Winter Comfort Food

I think this is the season in which I most look forward to eating. Here are a few of my favorites thus far:

 1. Pork Posole: 

image via Food & Wine

This recipe is pretty similar to how I make mine (my additions/deleted noted):
(1) 3/4 1 lbs pork loin steaks*, trimmed of fat salt, to taste pepper, to taste
(1) (2) (14 1/2 ounce) cans white hominy, drained & rinsed (Bush's is my go-to brand)
(2) (4) cups chicken broth- this kind 
(1) small yellow onion, chopped
(2) (4-6) garlic cloves, minced halved
Fresh Oregano, chopped (to taste- ~2 tsp)
(1) (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers, drained 
(1) teaspoon chili powder
(3/4) teaspoon ground cumin

Brown onions & garlic. Add to onions, garlic and broth to crock pot. Drain and rinse hominy, add to crock pot. Cut pork loin into small chunks, brown edges and add to crock pot. Add salt & pepper. Cook on "auto" heat for about 4 hours. Serve with cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips, fresh squeezed limes, jalapenos or hot sauce.

Maybe next time I'll get smart and take my own pictures...

*pork can also be substituted with chicken
**completely unrelated, but every time I cook with garlic, I think of Morgan

2. Pot Roast

image via the Pioneer Woman

I use the Pioneer Woman's method of browning the onions and chuck roast (see her recipe). However, I cook mine in a crock pot. I add about 12 oz of water, and then, layer the onions, red potatoes (halved) and carrots on the bottom of the crock pot. The roast sits on top of that. Cook on "auto" for 4-5 hours, turning the roast over a few times during that time so that it cooks evenly.

The crock pot is your friend my dears.

3. Abuelita's Hot Chocolate:

Previously discussed here. Preferably enjoyed with kettle corn or freshly baked cookies. Or s'mores if it's cool enough to make a fire.

Don't forget to enter the Tiny Prints giveaway (you get one entry per day)! Today's prompt is easy- tell me your favorite comfort food  :)

Winter Comfort Food

S'mores

Since starting a big bonfire in our backyard doesn't seem smart right now, I may just have a pretend bonfire and this cake:

via Baking Bites

Graham cracker cake + marshmallow filling + melted milk chocolate frosting = a s'more minus the fire hazard.

S'mores

North x Northwest

This past weekend, X and I were in North Austin to run a few errands, and we decided to stop by a restaurant/brewery I've been wanting to try for a loooonnnngggg time:  North by Northwest.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the interior or exterior, but it was a very nice atmosphere for lunch (and I think would be for dinner too!).  I had a burger + garlic fries:

The fries were so, so good.  Garlic usually doesn't appeal to me, but it was just enough to add the right amount of flavor.

X ordered the pulled pork sandwhich + garlic fries:

Very tasty.  It came with a mango salsa on top, which made it a little sweeter than I've tried before.

And of course, we couldn't stop by and not try their locally brewed beer.  No pictures :(  But I had the Northern Lights (an light beer, tasting similar to Amstel Light) and X tried the Bavarian Hefeweizen (a pretty typical hefeweizen with a hint of banana- sounds weird, but it soooo was good). 

We were both really impressed with this place and only wish they were a little farther south so that we could visit it more frequently!

North x Northwest

Anniversary Weekend: Part I

We kicked off our first anniversary celebration with dinner and drinks at one of our favorite restaurants in S.Austin: Habana.

Papa Rellena:

So. Good.  I could probably just have eaten a meal of these and nothing else.  They are balls of mashed potato with seasoned ground beef in the center and deep fried.  With a little salsa, they are delicious.
X and I tried to make them a long time ago when we were first dating.  It was difficult and messy- I prefer someone else to do the dirty work so I can just enjoy them :D

I ordered the chuletas fritas with arroz con grandules and black beans (fried pork chops, rice w/ chickpeas):

Their servings are so large they can easily be split between two people, which never ends up happening with us.  (We have different tastes in food, I guess).

X ordered the fricase de pollo (chicken stew), which I failed to take a picture of.

And finally, when we arrived home.  We enjoyed this:

The top tier of our wedding cake was devoured about six months ago.  We were running out of space in our freezer, so it had to be eaten, right?!  I emailed our wedding cake baker so ask her if she could make us a smaller anniversary cake, and of course, she said yes. So Friday afternoon, I drove to her new store front to pick it up!  I LOVE THIS CAKE.

Anniversary Weekend: Part I

Mini Treats

I came this site today via Natalie's blog.  How genius is this idea:  pies in mini canning jars?  Yes please!

source

They are so dainty and look really easy to make.  If you wanted to simplify even more, you could just use ready-made pie crusts and canned fruit fillings instead of making them from scratch. 

The best part?  You can make them ahead of time and freeze them!  Canning jars were meant to be easily
stacked and stored.

Once you're ready to serve them, just take them out of the freezer, pop them in the oven(canning jars are made to handle high temperatures), and an hour later, they'll be warm and ready to eat!

How cute would these be at your next dinner party, shower, or even wedding?

Mini Treats