staring at computer monitors all day  or I'm just not coordinated enough but I just don't dig reading full books electronically. All that being said Barnes and Noble had a summer reading book program for kids which we had Lily be a part of. Basically read 3 books, answer some questions on the form, and trade it in at the store for a free book. What does this have to do with food? Mostly live the foodie dream and have a new opportunity to eat a new place.

Had a bunch of options right there- Irish food, fancy McDonald's type place, etc.- but opted to drive a little further to South Elgin.  There's a restaurant that I would drive by all the time when heading up to visit my brothers in Pingree Grove, IL. I'm going to guess that 98% have no clue where that is and that's okay cause it might as well be called Middle of Nowhere. I apologize to the residents of Pingree Grove but there's no real reason for you to live there outside of cheap rent I suppose.  Digression aside- I couldn't even remember the name of the place and kept calling it The Red Squire or Red Lion. The actual name is The Village Squire (http://www.thevillagesquire.com/index.html)

Now seeing the outside and based on the name The Village Squire- a safe assumption would be that it is an English themed pub. Per their website it also indicates"English pub-style casual dining". The menu and I would beg to differ based on the variety of food they offer which included a bunch of Greek food. The atmosphere and offering of popcorn as you first settle down- definitely Pub like for sure though.

Can't go wrong with popcorn

For an appetizer we ended up getting Saganaki. Karen loves her some Saganaki but only if the waiter/waitress yells "OPA!!!" to the best of their ability. In case you are unfamiliar- Saganaki consists of cheese fried up/melted in a frying pan, flambeed (or as I call like to call it lit on fire) tableside, and then put out with lemon juice. As they light up your cheese- not a euphemism, they yell OPA!!!. Karen gets very judgmental with this part but luckily the waitress did her part well and disaster was avoided.

Saganaki with Pita

Karen ordered the California Chicken Panini and a side of the soup of the day Avgolemeno.  Avgolemeno is a Greek chicken soup with egg-lemon type sauce to it.  So far menu wise we went with two Greek items if you're keeping count. I personally never had or even knew that type of soup existed but Karen did. She loved having it at a local restaurant by her growing up. I tried a little bit of it and it was pretty good- I would say the lemon is the strongest flavor in it. Definitely will look into making it at home. Karen loved it both cause it was good and the nostalgia.

Avgolemeno aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

The California Chicken Panini didn't seem to fit the English style at all I would say. That included: chicken breast, tomatoes, hummus, avocado, Pepper jack cheese (which Karen subbed with Swiss), and two pickle slices. At first it was a little dry per Karen's satisfaction, so she asked for mayo and then it hit the spot for her. I don't think she let me try or I'd give a better account of it. She apparently forgot that sharing was caring. SMH. 

California Chicken Panini

I ended up being all fancy pants and got a Filet Mignon sandwich. Here's what it should have included: broiled sliced beef tenderloin, grilled onions, and Pepper Jack cheese on an garlic bread.  Somehow instead of Pepper jack cheese I ended up with blue cheese on my sandwich. Now I hadn't read the description  or at least remembered it saying blue cheese but Karen was all "you forgot to say no blue cheese". Looking at their online menu now, it wasn't suppose to have blue cheese.  Had I know it wasn't suppose to include blue cheese I probably would have sent it back.  At the time I thought it was my mistake and growing up the way I did in addition to being of the mindset "I paid for this", I still ate it. I know a lot of folks wouldn't but some reason I can disassociate my dislike of things and continue on. 

Filet Mignon Sandwich w/ Sweet Potato Fries

The Filet Mignon sandwich was actually pretty good even with blue cheese on it. I have to imagine that this probably was a mix up with someone else's order who loves blue cheese. Not really sure how else you mix up Pepper Jack and Blue cheese. That being said I had Karen try it, who loves blue cheese herself, and she said it was very strong/overkill on the blue cheese. She said after trying it "Why don't you scrape off the blue cheese" to which I replied "I paid good money for this".

