Banana Bread - As Healthy As I Ever Want It

This past weekend Mark and I were craving french toast but were fresh out of bread. This caused a major conflict for us because we try to only go to the grocery store twice a week, once on Sunday for weekly shopping and once on Wednesday to restock our empty apple inventory... it was Saturday. For normal people just making a loaf of bread to use would probably be an option and a delicious problem solver, but unfortunately I have yet to master the skill of working with yeast. I don't know what it is but nothing ever turns out when I try using yeast. A bread making class is in my future. In the meantime I must get a little creative (or so I think until I do a google search).

Regardless, we ended up happy and with french toast on Sunday morning.

I decided to make a healthified banana bread and use it as the french toast base. Now, I'm not crazy enough to think that lowering the amount of oil and replacing the sugar with honey makes banana bread something I can eat and eat, we wanted a comfort food breakfast and thats what we had. However, in terms of calories and added sugar this recipe is much lower than most while still being tasty (a slice of this has about 100 calories while a slice of Starbucks banana bread has almost 500!). So take it for what you will and remember healthier versions of your favorite treats are still treats and enjoy them accordingly.

Steps off soapbox.

Getting back to this banana bread: I used less sweetener because I made it with very ripe bananas, cut the oil down to just 2 teaspoons, and used half whole wheat/half all-purpose flour. The result was a soft, moist bread that tasted sweet enough to be a dessert and light enough for a snack. It was perfect for the baked french toast I made the next morning (recipe here).

The eggs were for the french toast, not the bread

Yum!

Topped with butter and honey

As for the leftovers? They will be used as peanut butter and jelly sandwich bread for a post workout snack shortly!

Yum.

Banana Bread - As "Healthy" As I Ever Want It

Makes 1 loaf,
Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour (I did 1/2 WW and 1/2 all purpose)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

1/4 teaspoon salt

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup honey (I used a little less)

2 teaspoons oil (coconut or canola)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In a smaller bowl mix together mashed bananas, applesauce, honey, oil, and vanilla.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir well to combine.

Lightly spray a 9" by 4" loaf pan with cooking spray.

Pour batter into pan and place in preheated oven.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Enjoy :)

Recipe Review: Quinoa Black Bean Burrito Bowls

So much yum!

Sometime last week I received an email from Mark's sister with a few recipes attached. This is a semi-regular occurrence between the two of us and I always get really excited because we seem to have the same philosophy on food: healthy without sacrificing flavor.

Two of the recipes were ideas for fall apples, one was for a chicken salad, and the other was for a black bean and quinoa burrito bowl. I knew right away that I wanted to try the burrito bowl first; it just called to me like all other mexican style dishes. So I soaked a huge batch of black beans and cooked them up the next day.

Other than using fresh black beans instead of canned I followed the directions exactly topping ours with fresh tomato, greek yogurt, and guacamole. Yum! Being as its the burrito filling without the wrap I thought I would miss the tortilla but I was wrong. Mark didn't even complain! It doesn't need anything else. Both of us just loved it.

Seriously... Make. This Tonight. It's definitely a winner.

Head on over to The Shiksa in the Kitchen for the recipe.

One last bad picture

Beet & Tofu Burgers

This dish just kind of worked. It was completely experimental to the point where I had a backup plan of scrambled eggs if a disaster ensued. You see, Mark's sister had given us some produce from her garden and one of those items happened to be beets. Up to this point I had never had a beet in my refrigerator and had only recently introduced them to my palate. The beets longingly stared at me for four days from the second shelf of the refrigerator before I decided it was time to have a go at creating something with them.

I almost immediately knew what I wanted to do with the beets, make a plant burger. This might have been because my most recent encounter with them had been in this form and was an enjoyable experience. After scoping out the kitchen I noticed some tofu that was in desperate need of being used before getting forgotten. I started doing a little research and went off that to help brainstorm my own version of a plant burger. Since veggie burgers tend to be mushy enough as it is I pressed the tofu and cooked up some rice (I don't know what the rice does but many of the recipes I looked at used some). Throughout the rest of the afternoon I wrote down my incoherent thoughts until I came up with something that looked like it had a chance of being edible and maybe even slightly pleasant.

