lunch today at crickets

mike and I decided to go to crickets (a local bar and grill here in waco) for lunch today.  we hadn't been there in a while, but they always have great lunch specials and we were in the mood for something different.

once we took a look at their menu we decided that we really needed to eat here more often, there were just so many good things to choose from, we had trouble deciding.

mike opted for the pit burger and sweet potato fries.  the pit burger was, in mike's words "ridiculous".  it was a burger topped with pulled pork, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese, pickles and cole slaw.  that may sound like a lot, but remember we are in texas and we like to do things big.  I tried some of the pulled pork and it was out of this world good and I noticed on their menu, that they have the pulled pork available for take-out by the pound!!

I opted for the monte cristo and sweet potato fries.  I really like monte cristo's, I mean, it's a fried sandwich, what is not to love.  I've had some ok monte cristo's and some great ones and this one was pretty good!

hamantashen, a jewish cookie recipe from behind blue eyes

my wonderful friend @tackyannie made some great cookies yesterday and shared the story and recipe on her blog, behind blue eyes .  she said that I could share the recipe with my blog readers as well, but be sure to checkout her blog for the story and more pictures.

Texas Traffic Jam Hamantashen
35 min | 20 min prep

SERVES 9 , 18 cookies

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 lb butter or margarine
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 large egg
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* Your favorite jam or jelly. I used Texas Traffic Jam

1. Place rack in upper third of oven. Preheat to 350°F Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease them.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. Add egg and mix 1 minute.
5. Mix in orange juice, vanilla and almond extracts.
6. Add flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Shape into a flat disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, at least 15 minutes. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days.).


7. Divide the dough in half; it will be very sticky.
8. Cover 1 portion with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Place the other half on a well-floured surface. When you think it’s floured enough, flour it more. Roll it out with a well floured rolling pin.
9. Use a 3-inch circle cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, cut circles.
10. Using a floured spatula, pick up circles and place on prepared baking sheets.
11. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons filling in the center of each circle. Press three edges together to make a triangle, leaving an opening in the center with the filling showing.
12. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.
13. Repeat with remaining dough, rerolling scraps and cutting out as many circles as possible.
14. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden on the bottom. If baking more than one sheet in the oven at a time, rotate baking sheet positions after 7 minutes.
15. Cool 5 minutes and remove to racks to finish cooling.
16. May be stored, airtight, for several days.

my answers to eating out -- tuesday's take 5 -- week #6

here are my answers:

1. What was the last meal you ate out?
   lunch yesterday at elite cafe, YUMM
2. If your partner or friends could take you to any restaurant you wanted (their treat), which one would it be?
   taste of texas steakhouse in houston
3. Buffet, take-out or sit-down restaurant?
   I prefer sit-down, but I probally get take-out the most
4. What restaurant do you eat at the most?
   chick-fil-a with the kids
5. What type of restaurant is missing from your current town?
   WAFFLE HOUSE

eating out -- tuesday's take five -- week #6

thanks to everyone who has been playing along with tuesday's take 5. some people have said they wanted to play but didn't because they don't cook, well, this week is for you. all the questions this week are about eating out and we all do that (or somedays just dream about it in this economy!)

1. What was the last meal you ate out?
   
2. If your partner or friends could take you to any restaurant you wanted (their treat), which one would it be?
3. Buffet, take-out or sit-down restaurant?
4. What restaurant do you eat at the most?
5. What type of restaurant is missing from your current town?

answer these 5 questions on your blog today and enter your name (or your blog's name) in the name field below and a permalink (the url for your blog post with the answer to these questions and not just to your main blog page) to your blog post in the url field. thanks for playing, see you next week!

sopapilla cheesecake, in honor of national cheesecake day

since today is national cheesecake day, I wanted to share with you my sopapilla cheesecake recipe. this recipe is not only wonderful, but it is really easy!!


2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar
powered sugar for dusting

1. unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan.
2. mix together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and honey.
   
3. spread over the crescent rolls.
   
4. unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
   
5. pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
   
6. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
   
7. dust with powdered sugar before serving.