Friday, February 27, 2009

Good for the soul, bad for your ass..


This recipe is from Pillsbury. You will not need a Monkey, but, if you have one, he will enjoy this yummy doughy goodness as well.
This is a great breakfast, dessert, or anytime snack. It's ooey gooey goodness will knock your socks off if you are a sweets lover. or alive at all. It's that good. For your soul...not for your ass...or your thighs...or your waistline. But, hey, it is delicious. Make it once every couple of months and call your best sweet lovers over to devour it with hands dripping buttery sugary yumminess. They will worship you like a god.
INGREDIENTS
1/2
cup sugar
1
teaspoon cinnamon
2
cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2
cup chopped walnuts, if desired (we dont do the nuts or raisins, because of fussy children, but I would love to try a pecan version)
1/2
cup raisins, if desired
1
cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4
cup butter or margarine, melted
DIRECTIONS
1.
Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan.
2.
In large plastic food-storage bag, mix sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.
3.
Mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
4.
Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.
YUMMY!
*****ooey
*****gooey
*****inexpensive
****easy

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Hersheys All Natural Extra Dark w/ Pomegranate Pieces


NOT YUMMY!

Do not buy these unless your taste buds are used to only eating crappy food. This is the worst chocolate I have ever tasted. The chocolate by itself is flavorless and the texture is just not right for dark chocolate. Those "pomegranate" pieces have no taste of the fruit and they just destroy an already lame chocolate experience.

I grew up on Hershey products and have only recently been seeking out and sampling the rest of the chocolate world. I have come to dislike Hershey a great deal. This bag of nasty was the last straw. I will not be buying any more of this junk food.

Sorry, Hershey, you've lost me. This is from a long time fan who has spent a vacation in Hershey, PA. I used to wear a silver kiss around my neck. We used to be so good together...


Not Yummy

*Flavor awful

*Texture all wrong

*$3.99 out the window

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Fat Tuesday at The Border Grille and Bar



What a great time! I took my fam to the Border Grille and Bar in Leominster for the Fat Tuesday Prime Rib and Seafood buffet. We arrived at the very start of this event (5pm) and the place was already starting to fill up. The hostess was very friendly and gave us all beads, masks, and shiny plastic coins. (I thought maybe they were to pay for the meal, but I was mistaken) Since we are a family of five, we were seated at a large comfy half circle booth. Elbow room with this clan is hard to come by, and this was a refreshing change from the tiny tables most restaurants offer.

Our waitress arrived soon after we sat and took our full order immediately. Half way through the drink order, she realizes that the eldest might eat her if she doesn't take his meal order, too, so she asks my permission to take the full order from him and we all agree that we are ready. A relief because the eldest was ravenously hungry and irritable. Middle man, Hubs and myself chose the buffet, while the eldest had his usual boneless buffalo and fries. The little guy had his predictable tenders meal. What is it that makes kids order the same thing no matter where you take them? At least it's easy to please them! After all, even the Sole has chicken tenders!
Our drinks arrived quickly. I had the house margarita on the rocks with salt. It was perfect. Hubs had a beer. The eldest had the first of 5 cokes. (he keeps the waitress running cokes all night and she is a good sport...only having the shocked look after the first two) Middle man ordered a coke and when she brought it and realized that it was a kids coke with a cover and straw, she immediately said she's be right back with "the right size". He's almost 13, so this little gesture is meaningful, especially from this "hot waitress". The little guy has OJ, as always.
Before we have two sips of our drinks, the boys meals arrive and we head off to the buffet.
Middle man is first in line and it's great to see him try all kinds of things he has never seen before. We start with Crawdads, catfish claws, Louisiana chicken, spicy shrimp, creme pene with crayfish, red beans and rice and baked oysters. The crawdads were lame after having lobster for breakfast the day before, but they sure were good looking. The creme pene was terrific, as was the red beans and rice. Everything breaded lacked flavor. The catfish was boring (maybe a sauce could have been offered) and the baked oysters were very bland. On the bright side, everything was cooked perfectly. EVERYTHING.
On the second trip, we tried Crayfish bisque, smothered prime rib, seafood gumbo, Cajun beef tips and some more of the favorites from the plate before. The bisque was chunkier than I thought bisque was supposed to be and had a strong odd flavor. The beef tips were yummy and the prime rib was made even better by the sauce from the beef tips. The gumbo was super.
The little guy and middle man had clown sundaes. Another fun tradition at the Border.
All in all, a great meal. We tried some new foods and enjoyed some old favorites. Malik the magician was entertaining and the waitress was sweet and on the ball.
The cost: $80 before tip. The buffet was $13.95 for adults, $7.95 for kids. Of course, we'd like it to be cheaper, but Fat Tuesday only comes once a year and it's worth it. Any time the whole fam can eat dinner out (drinks included for hubs and I) for under a hundred dollars is good.
*****Comfortable seating
****Good buffet choices
*****Good service
****Affordable
Yummy!