So I signed up for The Biggest Blogging Loser competition. I begrudgingly emailed a photo of my scale weight to Jennie and then promptly rejoined Weight Watchers. The money is a big motivator for me. I like cash. I also like winning at things. I still don’t like exercise though. I long for the day that changes. Except that it won’t change until I actually get off my butt and do some. Catch 22!

I might post updates here from time to time, but I’m mainly blogging about it elsewhere. A nice private elsewhere where no one will see the rants and numbers and general frustration.

Is anyone else participating?

So I made these meatballs the other night to take to a friend’s house. And well, I was just kind of winging it with the recipe. However, they turned out to be the best meatballs ever! So I’ll share the recipe with you. As best I can since I didn’t really measure anything.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 cup parmesan (I used the Kraft kind in a can)
• 1 box frozen spinach (microwaved and squeezed out with a towel)
• 1 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil

I mixed all of this together in my Kitchen Aid mixer and then rolled into balls. I used my dainty little IKEA ice cream scooper so they weren’t large, but also not tiny.

I baked them at 350 for what felt like an hour. I made sure check on them ever 20 minutes and rotated them about half way through.

Now honestly, you could just stop right there and eat them like this and you would be so happy. Lord knows I was. However, I was determined to make a tomato gravy for them to hang out it.

Tomato Gravy

• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup beef broth (or any other flavor broth)
• 2 tbl sugar
• 1 cup cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 cup parmesan

I used my pretty new cast iron pot to make the gravy.

I poured a bit of olive oil on the bottom so I could sweat out the onions and garlic for a few mins. I actually put the lid on and walked away and when I came back they were a little bit stuck to the bottom. But that’s ok! I just deglazed with the beef broth and scraped as best as I could. Then I added the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, spices, parmesan, and lastly, the cream. I covered it and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Then I added the meatballs. I let everything hang out on a low heat for about a half hour.

Everyone seemed to love them. I made them on Saturday and had the leftovers on Monday for lunch. And the gravy was even better then. Still, they were amazing all on their own and I can’t wait to make them again.

There’s a place in town called Old School Bagel Cafe. Obviously their specialty is bagels. If you go I highly recommend a toasted everything bagel with garlic herb cream cheese. I also recommend that you try one of their many awesome cookies. Specifically the oatmeal white chocolate chip cranberry cookie. It’s beyond amazing. It’s a massive ball of a cookie, but oh so good. See?

Their regular oatmeal raisin cookie is also one of the best I’ve ever had.

I knew I wanted to recreate this cookie, but I don’t have the best of luck making oatmeal cookies. They always come out flat. But I decided I would give it another go. I found this recipe on the Joy of Baking site and it seemed like a pretty good one. And while they might not be as good as the ones at Old School, no one over here is complaining.

I finally had good luck with an oatmeal cookie.

What’s your favorite cookie?

So Britt invited us all last month to join her in cooking at home and posting it. She’s doing it in an effort to eat out less and save money. I just did it because I like her and she asked nicely. I didn’t do a very good job though. I forgot to take photos most nights, and then when I did remember it was only after I had started eating. And let’s just say the lighting in my kitchen sucks. So now that I have your expectations good and low, let’s get this party started.

Burgers.

I bought two pre-made patties, although I really should have pounded them out into four. These were hilarious to try and eat. I also bought some fresh okra and shook it up in a baggie with some jiffy cornmeal mix and chopped onions. Seriously, there is no better way to eat okra.

Pizza Burgers

This is a recipe from my childhood. And the good thing is, it can be modified to your taste. Here is how I make it.

-1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained (I usually season it up a bit with italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic etc.)
-1 jar pizza sauce
-8 oz shredded mozzarella (I always shred my own, it’s so much better)
-1 small can of Spam, also shredded with ye olde cheese grater (go ahead and gag, but it’s the only time I ever eat Spam)
-hamburger buns
-things that one could add to jazz it up: olives, onions, peppers, pepperoni

Basically after you cook the beef you add it back to the pan and add all of the ingredients and let it simmer until the cheese is nice and melty. Then scoop it onto the buns and cook on 350 for about 15 mins. Or until they start to brown.

