¡Arriba, Arriba! Chicken Burrito Bowls

This meal is one you pull outta yo’ back pocket and fix really quickly on a day when you have no time to plan ahead. {That’s today for me.} It takes minimal effort and minimal ingredients, yet it is still delicious and sure to please even the pickiest. The best part? You can make it all your own depending on what staple ingredients you have in your kitchen right now, so it becomes a new burrito bowl each time you make it! Magic!

INGREDIENTS

Cooked Chicken (we actually “fried” ours at home in our infrared fryer-NO oil. Ask me about it, because it is awesome and I have an Amazon code for ya below.)

Steamed Rice (or cauliflower)

Frozen Fajita Veggies

Kosher Salt

Ground Black Pepper

Sweetener (sugar or swerve)

Shredded cheese

Avocado

COOKING AND PLATING:

Cook and shred the chicken (again, so many different ways to make this dish so you can use chicken breasts, thighs, the whole bird, or you can really go hog wild and use ground turkey, beef, pork, fish even!)

Steam the rice. (I buy the easy cauliflower and brown rice that steam in the microwave.)

Cook veggies on stovetop in skillet until they wilt, sprinkle with salt, pepper and sweetener to taste. TIP: I like to cook my fajita veggies until the edges start to brown bc I like the flavor.

To assemble the bowls I place rice in the bottom of the bowl, add cheese, chicken, veggies, more cheese and garnish with your favorite Tex-Mex toppings…today I sliced a fresh avocado and sprinkled with pink Himalayan sea salt, but you could use cilantro, salsa, queso, corn, beans…chips…the list is endless.

I am telling y’all, my husband thought I was the Smokin’ Hot Witch of the South in the kitchen when I walked out with this bowl of delicious goodness for lunch today, I’m pretty sure he’d have eaten chicken from the container and called it lunch. I gotta admit it felt really good to see the surprise and happiness in his eyes when I brought him his chicken burrito bowl for lunch today. I hope you each enjoy it that much too! Please come back and leave me a comment or head to my social media and tag me in your posts. @wannabejenna on Insta, Twitter, Snapchat and FB.

Fast-Food-At-Home: Quick Harissa Chicken w/ Fresh Cucumbers

Last night was one of those nights when I have no time to make dinner, but my family needs to be fed.  I mean, come on little humans, feed yourselves already!  Just kidding, they can but they would only eat protein bars, apples, popcorn and Halloween candy.  So, I can either grumble and complain and feed them all microwave ramen, Mac n cheese and protein smoothies, {You feel me?} OR, I can plan to keep a few essentials in my kitchen for a couple of go-to quick dinners.  Sometimes I do the first thing, but most of the time I grab my quick dinner ingredients and feed all five of us in thirty minutes.  SIDENOTE:  We spent an entire summer living apart while my husband took a new job three hours away from home so the kids and I subsisted on fast food while our house was showing. Why?  Y’all, I was so afraid of getting the kitchen dirty and then having a showing pop-up!  I’ve never felt more bleh in my life.  I felt gross.  After that summer I cut back tremendously on the drive thru, (even though I still find my way to In-N-Out occasionally).

Try this fresh fast-food-at-home recipe for Harissa Chicken w/ Fresh Cucumbers.  You can boil the chicken in salt water for twenty minutes or cook it on low all day in the crock pot.   It’s also great for an Instant Pot, but I’ve never used one.   Simply add two ingredients, garnish with cucumbers and dinner is served.

INGREDIENTS:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 bottle harissa sauce (mild) 

1 cup plain Greek yogurt  

Sliced fresh cucumbers

Cauliflowe Rice (optional) 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil the chicken in salt water, (or salt it and cook it on low in a crockpot)  

Once cooked thru, pull the chicken apart.  Pour in the Harissa sauce & yogurt and stir until well combined.  Cook cauliflower rice according to package and serve chicken atop a bed of cauliflower rice   Then garnish with fresh cucumbers.   Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Turkey Skillet

This is one of our family favorites AND approved by all three kiddos, so it is on a regular rotation in my kitchen.  Go ahead and at it to next week's meal plan. The awesome factor in this recipe is definitely all the different ways it can be served!   Tacos, lettuce wraps, nachos, on a bed of greens...it's pretty versatile.  Please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked it and be sure to follow @wannabejenna on social media sites!  {As always, please give credit where credit is due if you use this recipe for business and/or share it with friends and tell them it is a Wannabejenna recipe. Thanks!}

