Did you know ‘quesadilla’ literally means ‘little cheesy thing’ in Spanish? Get ready to add some spice into your life with these fun quesadilla recipes.
cheese
Low-Fat Baked Jalapeno Poppers
If you’re a jalapeño fan, this fast and easy recipe is for you!
Spontaneous Adventures
I’m back to chewing again and it comes complete with an adventure to St. Petersburg. The weather in Florida was really nice today and my …
The BEST sub place
Every single time I go to Firehouse Subs I place the same order. Two years ago, I had noted that this was my favorite sub place and I (for some odd reason) still had not made a blog post about it (until now).
Wing Stop – Casselberry, Florida
Below is a “critique essay” I wrote for school on my visit to Wing Stop on Saturday the 6th. I also incorporated my pictures from the visit for the post.
“Let’s go to Wing-Stop”
With that said my husband and I were off to have a late lunch. I had never been to Wing Stop, but Ruben had already gone a few times with his brother and friends. I already knew we were in for a good meal because of their tendency to return at least every couple of months to the nearby restaurant. My experience with the multi-flavored chicken at Wing Stop turned out positive and I see myself going back for more in the near future.
As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by an employee who’s enthusiasm actually seemed honest. This gentleman, who also took our order, even went as far as frying us a sample wing my husband and I were not sure of buying. After sitting at our table to wait for our food I took notice of the staff-to-customer interaction. What I really liked was each member’s attention to detail as they took many orders; it was Saturday afternoon after all. It was nice to see they served everyone with the same positive attitude we experienced ourselves – both to customers walking in and calls they were taking constantly on two phones. There were at least six employees all working toward the common goal of getting it right for each customer.
The Casselberry restaurant is small and seats about 30 people. As soon as your order is taken you are free to choose your table. Location, location, location. I quickly decided on a table by service counter where the drinks were given because my husband likes his soda refills. The table for two was small, but still able to accommodate comfortably when our pile of chow was set onto it. We were sitting against a wall with a covering I can say was literally “rustic”. The bottom half is a metal sheet with rows of burnt orange rust that seemed to almost coincidentally appear in stripes. The top half was adorned with random posters either relating to aviation or Pepsi Cola. Overall, the feeling for Wing Stop’s atmosphere was different, clean, and welcoming.
I was excited when our food was set on a tray before us. This was the moment I waited about fifteen minutes for. My husband ordered barbecue flavored chicken strips (i.e. think crispy breaded chicken bathed in gooey sauce). I ordered Louisiana style wings which were rubbed with Cajun seasoning and packed quite a kick. I would rate the spiciness an eight out of ten. They were so good dipped in blue cheese sauce! Each entree is served with french fries which tasted fresh. I really enjoyed them because they were cut without peeling and potato skins hold a lot flavor. We also ordered half a dozen of their “Yeast Rolls” – sweet bread baked in the shape of a ball. These were really tasty and also helped balance the heat from the wings.
Our visit to Wing Stop is one that will definitely repeat. I am mostly looking forward to trying a new style and flavor of wing. From the moment you walk in to the restaurant it feels like you made the right decision. The customer service and food quality only makes it better at Wing Stop. I would absolutely suggest Wing Stop to my friends and family and would bet this is one of the reasons for the non-stop phone orders coming in while we ate our lunch that afternoon. What a tasty and filling lunch that was.
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Thanks for reading – soon I’ll post Part 3 of my New York 2012 series.
New clue… it’s powdery.
Zulaika H.
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
Today I really wanted to do something different – we have rice, beans and meat pretty often. The only problem with doing different things is everyone isn’t always a fan of “new” ingredients (like broccoli, spices, etc.).
For this I used:
- Chicken breast (one, skinless)
- broccoli (about a cup)
- Pasta (medium shells)
- Alfredo sauce (a jar from the store)
- Seasoning (as needed)
First, I put the broccoli to boil in some water in a small saucepan.
Then I cut the meat into 1 in. square pieces. Seasoned. And put into another saucepan to cook. This can also be done by stir fry (probably a better option for flavor).
Once the chicken and broccoli were taken care of, I put in the pasta to boil. I usually use 3/4 cup of pasta per person and that is usually enough for (the three of) us.
Once the broccoli, meat and pasta are all cooked (in about 10-15 minutes all should be done), I combine everything in a pan and add the Alfredo sauce. I keep this on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes* and then it’s all done and ready to serve.
*This would be a good time to toast garlic bread or toss a quick salad.
Here’s what my dinner plate looked like.
If you have the same problem (with trying new things), I encourage you to cook the new stuff anyway (unless there are alergies). Offer your family variety often enough, and you may be surprised at what they are willing to try, and eventually like.
Thanks for reading,
Zulaika
Jalisco – the real Mexican tacos
Tonight, my husband stopped at Jalisco to pick up dinner. It’s a little Mexican “bodega” that sells groceries and deli items as well as serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
We each usually just can eat two of them. I really like the hot sauce. They can be ordered with more toppings, but we prefer to just have onions and cilantro with our meat.
Here’s the picture of what they look like:
I also had Ruben pick up some “queso fresco” (or Fresh Cheese). It’s like a saltier, crumblier (if that’s a word) mozzarella. I like to eat them with fresh lime juice on them (but not too much).
Thanks for reading… Buenas noches!
Zulaika
Something a little different
A few days ago, I was thinking since moving into our new place we hadn’t had a taco night yet. Well it was more of a burrito – but does it really matter?
This is the sauce Ruben used to marinate the steak last night – it was so good, we decided to make the meat again for our taco night tonight.
When marinating meat, we’ve found taking as much air out of the Zip Loc works best – the only way out for the sauce is actually INTO the steak 🙂 My mouth actually waters thinking of how good they smell when they’re in there for just a couple of hours.
Always remember, even if you just have an hour or even 30 minutes to marinate your meat – it’ll be well worth it in flavor when it’s time to eat.
One of my favorite things to put in my burritos are grilled peppers and onions. They’re so sweet and balance out the taste of the meat you put into your burrito. I sliced green, yellow and red peppers and yellow onions (1 of each). This would be enough for 4-6 burritos.
I put them in a pan with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil, which was already warm. After about 15 minutes at medium heat, this is what I got.
Here’s the picture of everything set on the table for the fiesta! The tallest container has the grilled peppers and onions, then there’s sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, grated mozarella and chopped tomatoes (clockwise).
Maybe next time you can come over for some! Just kidding 😛
Thanks for reading,
Zulaika H.