Beer Battered Chicken Tenders

Don’t make these. I don’t know what I was thinking. Save your beer batter mix for your fish. These came out hard and dry and just gross.

Grilled Ribeye

It took me a long time to learn how to grill a steak properly. And sometimes I still struggle with figuring out exactly how long it needs to cook to come out medium. This is mostly due to the fact that sometimes I bring home a nice thick ribeye, and other times I get stuck with a skinny one. Oh and I put ketchup on my steak. No judging.

Pot Roast with mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts

With the pot roast, I seared it for a few mins on each side on my dutch oven with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and onions. Then I poured in a can of beef consumme, covered it, and cooked it for about 6 hours on 250. The mashed potatoes were full of butter and cream cheese. The brussel sprouts I don’t eat, but Thom gobbles them up. I just buy them frozen and microwave them in the bag for about 4 minutes, cut them in half and toss with salt and olive oil. Then I roast them under the broiler for about 10 minutes.

Taco Salads

Man I love taco salads. Azteka makes a great shell you bake yourself. Thom always turns up his nose when I put olives and cheese on mine and I do the same when loads on the sour cream. Plus I can get away with not having to make any sides. Unless you count a can of black beans.

Brown beans and jalapeno cornbread (and salad)

Sometimes you just have to make a delicious pot of beans. And these were delicious because they had copious amounts of ham in them. The cornbread recipe comes from my grandmother’s church cookbook. (although I cheat and mix up two boxes of Jiffy mix, creamed corn, cheddar, and jalapenos)

I still cook it in a cast iron skillet though.

Ok well I suppose that sums up what I managed to photograph for the month. I’m sure Britt’s post will be much better than mine.

So I wrote a review for Chicory and Chives over at Tasha Does Tulsa today if anyone wants to read it….

It’s pretty riveting stuff.

Last Friday night I had the privilege of hooking up with some lovely ladies for dinner and dessert and great conversation.

We dined on puffy tacos from Elote and crepes and gelato from Mod’s. There was much laughter and the evening ended all too soon.

Jenny, Tiffany, Loralee, and Elizabeth

Thanks again ladies for a fantastic evening.

I remember my first crepe experience. I was young. About 8 or 9 years old. I was friends with the neighbor girl and her family was Polish. I remember spending the night and waking up to her parents making crepes for breakfast. I would sprinkle cinnamon, sugar, and butter on them and gobble them up. They were so cool and so delicious and I wondered why my own family never made them. As an adult I realize why. They are kind of difficult to make if you don’t know what you’re doing. Good thing I know where I can go if I’m not feeling up to the challenge.

Welcome Mod’s Coffee and Crepes! I’ve been saying for sometime now that downtown needs an ice cream shop. And here you move in with your gelato and coffee and CREPES! Delicious sweet crepes like banana nutella and fabulous savory crepes like baked apple and ham with pepper jack. Oh and don’t even get me started on the banana pudding gelato. Heaven.

I can’t wait to go back and try the tomato bisque. And chocolate gelato. And a latte. And the peanut butter and jelly crepe. So basically I just can’t wait to go back.

507 South Boston
918-582-MODS

I’ve had heard great things about Compadres Mexican Grill, but since there wasn’t one right in Tulsa, I hadn’t eaten there. Well we have one now! Located at 71st & Sheridan where the Mexicali Border Cafe used to be. This works out perfect for me because I work just shy of a mile away. And in the short time they’ve been open I’ve already been four times. Yes four times. What can I say? I like to find something new and go full force until I wear myself out on it. Although it’s hard to imagine wearing myself out when the fajitas taste this good.

The menu is huge and full of things that look absolutely amazing.

What caught my eye was the Monterrey Jack Fajitas. Squash, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, beef or chicken, bacon, and Monterrey Jack cheese. I ordered mine sans mushrooms because I hate mushrooms.

And here’s where I have a confession to make. Something I though I would never ever say. Next time I would leave off the bacon. For whatever reason the bacon sort of got in the way of the awesome flavor of the carne asada. It’s like they were competing to be top dog. And well, the beef won. Sorry bacon, I still love you. Just not on my fajitas apparently. However, the bacon in no way ruined the dish. And there is just something completely sublime about prying a piece of well done zucchini off of the cast iron skillet and popping it into your mouth. It’s the kind of stuff dreams are made of. If you thought a fajita onion was to die for, just wait until you put that piece of squash in your mouth.

