Touring Austin One Bite At A Time

     The next morning after that long baseball game, the hubby and I woke up early, packed up the car, then headed up north to Austin (leaving the kiddos with MeeMaw & PapPaw) for a mini vacation within our vacation.  Before leaving for Texas I did some research on Austin and found Austin Eats Food Tours.  This was right up our alley!  We are such foodies and it was perfect!  I secured our spots on the tour online and printed our itinerary.

     We drove into Austin and to the meeting place for the South Congress Walking Tour.  We started our tour at Jo's, a local coffee shop known for it's Turbo Iced Coffee.  The tour guide Chris, brought us some Morning Buns from La Patisserie, which were sooooo AMAZING, to enjoy with the coffee (which I didn't drink, it was WAY too strong, since it was straight up without all the cream or sugar, how I drink it.  I mean, I order white chocolate mochas from Starbucks which is a little espresso, and tons of the other stuff).  After we all (there was about 12 of use total) finished our, well their coffees, and our morning buns, we walked down the street to our next stop on the tour......

   
     Our next stop was Snackbar, a local restaurant attached to the historic Austin Motel.  The owner came out to talk to us about her culinary adventure of opening up her restaurant and the vision behind it.  She was very sweet and shared her favorite and most popular dish, the Tamago Yoko, which is a shrimp, bacon, cabbage & leek hashcake topped with two over medium eggs, wasabi aioli, bonito, and nori.  To be honest it wasn't my ideal snack, but I tried it, on the other hand the hubby LOVED it!

     Our third stop on our culinary journey was Guero's Taco Bar.  Oh man, this place was AWESOME! They had some chicken tacos with in-house made tortillas, chips with three different salsas and the most A-Mazing quesco!  Oh, and I can't forget, the Margaritas!   Everything was delicious!  On a side note, some of the movie Chef, was filmed in their garden.  Now, I really want to see that movie!

   
     Next, we walked down to Hopdoddy, which was created to unite handcrafted Beer (Hop) and hormone/antibiotic free black angus beef (Doddy), the nickname given to the native cow in Aberdeen, Scotland.  Their whole menu looked good!  We tried the Classic Burger accompanied with their Kennebec Fries and then for dessert their famous Salted Caramel Shake.  Oh man, we were stuffed after this stop!  But we pressed on....

     Just when we thought we couldn't eat anymore, we DID!  We crossed the street over to Burro Cheese Kitchen to savor their Croque-Madame.  Which is a spin on a Croque Monsieur.   I would have never thought smoked ham, Fontina cheese, pesto aioli, topped with a fried egg and Dulce de Leche sauce on sourdough bread would marry well, but OMG! It was divine!

     So now that we enjoyed coffee, pastries, hash cakes, tacos, chips with salsa & queso, margaritas, burgers, fries, shakes, and grilled cheese...we had one more stop!  Our last and final stop was Home Slice Pizza.  I tried a slice, it was tasty, but the hubby was so full he couldn't eat another bite, so he just enjoyed some local beer.
   

     After our Food Tour, we were SO full, but very happy and satisfied!  We thanked our guide (tipped him well), then headed out to explore some more of Austin!  If you are looking for something fun and yummy to do in Austin, totally check out Austin Eats Food Tours! You'll have so much fun eating your way through Austin!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Recipe from the Recipe Girl

What you need:

Cinnamon Filling

4 TBsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (melted, not boiling)

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Glaze

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

2oz cream cheese (room temperature)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 large egg (lightly beaten)

1 TBsp vegetable oil

How to make them:

Prepare the cinnamon filling:

In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Scoop the filling into a quart-size heavy zip baggie and set it aside.

Prepare the glaze:

In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth.

Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in the vanilla extract.

Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.

Prepare the pancake batter:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk in the milk, egg, and oil, just until the batter is moistened.

Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray.

Use an ice cream scoop (or 1/3 cup measuring cup) to add the batter to the pan.

Use the bottom of the scoop or cup to spread the batter into a circle (about 4 inches in diameter).

Reduce the heat to medium low.

Snip the corner of the baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner.

When the pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling.

Starting at center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl.

Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin piping on top of the pancake and it's golden brown on the bottom.

Slide a thin, wide metal spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over.

Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well.

When you flip the pancake onto the plate, the cinnamon swirl will show.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. 

Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed.

Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.

then ENJOY!

Hot Dogs, Cracker Jacks, & Popcorn

     While we were down in Texas the hubby and I got to sneak away an attend a Missions' baseball game with some friends without the kiddos.  It was a fun date night!

The hubby and one of his good friends, Will.

Me and my friend, Erica cheesing' it up at the game!

The night before when we took the kiddos the game it ended with the Missions winning 3 to 2 and ended in the 9th inning....well that was NOT the case this game.  This game was 0 to 0 till the 11th inning when finally the opposing team scored 1 run.  We didn't get home till after 11:30pm-ish.  It was a long game, but still lots of fun!