INGREDIENTS: 

2 pounds lean ground turkey

2 packets low sodium taco seasoning

2 cans mild rotel

2 cans no salt added black beans (drain and rinse)

1 bag frozen fajita veggies (onion and bell peppers) 

Brown the meat in a dutch oven.  Add all ingredients and stir until well combined.  Simmer on low for 30 minutes.  Top with grated cheese, avocado, pico de gallo, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, whatever you fancy and enjoy around your table with good friends and family.  Food = Love

Flank Steak + Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Howdy y'all!  I found a new recipe on Cooking Light, tweaked it a little and added it to my meal plan for the week.  Guess what!   This recipe only contains FIVE ingredients {not including salt, pepper and evoo}! Easy and tasty.  I am extremely pleased to report that it is a winner around the dinner table tonight!  I am always looking for new dinner recipes, because it is incredibly easy for me to slip into the habit of cooking the same dadgum meals week after week.  As moms, we figure out exactly what our kids will eat and we likely fall into the habit of making the same meals again and again.  So here it is; my gift to you, a new recipe to add to the rotation!

Okay, let's get to the juicy details of this post...the steak and veggies!  This meal was super easy to prepare considering all the veggies and herbs are fresh which means they must be prepped.  I sent the kids outside to play, turned on my favorite playlist and poured myself a glass of red wine. Perfection.  I am also a #wannabefoodie, in case you didn't know, which makes this dish all the more exciting for me.  I love the challenge of broiling a steak to medium rare perfection and working with a vegetable as ignored in home kitchens as the Brussels sprout.  My mother has loathed those green bitter balls since she was a wee-one eating dinner with her family of seven.  She had to eat them then; therefore, she does not eat them now.   LOL.  I may have to make this dinner for her the next time she visits and convert her to a faithful Brussels Sprout consumer.  I hope that y'all will add this to your meal plan this week and send your friends and family back here for the recipe.  Remember to be considerate and give credit where credit is due if you share the recipe. You are always welcome to share my post and follow me on social media.  {FB, Twitter, Intsagram, SnapChat}

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb flank Steak 

2 cloves chopped fresh garlic 

2 tsp fresh thyme

16 ounces Brussels sprouts, cleaned, split and trimmed

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in thin half moons

Kosher Salt

Fresh ground black peppercorns

EVOO

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to broil.

Add the Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes to a large mixing bowl.  Coat with 1 TBSP EVOO,  light dusting of kosher salt and fresh ground black peppercorns, and garlic.  Toss until well coated.  Spread veggies out in even layer across baking sheet with a raised edge.  Place a wire rack over veggies (I used a short cookie cooling rack).  Rub both sides of steak down with 2 tsp EVOO.  Sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper and 1/2 of thyme.

Place in oven and broil for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, flip steak, and sprinkle other side with salt, pepper and the remaining half of thyme.  Broil another 5-10 minutes depending upon how you prefer your steak cooked.  Remove from oven and allow steak to rest for five minutes before you slice it.  I placed the veggies back into the oven to broil another five minutes while I waited on the steak to rest, because I wanted the veggies to have a little more char on the edges.  Char = Yum.

Slice up the steak into servings the size of your palm and place as many veggies on the plate as you can fit.  Come back here and let me know when you make this meal your own.  Thanks y'all!

Recipe: Slow Cooker White Chili

It's three days before Christmas and I need to wrap all our gifts to family and friends, as well as search through these boxes to find our stockings before Christmas Eve 😬. We've got friends coming over tonight so I am utilizing my loyal slow cooker (#Ninja Cooking System) to make a delicious meal to share with them and our seven children.  My husband loves chicken, I do not, but this meal is a good compromise for us because it gives me seasoning/spice and him his favorite protein. 

All the details: 

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into half inch cubes

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic diced

1 (8 oz) can green chilies

2 (15.5 oz) cans northern white beans, rinsed and drained

14.5 oz low sodium chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp orwgano

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

Combine all ingredients into slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve with multi grain chips or crackers and a Chardonnay.  

Ohhh Fuuuuudge!!! Recipe: TWO Ingredient Fudge

After years of loyal allegiance to marshmallow cream Fudge and my candy thermometer I decided to give this recipe a whirl.  Let's just say my candy thermometer is collecting dust as I type this and soon yours will be as well.  If you make it this Christmas season please come here and comment.  I want to hear your reviews!

