ACL 2011!

Ah, Austin, I love thee. What a great place we have here in Texas. I love Austin. The food, the people, the culture, the parks, and the music!

My husband and I drove down on Friday and our friends joined us Saturday and Sunday. We stayed at the cutest little place called Zilker Cottage. It was about a mile walk to ACL and worked out pretty well for us. This place was awesome and I loved the patio! The landlords of the property were so nice, very accommodating, and easily accessible by text!

This festival has great music to listen too all day. The fun part for me is discovering new bands that I come to love. But, the second best part is the fantastic food that Austin has to offer! Fort Worth, take note! 

There is the absolute best Taco place in Austin called Torchy's. Every time we visit we it is a must that we stop and eat there. This visit, we ate Torchy's every day! They have a food booth at ACL every year too which makes it all the more easy to eat Torchy's every day. I am drooling right now just thinking about it. So, for Sunday,what better thing to do than have a Torchy's breakfast taco. 

But, since there are so many other fantastic places to eat in Ausin...we needed more than just tacos so...Gourdoughs was the next breakfast stop. All thanks goes to our friends who went scouting breakfast for us. OMG. Gourdoughs is not messing around. Let me tell you, talk about heart attack waiting to happen, but oh soooooooooooooooooooooooo freaking fantastic!  

Jeff had the "Mother Clucker." 

Of course I had to taste it and yes, it was ridiculous, kind of like chicken and waffles. 

I had the "Flying Pig." The best doughnut I have ever had and I ate the whole entire thing and did not regret it one bit!

Then, we ate even more at the festival. Another festival favorite is Boomerang's Pies. This is the best dang meat/veggie pie ever! Guinness Steak and Potato Pie our favorite. 

Yes, we eat a metric ton during this weekend every year. But, I justify it by all the walking that we do. It is a weekend I look forward to every year! Oh, and the music was fantastic too!!

Oh Men, Why Can't They Remember Anything?

I say that very lovingly! My dear sweet husband forgot to ask for next weekend off. The weekend we have been planning for oh....about a year. Next weekend is ACL. We have been going for the past few years. Didn't go last year because we got married right around the same time of ACL. So, we both have been looking so forward to this year.  

On Friday, I asked my dear husband if he asked off of work. He said, "sure, I am sure I did." Well while I was finishing up mile 2 on the treadmill a the gym today I got a text that said he apparently did not ask of and was scheduled to work all next weekend.  My heart sank and my time at the gym abruptly came to a halt.

So, even more disappointed than me, he frantically started searching for people to help cover his shift. When he found a gracious person to cover for him, I was relived and offered to make cookies! But, apparently this guy does not really eat sweets and Jeff asked if I could make enchiladas. Enchiladas?? Um.....sure, no problem at all.

I have never made enchiladas before in my life. Don't get me wrong. I live in Texas with some of the best Mexican food in the US and I have eaten my weight in enchiladas I am sure. But making them...a whole different story. Fortunately, with my yearly visits to Santa Fe, I happened to have a great recipe for some pretty easy peasy enchiladas from the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Oh man, my lifeline for this endeavor. So, I give you the The Santa Fe School of Cooking Green Chile Enchiladas! 

Green Chile Sauce

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 c. chopped onion

2-3 t. minced garlic

1-2 T. flour

2/3 c. mild, roasted, peeled and chopped New Mexican green chile

2/3 c. hot, roasted, peeled and chopped New Mexican green chile

freshly ground coriander seed to taste, optional

1 1/2 c. chicken stock

salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and saute the onion until softened, about 3-4 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and saute 2 minutes more. Stir in the flour. Add the green chile and coriander and slowly stir in the chicken stock.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups. 

Chicken Enchiladas

3 c. green chile sauce

16 fresh corn tortillas, about 4 inches in diameter

4 c. cooked, shredded chicken

1 1/2 lbs Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

1 1/2 c. diced onion, or sliced scallions with green tops

2 c. shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce

1 1/2 c. diced tomato

1 1/4 c. sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9x12 baking dish or pan.

2. Spread about 1 cup of the green chile sauce over the bottom of the dish and layer half of the tortillas evenly over the sauce.  Top the tortillas with half the chicken and 1/3 of the cheese and sprinkle with half the onion (for a milder onion flavor, use scallions). Repeat for the second layer and top with the last cup of sauce and remaining cheese. Bake 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

3. To serve, spoon portions onto dinner places, garnish with shredded lettuce, diced tomato and top with 2 tablespoons sour cream. Serve with pinto beans and posole.

Cheers!!

Never Put A Sock In A Toaster

...thank you Eddie Izzard for that bit of advice! Nope, I would never put a sock in a toaster and especially not one that I knitted myself! I love knitting socks. I think socks are my favorite thing to knit but, they are a bit time consuming.  So, here are the latest pair:

The color is sapphire. They sparkle!

They are a gift and who they are going to be gifted to has to remain a secret...for now! 

Cheers! 

In The Moment

I have been missing the Pacific Northwest lately. So, it is only fitting....

Cheers!

Happy Things

Well, just in time for another happy things post...this arrived in my mailbox today.

I love Stella and Dot and their packaging makes me happy. I actually won a gift card at the last Stella and Dot party I went to. Lucky me! That does not happen very often. If you need a S&D stylist let me know because I know a good one!

Cheers!