Here is the after picture. You can see all the little pieces of bacon I left behind.

You can also see I didn’t touch my beans or eat much of my spicy papas. The papas were great of course, but who has room for all of that food? I will say that I love the variety of side options they have. Instead of just offering beans and rice you also have the choice of papas (mashed or fried), grilled veggies, or okra.

I sampled the fajitas with both corn and flour tortillas. I prefer corn tortillas, but they just weren’t sturdy enough to support all of the things I wanted to put inside them. So I ended up using the flour tortillas.

I also tried out their drink of the month; the Acapulco Sunrise. I forgot to ask what was in it, but it was mighty tasty.

Our server Michael was very friendly and did a great job. The restaurant was very busy and full of happy people. We didn’t have to wait long for our food and the price was pretty average. We didn’t order any dessert although I’m sure they have some delicious ones. As much as I love dessert, it’s darn near impossible to find room for it at the end of most meals.

Here are a few other dishes they feature:

Combination fajitas

Chimichanga

Pretty sure there’s a burrito underneath all of that.

Oh and the chips and salsa are great, in case you were wondering.

The lunch specials are cheap and your beverage is included in the price. It’s little things like that that really make a place stand out in my opinion.

They also make a mean strawberry margarita.

Thank you Compadres for opening up a Tulsa location. Now I know what Broken Arrow is always fussing about.

Oh and they have daily specials too. You can go in today (Thursday) and get fajitas, queso, and margaritas for two for only $19.99. If I hadn’t already gone there for lunch, I’d be going back for dinner.

http://www.compadresgrill.com/

I dream of one day being able to make a Mexican food recipe in one dish instead of two. It’s never going to happen though because my husband won’t eat cheese. And I’m pretty sure I’ll never give it up.

However, there’s no cheese in this recipe for Easy Creamy Black Bean Soup. It’s not exactly a Mexican food dish, but it is a delicious and vegetarian soup that both Thom and I loved. That’s saying a lot considering Thom’s not much of a soup fan.

Of course I had to promise that the soup was merely a side dish and that there would be something involving meat. So I decided to make stacked enchilada casserole. I’ve never made it before, but really it’s just like making enchiladas. Only easier. And less messy.

I started by browning 1.5 lbs of ground beef with a packet of taco seasoning. Then I combined the cream of chicken soup and the enchilada sauce in a saucepan. I placed corn tortillas in the bottom of the casserole dish and started adding ingredients. Each layer contained beef, black beans, corn, enchilada sauce, and salsa. Mine also had black olives. (yet another thing Thom hates)

Mine was topped with sauce and cheese while Thom’s was topped with sauce and salsa. (and later sour cream for him. I hate sour cream.)

350 for 30 minutes.

Two hearty thumbs up. I will absolutely make these again.

If you’re looking for a good slice of pizza, I’ve got the place for you. If you’re looking for an unusual slice of pizza, guess what? It can be found at the same place!

Joe Momma’s Pizza is located downtown at 112 South Elgin, right in the heart of the Blue Dome district. All of their pizzas are made to order in this fantastically gorgeous brick oven.

Joe Momma’s is known for their creative and unusual pizzas such as The Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza (my personal favorite). Can you imagine how amazing a pizza tastes with mustard, pickles, and onions alongside bacon, beef, and cheddar? It’s pretty darn amazing.

Sometimes I go for a more simplistic pizza. Afredo sauce and black olives. This is the one pizza I can be sure my husband won’t try and sneak a piece of. Silly olive hater. Doesn’t it look divine?

While you’re there, make sure to order you some Marshall to help wash it all down. The Sundown Wheat is our brew of choice.

Joe Momma’s has live music on the weekends, open mic night on Monday, and trivia on Thursdays. Also, Tuesdays are $5 pizza night and Mondays they have 50 cent wings.

And if pizza isn’t your thing, they have a variety of sandwiches, pastas, and salads to choose from.

So get yourself downtown!