Alligator Pizza for my Birthday

Yep, you read that title correctly. Two weeks ago my friends and I went out for my 40th birthday to this really cool bar/restaurant for dinner. It's called Two Boots. Now that title comes because Italy is in the shape of a boot and so is Louisiana. They have pizza and New Orleans (NOLA) fair, hence the two boots. :) very clever play on words right? There are various other Two Boots, such as: West Village, Bleecker Street, Avenue A, Grand Central, Upper East Side, Hell's Kitchen, Bridgeport, and Los Angeles. You can find there website here. If you live in or close to one of those cities, you've so got to go to there. It is absolutely worth it. I have a friend that lives in Los Angeles and want her to go and check it out, so Raven go the one at 1818 West Sunset Boulevard and let me know what you think of the place. She also also has a really cool Etsy store (Dirty Pretty Things) that you can check out here.

Anyway, we started out with fried macaroni and cheese. This is soooooo good. OMG!! Seriously good. It is a huge block (believe me when I say huge) of macaroni and cheese that is then fried! Macaroni and cheese is so good by itself but then to fry it, OMG! genius!!!! I so wish I would have taken a picture of it. Darn me and trying to entertain everyone (making sure I got to talk to everyone that was there). We also have fried alligator as an appetizer and it was really good too. Ive never had it before, but I'm never one to shy away from food and will try anything once. I had frog legs before in NOLA and that honestly tasted like chicken. And so did the alligator. People say that as a joke, "...tastes like chicken", but it really is true that so many foods taste like chicken.

We then ordered a couple of different types of pizza and one of them was alligator pizza. It was soooooooo good. OMG!! really really spicy though. I think that bis because it had a spicy orange sauce on top along with a wasabi sauce. It was so good, but the hot sauces kind of overpowered everything else.

What is the strangest thing you've ever tried?

Juicy Steak and Loaded Potato

Sometimes a gal just wants some meat and potatoes, ya know? I love me a juicy steak every now and again. Mmmmm...tonight I made a steak and a sweet potato and cheesy cauliflower. Yep, all just for me. :) The steak was so good. I just added a little McCormick Grill Mates, which I totally love. You should really try it the next time you have steak. It is that good!! I usually like my steaks rare. The redder the better. I like it still mooing. Ha! I know some of you may be vegetarians and so I am sorry if I am offending you, but I am all carnivore. :)

The sweet potato was so yummy! You know how they make them at Outback or Texas Roadhouse or Lone Star Steakhouse, where they are loaded. Yep, you know the ones, butter and brown sugar. OMG!!! So incredibly good. And they are so easy to make at home. I just poke holes in the potato with a fork (all over) and then wrap the potato in a paper towel and put it in the microwave for about 6 minutes and then mmmmmm....so good! They are so good and good for you too!! have you ever tried them at home??? If not, you so totally have to. Tomorrow really, you should go out and buy some sweet potatoes and make them tomorrow night for dinner. Trust me, your family will think you are the bestest!!

What is your favorite cut of steak and how do you like yours cooked?

Fully Loaded Quesadillas

My friend John made these awesome quesadillas. You know me and the quesadilla, if it can go between two flour tortillas then I am all about it. :) Just add some sour cream and guacamole and walluh perfecto!

These were awesome and they had so much in them. There was chicken, corn, mushrooms, onions (I think), cheese, maybe garlic too. Oh geesh, I cannot even remember what was in them. Maybe I should have checked with John first before starting this blog. Ha! Oh well, I am giving him credit and how I am explaining is nowhere close to giving them justice! Trust me they were awesome!! And he didn't even use a quesadilla maker!!!

What do you put in your quesadillas or what is your favorite type?

The Hills are Alive with Aebleskiver

Okay, I know it is a weird name. I call it edelweiss like the song from the Sound of Music. You know the one the Captain sings. It's a beautiful song. Thus I digress though, a couple of weekends ago I went over to my friends Kim & John's house for aebleskiver. I had no idea what this food was, but all I heard was danish and I was so totally sold! Mmmmmm...danish donut holes. Sounds delish!!


