Football Frenzy

Last Thursday we went to little Kevin's scrimmage football game. When we first got there we looked for Michael and Mason hoping they would be easier to spot than Kevin and then we would know we were on the right track. We didn't have luck with that plan so we sat in the bleachers and tried looking for Kevin. The black team is the Mansfield High team (which is Kevin's school) but they have no numbers on it and we just weren't sure which was him.

 As you can see there are a lot of boys out there that we are trying to decipher by the legs or shoes or how dark his tan is. Also there are two games going on at once so you have to look at both games to find him.

As we continued to watch, the fans were getting very involved, and we decided they looked a little too big. So we decided to ask one of the boys if this is were the freshman were playing and he said no that they were on the soccer field. So then we walked back to the soccer field, where two more games were being played.

These are pictures of the freshmen games. We finally found him by finding his bleach blonde hair and kept track of him by the height of his sock and how tan he was. He is a good player and jumped from Team B to Team A. We will be going every Thursday so hopefully I can get some better pictures of him.

Wonderful dessert

Okay on show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" Kerry Vincent's favorite thing "Ice Creamy" was a Pecan Ball at a place in Dallas called Pacific Cafe. So we decided that we would go to the temple in Dallas and while we were there we would go to the Pacific Cafe and all I can say is WOW, it was amazing.
The restaurant is a real upscale restaurant(of course Kerry Vincent would pick a upscale restaurant). All of the waiters were dressed in ties and had half aprons on. There was also a sign saying you couldn't eat there if you were wearing shorts, flip flops and t-shirts, so lucky for us we were all dressed up because that is not how we usually go out. The table was also all set up with wine glasses, plates, 2 forks, knife spoon and then when we were seated(we had to make reservations), they quickly took away everything and left us with one plate and a smaller fork. They were really on the ball at keeping my water glass full. Even the water was great, it had orange slices in it and was so refreshing. We also got seated right by the kitchen where there were windows so you can see them making your dessert. When the pecan ball came out it was delicious looking. It is a vanilla ice cream  ball rolled in  pecans and then covered with hot fudge, then with a semi sweet whipped cream garnished with a almond brittle. SOOO GOOD!

Daniel also thought we should get another dessert since it was a very nice place. So we also got a bread pudding with bananas foster. So amazing even though there were bananas. The sauce was so rich and buttery. Wow. I can't wait to go back and hopefully have more people come with us!

Rudy's BBQ

We went to this really tasty BBQ place a couple of weeks ago. You get to order any amount of meat that you want or which ever one you want. Like turkey, ham, sausage, brisket and you could get a couple slices, 1/4 lb a 1/2 lb however much you want. You could also get cold sides or hot sides. Coleslaw, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes. The tables were again set up like a picnic area ( it must be a Texas thing, I think they just want everyone to feel like neighbors and such...)
They also had really yummy bbq sauces that are their own
They serve it to you on wax paper and put it all in a milk crate. That way they give you just wax paper and your sauce gets soaked up into a paper plate.

 The Sissy Sause is just a little sweeter than the regular bbq sauce.

Great Burger

Every Thursday Daniel and I go out on a date. This Thursday we went to a burger joint called Kincaid's. It was the best burger I have had in Texas. If you come to Texas and visit Fort Worth or ME!! you have to hit up Kincaid's. They have burgers that taste homemade, 1/2 pound patties. The place felt like an old establishment with bright green walls and blow up items like Shrek, Dr. Pepper bottles, stuff like that.

If you do happen to go to Kincaid's DO NOT get the stuffed jalapenos. They are not good. Get the french fries or onion rings :)

Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan

Yesterday Carolyn requested we make Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan. So at work today I looked up some recipes. Here is what we did

1 eggplant
Kosher salt
5 chicken breasts(butterflied)
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Pasta
Flour
breadcrumbs
garlic
tomatoes
marinara sauce
First cut the eggplant in 1/2 in slices. Put into a colander and sprinkle the kosher salt on the slices to help the slices weep out the bitter juices.

Let them sit for about an hour(minimum of 30 min). After you let them rest, rinse in cold water.
Next dry them with a paper towel until all the moisture is gone. This will allow the breading to adhere to the slices.

Next you will trim and butterfly your chicken and then we bread both eggplant and chicken.

To bread the chicken you need some flour in a bowl, eggs and milk in a bowl and then the breadcrumbs. In our breadcrumb mixture we added some salt, pepper, garlic and herb, and parmesan cheese.

 So as you see he has it set up to first put the item in flour then in the egg mixture then in the breadcrumbs.

We decided to bake ours instead of fry and then finish it in the oven. We try and be a little healthy and not add too much extra fat.

As you can see we are putting them on a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan (depending who you ask) that has been foiled and pamed. 

Once you finish breading make sure you spray pam on the tops of the eggplant and chicken. In doing this you won't have to flip them and both the top and bottoms will crisp up.

We decided to make ours with a pasta base and the eggplant and chicken on top, you can also make it like a lasagna where you would layer everything starting with sauce then eggplant/chicken then cheese and more sauce continuing until all of your eggplant/chicken had been used. We put both of our pans into the oven for 20-25 minutes until the chicken was cooked through, at 350.

