Restaurant Reviews!

It's been awhile since I've offered up new restaurant reviews. Maybe we're just set in our ways, but we seem to frequent the same restaurants every week (or month) and don't get out to new places very often. Our loss for sure!

One restaurant I tried recently with a few friends. Poquitos is on Capitol Hill in Seattle (close to SCCC for those familiar with the area). It's super cute inside and offered very quick service and good food for a reasonable price. My friends had both been there before and had their favorites - I went with one of their suggestions: Chicken Tinga Tacos.
The menu describes them as "Shredded free range chicken braised in tomato, garlic & chipotle, topped with cilantro, cotija & onion." What first caught my eye was the fact that these are free-range, which is important to me and I like restaurants who support that. The tacos were really flavorful and totally hit the spot. My friends enjoyed their very large selection of tequila but I stuck with just a dry vanilla bean soda. I'd go back to Poquitos any day!

The second restaurant the Hubs and I visited together. Hangar Cafe is located close to Boeing Field in the Georgetown area, and is a tiny converted house.

This restaurant is known for their crepes and brunch foods, and they sure didn't disappoint! We visited around noon on a weekday, and they weren't too busy. I ordered an original mimosa (served in a pint glass!)

and their Triple B Waffles (unfortunately they were out of basil so this became the Double B instead with bacon and brie).

Hubs got the Hangar Crepe (ham, swiss, egg, some veggies and sauce). Both of our meals were outstanding (we shared!) and I wouldn't hesitate to visit again.

Ginger & Peach Chicken - a must make!

This recipe was ridiculously good. As in, so good you must make it and then tell all your friends about it. I was a bit hesitant about using peaches in a savory dish, but the flavors really work and both the Hubs and I loved it. I've made this several times already and can't wait to make it again. Fresh peaches would be totally delish in this, but frozen ones work just as well.

Ginger & Peach Chicken
from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

• 1 bag (1lb) frozen peaches, unthawed
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced 1/4″ inch thick
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, micro planed or finely minced
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• cooked brown or white rice

For the marinade:

• 1lb chicken breasts
• salt & pepper
• 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, micro planed or finely minced
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

• Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper. Combine ingredients for marinade in a large zip lock bag. Add chicken and marinate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place frozen peaches and onions in a large bowl then add ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red-pepper flakes, and toss to coat. Pour into a non-stick sprayed 9×13 casserole dish. Nestle marinated chicken into the peaches and onions, and roast until chicken is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.

Eggless cookie dough

I love cookie dough, I honestly think it's frequently better than the actual baked cookies! I wanted to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, and used a regular vanilla ice cream recipe for the base. I added this cookie dough recipe to it and it was phenomenal. Possibly the best ice cream I've ever made. I also put it in chocolate ice cream and think it was just as good in that. If you're really desperate for a snack you could keep some of this dough in the freezer for a quick dessert. :)

Eggless Cookie Dough
from CupCake Project

Ingredients:

2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 t salt

3/4 C unsalted butter, melted

1 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C white sugar

1 T vanilla extract

4 T milk

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together (add chocolate chips if you want, but I would leave them out or chop them into really fine pieces if using for ice cream), and form into 1 tsp balls.

Quick stir-fry for a busy night

I wanted to make a quick stir-fry one night and decided to make one with tofu. It's nice to have meatless meals, and tofu soaks up the flavor of whatever it's cooked in so it's a great addition to a stir fry.

I didn't use a recipe and didn't measure anything. All I did was press and cube the tofu, then baked it in the oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.

I heated oil in a pan, then tossed in some peanuts and crushed red pepper flakes. After heating those I added the baked tofu and a bag of frozen veggies (I thawed them first), along with some garlic and ginger, and also a bit more of the soy sauce. Cook over medium heat, then let simmer if you want the sauce to thicken a bit.Serve over rice and enjoy!

A new kind of potato stew

I really enjoyed this stew, the only thing that would make it better is if I had made it in the crockpot instead of on the stove. The flavors all meld together really well and it's full of protein so it's sure to fill you up!

African Peanut-Potato Stew
from Fat Free Vegan

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 14.5 ounce cans chopped tomatoes
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 pound green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces (fresh or frozen)
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
¼ cup natural peanut butter

Directions:
Place 1/3 cup water, onion, jalapenos, ginger and garlic in a large pot. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon, salt, red pepper and coriander. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, green beans, vegetable broth, and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

French Toast - in a slow cooker!

I don't know about you, but I love French Toast. The only thing I dislike about it is having to stand over a hot pan while flipping bread and juggling whatever else you have going on in the kitchen at the time. That's where this recipe comes in - you just put the bread in a crockpot and forget about it for a couple hours. Perfect! Next time I won't cook this quite as long, the bread got a little bit hard (I read reviews saying it was mushy so I cooked it longer, which I shouldn't have done).

This is a must-make recipe!

Crockpot French Toast
adapted from Suddenly Frugal

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 loaf of bread
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Butter

Directions:

Let the bread sit out overnight to harden slightly (I made homemade bread for this recipe and froze the second loaf for future use).

Liberally coat the inside of your slow cooker with butter.

In a bowl mix the eggs, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon. Dip each piece of bread in this mixture, then pour the remaining liquid mixture over the bread.

Turn the slow cooker on low for four to six hours, checking every few hours to make sure the bread is not drying out too much.Serve with maple syrup, and fruit. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Santa Fe

This meal is as easy as it is delicious. You all know how much I love crockpot recipes, definitely give this one a try!

Chicken Santa Fe
from Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 cup frozen corn
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions and saute until tender and a bit caramelized, about 4-6 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute and transfer to the crockpot
4. Add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side and set aside.
5. Add the chicken broth to the pan, deglaze it and transfer to the crockpot
6. Add the diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, cayenne, salt and pepper to the crockpot, stir, add the chicken and cook on low heat for 8 hours.
7. Remove the chicken, shred it and return to pot.
   
8. Serve over steamed rice, garnished with green onions and cilantro.