#32 - Anamia's Tex Mex, Flower Mound, TX

Last week I had to go to Dallas for a site visit for the bowl game.  Our meetings were beginning on Thursday afternoon, but I needed to get there earlier to check out a few bars for our "official party headquarters" so I drove down Wednesday evening. I stayed with Joni and Tony in Flower Mound TX, about 30 minutes north of Dallas. I had never been to Flower Mound before, but it's a great city. Lots of shopping, restaurants, and residential areas, without the big-city feel of Dallas.

We went to dinner at Anamia's Tex-Mex, their favorite Mexican restaurant in town. Before moving to Oklahoma I rarely ever ate Mexican food. I'm not sure why not, because there's a lot of authentic Mexican in Maryland, particularly near where my parents live. We went out for Mexican food my first week in town. At first I didn't understand all the hoopla, but we also went to an average chain. As we went to better Mexican places I understood. And now I'm hooked.

There are 4 Anamia's locations in the DFW metro area. The Flower Mound location is in a strip mall, and if you're not paying attention you'll drive right past it. As you enter the restaurant there's a bar area straight ahead, a good-sized outdoor covered patio on the left, and a main dining area to the right. It was pretty crowded when we got there, but there was an open table in the bar area so we grabbed it.  Good thing, because they were showing the OSU basketball game so we got to watch the first half.

I ordered a skinny margarita, made even more appealing when the waiter said it was made with real lime juice, and Tony said I would really like it

Fresh lime juice makes a HUGE difference!  I guess that makes sense, since it does the same thing to food. And these margaritas pack a serious punch. So delicious.

We started with an order of tableside guacamole

Tony ordered it medium heat, and I could feel the kick with the first bite.  But it was absolutely amazing.  I will always pay more for tableside guacamole rather than stuff that's been pre-made and sitting around all day.  Again, there's no comparison.  Besides, it's cool to watch them make it at your table. The chips were also really good and fresh.

Finally it was time to order dinner.  The menu is big, which I don't do well with.  Tony recommended the Tacos a la Mexicana.  Since he hadn't steered me wrong yet, I went with it

Three flour tortillas filled with slow-roasted brisket, sauteed poblano peppers and onions
Served with bean soup and rice

The brisket was amazingly tender. They brought us some sauce to pour over it, and that just added to the flavor. I only ate one of the tortillas. They were really good, but I needed to save space.  The bean soup was awesome.  The rice was good, and I really liked that the salad had big slices of avocado in it.

Will I go back?  No question.  I absolutely understand why this is one of their favorite restaurants, and after one meal it's one of mine as well.

#31 - Cafe 501, Oklahoma City, OK

Last weekend I went to Edmond to run some errands and get my Christmas tree.  The tree was the last errand on my list, since I have to drive home slower with the big old tree hanging out of my trunk, and it's on my way home.   I've always had real trees, and will never get a fake one.  I know the fake ones are easier, and create much less mess when it's time to take them down, but it's just not the same.  Besides, I love the way my house (and car) smells when I get the real thing. Last year I found Sorghum Mill, a great tree farm in Edmond.  Of course the trees are more expensive than the ones I was getting at Lowe's, but they are bigger and last longer. 

I'm really trying to eat someplace new every time I go to Edmond/OKC, which is about every 4-6 weeks. There's tons of places I've never tried so the options are wide open.  Since I also needed to stop at Whole Foods, I decided to try out Cafe 501.  It's located in Classen Curve, a trendy shopping/dining area in Oklahoma City, near the mall and Chesapeake Energy.

There's a beautiful outdoor lounge seating and waterfall wall just outside the main door of Cafe 501, and I'm sure in the early evenings that's a hot-spot.  I was seated immediately at a small table in the corner.  I should have asked for a booth, but they were all occupied and I would have had to wait, and since I was really hungry that wasn't a good option.

I'm not sure if my server was bored, tired, or counting the minutes until her shift was over, but I just didn't get a very good vibe from her.  At first I thought it was just me because I was by myself, but I got the same sense from listening to her with her other tables.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but I wasn't impressed. 

I decided to go with the Hot Brown:

Toasted French Country, Grilled Boar’s Head Turkey, Parmesan Béchamel, Swiss, Grilled Tomato, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese

Yes, I realize it's a little rich, but I didn't eat breakfast so I figured it was okay.  It was really delicious.  The turkey was very moist and had excellent flavor, the bechamel wasn't too heavy, and the bacon was cooked perfectly.  I'm not usually a fan of cooked whole tomatoes, but the flavor definitely went really well with the sandwich. 

