26; May 18; wife, cat mom; foodie, designer, blogger, knitter, yarn junkie, Wordpress guru, geek extreme; Mac connoisseur and Instagram addict.


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Tag Archives: sour cream

battle of the bowl

Posted on July 6, 2012 by phillynikongal • 0 Comments

A bowl? What the hell is that? Oh, you mean a *burrito bowl*. This is a concept that I was unfamiliar with until 2010. I used to think, well, wouldn’t it not be a burrito if it was in a bowl, because it would be missing its tortilla? Surprisingly enough, this is not necessarily the case.

The first time I ever went to Qdoba Mexican Grill was back in 2001. I went there on a date, and my memory is that their rice tasted like soap. So the next time I had Qdoba after that was 2008, but I haven’t had their rice since.

The first time I went to Chipotle was in 2010 with Mr. Fox. I had always heard they were good, and people raved about their cilantro lime rice. The first time we went however, it was…not the greatest. We went to the one over on 86th St. in Indianapolis, and on a not-so-busy night. The food wasn’t all that fresh, and it tasted like they soaked their chicken and steak in something god-awfully hot, because I could barely eat it. And this is coming from the one who normally doused her Qdoba “naked burrito” (in a bowl, so same concept) in Cholula hot sauce. Regardless of this fact, it was then that I decided I didn’t like Chipotle.

So fast forward a couple years, and I am faced with eating at Chipotle again, because that’s what’s there. Whenever I go to either place, I usually get the same things, because I generally have no variety haha. Extra chicken, no beans, mild pico de gallo salsa, cheese, sour cream, and extra lettuce. This time however, I decided to finally breakdown and try it with the rice.

Wow, what a difference!

battle bowl chipotle qdoba mexican grill burrito chicken noms

Qdoba may have their three-cheese queso, but honestly, it doesn’t make or break the burrito. Chipotle’s rice is where it’s at. That, and their bowls are ginormous, especially when you get extra chicken. It tastes better, just in general.

But I digress.

Which do you prefer? Qdoba or Chipotle? Or is there some other place similar that you like better?

battle bowl chipotle qdoba mexican grill burrito chicken noms

Filed Under: Esther Eats, Fast Food Joints

the burger bar – uno chicago grill

Posted on June 30, 2012 by phillynikongal • 0 Comments

So this is going to be the new segment on my blog, The Burger Bar. I am on a quest to find delicious burgers.

When you go to Uno Chicago Grill, you normally think delicious deep-dish Chicago-style pizza, and not necessarily burgers.

Well, on Uno’s menu, they boast about their burgers so that any burger fan might want to try one.

Some burgers start out as hockey pucks: frozen circles of ground beef left to sizzle on a hot grill. But our burgers are fresh burgers made by hand, served on an artisan challah roll and finished with our ultimate burger sauce.

I decided to get one, upon a recent visit to the Uno at Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem, PA. I ordered the BBQ burger with bacon and cheddar. What can I say? I am a sucker for bacon. Plus, the menu said it was infused with Sam Adams Boston Lager. Burger + beer = awesome.

burger bar uno chicago grill bacon cheddar beer

 Well, not so much.

I ordered my burger medium, with the “skinless baked” potato. As you can see, it also came with a side of watermelon.

The burger was cooked fine, but it lacked the onions that I had asked for (which I ended up stealing from Mr. Fox). Also, the meat was rather bland, so if they had really infused it with Sam Adams, it must have been a very small amount, because I couldn’t taste it at all. Their “wowza sauce” didn’t wow me all that much. The only saving grace was the cheese and bacon, because cheese and bacon make everything better.

burger bar uno chicago grill bacon cheddar beer

The “skinless baked” potato was just fair in my opinion. The majority of the flavor is in the toppings they put on it, which is cheddar, bacon and sour cream. If you like sour cream, you’ll love this, because it’s covered in it. If you don’t like a lot of sour cream, I would recommend asking for only a little bit. I scraped about half of it off and it was still a lot, if that tells you anything. I wish they had put some seasonings in the potatoes themselves before baking them, because it was pretty much tasteless once you got past the cheese and bacon. Maybe they should have mixed them throughout? Sounds like a better idea.

burger bar uno chicago grill bacon cheddar beer

The star of the meal had to have been dessert. Uno has been squawking about their $1.99 mini desserts that are the “perfect portion,” so I decided to try the chocolate peanut butter cup.