Lily was trying to sell us on the idea of eating Pizza Hut all day. Not really sure why she loves Pizza Hut so much as really don't go or order from there. At the most we might go there once a year and that might be overestimating that. With that being said she got the pizza bread that was off the kid's menu.

Cheese Pizza Bread w/ side of fruit

Needless to say Lily high enjoyed the pizza bread. Have I met a kid that doesn't like pizza? I didn't get to try it but Karen did and said it was really good. Per her words, "It tasted like french bread pizza. It was good and I liked it."  So needless to say if you have little ones you can't really screw up with cheese pizza or cheesy bread. 

Plain ol' water w/ a lemon wedge

I'm not a drinker so didn't try anything drink wise outside of water with lemon in it. I know folks kind of are iffy if you should have lemon/fruit in your drinks because of sanitary concerns. I am of the #YOLO mindset and just go with it. I think it was cool that they used mason jars for glasses but not sure if that's "pub style" or not. Someone will have to fill me in on the rules of this.

Overall the place was very good and got the thumbs up from both Karen and Lily.  The service was very excellent. Literally the waitress was on point with checking up on us as well as suggestions. She made sure Lily's food came out first, got us boxes, and got us to go cups with fresh water in it. Pretty crazy as I don't think I've come across a family oriented server like that. Kudos to you Beth!  Definitely check them out if you're in South Elgin or looking at their website they have 3 other locations- Crystal Lake, Dundee, or McHenry. 

#FoodieAdventure,

-Reef-

Puerto Ricans Love Jibaritos And So Should You

Today I hit up the city (Chicago) to hang out with my brother from another mother Alex. Pretty much me and Alex have the same mindset when it comes to picking a place to eat which is we are down for going wherever the other person we're with wants to go and we not picky eaters. Seeing as it is his birthday tomorrow and really just an excuse for him to pick where we should eat, I ended up picking a place he had been hyping up for a while. Yes you read that right, it was his choice and I ended picking where we would eat. The conversation went as followed within a minute timeframe:

Me: Since it's your birthday, where you want to eat?
Alex: I don't care.
Me: What about that one Puerto Rican place you keep talking about?
Alex: Yeah that's cool.
Me: Alright let's go.

I imagine that's the general experience folks get with me when it comes to deciding where to eat. I don't usually "crave" particular food and am up for anything food wise. Karen on the other hand is the opposite and has specifics in mind although she tries to claim she is "up for anything." Which once again I have no problem with cause I'll eat whatever whenever.

We ended up at The Jibarito Stop (http://thejibaritostop.com/) located in the Pilsen neighborhood, which is a predominately Mexican community. I could be mistaken but The Jibarito Stop is the only Puerto Rican restaurant on the south/west side of Chicago that I am aware of. Most Puerto Rican restaurants/shops are typically around Humboldt Park, which is the predominately Puerto Rican community in the north/west side of Chicago. In case you're unaware of where it is and or if it is predominately Puerto Rican,  you can be clued in by the giant art depiction of the  Puerto Rican flag that is known as the gateway to Paseo Boricua by Division and Western Ave. #TheMoreYouKnow.

Geographic lessons aside, The Jibarito Stop was pretty fantastic for my first visit to it. Their menu is small but hits the major Puerto Rican food groups in my opinion. Naturally if you're going to a place that has one item as part of its name, you have to order it. I mean you wouldn't go to a Chinese Restaurant and order a burger...unless you're my youngest brother Amir back in the day then yes you would. Actually it might be possible that he would do that even today. That kid...SMH. Before I forget for those who have never had one, a Jibarito is a sandwich that uses fried plantains instead of bread.

I ended up ordering a Pernil (slow roasted pork shoulder) Jibarito sandwich with Arroz con Gandules and a side Papa Rellena (stuffed potato ball). I went with that as Alex had ordered a Bistec (steak) Jibarito. As a foodie and probably some other neurological disorder, I don't typically like to order the same thing as someone else that I'm with (unless there are no options). I think pretty much its a strategy to get larger sample/evaluation of a place...or I really love sharing food. Probably the latter.

