Portland with my BFF!

What a short trip! I totally feel like I've never even left but we did SO much in just 2 days. We started our Portland trip meeting at PDX and hoping on the MAX Rail to our hotel. The weather really cooperated and was only slightly cloudy. We got unpacked and was on our way Downtown before noon. Our first stop was the Portland Art Museum, where there was traditional as well as modern art. I really did like a lot of it but some of the modern ones were really confusing. Here is me and Kat having a light lunch at the museum's Cafe. We shared a yummy Cheese and Fruit Plate, a Small Salad and a cup of Tomato Soup.

After some more walking around (and shopping!), we met up with Kat's friends for happy hour at Dragon Fish, where they have Sushi and Drink Specials every afternoon! It was SO much fun to hang out and meet new people! :) By 8 we were both exhausted from waking up at 5am that morning to catch our flights and walking around all afternoon so we took a dip in the Jacuzzi for a bit and called it a night! (I know we're SUCH party animals!) Oh and we also ordered Baby Mama, which I fell asleep about 1 hour into. Oh well, I didn't feel like I was missing out on much! hehe

The next morning, we joined a Walking Tour, where the guide took us through all the different neighborhoods in Downtown Portland and told us a bit about its history. It was REALLY interesting to learn about the city and how "GREEN" and "Public Transportation Friendly" it is compared to every where else! I mean, you could literally take the MAX Rail or bus ANYWHERE easily and you don't need to own a car at all! I know SF is a lot like that but you can't really go anywhere outside of Downtown without a car. Anyway, here we are at the Portland Theater. We were both so bundled up cuz it was pretty cold in the morning, especially standing in the shade listening to our Guide!

The rest of the day consisted of having lunch at Rock Bottom, checking out the Saturday Market and doing some more shopping. We went back to our hotel and had a light dinner there. It was another early night cuz we had another morning flight to catch back home. It was such a short trip but I'm SO glad we took it cuz I really do miss Kat a lot and these short weekend vacations are a perfect way for us to catch up AND explore somewhere new! :) Where to next Kat?

Taco + Pizza = PERFECT

I bought this Bisquick Booklet from Safeway the other day and decided to try out one of the recipes. Of course, my first choice was Deep-Dish Taco Squares! I mean, Pizza AND Taco? How could you get better than this? Of course we ended up with a LOT of left-overs but Greg said they tasted even better the next day! :)

Ingredients: (6 servings)

1/2 lb lean ground beef
2 Tbsp Taco seasoning
1 c Original Bisquick mix
1/4 c cold water
1/2 c sour cream
1/3 c mayonnaise
1 c shredded Mexican style cheese
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 c salsa

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.
2. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix until blended.
3. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and water until soft dough forms. Using fingers dipped in Bisquick mix, pat dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of baking dish.
4. In same bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese until blended.
5. Layer beef mixture, tomato and salsa over dough; spoon sour cream mixture over top.
6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges of dough are light golden brown.

Just ONE Apple Left

So I have ONE Gala Apple left from my last apple purchase and it wasn't gonna last long. SO...I decided to make more muffins! These Apple Cheddar Muffins are different from my last ones cuz I didn't use Cheez-It and used Bisquick. They turned out so fluffy and yummy! Maybe I should follow recipes from now on. :) I did sub the sugar for mayo though cuz I wanted my muffins to be more savory. I also didn't need the oil since the mayo made everything moist already.


Ingredients: (6 muffins)

1 egg
2 c Original Bisquick® mix
1 c coarsely chopped peeled cooking apple
1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 c mayo
1/3 c milk

Prep:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with shortening, or line with paper baking cups.
2. In medium bowl, beat egg slightly. Stir in remaining ingredients just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among cups.
3. Bake 17 to 19 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

HERSHEY'S Chocolate Chip Cookies

I usually try not to repeat cookies but a classic like Chocolate Chip, well, that gets a Free Pass. These are slightly different though, cuz they're HERSHEY'S Famous Cookies! Move over, Mrs. Field's! They're fluffier and not as crunchy so if you don't like soft cookies, they're probably not your style. They're yummy though and look how perfectly round they are! You know what the secret is? Well, I used to try to bake a dozen cookies per baking sheet and the cookies would spread and then look all messy. SO this time, I only baked 6 per sheet and Voila...PERFECTLY round cookies! Also, I kept the dough chilled in the fridge, which I think also helped keep the cookies from spreading too much. You learn something new every time right? :)


Ingredients: (5 dozen cookies)

2¼ c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ c granulated sugar
¾ c packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

I Don't Say This Often But...

There are times when I wish I had a kid, like when I see recipes like these (courtesy of Kraft and Betty Crocker):

I mean, seriously, NONE of these are hard to make but even I couldn't justify making them unless there was a kid in the house! :(

Ralph & Cuddles DRUNK!

The Bestest Mommy in the World!