Rich warm chocolate and peanut butter topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

The scoop of ice cream on top of a warm peanut butter cup (not Reese’s, obviously house-made) was just enough to satisfy  my sweet tooth for the evening. I couldn’t imagine what the larger version would have been like, but this was just find for me. My only complaint was that they used regular old chocolate sauce as opposed to hot fudge. I think hot fudge would have made it even more delicious, but it’s not a deal breaker. Regardless, this darn dessert has had me craving Reese cups ever since.

burger bar uno chicago grill bacon cheddar beer

All in all, I thought the burger was just fair. Would I order it again? Maybe not. I might try a different one the next time I go. Mr. Fox had the “Guacalicious Burger” and thought it was delicious, so I might try that one next time. The bottom line: if you’re going to make an effort to go to Uno, get the pizza. If you’re not in the mood for pizza, try a burger.

Three buns out of five.

burger bar uno chicago grill bacon cheddar beer

Filed Under: Sit-Down Restaurants, The Burger Bar

Recipe – Sloppy Taco José

Posted on June 28, 2012 by phillynikongal • 2 Comments

So do you remember yesterday when I posted about my super amazing delicious homemade taco seasoning? Well, I had to do it because I made something super tasty using this taco seasoning, and I just have to share!

I am sure you’ve had a sloppy joe before, and if you haven’t, well, what’s wrong with you? Haha, just kidding. I don’t judge if you’ve never had one before or don’t like them. Sloppy joes are an acquired taste, and if you don’t like them, you don’t like them. But, I have to ask. Have you ever had a Sloppy Taco José?

homemade sloppy taco joe jose wholly guacamole delicious

I had a pound of ground beef in the freezer, and I also had some wheat hamburger buns in the freezer. In addition to that, I had some cheddar cheese and sour cream that was coming up on date. I decided to make something different for a change. So I got some store-made pico de gallo from Wegmans, some Wholly Guacamole (the only pre-made guac I will eat), and some shredded lettuce. And a delicious idea was born. True, I am sure it’s been done before, but this is MY take on it.

homemade sloppy taco joe jose wholly guacamole delicious

Have you had this before? It’s delicious!

Print
Recipe – Sloppy Taco José

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 decent sized sloppy josé's.

1 sloppy josé

Recipe – Sloppy Taco José

A Mexican twist on the old sloppy joe. Taco meat with all of the standard taco fixings on a hamburger bun. Still sloppy, but a completely different flavor!

Ingredients

  • 1lb ground beef (or turkey, if you prefer)
  • prepared homemade taco seasoning
  • 2/3 cup water
  • shredded cheddar or other Mexican cheese
  • 4 hamburger buns (wheat or white)
  • sour cream
  • pico de gallo
  • guacamole
  • shredded lettuce

Directions

  1. In a skillet, brown ground beef over medium high heat, and drain.
  2. Add 2/3 cup water and taco seasoning, and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5-7 minutes.
  3. While the meat is simmering, prepare your sloppy josé bar.
  4. Assemble your sloppy josé any way you'd like. I prefer to smear some sour cream on the bottom of the bun, then spoon 1/4 of the finished ground beef over the sour cream, and top with cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and shredded lettuce.
  5. Voila!

Notes

This recipe is an Esther Eats original.

http://www.estherfox.com/2012/06/homemade-sloppy-taco-joe-jose-wholly-guacamole-delicious/

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homemade sloppy taco joe jose wholly guacamole delicious

Filed Under: Esther Eats, Mexican

Recipe – Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Posted on December 3, 2011 by phillynikongal • 13 Comments

I have a love/hate relationship with macaroni and cheese. Love to eat it, hate to make it, most of the time.

I grew up eating the blue box, and the occasional Velveeta shells and cheese. Sometimes I ventured into the Stouffer’s oven-baked mac and cheese, and other times I devoured the mac and cheese at Old Country Buffet. Needless to say, I’ve had my fair share of different types of mac and cheese over the years.

I had my first custard-based mac and cheese several years ago (maybe in 2003 or 2004?), and I will admit, I wasn’t really a fan. I couldn’t grasp the concept of the egg in it. Sure, it was light and fluffy, but it lacked in the cheese department. If I could just find a recipe that combined cheesy goodness and light and fluffy, then I could be happy.

crock pot mac and cheese slow cooker extra cheesy

In the years that I’ve been with Mr. Fox, I am pretty sure I’ve made at least 4 or 5 different mac and cheese recipes. All were different, and some were better than others (panty droppin’ mac and cheese, to be specific…which I will eventually make again soon to feature on the blog). I am reasonably sure that Mr. Fox is not sick of my recipe experimentations, but I am also sure he wants me to find a good one and stick with it.