The Pernil Jibarito included the pork shoulder, lettuce, tomato, mayo, garlic, and American cheese. Cheese wise you could choose from three types: American, Pepper Jack, or Chihuahua. Their Jibaritos come with a side of either Arroz con Gandules (yellow rice and pigeon peas) or Arroz Blanco con Habichuelas (white rice and red beans). I went with American cause I love chanting U-S-A! whenever I can which I blame Hacksaw Jim Duggan for instilling in me during my formative years. Also had to see how their Arroz con Gandules stood up against my homemade version. Also love me Papa Rellena to the point that if I see it on any menu at any restaurant I'm most likely going to order it about 90% of the time.

Pernil Jibarito w/ Arroz con Gandules

Papa Rellena 

Alex's Bistec Jibarito included the same items as mine but also had onions and he opted for the Pepper Jack cheese. As true brothers and foodies should do, we swapped half our Jibaritos (not a euphemism). Funny enough we just exchanged them without discussing/asking about it. Pretty much picked up the half of the sandwich at the same time and just swapped them. 

Bistec Jibarito w/ Arroz con Gandules

For the record if you ever go out to eat with me- yes I will try your food about 95% of the time and will share my food 100% of the time. The only reason I say 95% of the time for trying is in the instance where I have been to a place and have tried that particular item and/or you are currently sick. That being said all the food we ordered was pretty tasty and fulfilling. I would highly recommend giving this place a try if you're in Chicago. On the about page of the Jibarito Stop website the last line states: "You can't call yourself a food junkie if you haven't had our food!" I fully concur with that statement.

#Foodie4Life

-Reef-

Healthy Eating Per Karen Request

We had an impromptu dinner together (Tina, myself, Karen, and Lily) last night. The only requirement per Karen was to eat healthy. As we have all been on vacations and what not within the last month or so, there might have been a few moments of unhealthy eating and dare I say weight gain. (Insert shifty eyes and feeling that Reef will be getting hit soon here). The number 1 go to place for said healthy eating (in the area choice wise) was Panera.

Before I forget, this was officially- at least in my mind- the first time I ever went to Panera with Tina. She claimed to love Panera and then talked about all these other folks and times she's gone with Karen. (cue Prince's "When Doves Cry"). While driving over to Tina's place, Karen was all "remember the one time we went and then went to some secret Office Max." I'm like that doesn't sound familiar at all. Turns out per Tina's confirmation that I in fact was not a part of that trip.

Now I know a bunch of you are going "Hey dummy Panera is also a bakery which means bread, pastries, and other fattening items." You would be correct but this squad has some self control...or shaming skills...that we did not partake too much in the bad choices. Panera's You Pick 2 option is really a good for the foodies out there. You can try multiple things and if one happens to suck you're not really stuck with a whole order of it. In terms of ordering I'm rather spontaneous and go with whatever the last thing to catch my eye was before saying hello to the cashier person. I was feeling adventurous and opted for two things I had not tried from Panera before.  

For option 1 of the You Pick 2 choices, I went with the Watermelon Feta Salad. Now when I ordered it I had no clue what would be included in the salad as the menu board strictly just said Watermelon Feta. Per the website: Fresh watermelon, arugula and mint drizzled with champagne dijon vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil topped with feta cheese crumbles, ancient grain blend, sliced, toasted almonds and our cracked black pepper and sea salt blend.

For option 2 of the You Pick 2 choices, I went with the Roasted Turkey and Caramelized Kale Panini. I was fairly certain that the title pretty much described what the panini included.

Panera's You Pick 2: Watermelon Feta Salad, Roasted Turkey & Caramelized Kale Panini, and baked chips

I actually highly enjoyed both items. Watermelon Feta Salad hit the spot as it was refreshing and had good flavor to it. I do love watermelon and mint so I could be biased. I tried to get Karen to try it but she does not like watermelon so can't provide an unbiased opinion. The panini I think was better than I thought it was going to be as kale can go either way based on how it's cooked. I did enjoy it but the salad was the star of my meal. 