 So next we had to make our sauce. With this we did a semi-homemade sauce, we gave the sauce what it was  missing. We started with 4 TBS of butter and then added 2 cloves of minced garlic and two diced tomatoes and some honey to help with the bitterness of the canned sauce. (It's the same as adding sugar just a healthier substitute)

 Next we added some marinara sauce, we picked mushroom but any will do.

 Doesn't that look good with the big chunks of tomatoes in it? It tasted delicious.

After your chicken and eggplant has finished baking you then add a small amount of sauce and then mozzarella cheese on top. We added goat cheese and mozzarella to give it a creamy taste and break up the flavors. Goat cheese is similar to cream cheese it just tastes slightly more sharp. After you have done that pour remaining sauce into noodles or keep separate depending on how much sauce your family prefers on their own dish. Put the pans back in the oven until cheese is melted. 

It was perfect. The bottoms of the eggplant were crisp and you could actually taste the eggplant but it was not overpowered with bitterness. 

Mongolian Beef and peach tart

I made Mongolian Beef last night for dinner. It was amazing and tasted delicious. It was super simple too.
This recipe is a serving for 2
2/3 lbs of flank steak(I used a top sirloin because it was the cheapest)
3T cornstarch
3 tsp canola oil divided
1/2 tsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
1/3 C soy sauce
1/3 C water
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2-3 large scallions ( these are optional they are just a garnish on top)
I bag stir fry mix ( I added this to the recipe because I felt it needed some steamed veggies. I just got a frozen veggie bag that had brocolli, snap peas, green beans, red pepper, onion)
1 can bamboo shoots

Slice steak in thin slices- coat in cornstarch-before cooking shake off excess
I noticed that the meat soaked up the cornstarch and the excess cornstarch
didn't stick to the meat

Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, red pepper flakes

Prepare your garlic and ginger. Heat both of these in 2 tsp of the oil on med-high heat add ginger and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds-or until fragrant. Add soy sauce mixture. Cook for 2 minutes transfer back to bowl.

Turn up heat on wok, add remaining oil. Add beef stir until just browned. Once beef is cooked add soy sauce mixture and veggies and bamboo shoots. Simmer for 5 minutes until thick. Garnish with scallions

I also made a peach tart, but I don't have a picture. It was very very simple.
2-4 cups sliced peaches
3 T brown sugar
2 T butter melted
1 refrigerated pie crust
Cut up peaches and mix with 3 T brown sugar. Roll out pie crust to rectangle. Pour peaches inside pie crust, fold up the sides of the pie crust to form a barrier around the peaches. I pleated the sides of the pie crust to make sure the barrier was tight. Lightly brush butter on the outside of the crust and on the top of the peaches. Sprinkle brown sugar on the crust before baking. Cook for about 40 mintues at 375.
Then top with ice cream or whipping cream and enjoy!

I hope you all make these recipes and let me know what you think!

Trip to Clarksville

This weekend we went out to Texarkana to see Renea and then over to Clarksville to pick up Daniel's Grandma so she can fly out to California to see Sherri, Dennis and her sister Gloria. While we were in Clarksville we stopped by the family's old movie shop because it has recently been bought and in the process of being renovated. They are turning it into an antique shop, the square is a giant antique mall in hopes to draw travelers of those who specifically stop in small towns for antiques.

 This is Daniel in front of the very large, Confederate statue in the middle of the square. Below are the pictures of what it says on the statue and who it is for and such.

 Yeah, not the most flattering picture of me, but it is SOOOO hot and I wanted to get out of the sun as soon as possible. As you can see I have no tan and I am thinking it will stay that way as long as it stays over 100. We are on day 14 of consecutive days over 100 degrees. Supposedly in other years there are only 10 total days that are over 100 in the whole year, looks like we picked a great year to move to Texas.( Let me help you all out here and let you know that I am being 100% sacrcastic in this statement, Daniel is even saying it is a little warm for him here.)

This is the view from the street of the Movie Shoppe. The far right building is an antique store, the middle two are the old movie shop and future site of the new antique shop. In this square I counted 7 antique shops, so I guess it really is an antique mall. They believed the building was built in the 1880s.

 This is an elevator that was in the shop, as I said they believed the building was built in the 1880s but the elevator said 1870s so they now believe the building could be older.

 Before the renovations this arch way was completely squared off. I like that they are taking it back to its original structure and features.

 The far beam is a support beam the Daniel and is uncle Michael put in to prevent the roof from caving in. They had to put in two support beams and some braces in the rafters. This is the back of the second building.

This is the front of the second building and they will be making the ceilings as high as in the back of this building.

Also during this trip Daniel learned a sad news. The handicap ramp that he built for his Eagle Scout project was recently ripped down. Originally the building he built it for was a senior center, now it is a lodge. The building owner also never took care of the ramp and it was falling apart.

 Here he is so happy to have accomplished his project.

                                           Here he is today, sad to see it gone.

These are his initials in the cement on the porch they laid before the ramp was built. So even though his ramp is no longer there his porch and initials remain.