They were really good. You basically dip them in sugar or jelly! I tried both (as you can see in the photo) and they were equally fab-u-lous!! I think I did the sugar better, but the jelly was by no means unlikeable. :)

They were really easy to make too. Here is what you do:

1. In a clean glass or metal bowl, beat 2 egg whites with an electric mixer until they can hold a stiff peak. Set aside.
2. Mix together 2 cups of flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, baking soda, 1 tbsp. sugar, 2 egg yolks, 4 tbsp. melted butter and 2 cups buttermilk at one time and beat until smooth. Gently fold in the egg whites last.
3. Put about 1tablespoon of vegetable oil in the bottom of each aebleskiver pan cup and heat until hot. Pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each cup. As soon as they get bubbly around the edge, turn them quickly (Danish cooks use a long knitting needle, but a fork will work). Continue cooking, turning the ball to keep it from burning.

The aebleskiver pan cups are really cute. I have seen them in the Williams Sonoma catalogs a lot lately! Who woulda thunk it?

So, have you heard of aebleskiver? Have you ever tried them? Will you try them now?

Hey I just thought, it is Fat Tuesday and also Faschnaut Day (Donut Day in Pennsylvania) and so these are kinda like donuts and perfect!!

The Cheesecake Factory (nuff said)

Last weekend I was at a Tastefully Simple conference and we went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and OMG!!! can I just tell you how much I love the Cheesecake Factory????? It is super duper licious! Really, really that good!

I just ordered a simple cheeseburger (I know, stupid stupid me), but my friend Rachel ordered this amazing dish called Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp. It was a Thai dish with spices and meat and rice and all kinds of goodness. I mean just look at that picture. It is gorgeous. Don't you just love the perfect ball of rice? And the flavor was to die for!!! This is seriously what I will be ordering next time.

Then, oh yeah, the cheesecake. You cannot go to the Cheesecake Factory without ordering a piece of cheesecake. I don't care how full you are, it doesn't matter you MUST ALWAYS order some cheesecake. It's okay if you have to share it with someone, but you have to get some! So without further adieu....

This is a the Red Velvet cheesecake and OMG!!! incredible!!!! Complete heaven! I mean, look at it. It is beautiful!

Next up was this piece of Godiva Chocolate Chocolate cheesecake. If you love chocolate, this is definitely the one for you!!!!! It is overboard chocolate. And it's really gorgeous too. I really love the whipped cream dollops. They are so cute and I found out that a machine does that.

And the last one is a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake!!! It was the best of both words...chocolate and peanut butter! What's better than that?? NOTHING!!!! And my friend Mike found out that if you took some of the peanut butter dollop and then some of the Godiva Chocolate cheesecake together it is super yummy! Seriously fab-u-lous!!!

Now usually my mom and I always get the Key Lime cheesecake which is incredible. It is so refreshing and yummy!! My mom loves the Raspberry Lemon cheesecake and it is also soooo good!!! What is your favorite cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory??

Garlic Garlic Lettuce Wraps

I had a monthly meeting for Tastefully Simple consultants tonight and for each month's meeting we are supposed to prepare a food dish using one of the Tastefully Simple products.

I love lettuce wraps (had my first at PF Changs) and decided that I could easily make some using Garlic Garlic.

They were so easy to make. I just first browned some ground turkey in 2 tbsp. of cooking oil and then added in shredded carrots and nuts and then some of the Garlic Garlic. Now I added a lot, probably about 2-3 tbsp. because I really like garlic! :) Then I added in some sweet Asian dressing.

Tastefully Simple has a fantastic Sesame Teriyaki sauce that would have been awesome but I ran out and didn't have any.

