Arroz con Pollo

 TGIF! Wahoo!We've got some great things in the works for this weekend. We are making a small trip out to Lockhart, TX for some amazing barbeque and the downtown Kite Festival too! But I'll get to that in a later post ; )

This week has gone by faster than usual. Our awesome friend Joey has been in town for the week while he attends and speaks at a conference here, and because he is traveling a lot for work lately I thought a home cooked meal might be a nice change for him. 

 So I decided on Arroz con Pollo for dinner last night.

  This is more of an American take on the traditional Cuban meal. I recommend this for people who are just stepping into Caribbean cuisine or just want to try it with a different twist to it.

The original recipe I used can be found here at Realsimple.com 

(and was originally submitted by Greg Patent)

You will need the following: 

* my personal tweaks to the ingredients are highlighted next to the originals listed

• 2 large tart unpeeled apples, such as Granny Smith - I only use 1
• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, coarsely chopped - I usually substitute red because they are easier to find
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced- I use two to three tablespoons of already pre minced garlic in a jar
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup long-grain converted rice
• 2 cups chicken broth-I use from concentrate packets instead of store bought cans or cartons



I hate buying broth for only one recipe to only have the excess expire in the fridge. I stumbled upon this one day in the story, and I've never gone back to regular stock since. It works great and fixed the problem perfectly.




• 1/4 teaspoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped- I just omitted this it is not really necessary

 

Directions

1. Quarter, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch-thick pieces; set aside.
2. Season the chicken with the salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside, leaving the oil in the pan. 
3. Add the green pepper, yellow pepper, onion, and garlic. Stir well and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and apples to the pan. Cook 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in the paprika and red pepper.
4. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, arrange the chicken on top of the rice mixture, and cover. Cook about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with the parsley. Serve hot. 

It should look like this

 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Love-Di

 

Downtown Volleyball

Good morning! On Monday a friend of mine asked me if I could substitute-in for her regular volleyball league. Normally, I shy away from playing sports or anything related to me playing sports . It is not that I don't enjoy playing sports, but mostly because I'm awful at playing them. Some people thrive on competitive pressure; I'm the complete opposite and tend to crumble under that pressure. This time I decided to step out of my comfort zone and play.  I figured if I suck ( which I did) then at least it would be mostly around people who I don't know, ha ha.

Luckily for me the rest of the team was really great. They were kind about my mistakes, and seemed to just really enjoy playing. So Thanks for a great night guys! I'll substitute-in anytime :)

The league takes place at a restaurant and bar called  Aussie's, and it's located downtown near the Congress Bridge. I've been there a few times to grab a drink and cheer on friends, and it's a really great laid back atmosphere. Hope your week is going well : )

-Love Di

PS- sorry for the bad pictures, but as usually I only have me I-phone on me 

Weekend Wrap Up

Wow, this weekend flew by fast : ) My mom came in right on time Friday night! I wish she could have stayed a little longer of course, but I think we used our time wisely. We woke up semi- early on Saturday and headed out to get grab something to eat. Brunch by far is my mom's favorite type of meal, and it just so happens to be very popular in Austin on the weekends . So we headed over to one of my favorite spots on a sunny day- Ables on the Lake.

 We stuffed ourselves silly, and decided we needed to enjoy the beautiful day outside. We grabbed Chloe and headed out to the Austin Green Belt.

**Side note** the Austin Green Belt is a large area of protected park that is approx. 8 miles long  and is filled with creeks, trails and cliffs. It's also right next to downtown ; )

We honestly could not have dreamed up of a better day to go out on the trails. It was around mid 60's, not a cloud in the sky, and best of all the water was flowing in all the creeks. It was beautiful, and Chloe had a blast playing in the water.

We finally wrapped up her trip watching the sunset at happy hour and ordered take-out for a good old fashion girls sleepover with a great chick flick and Sugar Mama cupcakes for desert. 