I was disappointed that it didn't come with some sort of side, even though the sandwich itself was quite large and more than satisfying.  They have salads on the menu, but I didn't see a side salad option, and the other salads were entree sized.  I heard the server tell the table behind me that they could get a small house salad.  If that's an option, then it should be listed on the menu.  I would have definitely gotten it, had I known.  The brunch "signature plates" come with seasoned potatoes, so I'm not sure why the sandwiches are a la carte.  And in looking at their online menus, only their dinner menu offers a la carte sides.  Doesn't make any sense to me, but maybe that's the "upscale" way of doing things.

Will I go back?  Yes, because I want to give it another shot.  The food was delicious and it's got a great atmosphere.  I'm hoping that I just had the misfortune of catching them on a bad day.  Maybe next time I'll try the Edmond location. 

My Chef's Hat - Kung Pao Chicken

For a long time I was not a fan of cooking with peanuts, or really any nuts for that matter.  I always had a really hard time understanding how that combination could possibly be a good thing.  But then I became a fan of pad thai.  I still didn't use the peanuts when I cooked it at home, but one night I forgot to request no peanuts when I ordered it at a restaurant, and was immediately hooked.  I think the saltiness adds just the right flavor.

I'm a big fan of making Asian recipes at home, to cut down on the sodium and oil.  I've had really good luck so far on the ones I've tried, and so when I saw a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken I knew I had to try it.  There's tons of different recipes for it, and they all call for the same basic ingredients, with a few minor variations here and there.

Here is the official recipe version:

And here's my version:

So yummy!  The recipe called for red pepper flakes, but a couple weeks ago I bought a big bag of dried red chiles so I went with those instead.  I kinda went a little overboard with the chiles and didn't take them out until it was time to eat, so it was pretty spicy, but it didn't overpower the dish.  When you order kung pao at a restaurant it's usually got peppers and onions.  I added the yellow pepper, but forgot about the onions until I was writing the blog...next time.  The sauce was really good, and added an amazing depth of flavor to the chicken. 


Recipe found on Food & Wine

My Chef's Hat - Saucy Herbed Shrimp

Another day, another shrimp recipe.  I don't need to tell you again how much I like shrimp, so I'll just cut straight to the chase.  The other day I was on Pinterest and found a recipe for Saucy Herbed Shrimp.  It looked like a pretty easy recipe, and the reviews said it had lots of flavor, so I decided to give it a shot.

Here's the official recipe version:

And here's my version:

It was really delicious.  The recipe called for the beans to be added at the same time as the peppers.  The beans were perfect, but the peppers were just a little over-done.  Next time I'll cook the beans by themselves a little bit first so all the veggies cook the same.  I didn't  have orange peppers, but I really don't think the colors matter and I had yellow, green and red on hand so I used all 3 of them to make the dish more colorful.  The tomatoes also got a little too soft, so next time I may just add them once the dish is done so they maintain their texture.  The shrimp had really good flavor with the combination of herbs.  I just shook some red pepper flakes into the dish without measuring, and I really didn't taste much heat.  Next time I'll be a little more heavy-handed, or maybe actually just measure the amount instead of guessing. I served the shrimp mixture over whole grain linguine for a complete meal.


Recipe found on Food.com

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#30 - George's, Waco, TX

I made my first trip to Waco, TX over the weekend for the Baylor football game.  The game didn't turn out well, and the hotel leaves a lot to be desired, but overall I had a great time with friends.  Friday night we went to George's for dinner and a few beverages.  It's one of those hole-in-the-wall places that a lot of people--me included--would just drive by if we didn't know about it.  But it was only about a mile from the team hotel and I had heard great things, so we decided to give it a shot. 

We got there just after 7, and it was packed...very good sign.  A couple friends were already there, and there were a few fried mushrooms left from their order.  I tried one, and proceeded to eat the rest of them.  They were absolutely awesome.  Not sure what it was that made them so good, but I could have eaten another whole basket. 

George's is known for their Big "O" schooner...18-ounce beers served in big goblets.  I'm not really a big beer drinker, but just about everyone in the whole place was drinking them, so I didn't want to seem out of place.  After a while the waitress came over and brought a Dos-a-Rita that had been made at the bar but not claimed.  I took the opportunity to try something different, and was very happy that I did.  Even though the ice had melted some, the drink was really good and really strong.

George's has won lots of "Best of Waco" awards, and their onion rings were one of them.  So we got an order.  They were beer battered, which are not my favorite, but they were also thin-cut, and really delicious.  As you can see, Kevin was very impatient and didn't bother to wait until I had taken the picture before he dug in.  The onion rings didn't last very long at the table.

Finally it was time to order dinner.  Another thing George's is known for is their chicken fried steak.  I have to admit, I never ate it before I moved to Oklahoma, and even since then I've only had it a few times.  George's offers both a half-portion and a full portion.  I decided to show a little restraint and only order the half, especially because it comes with 2 sides.  We all had a good laugh that they offer a fruit cup as one of their sides.  I mean there's very little healthy on the menu, so I guess that's one of their attempts.  I went with the mac & cheese and the steamed veggies. 