I got to work chopping, sautéing, and food processing my burger patty mixture. After the patties were formed I threw them in the freezer in hopes of firming them up a bit. This didn't work but it was worth a shot. Then I fried them up, threw them on buns topped with cheese, greens, and condiments and dug in.

Restaurant Review: Colossal Cafe (St. Paul Location)

Our food ticket (named after streets in St. Paul)

Apparently we couldn't get enough of St. Paul because two days after Meritage we found ourselves back in our not-so-old stomping grounds! We met up with our friends Ben & Angie who had been telling us about this restaurant called Colossal Cafe (as seen on Diners, Driver Ins and Dives*) that apparently served up a mean brunch menu. *I should note that they do have a Minneapolis location but it only accepts cash and we didn't have enough on hand.*

Doing brunch had been on our summer bucket list so meeting up one Saturday after our Farmer's Market trip was an excellent opportunity to fulfill that bullet point on our list. On the ride to the restaurant Ben & Angie warned us that the place was small and had fend-for-yourself seating, something that would have thrown me off had I not been briefed beforehand. Sure enough and true to the description the place was small and extremely busy. Knowing we were newbies, Ben & Angie ordered quickly and hustled to find us seating while Mark and I mulled over the menu. After finally ordering we took our seats on the two stools at the bar that Ben & Angie had secured for us and waited for our food to arrive.

Mark went with a full stack of flappers complete with apple, brie, honey and walnuts on top. I wish I could have snapped a picture of the look on my face when Mark's HUGE plateful of yeast-based pancakes arrived. They were smothered in the above mentioned toppings and were delicious.... for a few bites. After a while they were just too heavy for me. As luck would have it Mark loved them, especially the thickness of the pancakes. He could see how these flappers worked as sandwich bread (one of the ways you can order any of the sandwiches on the menu). Mark also thought the brie was a great addition to the pancake toppings. However, he noted that there was just too much honey. The honey was literally covering the plate, he couldn't even eat the bottom flapper due to the saturation.

Ready to dig into his stack of flappers

Close up of the apple, brie, walnut flappers with honey

I ordered the artichoke, spinach, tomato, and feta frittata. It was wonderful, eggs with vegetables and cheese... the ideal "Tara" meal if one were to exist. The ingredients mixed together to form the perfect flavor tones. The tanginess of the artichoke, the saltiness of the feta, and the mellow undertones of the spinach and tomato thoroughly satisfied my palate. It came with two slices of lightly buttered homemade toast which were obviously an appreciated and enjoyed side.

My yummy frittata

Mark and I really liked the food and were grateful we had chaperones to lead the way through our busy first Colossal experience. Next time I would probably order the frittata again (THAT good), and I bet Mark would order one of their savory sandwiches on a flapper.

Notes:

*The Minneapolis location is the one featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.

7.14.12

My Favorite Breakfast Sandwich (For Now)

My Monday-Friday breakfast is usually one of two things: cold oatmeal or an egg sandwich. Both are extremely easy to make, delicious, and fill me up after my workout.

One day I will get around to posting the cold oatmeal recipe (maybe when I don't prep it at 11:00 pm I will remember to take pictures!), but for today it will be an egg sandwich that I seriously can not get enough of. It has cheese, vegetables, avocado, and garlic smushed between two slices of bread.

There are endless possibilities for twists you could make on this sandwich to turn it into your own. It's also one of those recipes you could make a couple servings of ahead of time for on-the-go meals.

It's delightful! I hope you agree.

Whole Wheat Strawberry-Banana Muffins

So things got kind of hectic around here last week. One thing after another came up, before I could breath it was Friday and I had about 1/2 lb of VERY ripe strawberries in the refrigerator. My first instinct was to eat them right then and there, but then I remembered seeing a recipe for banana peach muffins earlier in the week that I really wanted to try. So I just replaced the peaches with strawberries.

