Coastal Oaks

Last night was a very sad night in our household. My George Foreman grill died.... =( I think I've had that thing since college. We laid it to rest last night with a final salute to all the grease it saved our bodies. Rest in Peace George Foreman Grill.  On to happier topics... Gosh I sure hope we are on our last cold front for the year. I was hoping to get some sun on my pasty white legs this past weekend but that did not work out. Since it was cooler we decided to do some yard work instead. Coincidentally I was planning on making soup. Not to mention I had some strong suggestions and pleas to make my tomato basil soup. I warn you, this is a weekend recipe and makes great leftovers. It is also worth every minute you spend making it, I promise. Tomato Basil Soup 2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes with juice 1 1/2 cup finely diced celery (preferably pureed in food processor) 1 1/2 cup finely diced carrots (preferably pureed in food processor) 1 1/2 cup finely diced onion (pre...

This is one of my go-to breakfast or snack options that are easy peasy! Quite some time ago I thought of putting these items together and thought I was a genius for coming up with it. Then I realized I was the last one to the dinner table on this topic. Apparently I was not the first or even the 200th to come up with this.... However; now you won't be in the dark either! If you already knew this then please at least humor me and smile at the bottom picture. =) Pigs in a Blanket 2 cans Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls 1 package lit'l Beef smokies Optional: shredded cheese, butter + spice glaze Preheat Oven to 400 (on crescent roll package). Open your package of crescent rolls. Lay out the crescent triangles and cut in half using a paring knife. (See picture below.) Take a little smokie and roll up the crescent roll around it.  You can always half this recipe and save the extra little smokies for later. I use up the whole package because the extra Pigs in a Blanket ...

Have you ever noticed that when you sit down and your feet have nothing to rest on you tend to swing them like a little kid? Try it, sit on a bar stool with no foot bars. You'll start swinging your feet like a little kid. What the heck; it just feels good!  You know what else makes me feel like a kid, Frito Pie! I remember going to the cafeteria in elementary school and as soon as you found out it was Frito Pie day you know it was going to be a great day! Even those little square cardboard looking bowls they served it in made me happy!  Well I hope you remotely feel the same way about Frito Pie because here is a Queso themed version. It's really easy and great for weekends. My husband loves the leftovers too. I will give credit where credit is due; this recipe came from my Mom. =) Queso Frito Pie 1lb ground beef, browned 1lb Velveeta cheese, cubed 15 1/4 oz. can corn, undrained 15 oz. kidney beans, undrained 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes (with green chilies, Rot...

Have you ever just had "one of those days"?? When it came to dinner yesterday I wanted something quick and easy. I like to keep the ingredients for a few of these quick meals just in case. Lesson in Life- "Prepare for everything so you can just flow with it when the time comes" . Here is one of those recipes so this will help you when you are having "one of those days".. Total make time is very reasonable. Turkey Sausage & Pasta Toss 8 oz. uncooked Penne pasta 1 can (14.5 oz.) stewed tomatoes, Italian seasoned 6 oz. Turkey kielbasa or smoked turkey sausage 2 cups (1in. cut) fresh asparagus or broccoli florets 2 Tbs prepared Pesto sauce 2 Tbs Parmesan or mozzarella plus more for topping Cook Pasta according to package directions (add a dash of salt). Meanwhile, slice sausage crosswise in 1/4 in slices. Place in Medium sauce pan and saute'. I like to get my slightly browned. I also add a cooking spoon full of the pasta water to keep t...

Good Morning everyone! My mom and I just returned from a trip to New York City. It was a great time. We saw many of the sites and froze our tootsies off. Thank goodness we bundled up. It even snowed there pretty heavily. I'm not even sure what you call snowing really hard. I first said "Man, its pouring snow"... that was not the write terminology. =(  But you get the point. I thought I might share our food related experiences from NYC. I'm a big fan of the show Cake Boss starring Buddy. The original shop the show is based off and named after his father is called "Carlos Bakery". It is located in Hoboken, NJ. After gaining popularity Buddy expanded. His NYC Cafe used to be in the Discovery Center but they took over a stand alone shop a block off Times Square. Wow, the American Dream come true! Here are some pictures from the shop. Their cannoli's were just DIVINE!!!! I ate TWO! They died the filling green for St. Patrick's Day.  ...

As I mentioned in my first post I LOVE League City, TX. There are so many great things about living here. But regardless of my opinion here are some facts that may convince you.... ~Did you know that League city is the largest city in Galveston County.  ~It has the 3rd largest concentration of pleasure boats.  ~It is listed as one of America's top rated smaller cities by Grey House Publications.  ~League City is one of the top ten safest cities in Texas.  ~It is known as the city of Oaks. Hence the name of my blog plus the fact that it is on the coast.  On at least one morning of a weekend you will find us running errands. To get our motors going for the day a quick Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit will get us out the door quickly. The sandwich is self explanatory except for the way I do my eggs. I actually learned this in high school Home-EC ages ago. You crack your eggs like you are going to make sunny side up and let the Albumen or Egg white turn...

We eat our fair share of Tex Mex food! However, I always think it's funny when we go to other places (outside the Houston, TX area) and we end up eating at a Mexican restaurant and we are sadly disappointed because it tastes nothing like at home. Tex Mex is a very different from traditional Mexican.  Queso is a staple in this area of the US. Everyone knows what queso is. It is not that cheese substitute they serve at ball fields with chips. I have a friend who could survive alone on just queso (You know who you are)!  Also, I have found that everyone rates Tex Mex restaurants based on their favorite thing there. For example, my mother-in-law bases her judgement based solely on their margaritas. My Mom bases her judgment based on their green sauce. My friend mentioned above bases her judgement on... you guessed it, queso. Me.... I'm a chicken fajita girl! Once the fajitas come I feel like Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator holding my thumb out for approval. On the first bit it e...

Now that we have observed Daylights savings our evenings are longer. I'm very glad of that! When you have a fury friend who appreciates her walks and of course to help get the mail, it allows us more playtime. A wagging tail means a good time for us and the happiest sight, I swear! I thought I'd share a picture of my furry friend WORN out! Getting the mail is HARD WORK! =)     Restaurant Feature: Claudio and Mattia's Trattoria Piano Bar Maybe a year ago or so a new restaurant opened in Kemah called Claudio and Mattia's Trattoria Piano Bar. Its an Italian restaurant off FM 2094/ Marina Bay Drive. HERE their website. It was renovated from two places of business to make one big restaurant and bar. When you enter the dining area is off to your left and the bar, small dining area, and entertainment area is off to the right. They frequently have bands and singers of various genres. The have a nice size dance floor and bar area in case you just want to swing by for...

Who loves Bacon; I do, I do! It does make many meals better. Bacon Egg and Cheese sandwiches, bacon wrapped shrimp, bacon crumbles in pasta carbonara, etc... However, some of these meals use different forms of cured meat that look like traditional bacon but vary in detail. I wanted to learn more about this and thought I'd do a mini book report for you so you can learn along with me.  ~ Bacon ~ Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. Bacon is prepared from several different cuts of meat. In the US it is almost always prepared from pork belly. The USDA defines bacon as "the cured belly of a swine carcass". It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing. Bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, or it may be boiled or smoked. Bacon is distinguished from salt pork and ham by differences in the brine (or dry packing). Bacon brine has added curing ingredients. Flavorings such as brown sugar or ...