The mac & cheese was just okay, and it tasted more like the boxed kind than anything homemade.  I was disappointed, but I survived.  The veggie were super hot and cooked to a perfect tender-crisp.  I was very pleasantly surprised, because you just never know with a large order at the same time and a crowded restaurant.  I really liked the chicken fried steak, and I liked even more that they put the gravy on the side instead of drowning it.  I was very happy that I only got the half-order, because it was huge.  I can't even imagine getting the full.  Joni and Tony both said it was just okay, but Joni also said that it wasn't nearly as good as hers.  Again, I very rarely ever eat it so I was happy.

Another thing I like about George's is that they do a huge tent on gameday, across the street from the stadium, where they sell beers, margaritas, bloody marys, and burgers.  It's a great gig, with tons of space, a band, tables/chairs and TV's under the tent.  Joni, Tony and I had burgers at halftime and they were really good. 

Will I go back?  Well, we'll be back in Waco in 2 years for football, so I definitely plan to.  The food was good, the beers were cold, and the restaurant was still packed, and getting more crowded, when we left at about 10. 

My Chef's Hat - Italian Style Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the reasons that it's so hard to go low-carb.  I could eat them at every meal of the day.  Baked, fried, scallopped, cheesy...you name it, I love them.  The sweet pepper bacon cheese fries at Joe's are probably some of the most unhealthy things ever in life, but for some reason I can't help myself, especially on game weekends.  And when it comes to french fries, I want them straight out of the oil, not sitting there for any length of time. 

But, since I've been trying to eat lower carb this fall I try to only buy potatoes every couple weeks, and also try to buy the smallest russet potatoes I can find.  I had bought 2 potatoes the other day, and was looking for a reason to use them.  And while I have several good potato recipes, I was looking for something new to try out.  Several I found looked very good but also very unhealthy, so I kept looking and came across Italian Style Potatoes.  I loved the combination of spices, and also love that they're roasted instead of fried.  So there's a little olive oil involved, but not too much.

Here's the official recipe:

And here's my version:

Yes, I realize they don't look like much...but man are they awesome!!  I did have a pretty small potato and I  definitely cut them too thin.  Plus, I made the mistake of actually cooking them at the recipe temperature 425 instead of lower for the thinner cut.  So they cooked faster than I planned on the outside, and the inside was just a tad under-cooked.  But the taste more than made up for the prep/cooking errors I made.  The spices were amazing together.  I wasn't sure what the recipe meant by "grating cheese" so I just tossed some parmesan on there...from now on, that is my official "grating cheese".

I'll definitely be making this again soon, if for no other reason than to do a better job on the directions!


Recipe found on What's Cookin' 

My Chef's Hat - Pan Roasted Salmon

The other day I was looking for a new salmon recipe.  I already have a few staples on hand that I love.  However, since I eat salmon once a week I needed to find a few more recipes to add to the collection.  I found a few different recipes on pinterest, and decided to go with the Pan Roasted Salmon.  As soon as I saw that brown sugar was one of the first ingredients I knew it would be awesome, because that would create a great caramelization.

Here is the official recipe picture:

And here is my version:

Just as I thought, the brown sugar browned perfectly.  Who would have thought that sweet would work on salmon?!  The cinnamon was a great addition, something I never would have thought would have worked.  Searing the salmon first created lots of smoke in the kitchen, but it sure smelled good!  And I love the idea of finishing the dish in the oven.  The sear provided a great "crust", and the oven finish allowed it to cook all the way through without burning. 

No question I'll be making this again and again.  Mine turned out a little more seared than the picture, but it was still really good. 

Recipe found on A Sweet Pea Chef

Repeats with a Twist - Louie's, Stillwater, OK

Louie's Grill & Bar is one of my favorite restaurants in Stillwater.  The food is consistently good, there's about a million TV's so you can watch pretty much any game there is, and I love that it's downtown rather than in other parts of town.  The only downside is the size.  There's only about 20 tables, plus the bar, so it's very packed, especially at lunch and dinner.  I don't know if they were worried about making it too big, but they could have easily doubled the size and it would still always be crowded. 

The fried pickles could very well be my favorite thing on the menu.  They always come out screaming hot, are thick cut and breaded, and the dipping sauce is awesome.  My dad rarely eats fried food but he really likes them.  I think my second favorite is the pepperoni pizza.  Not sure what they do to the crust, but it is absolutely delicious. It really is too big for a single meal, but I'll admit I have eaten the whole thing in one sitting once or twice when I was absolutely starving.  Some of my other favorite dishes are the Gobble Gobble (turkey sandwich), avocado burger, bleu cheese burger, and southwest wrap.