Problem solved. Q.E.D. (I know that isn't being used correctly, it's an inside joke).

I played around just a little with the recipe by lowering the amount of maple syrup and replacing half the oil with applesauce. Not because the recipe wasn't healthy enough as is, but because I had (still have) some applesauce that needed to be used and I like to play around with recipes to make them my own. Following exact directions is so 3rd grade, am I right?

The result was phenomenal (in my opinion). The nutty flavor of the whole wheat flour and the grainy texture of the thick cut oats mixed with maple syrup, mashed banana, and slices of fresh strawberry.... Muffins make any crazy week infinitely better; I decided.

These are light enough to be part of a breakfast, small enough to be an afternoon snack, and sweet enough to be a dessert.

These also freeze well. Just put leftovers in an airtight container and place them in the freezer. When you crave one, take it out and defrost in the microwave!

It's my new go-to muffin recipe and I can't wait to try them with other kinds of fresh fruit.

Whole Wheat Strawberry-Banana Muffins
Adapted slightly from here

Serves 12-14

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup thick cut oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed (I always keep frozen ripe ones in my freezer)

1/2-1 Ib strawberries, sliced

1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional but recommended, preferably Saigon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

In a separate smaller bowl combine applesauce, oil, maple syrup, mashed bananas.

Mix wet ingredients into dry, then add sliced strawberries and fold gently until barely combined.

Either line a muffin pan with liners or spray pan with cooking spray and fill 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and the sweet aroma of baking fills your house.

Serve warm or cold. Both are delicious.

Enjoy :)

Double Dark Chocolate-Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

Peanut butter-chocolate gooeyness

Raise your hand if all of the following apply to you:

1. You like chocolate
2. You like peanut butter
3. You like oatmeal
4. You are a fan of healthy, filling breakfast recipes that have no added sugar

If, like me, you are raising your hand and guilty as charged this recipe is for you! It's so rich and chocolately you will feel almost like you are eating dessert instead of breakfast. Almost.

Dig in!

I baked mine, but I am sure it would work just fine on the stove top, or even as overnight oats.

Double Dark Chocolate-Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

Inspired by these

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2-1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1/2 mashed banana (or 1/4 cup applesauce)

1/4 cup milk (I used almond)

1 tablespoon peanut butter, divided

1-2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl combine oatmeal, cocoa powder, and salt. Then add mashed banana, milk, chocolate chips and 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter* stirring until well incorporated.

Pour mixture into 1 cup ramekin and place in the oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Top with other 1/2 tablespoon peanut butter and enjoy :).

Notes:

*You might want to warm peanut butter for 10 seconds in the microwave to make it easier to incorporate.

Pretty Damn Healthy Vegetable Pesto Pizza

Pizza is our Kryptonite, as if you didn't already gather that. Strangely, I rarely ever make it for dinner; mixing and rolling out the dough, assembling the toppings.... It can get to be a lot of work, and I like to leave that work to the local pizzerias (I get all of the reward for doing none of the work). However the other day I just so happened to have some pre-made pizza dough and pesto in the freezer (don't you just love when that happens?).

If all that I needed to do was chop and sauté some veggies, grate a little cheese, put it on pizza dough, and throw it in the oven there was no excuse in my mind.

Chop chop

Sauteed fresh summer vegetables, doesn't get much better

Restaurant Review: Sweet Taste of Italy (Crystal Location)

"Please form a single file line." Anyone else remember
hearing that all through elementary school?

Way back in July, after our day at Canterbury Park with Daren and Jeff we went out to eat at a place called Sweet Taste of Italy in Crystal. I think the Crystal location is their second shop because it was tiny, like the seating area must be navigated in single file tiny. For some reason Mark and I enjoy restaurants with small kitchens connected to the order counter and limited seating. I think we were born cafe type people.