#merrychristmasyall

Recipe: Easy-Peasy Turkey & Vegetable Soup

We finally moved into a new house, that's another blog post...an entire series really, and I went to the grocery yesterday to shop for a full week's worth of food for the first time in nearly two months.  In honor of the cold-front that blew threw Central Texas yesterday I decided to be completely cliche and make a large pot of soup: Easy-Peasy Turkey & Vegetable Soup.  My kids love it, as in ask for seconds, and the ingredients are healthy, cheap and easy to keep on hand for a quick meal on those nights when you want to pull your hair out and drink a glass of wine for dinner.  So let's just dive in and get this dish cookin'

Ingredients:

2 lb lean ground turkey

2 bags mixed frozen veggies

1 packet dry onion soup mix

3 cubes beef bouillon

Package of egg noodles

6 cups water

Garlic Powder & Black Pepper to taste

Brown the meat in the bottom of a large dutch oven or soup pot.  Season meat with soup mix, garlic powder and black pepper.  Add frozen mixed veggies, 6 cups water and three bouillon cubes, stir and cook until boiling.   Reduce heat to a simmer, add egg noodles and cook until noodles are done.  Serve it up, gather round the table and enjoy with people you love!

Food Truck Friday in Houston

I have a love affair with gourmet food trucks and my hometown of Houston has some of the best. You can find a world of culture in this melting pot of a city and our food trucks represent cuisine from across the globe. They are pretty much the equivalent of a cheap plane ticket to the country of your choice sitting on the curb of Washington Avenue.  My favorite is when I make a trip to Japan and I'll be telling you about that culinary cruiseine (see what i did there) in this post. 

Every so often I get the chance to jump in the SUV with my mom friends and our entourage of 101 children as we caravan into Houston for lunch on the sidewalk, lots of parenting, "GET OFF THAT STATUE!!!  IT'S A PIECE OF ART!!!", "YOU CAN'T TAKE MONEY OUT OF THE FOUNTAIN!!!", plenty of laughs and a few cuss-words spoken under our breath followed by prayers for forgiveness and help.  Today let's chat about a recent trip we took to the museum district of Houston on a gorgeous Friday and the two trucks we attacked with our small army of minions...I mean visited with our kids.

{I've included hyperlinks to the trucks for you...just CLICK on the truck name}

MONSTER PB&J:  

Y'all.  I love PB&J.  It is the sole reason I gained 52 pounds in my first pregnancy, because I suffered from insomnia and I would get up at all hours of the night, waddle to the kitchen, get out the loaf of whole wheat bread and indulge my craving every single night of my second and third trimester.  Probably explains why that baby is now nearly a decade old and STILL hates anything with peanut butter on it. (so sad, she's really missing out).  Let's get back on track....Monster PB&J is a crazy awesome food truck in #HTX that begs you to build your own custom PB&J.  You pick the fresh made bread (they offer gluten free!), fresh ground nut-butter, local jam, and fresh fruit filling.  It's awesome.  Get as crazy as you want...one kid actually ordered hers with fresh blueberries and pickles, or keep it old school with peanut butter and grape jelly on white bread.  We ordered traditional sandwiches for my sons but my daughter opted for nutella and banana.  In terms of sides you choose from a tasty selection of chips and to wash it all down we each had a Mexican Coca-Cola (still made with cane sugar like the original recipe).  They really did take their shoes off and get in this fountain, some grabbing the change at the bottom....the kids, not the moms.

Now that the kids were fed we found my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE food truck {thank you Twitter} in Houston one block away and next to a nice outdoor art exhibit with plenty of tables and chairs.  The kids however didn't seem to notice; they climbed every tree they could find and attempted to climb on the art installations UNTIL the security guard spied them and they got a good holler and finger-wagging.  (As they should.)  Back to my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE food truck in Houston:

MUIISHI MAKIRRITOS:

This truck describes itself as "Japanese food with a twist" and it proudly serves to the patrons of Houston's urban streets; it is one worth chasing...in wedges...and a skirt...several blocks if you have to do it.  I always recommend folks to order the Kimchi Fries (which I do not see on their menu right now), Mac & Cheese Eggrolls (definitely a fusion dish) and the best of all...Pork Belly Don Juan bowl which is {drumroll} sous vide pork belly, 62 degree egg, fried shittake and oyster mushrooms, pickled cucumber, takuan and kim chi over sticky rice.  I'm getting hunger pangs just typing about it!  Every time I go to the truck the food is consistently mouth-watering and pleasing.  So delicious.