I rode back from the Kansas football game last month with Tony & Joni, so we decided to have lunch at Louie's before they dropped me at home.  We had eaten (and drank) about as unhealthy as possible all weekend, so I decided to go the healthier route for lunch, and went with the blackened tilapia with black bean salsa.  You get 2 sides with entrees, so I chose the fried green beans and broccoli salad.

Your choice of blackened and topped with
black bean salsa or grilled with lemon pepper

The tilapia was really delicious!  It had a little kick, but definitely wasn't spicy.  I squeezed a the lime wedge onto the fish and it added a great flavor.  Tilapia fillets are always pretty thin, so I wish they would give you 2...hopefully for dinner they do that.  The black bean salsa was a great accompaniment for it.  It looks pretty simple, so I need to figure out how to make it.  The broccoli salad was just okay.  I think it had too much dressing for my taste.  I've had the fried green beans before, and they were really good, as always. 

My Chef's Hat - Honey Lime Shrimp

I'm always looking for new ways to prepare shrimp.  It's healthy, convenient to cook, and you can really cook it in about a million ways.  A couple weeks ago I was craving shrimp and wanted something different than one of my standby dishes, so I turned to pinterest for some inspiration.  And there I found the recipe for honey lime shrimp.  It looked super easy, and the picture was making my mouth water so I decided to try it out.

Here is the official recipe photo:

And here's my version:

I decided to go with the blogger's suggestions of mixed veggies and brown rice as sides, and made it a big bowl of deliciousness. 

For the veggies I did a quick sautee of green beans, snap pepas, mushrooms, carrots and celery. 

The shrimp marinade was awesome.  It was so simple, but yet added tons of flavor, and also gave great caramelization to the shrimp as it cooked.  I took a reviewer's suggestion:  double the marinade, cook it down, and pour it over the dish.  That way you got the flavor in every bite, not just with the shrimp. 

Will I make it again?  I already have!  The only change I made was to use broccoli instead of green beans, but I really think there's tons of veggie combination options you could use.  This is definitely going on my constant rotation. 


Recipe found on The Dough Will Rise Again

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My Chef's Hat - Veggie Tacos

I've been trying to eat lower carb for the past 2 months.  It hasn't been as challenging as I thought, but I'm also not quite as hard-core as I was the first couple of weeks.  I've basically eliminated them from breakfast, and try to do carbs at either lunch or dinner, just not both.  That works great during the week, but come football gameday, with all the great food tempting me at every turn, it doesn't work out so well. 

Normally when I think of tacos, I picture chicken or beef.  But The other day I found an awesome-looking recipe on Pinterest for veggie tacos, and decided to make them for lunch.  Besides, I figured all the veggies in the tacos would help counteract the carbs.

Here is the official recipe photo:

And here is my version:

 This was so good!  I was little worried that the veggies might make the whole dish a little mushy, but I made sure to cook them to tender-crisp, and they were perfect.  I added a little corn as I was sauteeing the veggies, as suggested by a reviewer, and they added amazing flavor to the dish.  I didn't have any green chiles, but that's okay.  I'm honestly not sure exactly what flavor/heat they would add, and the tacos were still really good without them. If I can find the chiles next time I'm at the grocery, great; if not, no biggie.   I only used half a jalapeno , just to play it safe.  Next time I'll probably use a whole one.  I didn't have the cojito cheese so I used feta, again based on a reviewer.  Thankfully they did not lead me astray.  I did the whole thing with melting the cheddar cheese first.  It was good, but I don't know how really necessary it was.  I might try without it next time. 

Will I  make this again?  It's already been added to the lunch rotation!


Recipe found on Simply Recipes

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Wake Up Wednesday

#29 - Tara Thai, Hyattsville, MD

About a month ago I went back to Maryland to visit my family.  OSU had a bye week and Maryland had a home game, so it was the perfect weekend to get away.  My parents and I don't need a special occasion to go out to dinner, but it was a week from my birthday so that Friday night became my official birthday dinner with my parents.

My friend Karen is vegan, so I had to be sure to find a restaurant where she could get something good to eat.  We settled on Tara Thai, since none of us had been there before, and we all love Thai food.  It's right on Route 1 in Hyattsville, MD, right down the street from DeMatha HS. 

Back in college we drove past this area a million times on our way down to the bars in DC, but there was never anything much to make us stop in this area.  Well that has definitely changed.  It's now called Arts District Hyattsville, a $200 million mixed-use revitalization development area.  There's really nice apartments, shops, restaurants, and DeMatha has expanded and created a gorgeous new entrance to the school. 

Even though it was a Friday night and there are only about 20 tables in the restaurant we only had to wait a few minutes to be seated.  My dad and I shared an order of calamari.  It was good but it was battered, and I'm a much bigger fan of breaded.  But the sauce was good, and it was cooked perfectly.  Mom and Karen each got soup, which they both said was really delicious.