For being in such a cramped space it's got quite an extensive menu: sandwiches, pastas, wings.... All of which we wanted to try, but lets be honest Mark and I went for the pizza. We have a duty to the great people who happen to stumble upon this blog to show them the way to great Minneapolis pizza. It's a tasty job, and we are more than happy to do it. No "thank you" necessary :)

Sandwiches, pasta, and wings will have to wait for another day.

Back to the pizza. They do both by the slice and full size pizzas, which makes it a great spot for a quick snack or ordering take out. On the day we visited we were in a bit of a hurry to catch a movie so we went the pizza-by-the-slice route. This worked out well as it allowed us to try more toppings.

Mark ordered a slice of sausage & onion and I got a green pepper & onion. When our two slices came we were pleasantly surprised to see that each "slice" was the size of two normal sized pieces. They were thin crust pizza slices with a respectable amount of sauce, cheese, and toppings. And when I say a respectable amount of cheese I mean quality mozzarella oozing off the sides. As for the toppings: the green bell pepper was fresh and had really good flavor, the rings of red onion were cut thick and not skimped on, and the sausage was marble size (some bigger) and spicy.

Absolutely delectable.

We devoured them alongside a tossed salad (that makes it healthy, right?) and it ended up being the perfect amount of food for dinner.

Look at the size of Mark's one "slice" and those sausage bits.

A "slice" of pizza with 2 toppings of your choice comes at a price of $3.75. The choices available for toppings are lengthy , especially for the size of the place.

For our rating:

1. Crust: 6 - Remarkably sturdy for a thin crust but nothing to blow you away.

2. Sauce: 8 - Mild, good amount, and not overpowering. However, it wasn't on Buca's level.

3. Toppings: 7 - Both of us were big fans of the sauce & cheese but would need to try more topping to give a better rating.

Overall Sweet Taste of Italy gets a 7, the pizza was pretty tasty but the cheese and size of toppings were the only parts that really stood out. Above average and a steal for the price.

Not bad.

7.7.12

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Banana Soft Serve

I'm sure I'm not the first to do this, but I just made banana soft serve with cocoa powder and pretzels. I liked it a lot so I am typing it out for memory sake.

For the fans of the sweet & salty combo this snack is for you.

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Banana Soft Serve

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana cut into chunks

1/2-1 tablespoon cocoa powder (depending on how dark you want it)

6 mini pretzels

1-2 tablespoons milk, optional

Dash of salt

sweetener of choice, if desired

Directions:

Place banana chunks and milk (if using) in the bowl of a mini food processor and blend until almost all the banana chunks are smooth.

Add cocoa powder, pretzels, salt, and sweetener (if using) and finish blending until desired consistency.

Spoon into a glass and enjoy with more pretzels :)

Weekend Recap

Thursday (8.9.12): Spent the day at Valleyfair, something we have been meaning to do for years.

Big breakfast for a big day: quinoa cooked in coconut milk with
cinnamon & bananas

Lunch break before going on more rides

Waiting in line

At the top of the ferris wheel with Snoopy in the background

Scene straight out of Little Big League

Fiesta Rice with Avocado and Tomato with a Chili Lime Vinaigrette

*Please ignore the horrible picture. It tastes so much better than it looks.

Awesome dinner time lighting

The other night when I made my tofu dino dunkers I needed a side to go along with them. I looked in the refrigerator and found some leftover tomato and jalapeño, half an onion, and had an avocado on the counter calling out to me. These few ingredients screamed tex-mex, duh.

A few hours later I was still milling over what to make and decided to check out my favorite blogs for inspiration (I do this almost everyday). Lo and behold over at Iowa Girl Eats I stumbled upon a grilled corn orzo salad recipe that actually used most of the ingredients I was working with! It came with a recipe for a delicious sounding chili lime dressing to boot!

That girl and her recipes know the way to my heart, I swear.