Both of these trucks are super active on social media and you can find them on a litany of apps including Facebook and Twitter.  I use both apps to locate the trucks because they always post to their constituents where they will be parked for lunch or dinner service.  Be sure and let them know that @wannabejenna sent you...maybe I'll get some free kimchi fries next visit!  

Underbelly - Above & Beyond

Wedding anniversaries are a big deal in our house.  We celebrate each one with pride and humility because we know that many marriages don't make it to this awesome annual milestone; and our preferred way to celebrate is around a table filled with good food and good wine.

This year we celebrated #11yearsmarried and #16yearsdating (yep, I used it again.  It's worth #hasghtagging) at a highly acclaimed and relatively young HTX restaurant called Underbelly.  The Executive Chef, Chris Shepherd, is the first Houston chef to win the James Beard Award-Best Chef Southwest 2014 (the culinary world's version of an Oscar) and an obscene amount of press has been written about how A-MAZing the restaurant is so we were thrilled to finally be able to go.  {I've tried for two years to get a reservation, but have never been able to get one on short notice which is how parents of three young hooligans usually fly, but this time I made my reservation a week in advance.}  Chris has created Underbelly to tell the story of Houston food and when you look over the menu you will see how this melting pot of a city is represented in each dish he creates.  The food and drink did not disappoint and the service far exceeded anything we expected.

"It was a clear black night, a clear white moon

Warren G was on streets, trying to consume..."

{....Oh, wait, sorry, I got distracted by the hip-hop in my head.}  It WAS a clear dark night and we got a room at the Houston Omni on Woodway.  Mr. GQ had purchased the romance package through the hotel and so our room was adorned with sweet little embellishments to make the occasion extra special and we began the night by toasting to our love and covenant marriage over glasses of champagne.  Perfection.  Mr. GQ looked handsome as ever and I was the sweet candy on his arm.  You know, one of those nights when everything comes together and your makeup, hair and outfit all come together for the perfect crime, "I'm too hot!  Call the po-lice and the fireman!"  {ohmygravy, the hip hop won't stop!}.

#Uberblack picked us up and delivered us to Underbelly where we presented our reservation and made our way to their quaint bar for drinks as we waited on a table to clear.  The bar @Underbelly is small, but better described as inviting.  It's one of those rooms you peek into and immediately you are drawn into the space because you want to spend time wrapped up in it.  Lots of metal, concrete and wood accents; we sat at one end of the big family style table in the center of the bar.  The menus are wrapped in leather and packed FULL of DELICIOUS drink options.  Mr. GQ ordered a belgian beer and I ordered the Polar Berry...a.k.a. "the most delicious pre-dinner drink I have ever had".  It was light, refreshing and made me want to sit on the banks of a river anywhere watching the sunset over the trees while holding hands with my husband and dreaming of the future.  Seriously, that good.  I felt beautiful and loved and excited about our time together.  We cuddled on our barstools, ignored the world around us and chatted like we were newly dating.

The hostess approached to tell us our table was ready and led us into the dining room.  There is one dining room and it is open concept, as well as open to the kitchen, so it was noisier than I expected; however EVERYONE in the room was thrilled to be there and truly enJOYing their evening with friends and family which made the noise electric and not overwhelming, a good noise.  Plates are constantly being sent out from the kitchen at a steady pace and so your are engulfed in tantalizing clouds of fresh bread, cured meats, asian noodles...it is everything a restaurant obsessed with food should be.

Our server.  I still remember his name and will probably never forget it; Shaun.  Hands down, no competition, give the guy a raise...BEST.  SERVER.  EVER.  Not only was he attentive, personable and genuinely nice, but he gave an excellent wine recommendation and we've been dreaming about that bottle ever since.  Shaun suggested we order 3-5 dishes from the menu because everything was served family style and not to worry about the order of the delivery from the kitchen, because he would take care of that for us.  We ordered the following items:

1. Warm Pain De Campagne, Red Wine  & Apple Butter
2. Pork Belly, Spicy Slaw, Fried New Potatoes
3. Tamales a la Xavi, Zucchini  Pico, Salsa
4. Korean Braised Goat & Dumplings {SPICY, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED}
5. Shrimp, Charred Acorn Squash, Hot Pot Curry, Rice Noodles, Herbs