Tina also decided to be adventurous and go with a new salad for herself. She went with the Green Goddess Cobb Salad. She had been wanting a Cobb salad since her vacation in Michigan where she had gotten what sounded to me like an awesome version of a Cobb salad. I highly suspect she just wanted to order it because that's her street name. Not really sure who or why she was dubbed Green Goddess but I'm sure there's a great backstory. Should definitely ask her about it. Per Panera's website the Green Goddess includes: Chicken raised without antibiotics, arugula, romaine, kale and radicchio blend, vine-ripened tomatoes and pickled red onions tossed with freshly made Green Goddess dressing and topped with avocado, bacon, and cage-free hard-boiled egg.

Panera's Green Goddess Cobb Salad w/ Chicken

Tina really liked her salad and by my estimation hit the spot for her. I have ordered it before and actually enjoyed it. The dressing is pretty good and I do enjoy hard boiled eggs in a salad. I think its safe to say Tina would order that salad again if the urge to bypass ordering a Greek salad isn't as high. Greek Salad is still #1 in our hearts.

Karen went with a staple in her Panera ordering menu: The Fuji Apple Salad w/ Chicken and Broccoli Cheddar Soup.  She loves that salad since she first ordered it. For the life of me I don't recall any other food she's ordered in place of that salad. Will definitely be a sad day if they ever get rid of it. Per the website: Chicken raised without antibiotics, arugula, romaine, kale and radicchio blend, vine-ripened tomatoes, red onions, toasted pecan pieces, Gorgonzola and apple chips tossed with sweet white balsamic vinaigrette.

Panera's You Pick 2: Fuji Apple Salad w/ Chicken and Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Karen of course does not like red onions or big chunks of tomatoes in her food. She ordered it without the red onions but kept the tomatoes. But why would she not just ordered it without the tomatoes if she doesn't like them? Good question there but the answer is simple: Love. She actually gives those to me and Lily to eat cause she knows we love tomatoes. Awwww...she's a keeper for sure.

Lily had one of her favorites at Panera: a tuna sandwich. Funny enough that is not an option under the kids meals. You can actually order the turkey sandwich and substitute the turkey with tuna. Funny enough if you try to order it straight up about 90% of the time the cashier person will tell you "We don't have a kid's tuna." To which Karen is now prepared and instructs them on how to mark it up in the register. It's pretty hilarious to me that a customer is giving you the play by play on how to ring it up. But hey she's a professional so can't really argue against her.

Panera's Kid's menu Tuna sandwich and baked chips

Lily loved her sandwich as always. She's pretty much like most kids and like to order the same items and not very adventurous on her own. I do let her try stuff I order so in that aspect she does try new things. She's a fairly good eater and doesn't dislike a lot of stuff. I'm going to go ahead and take credit for that. #FoodiePride

I think its safe to say this was a healthy eating experience...unless you count the popcorn from Target I got later. Surprisingly Target has the best damn popcorn of all the places I've ever been. Not really sure what or how they achieve that but it is so addictive. Now just to bring the health aspect back to it- an order of popcorn is only 300 calories for the bag- so not terrible in that category. We actually had a debate post Target trip to which I uttered I would pick Target popcorn over most desserts. Karen did not agree as she's more sweet than savory...I meant taste wise....SMH keep it clean you pervert!  Thankfully movie theaters do not have the same quality of popcorn as they offer larger sizes. I'd be in big trouble if they did. 

#squadgoals,
Reef

Quinoa love. Or as Reef says, KEE-NO-AH

Tonight I wanted to make something with lots of veggies and lots of fiber. My tummy gets grouchy, and I've also (mostly) started back up on the healthy eating train and using Myfitnesspal again. My summer of eating is taking its toll and my loose jeans are now tight....boooo. 

So. I found a cheesy, zucchini rice recipe on Pinterest and adapted it with quinoa. Recipe I based it off of, here. So. I sautéed an onion with a bunch garlic. I have the GIANT container of minced garlic from Costco, so I use a baby spoon (SHUT UP MY BABY IS 7) and threw in a few spoonfuls. Then I put in a bag of sliced frozen zucchini that I cut up fresh awhile ago. I put in one cup of quinoa, and two cups of chicken stock. A few tomatoes from my garden. Then I threw the lid on and let it simmer away. When it was finished, I threw in a cup of shredded cheddar Jack. It came out pretty good. 

