Seafood #2 - Shucks

Continued…Seafood is a delicacy that my husband and I revel in.  Just recently, probably within the last year, we’ve discovered that more than any other kind, we love to choose seafood restaurants when we eat out for a nice meal.  I’ve loved seafood ever since shrimp beat out corn as my favorite food when I was around 8 years old.  And my husband has far outdone me in the adventurous seafood eater department lately.  On our trip to Mexico last year, Jake ate some of the nastiest looking seafood I’ve ever seen:  whole baby octopi in a seafood soup!  Not to mention his love of the big raw mackerel pieces of sushi.  I’m more of a cooked seafood kind of chick. 

Here’s the second of our favorite seafood restaurant experiences so far (look for one further installment of this series):

Shucks is fantastically priced and delicious.  It’s an oyster bar and seafood restaurant with a couple locations, but we’ve only been to the one at 168^th & Center, Shoppes at Legacy.  It’s great!  For our anniversary we shared an appetizer of fried soft-shell crab for about $6.99.  Jake was amazed that it was in the shape of a crab, which was very amusing to me.   I had to clarify that it was indeed a whole crab, dipped in the lightest, yummiest batter, and fried to perfection.  He was nervous about eating the whole thing, but that’s what you do with ‘soft shell’ crab.  And it was a success!  Then we each had a fish entrée.  Mine was almond crusted rainbow trout and was very tender and moist.  Jake had an ahi tuna steak, sautéed on each side, but rare (meaning raw) in the middle.  It was actually so tasty!!  We’ve been back and I wouldn’t really suggest the lobster bisque to anyone (really creamy and a bit too rich with hardly any lobster).  But Shucks is  still top on our list.  Oh, and Jake tried one oyster in the half-shell for $1.00 and said it was okay, but wasn’t too thrilled.  I declined to try it.  Too slimy!  But I did try the horseradish that came with it, not knowing it was straight horseradish!  I forget what we thought it might be, but it definitely was NOT whatever we thought it was.

http://www.absolutelyfresh.com

Seafood #1 - Sushi

Seafood is a delicacy that my husband and I revel in.  Just recently, probably within the last year, we’ve discovered that more than any other kind, we love to choose seafood restaurants when we eat out for a nice meal.  I’ve loved seafood ever since shrimp beat out corn as my favorite food when I was around 8 years old.  And my husband has far outdone me in the adventurous seafood eater department lately.  On our trip to Mexico last year, Jake ate some of the nastiest looking seafood I’ve ever seen:  whole baby octopi in a seafood soup!  Not to mention his love of the big raw mackerel pieces of sushi.  I’m more of a cooked seafood kind of chick. 

Here’s the first of our favorite seafood restaurant experiences so far (look for two more installments of this theme!):

We absolutely love Hiro, our sushi joint.  We should own stock in it.  You can get half price sushi on Friday and Saturday nights from 10:00pm til midnight.  You can even call ahead, pick it up to go and eat it in the comfort of your own home!   They also have a happy hour Monday through Thursday from 4:00 – 6:00pm where they have 4 kinds of rolls for half price.  Love, love, love it!   And for those that haven’t tried sushi, I’m a big proponent of at least trying it once.  I was very hesitant to do so myself, and my husband can be a pretty picky eater (no cheese!) but we both adore it.  Thanks to our friends Dave & Stef for introducing us to this lifetime love!!

http://hiro88.com/

It Melts Around The Cracks

Some of you who know me really, really well may already know what deliciousness I’m referencing in the title.  Those of you who don’t are about to be enlightened:  ice cream.  (The title is a quote I used to love to dish out after a good work lunch at CCU.)  It’s just amazing, my friends.  I could eat it all day, every day.  A few years ago, my husband and I discovered that I’ve even built up a resistance to “brain freeze”, probably just from the sheer amount of time I’ve spent indulging this pleasure.  I can seriously eat my ice cream so blazing fast and still not experience that debilitating side effect.  Sometimes in doing so, my tongue does become a bit numb, though, so that’s not always easy to deal with.  Especially if you’re also trying to carry on a conversation, or at the very least, just interject now and then. 

Some of my favorite ice creams:

1.  Homemade Vanilla.  Nothing will ever, ever beat this.  Hands down.  And don’t mess with it & put toppings or other flavorings in it when you’re making it.  (This means you & your short-lived eggnog ice cream adventure, Dad!)