{I'm getting dizzy with delight just typing out the items we chose and staring at their menu thinking of the items I didn't get to try that night.  We must go back soon.  "Dear Suri, please take note, we must go back to Underbelly soon."  "Got it."  Thanks Suri.}  Let's begin with our favorites...the bread {Warm Pain De Campagne, Red Wine & Apple Butter}.  This is what I picture at the banquet table in heaven when all the followers of Christ gather together break bread with God the father and God the Son.  I mean this bread was heavenly.  The crust was thick and made that delightful  "CRRRUUUNCH" noise when you pressed your knife or thumbs into it and then the inside was a steamy cavern full of light yet filling webs of delicious bread.  Bread.  What is it about bread?  Is it the link it provides us to the last supper?  There is just something so comforting about a good loaf of homemade bread.  "Do this in remembrance of me."

Our second favorite was the Pork Belly.  I LERRRRVE when my pork belly is seared with a crust on the outside and then you bite into rich, juicy, pork beneath, but what made this plate perfection was when you ate a bite of pork WITH a bite of spicy slaw.  I'm seriously, salivating over pork belly at 8:24 a.m.

The tamales were good, but the zucchini pico was incredible and the perfect date for those full-figured tamales.  

The goat...oh the goat.  We have come to the one thing I would have changed with the order our food arrived to the table.  This Korean braised goat had some serious bite and the dumplings were necessary to calm your mouth after each taste of the meat.  They were rich and delicious, but I am not well versed enough in Korean cooking to know what made the goat so spicy.  I do love a good spicy dish, but it blew out my taste buds so that it was too impossible for me to taste and enjoy the Shrimp and Rice Noodle Bowl that was served last.   I wish I had eaten the Shrimp and Rice Noodles and finished with the goat.  But regardless...

Divine.  The entire meal was divine.

We were so full from our five shared plates we didn't even look at the dessert menu.  Sad, I know.  Despicable really, but I plan to order three plates next time so that I can indulge in dessert and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee at the end of our meal.  Underbelly quickly earned it's spot at the top of my husband's favorite places to eat and I am certain you will feel the same way, so make your reservation today, because you will need a reservation to get a table.  Gather round, order a drink, pass the plates and enjoy your time around the table at Underbelly.

Girls Night In The Bubble

Friday night I went out with two girlfriends, Tiff & Mac, before we headed to a Stella & Dot party hosted by another girlfriend.  {XOXO-Thanks to my sweet friend, Tiff, for inviting me to tag along on all the fun!  I fell in love with two necklaces to celebrate and symbolize the love I share with my husband and bought them as an 11 year anniversary gift to myself.  Holla!}  A girls night out = mama took a shower, washed my hair {for the first time in days}, put on makeup and jewelry for an event other than church on Sundays and had champagne!  Just kidding…well kinda…I have a love affair with dry shampoo, but I do bathe daily, it's just usually with a lot of interruptions.

You know, living in the suburbs can sound boring and vanilla to folks who live in town, but it ain't half bad y'all!  We've got a few things to do besides carpool and soccer practice within the glistening walls of this bubble just north up Highway 59.  Every bubble has it's bedazzled lining.  wink-wink.  

The Tasting Room-Kingwood was the perfect location for a glass of champagne and a dinner of small plates between girlfriends.  We ordered  "Mini" Grilled Cheese Sandwiches {four to a plate, sour dough pretzel baguette with Texas goat cheese and sweet tomato jam), Truffle-Parmesan Fries {parmesan, truffle oil, chives and garlic aoili} and Grilled Shrimp Lettuce Wraps (three to a plate, chipotle cream cheese and mexican corn, wrapped in Boston Bibb lettuce, topped with a pina colada cream and gluten friendly for all my GF chicas}.  All three were delicious.  The Tasting Room sits on the shores of the San Jacinto East River Fork and has a quaint little patio out back that would have been perfect for us if it hadn't been raining and cold that night.  In the corner was a local musician playing jazz music, both classic and popular today.  It was perfect.  {Great choice Tiff!}  Just a few hours away with girlfriends was the perfect way to spend my Friday night in the Bubble.

Coltivare Pizza & Garden

Last night we were finally able to work out a date night to The Heights of Houston and a delicious dinner at Coltivare. It was well worth the wait.  I found this restaurant in the late spring but it doesn't take reservations and so the only way we can indulge in its delights is when we have an overnight sitter …a.k.a. grandparent. 

