So our beloved Chicago Bears didn't win yesterday....we were bummed, but they did have a great season and no one ever expected them to do so well. I made veggie sloppy joe's for lunch yesterday to share with those that came over to watch the game. I've made these a lot and don't have a recipe written down, so it's always just a little different. These were a huge hit (and keep in mind almost everyone eating them are meat eaters) so I thought I'd post the recipe. They're as low-fat as you want them to be, cheap, and good for you because the beans & rice provide a complete protein.....I hope you enjoy these!
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 cup of uncooked rice (I use white, but brown would work just as well)
2 cans of pinquitos - do not drain (these come in a sauce similar to chili beans)
1 (14 oz can) of tomato sauce
1 cup of barbeque sauce (to taste really, this is about what I put in)
2 heaping Tablespoons of pickle relish
1/4 cup (to taste) liquid smoke
3 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
Salt (I use Kosher)
Saute the chopped onion & green pepper in canola/vegetable oil and salt (the salt helps the veggies cook faster - a great tip I picked up from watching so many cooking shows). After a few minutes add the spices and cook for a few minutes. Then add the beans in liquid, tomato sauce, BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's), pickle relish and liquid smoke.
Cheddar cheese - shredded, for topping
Package of burger buns
Monday, January 24, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
This week........
So I haven't posted much this week -sorry to anyone that is actually reading my blog once in a while! Last weekend we went to dinner at East Burn with our friends Monique, Chris, Andy & Susan. Yum! I love that place and have to go back soon. Plus there was a band that turned out to be really good - they played in the dining room so we couldn't really avoid them - so that was lucky. They were called Kung Pow Chicken (sp?) and were a 4 piece that played sort of 20's ish jazz. Really good - I'd like to see more of them.
Saturday and Sunday was lots o' football watching - our friends Hayley & Jamey came over Saturday and we watched the 2 football games. Sunday my family came over and we cheered the Bears on to victory over the Seachickens!!!! Anne & Em and I did a NY Times Square puzzle too - all in one sitting - we're awesome. Monday I had off for MLK Jr. day - got a haircut, my friend Monique and I got lunch, then I cooked Thai soup for weekday lunches (turned out great!) and quesadillas for Monday & Tuesday dinner. Tuesday night we had bowling league and we kicked butt- I think we won all 3 games (and if we didn't I doubt the people we played will read this). Wednesday we made a tuna casserole and didn't do much. Thursday our friends Amanda & Chris came over for dinner and we made veggie pot pies, mashed potatoes and steamed brussels sprouts. Tonight - Julian and I plan on not doing much, getting dinner and maybe watching Portlandia - I recorded it before I left for work this morning.
Saturday - I'm getting a pedicure - only my 2nd ever. It sounded nice and my feet need help this time of year! Need to do our grocery shopping sometime Saturday. Then we're going to Lucy's Table to finally celebrate our 20th anniversary (not wedding, just total time being together). Sunday - more football! My family will come over to watch the Bears defeat the Packers. Julian's parents are coming over that night and we're going to dinner.
Go Bears!!!!!!
Saturday and Sunday was lots o' football watching - our friends Hayley & Jamey came over Saturday and we watched the 2 football games. Sunday my family came over and we cheered the Bears on to victory over the Seachickens!!!! Anne & Em and I did a NY Times Square puzzle too - all in one sitting - we're awesome. Monday I had off for MLK Jr. day - got a haircut, my friend Monique and I got lunch, then I cooked Thai soup for weekday lunches (turned out great!) and quesadillas for Monday & Tuesday dinner. Tuesday night we had bowling league and we kicked butt- I think we won all 3 games (and if we didn't I doubt the people we played will read this). Wednesday we made a tuna casserole and didn't do much. Thursday our friends Amanda & Chris came over for dinner and we made veggie pot pies, mashed potatoes and steamed brussels sprouts. Tonight - Julian and I plan on not doing much, getting dinner and maybe watching Portlandia - I recorded it before I left for work this morning.
Saturday - I'm getting a pedicure - only my 2nd ever. It sounded nice and my feet need help this time of year! Need to do our grocery shopping sometime Saturday. Then we're going to Lucy's Table to finally celebrate our 20th anniversary (not wedding, just total time being together). Sunday - more football! My family will come over to watch the Bears defeat the Packers. Julian's parents are coming over that night and we're going to dinner.
Go Bears!!!!!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Fighter - movie review
My sister, Em, Julian and I went to Cinemagic the other night to see The Fighter. I love Cinemagic - it's a local business and it has reasonably priced movies and concessions. Plus it's near our house and not usually too packed. So, anyway, we'd been wanting to see this movie - my bro, Christian, really liked it, and my favorite guys (Christian Bale and Marky Mark) are in it! And I always love these type of underdog type movies (think Rocky - all of them are awesome, except I haven't seen the very last one but bet it's at least pretty good, if not better).
So this movie is based on a true story about two brothers (Dicky, played by Christian Bale) and Micky (played by Marky Mark). Dicky is a local boxing legend in this small town that must be near Boston (major Boston accents going on). He's famous for knocking out (or just down, even that is questionable) Sugar Ray Leonard. He's a has-been at this point (I don't want to give away too much) and is training his younger brother, Micky, who is an aspiring boxer. The movie revolves around their extensive family relationships as Micky struggles to actually make it. The family was awesome - so outrageous that they offer a lot of comic relief for a pretty dramatic and intense movie. I loved this move - see it!!