Insert Pinterest. Oh Pinterest, I love and hate you all at the same time. I spend hours on you, pinning recipes and things to my boards in the hopes of eventually making them myself. On my first day of Pinterest, I came across a yummy looking recipe for a crock pot mac and cheese. I have always been hesitant to make it in the crock pot, simply because the more the pasta sits in there, the softer and more gross it gets. However, the difference between those previous failed attempts and this winning attempt was time. And of course ingredients too! The evaporated milk helps the milk and eggs stay un-curdled. The sour cream (which is something I added) makes it creamy. And the shredded cheese makes it CHEESY.

So it’s safe to say that I found my perfect custard-based mac and cheese recipe. Mr. Fox agrees. This got the “husband approves thumbs up”.

crock pot mac and cheese slow cooker extra cheesy

 

Print
Recipe – Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes

Yield: 8

Recipe – Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

A delicious custard-based macaroni and cheese recipe using up the cheese that's been hiding in your refrigerator! Not your typical uber-slow crock pot recipe, but still easy to do on a weekend!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups milk
  • 12 oz can evaporated milk (I used 2%; keeps the egg and milk from curdling)
  • 5 tbsp butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 8 oz italian blend shredded cheese
  • 8 oz cheddar blend shredded cheese
  • 16 oz penne pasta or macaroni, or other shaped pasta, par cooked*
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • cayenne pepper to taste
  • chili powder to taste
  • oregano to taste
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • *par-cooked means partially cooked. cook for about 5-6 minutes until just tender, but not completely cooked

Directions

  1. Spray the inside of your slow-cooker with cooking spray or grease it with olive oil. You can also use a slow cooker liner.
  2. Combine milk, evaporated milk, eggs, butter, sour cream and salt in slow-cooker and whisk until smooth (or you can use an immersion blender to do the whisking for you).
  3. Add the shredded cheese (not the parmesan) and macaroni, and sprinkle with black pepper, cayenne pepper and oregano. Stir gently with a spatula to coat.
  4. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and chili powder on top, and cover and cook ON HIGH for 30 minutes.
  5. After 30 minutes, reduce temperature to LOW and cook for 2-2.5 hours, until custard is set in the center and the pasta is tender.
  6. The macaroni may sit in the cooker on the KEEP WARM setting for 30 minutes before serving.
  7. Before serving, melt a 1tbsp butter in a small pan and sauté some bread crumbs to sprinkle on top.

Notes

This recipe has been adapted slightly from the original recipe, which I found on A Whisk and a Prayer via Pinterest.

http://www.estherfox.com/2011/12/crock-pot-mac-cheese-slow-cooker-extra-cheesy/

crock pot mac cheese slow cooker extra cheesy

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Filed Under: Crock Pot, Esther Eats, Main Dishes

Recipe – Ranch and Bacon Potato Casserole

Posted on November 30, 2011 by phillynikongal • 1 Comment

Oh. My. God.

I am pretty sure I have died and gone to potato casserole heaven. This is the second attempt at a decent potato casserole and I think this one is a winner!

I came across a recipe over on Pinterest called “Crack Potatoes.” It was hash brown potatoes with ranch, bacon pieces and cheddar cheese. Not only did it exceed my own expectations, but it also earned the Husband Approves tag. Mr. Fox loved it and went back for seconds. I even went back for seconds, even though I pretty much immediately regretted it.

When I made the potatoes tonight, I served them up with some parmesan crusted pork chops.

Print
Recipe – Ranch and Bacon Potato Casserole

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Yield: 10 servings

Calories per serving: 586

Recipe – Ranch and Bacon Potato Casserole

A rich and creamy cheesy potato casserole! Ranch, bacon and cheese combined with hash brown potatoes to make creamy cheesy goodness. Add chopped onions if you'd like!

Note: if you'd like, you can separate this recipe into 3 8x8 disposable pans and freeze and use them. Before freezing, wrap in plastic wrap and then foil.

I originally found this recipe via Plain Chicken.

Ingredients

  • 2 16oz containers of sour cream (I prefer Simply Kraft brand)
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 (3oz) bags of real bacon pieces
  • 2 packages Ranch Dip mix (Hidden Valley is the best)
  • 1 large (30oz) bag of frozen hash brown potatoes (shredded)
    • Optional
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a greased 13x9 baking dish, set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sour cream and ranch dip mix and stir.
  3. Add the bacon pieces and cheddar cheese, onion (optional) and stir until completely combined.
  4. Finally, add the entire bag of potatoes and stir completely.
  5. Spread mixture into prepared baking dish and bake for an hour.
http://www.estherfox.com/2011/11/ranch-bacon-potato-casserole-cheesy-creamy-yum/

ranch bacon potato casserole cheesy creamy yum

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Filed Under: Esther Eats, Potatoes, Side Dishes