For dinner I went with the pork pad thai

It was really delicious!  It was a lot of food, but I was super hungry and cleaned my plate anyway.  I was expecting whole peanuts, but then I realized that I didn't read the menu properly because it clearly says crushed.  I thought it was interesting that they had 2 kinds of pork in the dish, but as weird as it sounds they had different flavors.  The "regular" pork tasted like you would expect from a pork chop, and then the smaller pieces were cured I think, kind of like bacon.  The only thing I would change next time would be to ask them to make it spicier.  I usually do that with Asian food, but forgot this time and I think it would have made the dish even better. 

Will I go back?  Yes!  As a matter of fact I want to go back and try a couple of the other restaurants in the district.

Repeats with a Twist - McAlister's Deli

Wow, I've really neglected this food blog the last 6 weeks!  Between football season and life, it  got away from me.  I've made some great recipes and found some awesome new restaurant dishes, so I definitely need to get my act together and get caught back up.

McAlister's Deli is one of the first restaurants I went to when I moved to Stillwater.  It's a favorite lunch spot for many local residents, and the menu includes all kinds of sandwiches, huge stuffed baked potatoes, soups, and sweet tea.  My first couple years in Stillwater we went to McAlister's for lunch almost weekly, but after a while I kind of got tired of it.  Probably because I was rotating between 2 or 3 different items and never branched out.  I really liked the soup, but over time it became too salty and wasn't as hot as I would have liked it to be. 

About a month ago I decided to give McAlister's another shot, and was very pleasantly surprised that they now offer entree salads.  I decided to try the Southwest Cobb salad

Grilled chicken breast, fire-roasted corn & poblano pepper relish, guacamole, cheddar-jack cheese, tomatoes and tortilla chips. Chef’s dressing selection: Chipotle Ranch

I was really surprised how big the salad is.  Of course, there's a good amount of lettuce, but they definitely don't skimp on any of the other toppings. 

The corn and poblano pepper relish adds a little kick that I wasn't expecting, but it was delicious.  I always ask for dressing on the side when I get a salad and they gave me 2 containers.  If they normally put all that onto the salad it's way too much.  The dressing is really good but I'm pretty sure it's not healthy so I only use half of one container and that's plenty.  It also comes with a small side of guacamole, so I add that to the salad and it helps to dress the dish.  It also comes with tortilla chips.  I tried a couple bites without the chips and then crushed up a couple and tried it with them...honestly, they can just save the chips.  To me they don't add anything to the dish. 

McAlister's is officially back onto my lunch rotation.  I figure if I go about once a month it will take me a lot longer to get tired of it, especially knowing I can always go to a great salad as an option.

My Chef's Hat - Pizza Chicken

Pizza is one of my favorite foods.  I've always preferred thicker crust over the thin crust.  To me, thin crust is often over-cooked, so it ends up tasting like cardboard.  For a long time I bought the mini Boboli pizza crusts, and made pizza for lunch.  It was convenient and easy, but obviously that crust wasn't really too healthy, as it needed lots of preservatives to keep for that long.  And I know that they sell a whole wheat dough, but I could never find it. 

A couple months ago I was in Whole Foods in the fresh foods area.  I could spend an hour just in that section, checking out all the different cheeses and prepared foods.  I came across fresh whole wheat pizza dough in a 16-ounce prepared ball.  I knew I had hit the jackpot, especially since it was pretty inexpensive.  I took it home, cut it into fourths, and instantly had 4 lunches.

I love making the pizza with that dough.  I use fresh mozzarella, Bertolli pizza sauce (tons better than Ragu), and fresh herbs and you can taste a huge difference.  Even though I'm on the low carb thing right now I still make pizza once a week.  And when I came across the recipe for Pizza Chicken, I knew I had to try it out.  It allows me to use a lot of what I make with a regular pizza, but without the carbs.

Here is the official recipe picture:

And here's my version:

The flavor was delicious, and the only thing "missing" was the dough...but the chicken more than made up for it.  I grilled the chicken first before adding the toppings and putting it in the oven, and I was afraid that would make the chicken too dry. But the sauce, cheese and other toppings helped keep it moist. 

When I normally make my pizza I add artichoke hearts and spinach, but I didn't think I had space for that so I left it out. But I did use red onion, red pepper, sundried tomato, and mushrooms.  I should have added some fresh basil, but thought about it too late. 

Will I make this again? Definitely!!  Will it replace my fresh whole wheat dough?  Not a chance.  The dish was really good, so maybe I'll alternate chicken with dough. 


Recipe found on Just a Pinch

My Chef's Hat - Tuna Cakes with Fresh Tomato Salsa

So just a couple posts ago I was talking about how I'm trying to eat more tuna.  My favorite canned tuna is the white albacore.  I've read about how eating large amounts of albacore can cause mercury poisoning.  But since I only eat it once a week I figure I'm safe.  I've tried the regular canned tuna, but it doesn't taste as good. 