Needless to say I worked off her recipe and created something that both Mark and I loved. Avocado, tomato, chili lime vinaigrette.... What's not to love.

I'm pretty sure the only thing that would have made it better was a margarita. Next time.

Fiesta Rice with Avocado and Tomato with a Chili Lime Vinaigrette
Adapted slightly from here

Serves 2-3 as a side

Ingredients:

For fiesta rice:

1/2 cup uncooked rice

1/2 ripe beefsteak tomato

1/2 avocado

1/8 cup onion, minced

1/4-1/2 jalapeño, minced

For the vinaigrette:

2 teaspoons quality olive oil

1/4 tablespoon honey

1/2 lime juiced

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

pinch of pepper

salt to taste, if desired

Directions:

Cook rice accordingly to directions on package.

Mix together olive oil, honey, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt & pepper in a small dish.

Chop avocado and tomato.

Mix avocado, tomato, jalapeño, and onion in with rice.

Toss vinaigrette on top of rice mixture.

Stir to combine.

Enjoy hot or cold :)

Pretzel Crusted Tofu Dino Dunkers

The other day I asked Mark if there was anything he wanted for dinner. He responded with "tofu". Shortly after I asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted me to do with the tofu, "it's really good breaded and fried" was his no-hesitation answer.

I chuckled a little on the inside...

...but I didn't completely disregard his suggestion, just the fried part.

Breaded tofu sounded appealing, but no bread crumbs were to be found in the cupboards. I then remembered that we had pretzels (my addiction du semaine). Perfect, problem solved!

Baked tofu breaded with crushed pretzels it was and I don't even think he noticed it wasn't fried ;)

"Pressing" tofu in the Foreman

Ready to bread the marinated tofu

Dig in

Pretzel Crusted Tofu Dino Dunkers
Prezel breading adapted slightly from here

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 block extra firm tofu

12 mini pretzel snaps (I used Snyder's of Hanover)

1 tablespoon grated parmesan, romano, or pecorino

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

Dash of both salt & pepper

1 tablespoon honey mustard*

1/8 cup milk (I used almond)

Directions:

Start by pressing tofu. If you don't have a tofu press like me just find something to squish the liquid out of the tofu for about an hour. I use our George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine :)

After an hour, cut tofu into shapes of choice (ours became dinosaur shaped by coincidence, hence the name).

Next, in a medium sized tupperware mix together the honey mustard and milk.

Place shaped tofu into tupperware, secure lid, and shake around to coat.

Put tofu mixture in the refrigerator for at least an hour (the longer the better), shaking every once in awhile.

When you are actually ready to bake the tofu, preheat oven to 400 degrees Farhenheit.

Chop pretzels in a small food processor until they resemble bread crumbs and place in a bowl.

Add the cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt & pepper to bowl with pretzels and mix.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Remove tofu from refrigerator.

Dip tofu pieces into pretzel mix and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes flipping halfway through.

Serve with barbecue or honey mustard sauce.

Enjoy :)

Notes:

*Don't have any honey mustard? No problem! Mix 1 part honey to 1 part dijon mustard for a quick fix.

Restaurant Review: Annie's Parlour

Doesn't he look post-vacation fresh?

Ah, it's good to be back.... To reviewing restaurants in the Twin Cities area that is. Not that there was anything unpleasant about the Grand Marais restaurant reviews, but this blog is our way to keep trace of places we have tried, what we've liked, what we didn't like, and everything else of that sort. And I just feel like we hardly ever go to Grand Marais (or on vacation period), so the chances of us forgetting what we enjoyed decreases significantly.

Anywho, one night after dinner I was hit hard with a craving for ice cream. When I get a craving for something so specific I MUST get it otherwise I will get cranky (I imagine this is what pregnancy cravings are like, or so says my cousin Heather). Lucky for me, Mark is ALWAYS down when I want a treat so the crankiness never develops.