 Before we knew it I was at the airport dropping her off for her flight home. Hope you guys had a great weekend too!

Love Di

TGIF

Happy Friday y'all! Sorry I have been so MIA this week. Between Ricky getting ready to go out of town and getting ready for my mom to come into town, it has been a little hectic. Luckily, last night I was able to grab a few drinks with the ladies at a cute little Greek bar called Opa. It's conveniently located in south Austin near South Lamar and West Oltorf. We were officially the warmest place in the U.S. yesterday topping out at 90 degrees, so we could not have found a better excuse to hang out outside and have a few drinks : ) Thank goodness we took advantage of the weather yesterday because I woke up this morning to find that a cold front had came through last night, and the high is now in the 6o's - gotta love Texas's bipolar weather, lol.

A few weeks ago Ricky surprised me with letting me know that him and my mom split a ticket for her to come out this weekend. I am so excited for a girls weekend with my mom : )  Ricky and I are pretty good with seeing both of our families periodically every couple of months, but I am really looking forward to just having "me & mom time" this weekend;  I can't remember the last time we had this. My husband is a very clever man- he conveniently scheduled my mom to come into town while he isn't here, but I can't be suspicious about it because it's wrapped-up into a surprise. I'm on to you De Camps!

The place is perfect for some small appetizers and drinks

Most places with outdoor seating = pet friendly in Austin. Poor Chloe was so excited to be out and about last night that she tuckered herself out pretty early. She ended up passing out under Anna's feet, lol. Doesn't she look so cute with her hometown Team's collar - Go Noles!

I hope you have a great weekend- Luv Di

Weekend Wrap Up

The weather continued to suck throughout most of the weekend. It became salvageable with a great game night at our friend's house. Honestly how can you go wrong with home cooked food, decent boozes, and a competitive round of guys vs. ladies in Taboo ; ) Then we finished strong by having Sunday brunch @ Annie's downtown. Sprinkle in a little afternoon work around the house, and I think it came out to be a great weekend after all. I can't wait to the end of this week to see my mom, yay! I hope everyone has a great week!
Luv D
The pics below are of Annie's downtown. Sorry for no pictures of the food, but we were wrapped up in a conversation and before I knew it we were already done, oops. I thought about sneaking a picture of a stranger's plate for a second, but ultimately decided i didn't want to be the creepy l-phone camera lady, lol.

Mexican Sangria

picture curtsey of designsponge.com

  Today is all sorts of yuck. It's cold, wet and dreary outside. As you can see in my beautiful picture taken of our office parking lot today. Ugh, thank goodness these days are few and far between here in Austin.

 

 On days like this I tend to get a little home sick when I think about the awesome weather they have in my hometown of West Palm Beach, FL this time of year. For example, the picture I took below over Christmas break on a walk with my mom along Palm Beach.

So when I can't just hop onto my private jet and have my driver drop me off at the Breakers. I though everyone has these just waiting around?!( Just kidding!) The next best thing for me is to  get into a "tropical state of mind" instead. The best way I have found to do that is to have a drink  ( or two, ha ha). Responsibly of course ; )

This is a great twist on a go-to classic like Sangria.

Recipe and picture below from designsponge.com

Ingredients:
1 bottle of red wine
1 cup of tequila (I prefer to use 1800 Silver)
1/2 a cup of orange juice
1/2 a cup of brown  sugar
1/4 cup of fresh squeezed organic lime juice
1 sliced organic red apple  (and other fruit if you desire – raspberries, watermelon, oranges, mangos, etc)
Mixology:
In a pitcher mix the ingredients in the specific order listed above. Then add ice to chill.  The longer it sits in the pitcher the more flavorful it will be.  Using a little lime juice, give the glasses a nice brown-sugar rim and then serve and enjoy!
Happy Friday everyone- Luv D

If you ever come to Austin....

Good morning y’all! (see the Texan is slowly starting to come out of me, ha ha) Today I thought I’d share with you some information I put together recently for a sorority sister that is coming to visit this week.  You know- just in case you come to town and I’m not here, lol.