Then you simply take some romaine lettuce leaves (I buy them as "Just Leaves" and not as a head) and add a spoonful of the turkey mixture and then put it in your mouth! OMG!!! So fab-u-lous!!! They are great and a lot of fun for kids. Kids seem to really like eating with their hands and so lettuce wraps are perfect.

You can find the Garlic Garlic at my Tastefully Simple website here. Everyone seems to really really love the Garlic Garlic. It can be made as a dip for chips or veggies or you can put it on fish or chicken or add it into meatloaf, etc. There are so many uses for it. And it comes in a pretty decent size bottle for a spice. The marinade/sauces are also a huge hit. I am running a special right now, that anyone with an order over $50.00 I will let you choose one thing off of the website for free (excluding the gift sets)!!!!!

I have done fundraisers in the past too. It is a perfect fundraiser for schools (PTA) or sports teams or church groups. The easy thing is that the products get sent directly to the buyer and so there is no figuring out who bought what and so on! Let me know if you would like more information on the awesome fundraiser I could do for you. I am way better than gift wraps or chocolate!!! Ha! :)

Brides have bought The Trio of spices for gift favors for wedding guests and they attach a little ribbon with a note saying, "Thank you for spicing up our life with your love and kindness." How cute and unique is that??? Or brides can register for weddings through my website. What would be more perfect than a new married couple having a fully stocked pantry???

Tastefully Simple is an awesome company to work for and if you need extra moolah to pay off credit card debt or bills then it would be perfect for you. Plus, you get 30% off all of the products! You can be a stay-at-home mom and still earn money (about $500 a month only working one night a week) but on your schedule! I have two friends that are stay-at-home moms and they do it because they love the time it gets them out of the house around other people, but they can be at home during the day and one of them made $1500.00 extra last month!! Let me know if you want more information.

Sarah's Uber Healthy Cookies

My past Research Assistant and student, Sarah, has a recipe for these amazingly healthy cookies. She was a distance runner and now she and her husband own a Cross Fit gym and so they are super healthy and fit. I was skeptical at first because c'mon "healthy cookies", Ithinknot. But, I thought I would give it a try.

OMG!!! They are fab-u-lous!!!! And so simple and delicious.

You mix 1/3 cup of butter, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp, cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1 egg, 1/2 unsweetened applesauce (I actually used sweetened), 1 1/4 cup of flour, and 1 14/ cup of big oats. Mix that all together really well and then drop onto a cookie sheet. Place in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes and then devour!!!! You can also add in raisins or craisins or dark chocolate chips, which is what I added.

They are unbelievable. You really cannot imagine that they are healthy. But look at the ingredients and you know they are. They are super good, or uber good! They don't have any sugar and really nothing that fattening or bad for you :) Try them out and let me know what you think. I have a friend Dave that I am hoping will try these out. he thinks I always eat a ton of junk, which is sometimes true, but these are right up his alley. Hope he's proud. :)

Spice Spice Baby

Last night I made General Tso's Chicken. If you remember from a previous post, I love General Tso's Chicken. It is my most favorite Chinese dish. Yummy!!!

You also know how much I love Trader Joe's and they have this amazing General Tso's sauce. They call it Trader Mings. Ha! How funny and cute is that??? I love it!

It was really easy to make. I just got some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them into small pieces and cooked them in a pan in a little bit of olive oil.

Once the chicken was cooked through, I just simply added in the General Tso's sauce and let it cook for about 10 minutes. And that's it...done! I mean really, how easy is that?

I put it over a bed of rice and OMG!!! so good! If you like spicy then this is definitely for you because it is really spicy. I actually had beads of sweat on my forehead and that never happens to me. :) You need to try this. I swear you will love it as much as me! It's really pretty filling too. I didn't have anything else for dinner except the General Tso's over rice and it was way filling.

Okay, seriously, I think Trader Joe's should start giving me a cut of the profits because let's face it I am one of their biggest supporters, right? :) I wonder if they know how much I talk them up. I wonder if people actually listen to me and go out and buy the stuff from Trader Joe's that I talk about. :)