Gosh he's a trooper, isn't he? Me making him go get ice cream with me... I can't imagine how much he must have suffered ;)

After some researching on the interwebz, we discovered this place called Annie's Parlour in Dinkytown that was known to make some tasty malts. Even though there were places for ice cream closer, we figured what the heck? We hadn't been to Dinkytown since college so we gave it a go.

We parked a few blocks away, which turned out to be awesome because we found where Al's Breakfast was located. It's one of the restaurants on our bucket list, so it was nice to see its existence in person as opposed to just reading about it.

Salt & Vinegar "Smashed" Potatoes

"Smashed" potatoes with tofu scramble & brussel sprouts

In my opinion, if there are any two ingredients that are meant to go together, those two ingredients are salt & vinegar. I love salt & vinegar chips, popcorn, and anything pickled (with extra salt on top of course). Around 80% of the time I would choose something salt & vinegar over something sweet; it's just the way I roll.

A few months ago I was surfing the net for some new ideas for how to cook red potatoes when I came across some recipes for salt & vinegar potatoes. I was in love. However, most recipes I found called for boiling the potatoes in vinegar and then mashing them. This seemed like a waste of tasty vinegar to me. Instead I decided to boil the potatoes until soft, then roast them until the skins were crispy, and add the vinegar at the end for a burst of vinegary flavor.

It turned out to be a best-of-both-worlds side dish: Mark got his potato fix, and I got my salt & vinegar fix (for a second anyway). Although it takes a little bit of time its a pretty simple dish and a nice diversion from your typical mashed or baked potato routine. And they go great with a jalapeño aioli tuna melt and a side of broccoli. Just sayin'.

Restaurant Review Grand Marais Edition: The Rustic Inn

Vacation Swag

This is the last of our Grand Marais posts, which doesn't even seem fitting because this place is neither in Grand Marais nor did we even eat there. But it was a pit stop on our way home so we'll count it.

One of the last items on our mental "bucket list" for our mini vaca was to get some pie. We initially had two places on our radar: Betty's Pies (supposedly the best) and The Rustic Inn. But after talking with our waitress at the Cascade Restaurant & Pub there was no question, The Rustic Inn was where we would be going for pie.

Weekend Recap

Friday Evening (7.27.12): Didn't do much, the story of the weekend. Made some dinner, went to Menard's for nails, and got some ice cream.

Friday night dinner: salmon, oven roasted corn,
honey & soy sauce veggie stir fry

Saturday (7.28.12): Got up and went for a run (kicked both of our butts), went to the farmer's market, headed over to Spyhouse Coffee so Mark could study, finished Firefly and went to bed.

Making some breakfast after our run

Turkey & veggie omelet with toast
and a side of broccoli

Car we saw on the way to the farmer's market

Front of the car

Restaurant Review Grand Marais Edition: My Sister's Place

Now our review of this place might be a bit unfair and I probably should just skip it. Not because we had an unpleasant experience or anything, but because we were both still full from our lunch so we split a sandwich. And I am not sure we gave it a chance to blow us away, we ate because we thought we should. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here is our short review of My Sister's Place.

Since the storm was starting we ordered to go. While we were waiting for our food we sat at the bar where we noticed that they used mason jars to serve drinks. Mark got quite a kick out of that. We also learned that the bar didn't have a full liquor license so they provided mixers and allowed patrons to bring their own alcohol. 

We were sad that we couldn't stay and have a couple drinks, but the storm was getting worse by the minute. So we were happy when our order was ready, and drove quickly back to the lodge. It was raining pretty hard when we go back so we decided to eat our food in the car and wait for the rain to die down a little.

Although the menu was extensive, we settled on a grilled ham and cheese on marble rye bread with a side of cajun fries. What we both remember about this meal is that the bread was delicious and Mark thought the fries were too spicy. Like I said, this review should have just been skipped. But even if the food wasn't very memorable (our fault), it's still a memory of Grand Marais we don't want to forgot.