Upon arrival {thanks #Uber Black…glad you are in HTX} the small dining room was abuzz with the conversation and laughter of my fellow Houstonians. They all looked as though they knew we were all gathered in a special place, a haven of good food, great drinks and warmth on one of the first cold nights of the fall.  The hostess took our name, mobile number (to text me when our table was ready) and handed us each a menu of libations...creative and inventive cocktails to enjoy while we waited in the garden.  

The adjoining garden is a modern take on what your grandmother had in her back yard.  It is beautiful and functional, as it's harvest is used daily in the seasonal menu.  The beds are all raised and full of herbs, fresh greens, peas, radishes…scrumptious yummy goodness.  The atmosphere is relaxed, romantic, casual and inviting as strings of Eddison lights twinkle overhead.  

We waited an hour for a table for two {first available indoor or out} but the wait was perfect.  It gave my husband and I a chance to talk.  Like really talk.  Adult conversation over craft cocktails.  We talked about how we want to end 2014 and how we want to begin 2015.  We shared sweet "I love you" kisses and held hands.  It was a perfect hour between a husband and wife.

When we eat out on a date I typically choose the food while Mr. GQ chooses the wine.  The Coltivare menu has many different categories of food from snacks to small plates, salads, pizza, pasta, entrees and dessert.  My personal favorite are tastebud tantalizing savory dishes and so I don't usually spend time on dessert because I would rather have an appetizer (or two) and an entree.  To begin the meal I ordered: 

• Foccaccia and olive oil (starter, but it was a GINORMOUS pile of foccaccia baked with fresh rosemary and olive oil.)  Mr. GQ is a bread fanatic and I ordered this one for him.
• Crisp sweetbreads (calf's pancreas…shhh…don't tell anyone and they will never know.  I ordered this one for me), anchovies, chervil, horseradish.  DI-VINE.  The brininess of the anchovies w/ the richness of the sweetbread….oh I am drooling, let me get a shammy.

For our main dishes I ordered:

• Ricotta gnocchi, parmesan, lacinata kale, balsamic (for myself)…you cannot even begin to imagine the flavor of this dense pasta with the bittersweet greens and tang of the vinegar…crap, I'm drooling again.
• "Four cheese" pizza, but not any four cheeses…they include stinky pt. reyes blue cheese and it totally rocks your expectations for a cheese pizza.  We topped it with fresh prosciutto.  This pizza was delicious, but this ain't no personal pan pizza folks…this beauty is big enough for two grown adults and a stretch at that if you have two appetizers first.

We ended our meal with the best cup of coffee either of us had ever drank.  It was roasted locally by Greenway Coffee and I'll be buying our coffee from them starting immediately.  There was no room left for dessert in our bellies and so we passed, but the four desserts listed sounded delicious…I'd have chosen the Ginger cake, caramelized apple, sorghum cream, grapefruit, pistachio.  

Mr. GQ ordered a bottle of French wine which wasn't as complex as a cabernet sauvignon.  It had fruity notes and a smooth finish and complemented our meal well.

Buttermilk Biscuits

So I do love to cook and I do a lot of it, but I do a lot of other things also and remembering to post my favorite recipes is so hard for me!  This morning we are at home watching college football with the windows open and the party of five decked out in our maroon best.  We started the day off with a typical southern breakfast:  buttermilk biscuits, eggs and bacon.  A couple of years ago my new year's resolution was to learn to bake from scratch and I learned in that year that anything baked from scratch ALWAYS tastes better than pre-packaged or boxed impressions of the original.  It's worth the extra work.

I've had a mission to find the best light, fluffy and delicious buttermilk biscuit; the task has taken years but today I found my favorite thus far.  I got it from all recipes.com and it is titled "Kentucky Biscuits".  I LERRVED the fact that there is no crisco in the dough b/c I hate when I get a chunk of it in one bite…it just tastes gross.  These are very simple and the key is to NOT overwork the dough.  Simply knead it over and across itself a few times.  I didn't roll it out as the recipe said to do.  I just pinched off each biscuit and pressed it a little onto the cooking stone.  Seriously…it doesn't need butter, honey or jam added to it.  These biscuits are that good.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray cooking sheet, {unless you use a stone like me}.