I really like my recipe for the skinny tuna melt, but didn't want to eat that same thing every week.  On Monday I found a recipe for Tuna Cakes with Fresh Tomato Salsa, and thought it looked and sounded really good.

Here is the official recipe picture:

And here is my version:

What a great recipe!  The cakes are light, but are very flavorful.  I used panko bread crumbs, egg whites, and siraccha sauce instead of the rye crackers, whole egg and jalapeno tabasco.  I'm not sure if that made them a little lighter, but I'm going to convince myself that it did.  Even so, the recipe itself isn't bad.  The worst thing is sauteeing the cakes in olive oil, but I used as little oil as I possibly could. 

The fresh tomato salsa was fantastic.  I only let it sit for about 10 minutes because I was short on time.  But next time I'll make the salsa before I leave for work in the morning, so it can sit for 4 hours before I eat it.   I think that would make it even more intense.

Will I make this again?  No question!  It's a great, light lunch and a good rotation for my tuna recipes.


Recipe found on The Novice Chef

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Repeats with a Twist - Fuzzy's Taco Shop, Stillwater OK

I was SO happy when I heard a Fuzzy's Taco Shop was coming to Stillwater!  And even happier when I found out that one of my students is working there :)  She dropped off an invite for their private opening today, so of course I had to check it out!  Free food...I'm all over it!  I'm sure lots of restaurants do  something like this, but this was the first time I'd been to one.  What a great idea...free food for friends/family, and the chance to give your staff on-the-job training at the same time.

It's located on the Strip, and open  until 2:30AM on weekends, which will be perfect for the bar crowd. 

I got there about 1pm, and there was a good-sized line, but that's okay because it gave me the chance to check out the menu.  Me and big menus don't do well together, so I was happy for the time to figure out what I wanted.  I had only been one other time, in the spring when I was in Dallas.  The menu is pretty big, and they serve breakfast tacos and burritos in addition to their lunch/dinner menu items. 

Since the food was free, I decided to get a few different things and check them all out.  I got chips & guacamole, a side of the warm fire-roasted salsa, and one each of the shrimp, veggie, and spicy shredded pork soft tacos.

I think the chips had Old Bay on them, which was a nice surprise.  But it definitely added a kick.  And the chips were warm too, which was a huge plus.  The fire-roasted salsa is good, but pretty spicy.  But I absolutely love that it's served warm.   The guacamole is awesome...I couldn't stop eating it.  And it was a lot of guac too.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  Finally I had to throw away the chips and put away the guac and salsa, so I wouldn't gorge on them.  I'll definitely be having the guac with my dinner tonight. 

I'm not usually a fan of corn tortillas, but these ones tasted fresh, so I was good.  Trying to be good, I only ate 1, and the others just ate the filling.  All of their tacos come with feta, as well as shredded cheese, which was an interesting twist I wasn't expecting.  The veggie tacos were basically only black beans & carrots with a little onion. Again, not what I was expecting, but they were actually pretty tasty.  The shrimp was good, but I would say the spicy shredded pork was my favorite. All of their tacos also come with garlic sauce, which is quite spicy and really good.

The only down side is that I couldn't get a margarita because they don't serve liquor on Sundays in Stillwater.  The margarita I had back in the spring was really good, and strong, and huge for the price.  I'm hoping it's the same here in town.

Will I go back?  Definitely!  The food is good and fresh, and comes out quickly.  I got mine to go, and they gave me 2 containers of the garlic sauce.  I would suggest they only give you one, and if you want another you can ask. 

My Chef's Hat - Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Yes, I realize in my last post I talked about how I'm not a huge fan of chicken breast.  But, I am trying to branch out and cook with it at least once a week.  Like I said before, it's usually really dry. But I figure if I can find recipes that have enough flavor and stuff to keep it moist, I'll be in business.

We had Mexican for lunch today, which of course meant chips & salsa.  So I didn't want to do any carbs for dinner.  I had one recipe in mind, but when I opened up Pinterest to find it, I saw a recipe for blackened chicken with cilantro lime quinoa and decided to give it a shot.

Until a few months ago I'd never even heard of quinoa.  And then once I did, it seemed that from everything I heard and read, people either loved it or hated it.  My friends Jack & Betty said they use one that's a blend with rice, and they really liked it.  So a few weeks ago I was at Whole Foods, and decided to buy a small amount of it from the bulk food section.  I figured if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have spent too much.

For some reason, my brain was telling me that quinoa was very low carb.  I'm really not sure why, because it is a grain and grains are mainly carbs.  And when I looked up the nutrition, as I was eating it, I realized that it's almost as high as pasta.  But it's healthier than pasta, and a complex carb, so I feel a little better about myself.