Other Grand Marais Posts:

Grand Marais Part 1

Grand Marais Part 2

Grand Marais Part 3

Dockside Fish Market Review

Cascade Restaurant & Pub Review

World's Best Donuts Review

Hughie's Tacos Review

6.19.12

Restaurant Review Grand Marais Edition: Hughie's Tacos

Hanging on the wall at our booth

After our hike up Lookout Mountain and a quick nap our stomachs told us that we had burned off all the energy that our breakfast of donuts had supplied. This made us extremely happy, as we were anxious to try another restaurant on our pre-made list. While driving into town, we settled on Hughie's Tacos for our lunch.

Upon entering Hughie's you walk through the roomy seating area and around their mini gift shop to a small counter to place your order. The order counter kind of reminded us of the one at Jose's Burritos back in Morris.

One of the things I really like about places like Jose's and Hughie's is that the menu isn't long. You have a choice of tacos, burritos, or, salads of which the only difference is the type of meat. It makes my indecisiveness settle down.

Given I hadn't had a taco salad in quite awhile, I went with that. It was a gigantic deep fried tortilla shell filled with lettuce, tomato, refried beans, and cheese with sour cream and salsa on the side. Since I ordered it vegetarian it came with extra beans and corn. It was absolutely delicious, but WAY too big. Even after our run and hike I needed Mark's help to finish it. And it kept me full for the rest of the day. Next time I will probably go the taco route.

My taco salad.... Like I said, huge

Mark ordered the special, which was fish tacos with rice and beans. He was excited to see the taco wrapped in a chalupa-like shell, as the chalupa is what he loves at Taco Bell. His taco came filled with fish, lettuce, cheese, and chipotle sour cream. He thought it was very scrumptous. I did as well, and was a little jealous that I hadn't ordered the same thing.

Tacos aren't very photogenic

Even though we were beyond full, we made the bold move of ordering dessert (hey, we were on vacation). We went with the fried cinnamon tortilla topped with warm cinnamon apples. The tortilla was just like the shell Mark's taco came on and was nice and crisp, but airy. And while it was good, we probably could have skipped it after having the skizzle a few hours prior.

Cinnamon apple tortilla

All-in-all we thought that Hughie's Tacos were good, but nothing spectacular. It fulfilled our craving for "mexican" food, so we left happy campers.


Other Grand Marais Posts:

Grand Marais Part 1

Grand Marais Part 2

Grand Marais Part 3

Dockside Fish Market Review

Cascade Restaurant & Pub Review

World's Best Donuts Review

6.19.12

Easy Individual Vegetable Frittatas (a.k.a. Mega Frittata Muffins)

On the weekends we try to come up with something besides cold cuts and salads for lunch because as much as we love sandwiches and salads, having a couple days break is nice. We like to try and use the same basic ingredients (usually the leftover meat and veggies from the week), just in more creative ways. This past Sunday I was in a pinch for time and was going to resort to sandwiches but was cravings eggs so I threw together individual vegetable frittatas using frozen veggies (to save time). Both Mark and I liked them well enough so here is my very basic recipe for the dish that Mark named "mega frittata muffins". I can't wait to play around with it! I will be posting updates and variations as I try these with different meats, vegetables, cheeses, and spices.

Easy Individual Vegetable Frittatas

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 eggs

4 egg whites

1/4 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup frozen chopped broccoli

1/2 cup frozen peas, carrots, lima beans mix

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt & pepper

Directions:


Place two 1 cup ramekins in a larger baking dish and set in oven. Turn oven on to 450 degrees.

In a small skillet heat oil over medium heat, add onion, and cook until translucent; set aside.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk, garlic powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper.

In a separate bowl place frozen veggies and microwave until thawed, then add to egg mix.

Once onions cool, add them to egg mix.

After the oven has preheated, remove ramekins  and spray with cooking spray.

Carefully pour 1/2 mixture into each ramekin and place back in oven.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until pouffy, golden brown, and knife comes out clean.

Serve with buttered toast and enjoy :)