 2.  Graeter’s, Cincinnati, Ohio.  They have a unique French Pot process.  I’ve tried many flavors.  Tops for me are the signature black raspberry chip, the peppermint stick (which, sadly, is only seasonal now but used to be a constant once upon a time), and the chocolate coconut almond fudge chip.  Graeter’s was featured on Oprah for her “favorite things” show one year, and for a reason.  They will ship just about anywhere, for a price.  Additionally, I just found that I can purchase small pints of it at our local Baker’s (aka Kroger in Nebraska) for a small fortune (but worth it every now & then!).   http://www.graeters.com/

 

3.  Maggie Moo’s, just about everywhere.  I used to love their cheesecake ice cream mixed with strawberries, but this was when they used fresh strawberries that were cut up and then frozen.  Now they mostly use mushy strawberries, which gross me out.  So then I found their creamy coconut ice cream, which I love to mix with coconut (shocker!) and crushed pineapple.  But they are often out of pineapple.  (I think you’re beginning to see a pattern of frustration for me with dear Maggie.)  I do think it’s worth noting that Jake & I feel almost entirely solely responsible for closing our local Maggie Moo’s when we lived in Cincinnati.  Because we gave up ice cream for Lent one year.  We celebrated Easter with a       couple pints of our favorite blends.  But then about a week later our branch closed.  I think you can see the direct correlation for yourselves. (For those that can’t see it:  Lent is usually about 40 days long.  Figure it out.) http://www.maggiemoos.com/home/index.cfm

 

4.  Baskin Robbins, increasingly hard to find.  Luckily, we have one a couple hours away, in the city that we pass through to visit family, so it’s still pretty handy for me.  The classic peanut butter and chocolate tops my B&R list.  I’ve also always loved the daiquiri ice, for some reason.  Tangy!  And I share a love of pralines and cream with my dad.  I have to say that the combo in some areas of Baskin Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts stores is a sweet, sweet dream to me (literally).  http://www.baskinrobbins.com/

Cinnamon Rolls at Bliss Old Market Bakery

A friend of mine recently bought a bakery in downtown Omaha, in the area referred to as The Old Market.  She also happens to be my boss’s daughter, so I get to hear about the bakery’s happenings on a lot of fronts.  (Did I mention her husband works with my husband at StoneBridge Christian Church too?!) 

This bakery has a lot of fun items, from frosting shots served with graham cracker sticks, a variety of cupcakes and bars, to Caketinis, which are little bon-bon size bites of cake that have been mixed with frosting, then chilled and dipped in chocolate coatings.  Amazing! 

But the treats that stick out predominantly in my mind are her cinnamon rolls.  Their enormous size alone is a major factor.  And the amount of frosting she lathers on the rolls is just my kind of indulgence.  But make no mistake – the roll itself is what astounds me most.  I am NOT a roll lover.  It falls in the same category as bread, my friends, and on that I’ve been pretty clear.  NOT a fan of bread!  Even sweet rolls like cinnamon rolls can sometimes be too “bready” – I usually need that extra dose of frosting just to choke the roll down.  Especially because the roll can sometimes be kind of hard and tough.  But not these rolls.  These rolls are soft.  Just what I’ve always wanted a cinnamon roll to be!  And they have a kind of sourdough taste to them – a bit sweet but not overly so.  They somewhat remind me of the rolls at Texas Roadhouse and O’Charley’s*.  (The only difference in the rolls at these two places in my mind is the cinnamon butter that Texas Roadhouse serves with theirs; otherwise, they’re indistinguishable to me & probably they get their frozen roll dough from the same distributor!).  I urge you to go to Bliss!

http://blissbakery.com/

*O’Charley’s is a restaurant similar to Applebee’s, for those that are unfamiliar with it.

Chicken Pot Pie (as promised)

What’s better comfort food than chicken pot pie? It’s not fancy, it’s not gourmet. (Though it can be, I’m sure.) But it’s entirely satisfying. And when I make it, it couldn’t be easier. (See recipe below.)

I’m picky about my chicken pot pie, especially the crust on top. Because of my bread issue, I don’t love Bisquick. And so many people make a Bisquick crust for their pot pie. A pie crust is okay, though even that can sometimes be too “bready” for me. (I’ve been known to eat the filling out of pies with a regular pie crust and leave the crust. I’m supremely partial to a pie with a graham crack crust!) My sister-in-law was the first to introduce me to a cornbread topping for the crust on a pot pie, which I’m forever grateful for. Cornbread does not fall under the category of “bread” for me, as it is entirely different in taste & texture. And as far as cornbreads go, I love the sweet kind, like Famous Dave’s corn muffins. Yum.