 

Karen would *probably* like it. Reef for sure. My kids, 99% not. I threw a little hot sauce on top and I think tomorrow when I eat it, I might throw some of those French fried onions on top. Did I mention how much I love cooking? Even when making stuff up or making it all healthy....I love it. Mmmmmmmmmmm

Skinny Taste and the Reef Revolution

If you've come over to my place for a meal in the last couple of years, let's say 3 just to make it seem more impressive, there's a couple dishes that I like to cook for folks. The most prominent one would be Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats. I think it might be a tie between Karen and my sister Sara for #1 fan of them. Funny enough today I was looking at my Facebook Memories- which if you're not on FB (as the cool kids call it) contains previous posts made on this day from years past- and saw this post from 2013:

Facebook Memories don't lie

Apparently 3 years ago today was my first attempt at making this recipe. Shortly after Karen comes down to the Reef Man Cave were I work and asks "what are we doing for dinner?" Which if you know me I'm a go with the flow type and asked what she was thinking. Karen goes "You should make the taco boats!" Seems like FB Memories + Karen + Taco Tuesday was the planets aligning or whatever the heck is the metaphor is to say Taco Boats were destined to be made today.

The original recipe is from Skinny Taste:  Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats. So three years ago when I decided to lose weight/become healthier/cook more at home, skinnytaste.com was instrumental in finding healthier version of food I like to eat. I think one of the biggest changes to diet was picking ground turkey or chicken over red meat. Don't worry I still love me some steak tacos so that will never be abandoned.

Having made these taco boats for a while I've got some got adaptations and pretty much can cook it without instruction. I say pretty much mostly cause I always forget what temperature the oven should be set at. I legit always want to put things at 375 degrees- which I would say a huge majority of the time that seems accurate. But alas this is set to 400 degrees. To go along with the oven temp, I always forget to preheat the oven about 70% of the time.

One of the adaptations for the recipe I like to add is Sazon seasoning. I would say that you can find Goya's Sazon seasoning packs anywhere but apparently that's not necessarily true. I hit up Jewel and Meijer with no luck. Not really sure why they stop carrying it there. Kind of disappointing to be honest. Jewel has some other generic brand but I'm kind of a snob when it comes to Sazon in general. I can tell you two places that definitely carry it- Aldi and Walmart.  Now I know some folks might get all uppity and think those places aren't good but I disagree.

Goya's Sazon

Not sure where Aldi got it's previous bad wrap from. Maybe it's because folks don't like having to use a quarter to rent a shopping car? Or is it that they only take debit or cash? On a funny related to Walmart note, they do have all those registers and never have more than two open.  Still even with that Aldi is actually excellent for produce and other items. One of which would be the aforementioned Goya Sazon seasoning. 

We picked up a green pepper from there as well as something new in my book Sriracha Salsa. I had to pick the salsa even though I didn't need it because two things I like 1) NEW and 2) Sriracha. On a scientific/FYI note in case you aren't privy to this knowledge- you can decipher from male and female peppers. Three bumps = Male and four bumps = Female.  Male peppers have less seeds and good for cooking, Female peppers have more seeds but is sweeter and better for salads/eating raw. #TheMoreYouKnow

A male pepper from Aldi's

Sriracha Salsa? YES PLEASE

Haven't tried the Sriracha Salsa as I had an open salsa already which was also new from a previous trip. Walmart has their own fresh made/deli section. Ended up trying out their Peach Mango salsa. Not too shabby. Funny enough Aldi has an excellent Mango Peach salsa- which they did not have while we were there or that would have been bought. The mango peach salsa is another alteration I put on top of the zucchini prior to adding the meat mixture. Gives it a little extra sweet flavor (depending on type you use) to balance out the savory.