2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2  tsp baking soda

dash of salt

1 Tblsp white sugar

1/2 cup COLD butter

3/4 cup buttermilk (I made mine by combining 3/4 cup whole milk with 1 Tblsp white vinegar)

Combine all dry ingredients and mix well.  Cut in butter until the mix resembles course crumbs. Stir in buttermilk until absorbed.  Turn out the dough on a floured surface or just knead it in the bowl by turning it over and across itself a few times.  Pinch off dough about the size of an egg and press gently onto sheet.  Don't over work the dough or your biscuits will be dense and not fluffy.

Bake 15 minutes until golden brown.  Move immediately to cooling rack and serve the way you like 'em.

XOXO!

I Love To Eat

I do.  I love to eat.  Not just anything.  I do not like to eat crap.  I am not a fan of fake cheese, bad cuts of meat or non kosher hot dogs, cheapnastyfarmraisedimported fish, hamburger helper or microwaved…I mean fast food burgers.  I like GOOD food.  Now this food doesn't have to be expensive to be considered GOOD.  It just has to be made fresh, never frozen, with love and delicious ingredients.  I don't like most of the restaurants I grew up eating at as a kid.  I can't stand most buffet style eateries and burger king makes me wanna gag.  What is in that secret sauce???

My husband went to work for a company nearly a decade ago that gave him an expense account.  It's the most incredible thing ever to give a broke couple living on tuna fish and cereal.  We hit the goldmine!  He also worked for a man who knew what good food tasted like and didn't mind taking his employees to eat at a nice restaurant…often.  It.  Was.  Awesome.  I learned that good fish is fresh, never frozen, caught wild and usually not cheap.  I learned how to properly cook a steak and that jalapeños in creamed corn is the answer to anything bad or terrible in your day.  I learned that real butter makes everything better.  
I fell in love with food.  Real.  Good.  Food.  I started watching cooking shows and reading restaurant reviews.  I started experimenting at home to see what I could make myself and learned that I was a pretty darn good cook.  That expense account was life changing for me and for my family on so many levels other than food, but today we talk about food.  :0)  Focus Jenna.
I have blogs, twitter feeds and websites that I follow to keep me up to date with the hottest places to eat delicious food in Houston and I want to share what I learn with all of you!  For now here is a short list of my favorite spots IN town.
 

1.   The Backstreet Cafe - This quaint restaurant is housed in a 1930's bungalow and has all the charm you would expect when you hear the word "bungalow".  The back patio is perfect for an evening dinner.  The menu is simple and complex.  It will satisfy the palette of a normal joe with gems like meat loaf and the more refined palette with french staples like Coq au Vin Blanc.  Try the bacon wrapped quail as an appetizer.  It's amazeballs.  {I am so refined.}
2. Hugo's - We Texans like our "mexican food" but what we really eat here is TEXMEX and Hugo's DOES NOT serve texmex.  This is true, authentic, melt in your mouth and make you wanna dance on the tables Mexican food.  Seriously.  That good.  You will never spy a basket of tortilla chips and salsa in the place so don't expect it.  Hugo Ortega was the executive chef at The Backstreet Cafe and he left to create his own restaurant.  He is from Mexico and also traveled all over his homeland to develop his menu and offers cuisine he found throughout the country.  I had the best margarita of my life here.  The restaurant is loud and lively but not a place to bring little kids.  Save this one for a date night or a girls' night out.
3. Muiishi Makirritos FOOD TRUCK.  Da Bomb.com  Fo'real.  Not all good food has to be served at a traditional restaurant.  This kitchen on wheels is serving up delicious asian/mexican fusion food.  yep, that's right.  And it is goo-oo-ood.  I had the Pork Belly Don Juan and it strengthened my belief that "everything is better with an egg on top".  And never be afraid of anything with pork belly…it's like bacon on steroids.  DElicious.
4. The Bird And The Bear - We went here for my 32nd birthday with some of our best friends and I fell in love.  It is casual elegance.  You can show up in a cute pair of jeans and rockin' a sexy pair of heels or in a sun dress and flats.  The decor is an eclectic mix with tufted leather booths and linen table clothes.  We went on a weekend and they had live jazz music in the bar but you could hear it throughout the entire restaurant.  The wine selection was good and the food was so good that my mouth is watering just typing this sentence.  

You can be certain I will be adding to the FOODIE section of my site because food is something that gets me excited and chatty…well lots of things do that but I digress.