My chicken pot pie, however, has a ‘flaky layers’ biscuit topping. I like these biscuits over buttermilk, which have a much more “bready” texture. I got my recipe from a friend we met in Cincinnati. (Thank you, Janice!! You don’t know how many compliments I’ve gotten and it’s all thanks to you!) It’s incredibly unhealthy but so creamy. My brother probably wouldn’t like it, since it so saucy. Almost like a chicken & biscuits rather than a chicken pot pie, but that’s what the recipe says, so I’ll keep calling it that. But almost everyone else loves it. And I will share the recipe with you, since it was so kindly shared with me! I have altered it a bit to make it my own, and I will also note that I’ve tried to use lower fat ingredient options before and the texture comes out less creamy and more grainy. (Sorry for the Weight Watchers folks!)

Cari’s Chicken Pot Pie

2-4 chicken breasts, cubed
¼ C margarine or butter
Minced onion to taste (I often use minced onion flakes, probably about 2 T)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
3 drops Tabasco sauce
Frozen mixed veggies (2-4 cups, depending on how many people you’re serving & how
thick you want your sauce)
1-2 tubes Pillsbury Flaky Layers biscuits (come in a 4-pack)
Parsley flakes, optional

Melt the butter/marg. in a large skillet on the stove. Add the chicken & minced onions. Stir & cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add soup, sour cream & Tabasco; mix well. Steam mixed veggies in microwave until tender (approximately 8 minutes). Stir veggies into mixture in skillet. When mixture is hot, pour into a 9x13 pan. Separate biscuits and spread on top of mixture. Sprinkle parsley flakes on top of biscuits as desired. Bake at suggested temp & time for biscuits, until the biscuits are golden brown. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

Fast Food Fan

I loves me some fast food! Lately, when I’m out walking my dog on beautiful Sunday evenings, I’ll catch a whiff of grilled meat. Mmm. This has led to several Sunday night trips to Burger King for $1.00 Whopper Juniors or, if I have a coupon, perhaps something a little heartier.

Awhile back I was out running errands over lunch time and since I had a coupon for a free order of Potato Ole’s, I thought it best to stop by Taco John’s to use it. I decided I could get a whole little meal for really cheap, so I bought a crispy chicken taco for $1.50 (not on the menu, but worth asking for and they never turn you down). My whole meal was very tasty and very cheap. And a bit greasy, but that was mostly just the Potato Ole’s.

Now, I do try to limit my fast food intake. I’m of the opinion that everything should be in moderation. But that usually means I get to treat myself to my fast food cravings every now and then. That said, I think the Burger King trips probably need to stop before they start calling us by name.

Budget Friendly Food

I am on a budget-friendly food kick these days. Many people have suggested shopping at Aldi to save money, but I never did until recently. Despite some minor chaos due to a brief rainstorm, reusable shopping bags that were buried in my dirty trunk and not knowing Aldi’s system of shopping carts or credit card usage, I came out pretty well. I also shopped the store ads and made out like a bandit at Hy-Vee. Due to the suggestion of many different friends, I’ve discovered several online coupon & discount suggestion sites to save money on groceries, along with many restaurants that have email clubs you can sign up for and get free or discounted items. So far, here are my fave restaurant finds:

• free appetizer or dessert (up to $8 value) at TGI Fridays
• buy one, get one free Blizzards at Dairy Queen
• free Potato Ole’s at Taco John’s
• free ice cream at Cold Stone on your birthday
• free root beer float or freeze at A&W with purchase
• buy one, get one free breakfast entrée at Mimi’s Café
• buy one, get one free entrée at Cheeseburger In Paradise
• free small spaghetti at Fazoli’s
• buy one, get one free drink at Orange Julius
• free bagel with cream cheese at Bruegger’s Bagels
• free $10 game play at Dave & Buster’s (For my hubby & not really food related but still a great deal!)

I have yet to figure out what great deals I’m going to get at Red Lobster for signing up for their club, but I’m anxiously awaiting the day they tell me I get free shrimp scampi or lobster on my birthday!!