Happy National Watermelon Day

     Throughout the year I try to find fun holidays to celebrate with the kiddos.  August 3rd marks the day to honor the juicy watermelon on National Watermelon Day!  I, personally, am not a fan of watermelon, or melon, or honeydew, or cantaloupe as a matter of fact.  But it doesn't stop me from coming up with creative ways to enjoy a "watermelon," even if it's Watermelon Cookies like I made last year, or these yummy Watermelon Cake Pops I made this year.  

Recipe adapted from Diva's Can Cook

 ** I usually make all my cakes & frosting from scratch, but for these I used a boxed cake mix and pre-made frosting **

What you need:

Any flavor cake, prepared according to box (I used the Duncan Hines Limited Edition Holiday Velvets Cake Mixes) **
Vanilla or Chocolate Frosting (depending on the cake flavor, I used vanilla)
2 packages melting chocolates (I used the Wilton Green Candy Melts)
Cake pop sticks
Sprinkles



How to make them:

Add the cake to a large bowl.  (If using two colors as I did, you will need two separate bowls)
Crumble the cakes until it resembles fine crumbs.
Add in the frosting a little bit at a time until the cake is moist and can hold a ball shape, yep still slightly crumbly.
Use your hands to incorporate the frosting into the cake crumbs.
Use a mini ice cream scoop, scoop out some cake, roll and shape into tight balls.  (I also put some mini chocolate chips into the center ball to act as "seeds" for my Watermelon Cake balls)
If using different colors, roll a smaller ball in one color then using the other color cake cover the ball entirely forming one large ball.
Roll the rest of the mixture into tight balls and place on a plate or a mini muffin pan.
Melt 2-4oz of the melting chocolate in a microwavable safe bowl.
Dip the tip of a cake pop stick into the melted chocolate then insert it into the cake ball about half way, repeat with remaining balls.
Freeze for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the decorating supplies.
Melt the remaining chocolate in a large cup, make sure you have enough chocolate to completely submerge the cake ball.
Remove the cake balls from the freezer.
Dip the cake balls carefully into the chocolate until covered.
Let the excess chocolate drip off, swirl and tap gently if needed.
Add the sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet. (it hardens quickly)
Stick the decorated cake pop into a styrofoam block to finish setting.
Place into the refrigerator to speed up setting time.
When completely harden, either cover with a clear treat bag and ribbon to hand out as gifts or
store them in a single layer in an air tight container or freeze them...or
ENJOY one now!

     Last year was our first celebrating National Watermelon Day, here are the Watermelon Cookies I made last year!  Everyone was so impressed by them and they tasted really good too!

If you're looking for some fun facts about watermelons to baffle your friends, check it out here!

HAPPY  WATERMELON DAY!

A Day for Daddy

     I posted the fun photo shoot I did with the kiddos for the Father's Day Gift, here's the hubby opening up his gift up.  He really liked it, I couldn't wait to hang it up!

      After the present opening and we got ready, we headed over to a friend's house so the hubby could learn how to brew beer.  See our friend, Vinnie, brews his own.  And the hubby has always wanted to learn, so what better way to spend Father's Day then doing something for him with him.  We snacked on pizza, enjoyed a glass of Moscato, let the kiddos play, and let the daddy get his brew on.

 Look at the Brew Masters!

When I asked the hubby what he wanted as a special treat for Father's Day, and he said he wanted a chocolate pie.  So that's what I did.  I made him this amazing, rich and creamy chocolate pie! 

Overall, it was another great day spent with family and friends.

I think he really enjoyed his day for daddies.

Easter in August??

     Today, as I was updating my blog, I totally realized I never posted about our Easter Sunday this year...So here it is a few months later.

     The morning started off great.  The kiddos woke to up to baskets full of surprises from the Easter Bunny.  They busted right into them!     

Here is Kinley's basket

And Liam's basket

Look at those happy faces!

The hubby and I must have been good, because we got one too!

I LOVE me some Reese's Peanut Butter Bunnies!

So after they opened their baskets and did a fun egg hunt we dyed some eggs.

Usually, we do the dye in the cups with the tabs and vinegar, but this year I found this cool

dye spinner. I knew the kiddos would have fun.

It was so easy, just put in the boiled egg then the dye then pump..pump...pump.

That's it!  

After the egg spinning, they wanted to further their egg decorating with these PAAS Color Snaps. 

It was messy... 

But FUN!

Such beautiful eggs!

After the egg decorating, we got cleaned up and in our Easter Sunday best then headed over to our friend's house for brunch and an Easter Egg Hunt.

Kinley had a blast collecting her eggs.

Liam had a great time too! 

Looks like Liam found a bunch!

I put on my cute Jamberry Nail Wraps

and my cute new wedges with my pretty springy dress,

and brought a Blueberry Toasted Coconut Tart that I made to share.

After brunch, we headed back home and got out the Cascarones (confetti eggs) 

to pop on each other's heads.  I don't know how popular they are here, but it's an Easter and Fiesta tradition where we come from.

Even with all the hoopla that goes with Easter, from the baskets to candy to eggs hunts, to toys, and dying eggs....we still know the true meaning behind the Easter holiday.  Being with family and friends to rejoice in the Rising of Jesus Christ.

Hope your Easter, though many months ago, was fun and kept you in the spirit.