Walmart's Fresh Market Peach Mango Salsa

Got the knife as a X-mas gift from my sister-in-law. Absolutely love knives

Prepping Zucchini- easier to use a melon scooper if you have one

Cooking up some turkey and other items

Ran out of 9x13 bakeware so used two smaller ones

Finished delicious product: Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boat

Much like all the cooking shows you have ever watched, this came out fantastic. I suppose you can't really have a cooking show and come out with horrible food. Still might be funny to see someone go "it's alright." Karen has her own alteration with it as she puts sour cream on top of it. I mean she tends to put sour cream on most savory dishes now that I think about it. So much so that I typically by the giant container of sour cream. Which she then acts offended like she doesn't use that much. Really Karen? Really? Anyway Karen and Lily loved it so my work here is done. 

#FoodieCooking & #HappyTacoTuesday,

Reef

No cute title for this....

Tonight I was feeling adventurous as I was watching my new fave show, How To Get Away With Murder. So. The only answer is CHILE RELLENO SOUP. I highly enjoy pinning randomness so this was a random thing I pinned awhile ago and decided to make happen TODAY. 

Basically, you cook up an onion, some garlic, and cilantro (full disclosure, forgot to buy cilantro so used those cilantro cubes). Throw in some flour, chix broth, milk, and your poblanos you broil and then steam. ITS EPICALLY DELICIOUS. Let's look! 

Broiling the peppers. 

 

 I adore cooking onions. It's like, one of my favorite things. I actually vaguely tried to dice these. Notice how mostly teensy they are? 

 

I was SUPER HAPPY with how this soup turned out. It was super easy. The hardest part was waiting for the poblanos to cool so you could peel them. I didn't feel like buying heavy cream/am counting calories again so I just used 2%. It was still super creamy, so I don't think it made THAT much difference in how it came out. Mmmmmmm. I didn't, however, fry up the chile relleno part for topping. Mostly because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to dirty another pan. Oh well. MAKE THIS IMMEDIATELY. Seriously. Recipe HERE. 

Now. I accidentally was at Walmart yesterday. And I accidentally bought those Deep Fried Twinkies. 

 

You can bake them, put them in the toaster oven, or actually fry them. 

OBVS I ovened them because lazy. I'm so sorry. Some cooking choices happen because lazy. 

I cooked it on my pizza stone also because lazy. 

 

Don't judge my pizza stone. It lives in my oven. Don't judge my dirty oven. Who has time to clean their oven? Literally no one. And if you answered MEEEEEEEEEE then by all means, please come over and clean my oven. 

 

Basically you oven them for like 10 min and they come out smelling like funnel cake. Mmmmmm delicious funnel cake. The cream gets all melty. It's not like when you get an ACTUAL fried Twinkie, but still decent. 

 

In conclusion. Please buy these. Well. Only if you are like me and you have an unnatural affinity for twinkies.  Reef will be so mad that I beat him on this, but I've got more so he will have one. Mmmmmm. 

They also come in chocolate but I felt like this was the best option. I have also thought about making my own homemade twinkies but it's kind of a lot of work...who knows. 

Did I mention I'm a smidge tipsy writing this? If you haven't yet tried Truly Spiked and Sparkling, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. I'm drinking the pomegranate tonight. It's worth it. Mmmmm. 

Bibimbop or bust

Went to H Mart Plaza again for delicious food, this time with my bro. I know, I KNOW. This is the food that started it all. Reef, you were with me in spirit. You especially were because Cary got the same thing I think as you. The BBQ sampler from the Filipino stand.  

I went with Korean. Mmmmm. Only downside was waiting about 15 minutes for my Bibimbop. Or Bibimbap. The internet says both but this place was calling it Bibimbop. 

 

So. I had the hotpot which is basically a stone pot that has rice in it and lots of different veggies. 

 

 Lots of sides, kimchi, pickled various Asian veggies. Mmmmmm. I also put some kind of mystery Korean sauce on it that was a little vinegary and spicy. Highly recommend. Cary pointed out that the small dishes actually had Japanese writing on them (he speaks and reads Japanese) and he thought that was funny as it was from the Korean shop. 