Here's the official recipe picture:

And here's my version:

I was very pleasantly surprised with the quinoa!  I'm pretty sure that if you just make it plain it will taste like cardboard.  But I loved the flavor from the lime and cilantro.  The chicken definitely had a lot of kick from the spice. But it was really good.  I forgot to add the avocado cream sauce before I took the picture.  It was good, but the only yogurt I had was vanilla Greek yogurt and the vanilla was a little overpowering, and it was kind of thick...more like guacamole than sauce.  But it was still really tasty. 

I'm definitely going to add quinoa to the "pass" list.  I've found some recipes on Pinterest that looked good, but I always hesitated.  But now that I know it won't test my gag reflexes, I'm going to try them out.

Will I make this recipe again?  Definitely!


Recipe found on Sarcastic Cooking

My Chef's Hat - Spicy Honey Chicken with Baked Crispy Zucchini Parmesan Fries

So if you haven't noticed, I love chicken.  I could really probably eat it every day, at both lunch and dinner.  And I'm a huge fan of dark meat.  I've never been a fan of chicken breast, because it's always too dry.  I've cooked with breast a little more recently, but unless it's absolutelly necessary, I'm sticking with the dark meat.  I know it has more calories and fat, but to me, that's flavor, and therefore well worth it!  My mom never let me eat the skin on the fried chicken when I was little, even though that's where all the best flavor is.  So now, whenever I go home, I get Popeye's one time and make sure to eat it in front of her...just because.  Other than fried chicken--which I very seldom ever eat--I don't ever eat the skin. 

I found a great recipe for spicy honey chicken.  I also needed a veggie, and was bored with the recipes I already had, so decided to find something new...baked crispy zucchini parmesan fries came to the rescue. 

Here's the official recipe pictures for both:

And here's my version together:

Okay, first the chicken...YUMMY!!!  The honey and the spices are awesome together.  I could have eaten another 5 pieces.  Dark meat stays much moister than chicken breast already...and after I let the honey glaze soak into the chicken for about 5 minutes, it was a lot of heaven.

And now the zucchini...it was okay.  I don't like mushy veggies...to me, that texture is horrible.  And I think I cut the zucchini too big, so as it was baking it got too soft.  I had some thinner pieces and those were better, but I already had the bad taste in my mouth from the thicker pieces so the whole thing was a downer.  The panko bread crumbs also didn't get dark enough, but I think that's because the pieces were too big. 

Will I make these again?  The chicken, no question!!  I'm willing to give the zucchini another shot.  But I'll definitely cut them much thinner, and probably turn the oven up higher and shorten the cooking time by a few minutes.


Spicy honey chicken recipe found on The Girl Who Ate Everything

Crispy zucchini parmesan fries found on The Lean Green Bean

My Chef's Hat - Skinny Tuna Melt

I go through phases with tuna.  Sometimes I'll eat it regularly, other times I'll just walk right past it in the store.  It's also one of those foods that, barring a few exceptions, needs "help" to make it fun to eat.  One of those exceptions is of course the super-fresh tuna steaks.  I've never been a huge fan of those, because most people eat them almost raw, and that's not me.  I will do that if it's in sushi, but if it's a thick tuna steak, no thank you. 

I've decided to give tuna a try again.  It's easy to prepare, light and healthy...as long as you don't drench it in mayo.  My previous tuna staple was to do a tuna & pasta salad, but that doesn't jive with low-carb.

Pinterest to the rescue, as I found a great recipe for a skinny tuna melt.  I liked the recipe because it allows me to sneak in some extra veggies, but yet maintains the healthy side of things.

Here is the official recipe picture:

And here's my version, with a side salad:

It's really delicious!!  My mom gets this awesome whole grain bread from Costco, and had brought some for me when they visited last month, so I used that.  She also had bought some fake cheese slices, so I used that too, and honestly can't tell the difference between the fake and real when it's all finished.  I probably go a little crazy with the celery and carrots, but I love the crunch and texture they add.  I also use low-fat mayo with olive oil instead of the regular mayo.  The recipe calls to toast the bread and melt the cheese by using a skillet.  But I think it will probably work better in the toaster oven, so I'll do that next time.  The cheese didn't really melt, but I don't know if that's because it's fake or not.

Will I make it again?  Of course!  It's light and healthy, but really filling at the same time. 


Recipe found on Skinny Taste

My Chef's Hat - Pan Seared Honey Glazed Salmon

Looking back through my posts, you would think I've been eating salmon all my life.  But for a long time when I was a kid, I refused to eat it.  I don't know why.  Maybe it was the color, maybe I just thought it would have a funny smell or taste.  Whatever the reason, I wouldn't budge on it.  But years ago, at the beach with my friend Denise, she made a very simply grilled salmon using only McCormick steak seasoning.  I fell in love, and for a long time only ate it like that.  Then a few years ago I started buying frozen blackened salmon at Sam's, and again, that was the only way I ate it.  But after a while I got bored and wanted to try some new things. 