***Side note to a good friend - Beca I know you read this and this might make you a little homesick for the Austin, but these are all places you have already tried and loved. I am expecting  a new list about Hoboken, NJ  for Ricky and I to use when we come visit you , Eric, Mike and Lacy sometime this fall ;  )

When Ricky and I got married last September we made a small packet for all of our Out of Town  guests  of our favorite places and things to do around downtown Austin  ( we tried to make sure everyone got one; but if you didn’t I’m so sorry). We are both from South Florida and we knew that the majority of the wedding would be traveling into Austin from Florida. So here are a few of the  recommendations we gave out: 

P.S.  If you only want to explore a few things, and don’t really want to rent- try this place http://www.car2go.com/ (they allow you to rent a smart car by the hour and they are scattered all around downtown all you have to do is sign up and find any available one around you.)

Texas is well known for their barbeque and burgers, along with tex-mex food.

For barbeque:

1)      If you have a car and time then a small drive out to Lockhart, TX is A MUST. There are two establishments that have been there for over 40 years and are competitive family rivals, and it is arguably the best Texas barbeque in the state.

2)      If you need to stay around downtown then I suggest Ironworks or Franklin’s barbeque or Billy’s Barbeque and Brewery (but keep in mind Franklin’s is very,very, popular and they only serve "X" amount a day. They usually sell out within a few hours of opening and you can stand in line for up to two hours) I’ve honestly tried and failed a few times, but from what I’ve heard it is worth the time and effort.

For Tex- Mex:

1)      For the drivers out there Polvo’s is a personal favorite of Ricky and I, and it is roughly 5-7 min. cab drive from downtown. It is interior Mexican food and is delicious.

2)      Wahoo’s fish taco’s is really fresh, decently priced, and delicious

3)      Try Juan in Million if you want to stick to downtown. They have been featured on a few food channel shows, and they are priced really well for the amount of food you get.

( BTW you can pretty much grab breakfast tacos or tacos in general almost anywhere in Austin for a quick fix

Burgers:

1)      El Casino Casino el Camino is the best burger you will get downtown. Don’t be fooled by the weird interior, but make sure you are hungry because the burgers are HUGE.

2)      Sandy’s on Barton Springs Rd. is my personal favorite on a “hung over Saturday” It’s been there forever, and you can’t beat their $3.79 special of a burger fries and a drink.

 

If you are looking for a quick fix or can’t decide on somewhere to eat, then I highly recommend the Wholefood’s Flagship store on S. Lamar and 6^th Street. This is a go-to place for almost anything fresh and fast. They have a restaurant in every area of the store from barbeque, vegan, Italian, sushi, American grill, and a great pizza area.  Don’t let me get started on the whole Dessert section – I try to avoid it at all costs, ha ha.

For a swanky place to go for food and drinks look no further than La Condesa and Malverde. I may be bias because they hosted our rehearsal dinner, but they are one of the best restaurants/ bars in the city. 

 Brunch is also huge:

Moonshine is the best on my list for $15 all you can buffet.

Franks

Jo’s

For drinks and a cool atmosphere stick to either W. 6^th, the East side or Rainey St. Some of my favorites are:

Kung Fu Saloon

Key Bar

219 West

Shangr ila

Luster Pearl

Bar 96

The East Side Show Room

Cedar Door

 I may be showing my age here but east 6^th street is UT’s undergrad main area and it can just get a little annoying ( unless you are in the mood for body shots off coeds, then you are in the right area).

Food trucks are everywhere and are usually amazing. They mostly feature up and coming chefs that haven’t found a permanent home yet. East Side Trailer park is one of the best, and with a BYOB policy too.

Longest Post ever – to date, and I’m pretty sure if you made it to this point your thinking I should be work for commission on selling the city , ha ha. My theory is – if you are going to make a trip all the way out here then you better have an awesome time.

Luv- D