 

Obviously I ate LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

 

Then later Cary and I went to a party and we found this gem to bring with WHICH WAS EPIC AND I AM DYING AT HOW GOOD IT WAS. I also ate my weight in cake and Filipino food at the party....it was a good party. I never did figure out how to put "assload of deliciousness" into myfitnesspal so I just bailed and added in like 1500 calories. I should also say that we got this dip at Mariano's, which had a piano player, who was playing "Part of your world" as we were checking out (from The Little Mermaid, which Cary was unaware of). Don't worry, I was singing it to him all loud. O

 

Cannoli dip. Omg. I want to eat ALL OF THIS RIGHT NOW. I should have taken a photo of it once it was open, but I did not. So. So. Delicious. 

Overall, H mart was excellent as per usual. I now need to try the Japanese and Filipino stand. I will think it's hard to decide what to get next time but I will persevere. 

Barefoot Cooking and Capers

So the other day when I had gone grocery shopping I picked up an eggplant. That's not a euphemism or code for anything  as I legit bought an eggplant. The rationale behind it went like this: "Hey eggplant is on sale! I haven't eating eggplant in forever...wait I've never cooked eggplant before."  So with no plans or previous experience I bought one thinking I'll figure it out at some point.

I wasn't really a big eggplant fan growing up. I think mostly it was due to texture as I don't recall ever hating it per say. That being said at some point I became a fan of baba ganoush - as far as I can tell that's just a food item but if it was someone's name I could be a fan of theirs too. Funny enough baba ganoush did not cross my mind when thinking of things to make with the eggplant nor did it come across my internet search for eggplant recipes. But I did come across one recipe that seem intriguing to me from Food Network's "Barefoot Contessa" show.

Now I've seen this lady Ina Garten's show before but always found her kind of boring show wise. Now if you're like me you might have thought "what the hell is a barefoot contessa?" Or maybe you though "what does being barefoot have to do with cooking?" No clue but did research and found out that contessa means "Italian countess".  Interestingly enough Ina Garten isn't Italian nor did she specialize in it's cuisine. The name actually comes from a store she bought which was named after 1954 Ava Gardner movie. Guess that falls into the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" category.

All that being said she had a recipe on foodnetwork.com for Roasted Eggplant Caponata. Had no clue what a caponata was prior to seeing this recipe. I'll save you the trouble of googling it- it's a Sicilian eggplant dish. Suppose it fits in with Italian countess theme.Pretty much had all the ingredients minus one: Capers. I'm fairly certain I've never eaten capers knowingly as I couldn't even describe the taste or even where you would pick some up in a store. That being said it also added to the new foodie adventure category so I was down.

The eggplant that captured my imagination...and heart? 

Frying up some onions, garlic, and pine nuts

My mixing game is on point

Final product/presentation w/ grilled cheese sandwich

So I pretty much followed the recipe - barefoot of course to pay homage to it's creator. There were two exceptions I did make towards the recipe. First off I used sweet onion instead of a yellow onion. I generally prefer sweet onions but also helps that I had one in stock so why go buy a yellow onion. Second variation was adding more roasted red pepper. This is due to the typical recipe annoyance of needing only a certain amount out of a jar/can. Like what else am I going to do with the rest of it? So just threw it all in.

The caponata seemed more like a side/appetizer item so figured that something else would be needed to complete the meal. Didn't necessarily want meat (insert Tina saying THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID here) so after some consideration decided that grilled cheese would do it. Came to that conclusion based on the standard combo you get from restaurants of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Figured the tomato paste within the caponata would hit that requirement. The caponata is served cold so the grilled cheese was a good counter to that as well. Plus really who doesn't love grilled cheese? I mean outside of vegans, lactose intolerant folks, and probably Tina's kids at any particular moment.  

No worries for you calorie counters out there for mine I used Sargento's sliced Tomato Basil Jack cheese (60 calories) and Healthy Life Italian bread (70 calories for two slices). The caponata itself was 120-140  calories for a cup of it. Overall was very easy to make as you'll see from the recipe and well worth the time.  Highly enjoyed it and would definitely make it again.

#foodieadventure,

Reef