A few weeks ago I found several different salmon recipes.  I went online yesterday and was going to do one that was a citrus grilled.  But then this afternoon, I changed my mind when I saw the Pan Seared Honey Glazed Salmon on the list.  The recipe calls for the salmon to be topped with a browned butter lime sauce.  Between that and the honey, I was sold. 

Here is the official recipe picture:

And here is my version:

I am officially in love!  The honey adds amazing flavor to the salmon.  The only down side is my own fault, because I over-cooked the salmon a little, but that's a simple fix. I seared the salmon in Pam instead of olive oil. 

The butter sauce has a lot of garlic, so don't make this recipe if it's for a date or if you're going on a date afterwards! As always, I used Smart Balance light instead of real butter or margarine. The recipe called for quite a bit of butter. I don't know if it's cause I used the fake stuff, but it cooked down to less than half its original amount, but that's okay. The recipe says to use raw garlic...I cooked the garlic in the butter for a few minutes and that still didn't get rid of all the garlic bite. I poured a little of the sauce over my green bean/asparagus/mushroom sautee, and that was really delicious as well.

I made this the other day again for Christmas dinner since my parents were here and they are vegetarian. I did the recipe more as written. I used canola oil to sear the salmon, and made the sauce with butter (but still used a lot less than called for). 

I liked this version even better than my first attempt. I will say it was quite a bit oilier though, so I need to scale back some on the butter sauce. But that was absolutely the only negative.

Will I make this again? Absolutely. I think adding a little white wine into the butter sauce would add great flavor. And maybe mince the garlic a little more so it doesn't have quite the bite.


Recipe found on Cooking Classy

My Chef's Hat - Spicy Shrimp with Avocado Lettuce Cups

I'm pretty sure the only places I've ever had lettuce cups is PF Chang's and sushi restaurants.  I don't really know why I've never tried them at home before. I've found recipes online, but just never made them.  Well, with this new low-carb kick, and the awesome recipe I found on Pinterest for Spicy Shrimp & Avocado Lettuce Cups, I knew I had to give it a try.  I also wondered why I never just bought bib lettuce before, but once I found it in the grocery story and saw how expensive it was, that was my easy answer.  But I figure if I could get 3-4 meals out of it, it would be worth it.

Here is the official recipe picture:

And here is my version:

I learned one thing really quickly...using one piece of lettuce per "cup" is not very effective, for 2 reasons.  Each piece is pretty limp, and therefore hard to hold in all the goodness.  And second, almost every piece has a hole in it, so the food tries to escape!

This was really delicious!!  And she wasn't kidding when she said it was spicy.  Roasting the jalapenos helped to mellow that heat, but I forgot and didn't remove any of the seeds.  And trust me...even when roasted, jalapeno seeds still pack a huge punch.  The recipe wasn't fully clear on the red peppers so I went ahead and roasted those and some red onion at the same time for additional flavor.  The avocado and the lettuce provided some much-needed relief from the heat.  And you know, I might try this with romaine lettuce next time, just to see.  If it works just as well, I'll definitely do that.  Because if I have to double the butter lettuce each time, it won't go very far.

I don't have a mortar and pestle, and didn't want to buy it and only use it every few weeks.  So instead I bought a coffee grinder and figure I'll get more use out of that.  We shall see.  Using the grinder I needed a little more olive oil than the recipe called for, but that wasn't the end of the world. 

Will I make this again?  Of course!  My mouth was on fire for about an hour after dinner, but it was well worth it, and that can be fixed pretty easily.  It's light, healthy, and really good.


Recipe found on Aggie's Kitchen

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My Chef's Hat - Blackened Salmon with Corn Salsa

At the beginning of September I decided to try the low-carb thing for about 2 months. I'm not cutting them out completely, because I love pasta & potatoes too much, and I would go on a carb-eating binge as soon as it was over. The carbs I'm cutting back on are rice, potatoes, pasta and bread. I'm 2 weeks in and it hasn't been as hard as I originally thought, probably because I didn't cut them completely out.

One of the first recipes I made for this blog was blackened salmon tacos. My first attempt was okay, but I couldn't get the blackening part to work at all. But the recipe itself was great, so I've made it a bunch since then.

When I made the dish last week I knew I couldn't do the tortillas, so I decided to add more tomatoes and avocado to the salsa, used a little larger piece of salmon, and eliminated the cilantro lime ranch dressing.

I think that looks 100% better than my first attempt this summer...

Practice obviously makes perfect. I don't think I was using enough of the spice early on, and once I started following the recipe instructions and seared it in a skillet with Pam instead of grilling, the blackening worked!

Recipe found on Cooking Classy

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