Bear's Tooth

January 21, 2011...it's not about WHAT you eat, it's about WHO you eat it with!! Tonight, we went out on a double date with our best friends, Andy and Kendra. If you ask us to list our favorite 3 restaurants, no doubt it would be Moose's Tooth, Bear's Tooth, and Glacier Brewhouse. Tonight, we chose the Bear's Tooth!

We had a phenomenal evening with our friends. The evening started with an amazing appetizer that I forgot to photograph, the Habanero Chicken Skewers. It came with two different dipping sauces, a ranch dressing and a habanero sauce....both were AWESOME!

Lisa had her favorite, the Fish and Chips

and I had my favorite, the Southwestern Chicken Fettucini

Next picture (I'm sure Andy or Kendra will be real happy with but seemed like a good idea at the time) is Andy sharing an AMAZING story about work I'm sure. Kendra looks enthused!

More Andy D...

The dinner... the atmosphere... the company were all perfect. We didn't waste any time since we both had babysitters waiting for us. So we headed for the nearest bowling alley only to find out they were booked up for the evening. We headed to the next one and found out it was more of the same bad news.

Next step, liquor store and then back to their house to play some Wii bowling!! AWESOME NIGHT!!! Made me realize how fortunate we are to have great friends.

Baked Pork Buns

January 20, 2011...Lisa did something magical today. She took the leftover from the Hoisin Pork Wraps and made these awesome biscuits or buns or whatever you want to call them. It's from a little recipe booklet called "Chinese Favorites". No kidding. Freaking great!

This picture doesn't do it justice AT ALL!!! So you just have to trust me that this was a very cool meal!

Wings at the Peanut Farm

January 19, 2011...we had another first tonight. Tonight, A&M was playing our rival texas in Austin. I met up with some Aggie friends at the local sports bar to watch the game. I had the Hawaiian Spice Wings with a large Midnight Sun Amber (or 2).


My brother, who lives in the Houston area and has season ticket to A&M basketball games, took his son to see the game in Austin. Unfortunately for everybody the game didn't end up as we hoped but still looks like they had a good time.

Hoisin Pork Wraps

January 18, 2011...first slow cooker meal of the new year and first time we've had guests over! Sadly, this is the first time we've been able to share one of our awesome meals with any of our friends. We invited the Dixon's over for another one of our favorites, Hoisin Pork Wraps.

It's a slow cooker so when I got home from work at 2, the house smelled INCREDIBLE!! It made for a very difficult 3 hours waiting for our guests to arrive and dig in. It's really a shame I can't somehow share the smell or taste of this meal. It. Is. Amazing!

Best part of the night was listening to my buddie Andy try and describe how good it was. Best he could think of was the dinner scene from "What About Bob". Yep...it was that good.

Kendra forking it out.


Pictures just don't do it justice. If you have a crock pot, please try this recipe. You will not be disappointed!

Pillsbury "Casseroles and Slow Cooker Meals"
prep time: 3o minutes
start to finish: 7 hours 30 minutes
servings: 10 sammiches

2 lb boneless pork roast, trimmed of fat
5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon grated gingerroot
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 flour tortillas
3 cups shredded lettuce
8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
1 can (15 oz) mandarin orange segments, drained

1. In 3 to 5 quart slow cooker, place pork roast. In small bowl, mix 4 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce, the gingerroot, five-spice powder and garlic. Spread mixture over pork.

2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours

3. About 15 minutes before serving, heat oven to 300 deg. Wrap tortillas in foil. Heat packet 10 to 15 minutes or until warm.

4. Meanwhile, remove pork from slow cooker; place on cutting board. Stir remaining tablespoon hoisin sauce into juices in slow cooker. Shred pork with 2 forks; return to slow cooker and mix well.

5. To serve, spoon about 1/2 cup pork mixture onto each warm tortilla. Top each with lettuce, onions and orange segments.

Calories 400 (1 sammich); 13 g fat; 27 g protein.

TRY IT!!!

Tender Chicken in Gravy

January 17, 2011...back to the Weight Watchers cookbooks. This one is from "20 Minute Recipes" on the shelves June of 09. It's a very satisfying chicken and rice mix with an awesome chicken broth base gravy.

Tender Chicken in Gravy
Weight Watchers 20 Minute Recipes

Prep: 7 minutes
Cook: 14 minutes

Cooking Spray
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 (14 ounce) can fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup fat free evaporated milk
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon light butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided

1. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken, and cook 2 minutes or until light browned. Turn chicken; add broth, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove chicken from pan; set aside, and keep warm.

2. Combine milk and flour in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Bring broth mixture to a boil. Cook 4 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Slowly stir in milk mixture, butter, and 1 tablespoon parsley. Cook, stirring constantly, until gravy thickens. Serve over chicken; sprinkle with remaining parsley. 4 servings (about 3 chicken tenders and 1/4 cup gravy).

254 calories; 4 grams fat; 43.5 g protein; .4 fiber

The gravy is to DIE for!! I had a hard time not licking the skillet after Lisa plated it for us. Very easy meal that is filling and low calorie. Enjoy!

Taco Night!!!

January 15, 2011...A favorite around the Brown household, taco night!

No special recipes, just awesome tacos!

I had an awesome text exchange with a friend during dinner and took this picture to show my progress.

Leftover Spaghetti

January 15, 2011...sorry, nothing exciting. Just some delicious leftovers with a side salad.