That was not the only comic relief to be found though. About the middle of the movie there was a rather quiet, intense and dramatic part, and all of a suddent some person (I have to think a guy!) farted so loud! We couldn't stop laughing. I heard the people behind us laughing too, but I think most people were "above" that and tried to pretend they didn't hear it. But I bet some smelled it if they were close enough. Near the end, yet another one of the quieter parts of the movie - the guy did it again! Just as loud. By then it really kind of broke the intensity and it felt good to laugh. The person behind us yelled out "I hope you're on a date!". LOL!
So this movie is based on a true story about two brothers (Dicky, played by Christian Bale) and Micky (played by Marky Mark). Dicky is a local boxing legend in this small town that must be near Boston (major Boston accents going on). He's famous for knocking out (or just down, even that is questionable) Sugar Ray Leonard. He's a has-been at this point (I don't want to give away too much) and is training his younger brother, Micky, who is an aspiring boxer. The movie revolves around their extensive family relationships as Micky struggles to actually make it. The family was awesome - so outrageous that they offer a lot of comic relief for a pretty dramatic and intense movie. I loved this move - see it!!
That was not the only comic relief to be found though. About the middle of the movie there was a rather quiet, intense and dramatic part, and all of a suddent some person (I have to think a guy!) farted so loud! We couldn't stop laughing. I heard the people behind us laughing too, but I think most people were "above" that and tried to pretend they didn't hear it. But I bet some smelled it if they were close enough. Near the end, yet another one of the quieter parts of the movie - the guy did it again! Just as loud. By then it really kind of broke the intensity and it felt good to laugh. The person behind us yelled out "I hope you're on a date!". LOL!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Restaurant review - Roost
Last Friday night Julian and I checked out a new restaurant, Roost, which is on SE 14th & Belmont. Their website is http://www.roostpdx.com/. It's in the corner spot that used to be the bar Squeeze. I'd been to that bar once, it was kind of lame, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
I heard about Roost a few weeks back, I believe it was the restaurant review in the Mercury (or was it WW?). The review said the food was great, but that on the few occasions they'd been there it wasn't very full. The reviewer was concerned that the restaurant wouldn't last for that reason. So we decided to check it out.
The night we went it was very busy, which is always a good sign. We got one of the last remaining tables. The bar was also available (no one at it when we came in), but there wasn't much to see there - the kitchen is near the bar, but the bar doesn't offer a really great view of the goings on (which can be a nice form of entertainment in some restaurants). The decor was spare, to say the least. I think the only thing on the white walls was coat hooks on the two opposing walls. It could use a bit more decor to make it feel a little less like a 3 month old restaurant. The service was attentive. We got 2 appetizers to share - deep fried brussels sprouts & creamed mushrooms over toast -both very good. The portions were generous, especially the brussels sprouts. For entrees, Julian got the open-faced "burger". It was beer wrapped in caul (stomach lining). Julian said it was really good. His burger came with a ton of fries (we wouldn't have ordered 2 apps if we'd known that!). I got the potato crusted dover sole over wilted escarole. This was basically a few (I think 3) breaded pieces of sole that were pan fried, over the escarole. The dill pickle mayo that it came with was basically just tarter sauce. Overall my main dish was pretty basic, but good. I don't recall them having any specials - I would be more interested in a special next time since the other non-meat selections are really limited. They did say their menu will evolve with the seasons. I'm sure we'll check it out again at some point, but it will be once the menu changes and there are (hopefully) a few other things to choose from.
I heard about Roost a few weeks back, I believe it was the restaurant review in the Mercury (or was it WW?). The review said the food was great, but that on the few occasions they'd been there it wasn't very full. The reviewer was concerned that the restaurant wouldn't last for that reason. So we decided to check it out.
The night we went it was very busy, which is always a good sign. We got one of the last remaining tables. The bar was also available (no one at it when we came in), but there wasn't much to see there - the kitchen is near the bar, but the bar doesn't offer a really great view of the goings on (which can be a nice form of entertainment in some restaurants). The decor was spare, to say the least. I think the only thing on the white walls was coat hooks on the two opposing walls. It could use a bit more decor to make it feel a little less like a 3 month old restaurant. The service was attentive. We got 2 appetizers to share - deep fried brussels sprouts & creamed mushrooms over toast -both very good. The portions were generous, especially the brussels sprouts. For entrees, Julian got the open-faced "burger". It was beer wrapped in caul (stomach lining). Julian said it was really good. His burger came with a ton of fries (we wouldn't have ordered 2 apps if we'd known that!). I got the potato crusted dover sole over wilted escarole. This was basically a few (I think 3) breaded pieces of sole that were pan fried, over the escarole. The dill pickle mayo that it came with was basically just tarter sauce. Overall my main dish was pretty basic, but good. I don't recall them having any specials - I would be more interested in a special next time since the other non-meat selections are really limited. They did say their menu will evolve with the seasons. I'm sure we'll check it out again at some point, but it will be once the menu changes and there are (hopefully) a few other things to choose from.
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