Out to lunch comes home...

If you are one of my personal friends or follow me on facebook, you'll know my love for Pita Jungle. My fav lunch spot quickly became the must stop spot for all my out of town friends, our go to hot- spot for girly get-togethers, and one of my many guilty pleasures.

One of my girlfriends who visits often from California has grown to crave PJ and I'm sure she'll soon be making visits just to satisfy her food craving rather than to see me. Anyways, she is hosting a bridal shower for her sister this summer, and asked me to recreate one of the salads from Pita Jungle that we always order. The Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad --- doesn't the name say it all???

Well, I'm happy to say, the recipe has been recreated and it is A-MAZ-ING!!! Although not exactly the same as PJ, its pretty darn close and definitely a gourmet make at home delight!


(this photo only shows the spinach and pasta)

We mixed together a delicious Pesto blend that I found at Sam's club, with balsamic vinaigrette, lemon juice, whole wheat spiral pasta and feta cheese. When making for our guests we used tri-colored pasta and added veggies (tomatoes/mushrooms) for added color.

In all honesty - since creating this salad - I've made one pretty much every day for myself to enjoy. SERIOUSLY!!!

Now, if I could only recreate their Mango Lemonade....I'd be in business.

YUM.

Red Velvet Heaven

My husbands family recently visited, so between the two of us we wanted to "show off"....I mean provide them a delicious meal for the evening. My hubby took a half day from work and started up his smoker, to smoke ribs with his very special "secret" bbq sauce drenched over top. Since hubby was covering dinner, I planned dessert for the evening, which was my favorite Paula Deen recipe (so far). It's her Red Velvet Bundt Cake and its soooooo amazing!

I was first struggling with what to make at first, since I asked my husband what his dad's favorite dessert was and his reply was "banana splits". Since I wasn't going to make banana splits I called upon my sister in law (who lives very close to my in laws) and asked her what dad likes for dessert. "Cake and Ice cream is always a go to for dad!"

I then decided to bake up the red velvet cake for a few reasons. One being that its so moist and dense there's no way you could possibly not like it and two...I LOVE decorating it.

Come to find out, my father in law had never even tried Red Velvet Cake (um, hello dad, you're REALLY missing out here) So I was glad to provide him with his first taste....and he Approved!

It was wonderful seeing our parents and we were so happy to provide them with such a yummy delicious meal for the evening.

Wonderful Wanda's

For the longest time I have been calling this place Wacky Wanda's! hah. My husband finally corrected me and said, "It's Wonderful Wanda's" while laughing under his breathe about my mistake. So anyways, Wonderful Wanda's is our new favorite breakfast spot. It's located just down the road from us, and so far they have the best Breakfast Burrito's in ARIZONA!!!



Back in California, we had at least 4 breakfast spots within walking distance that all had killer burritos! All the right mixin's and wrapped in a delicious homemade tortilla. We've now been in Arizona for almost 4 years now, and it's taken us this long to actually find a place we enjoy for mornings when we get our burrito cravings. (and don't want to make them ourselves....because let me tell ya....Burritos at Casa de Douma *our home* are sooooo yummy!)


(the recipe is in my cookbook -- Our First Year )

When we go to WONDERFUL Wanda's I usually get the plain burrito that includes: Potatoes, Cheese and Eggs. And my hubby tends to switch it up between the: Royal Burrito or Blue Ribbon Burrito, but today he ventured off and got the Country Burrito which includes Sausage Gravy in it! HE LOVED IT!!!

Needless to say, Imma thinkin we'll be making a few *extra* trips over the next weeks he liked it so much!

They also serve lunch, but we haven't made it over there yet to test out those menu items. Here is their website if you'd like to check them out:
http://www.wonderfulwandas.com/index.htm

Craving Oreo's?

I rarely purchase Oreo's but occasionally I'll crave an Oreo Cookie. Actually, I've probably only ever purchased a package of Oreo's maybe twice to eat just as a cookie. (I have purchased them for a few desserts though).

Well I had overheard someone talking about chocolate dipped Oreo's and I was so intrigued. I immediately ran to the craft store to purchase some dipping chocolate, as well as dipping peanut butter chips. I had originally tried putting the Oreo's on sticks (the type you'd use for chocolate suckers), but that plan sort of failed. I think the sticks I had were too wide, or it may have been too hot in my Arizona home.

I resorted to just dipping the cookies in the melted chocolate and they came out delicious! I really want to try some white chocolate dipped cookies and also some mint chocolate dipped cookies....ooo which reminds me, they sell Oreo cookies that are mint flavored or with peanut butter filling! That would be amazing!!!

S'more Please..

I am so excited for the newest dessert that will be added to my cookbook. I was craving S'mores, and our next camping trip wasn't schedule for another month and a half. Then, to top it off, we have electric appliances here in the house so it wasn't even like I could roast a marshmallow on the stove top.

I started visualizing this amazing dessert in my head and after a few trial rounds, S'more Please was born. Graham cracker crust, rich brownie filling and topped with golden marshmallows.....


I cannot wait for everyone to experience this delectable dessert warm out of the oven.
Check out the new recipe in this year's cookbook! (follow me on Facebook to find out the release date!)

Hagel...WHAT?

Recently I posted about Chocolate Hagel on my personal blog, and I thought it would be perfect to share with my readers here!

About 8 months ago I was sitting on the couch, reading over our friends blog, when I read her post about Chocolate Hagel....she was dealing with a lot of morning sickness with her 2nd son and thought---"hey why not try some hagel---it's my favorite!" Ok, so keep in mind, I was one of the "non-Dutchies" that she mentions that had no clue what this chocolate hagel was. (I married into a large Dutch family.) So I mention the post to my husband and oh my goodness.....I don't think I've seen this man get so excited reminiscing about his childhood....."HAGEL??? Oh man, mom use to put that in our lunches all the time. " he says to me. REALLY????!!!!!!
So I posted something about chocolate hagel on my Facebook account and holy cow...i don't think I've gotten so much Dutch Feedback EVER!!!




Ok---to all those "non-Dutchies" here's the break down: Chocolate Hagel ---- White bread, buttered, covered in these chocolatey sprinkles.......

Really??? This was packed in lunches???? And then!!! And then -- I'm finding out that some of my nieces and nephews eat it AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK for breakfast!!! I find it so hilarious the feedback I get whenever I post something Dutch related on Facebook --- according to my family and friends out there, chocolate hagel is NOT just a snack (which is what I consider it) but an actual meal (totally disagree..hahahaa)



A little history for you...according to Wikipedia: Dutch hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) was first invented in 1936 by Gerard de Vries for Venz, a Dutch company made popular by said treat. Hagelslag is used on bread, most of the time butter is spread out so the hagelslag does not fall off. Several letters to Venz from a five-year-old boy, H. Bakker, asking for a chocolate bread topping, inspired and prompted de Vries' development of sprinkles. After much research and venture, de Vries and Venz created the first machine to produce the tiny cylindrical treats. They were named "Hagelslag" after their resemblance to a weather phenomenon prominent in the Netherlands, hail. Only hagelslag with a cacao percentage of more than 35 can bear the name chocolat hagelslag. If the percentage is under the 35%, it has to be called cacao fantasy hagelslag.

Interesting right?

Well, back in October when I first read about this, chocolate TREAT...I decided I would purchase these sprinkles from a Dutch Bakery for my hubby for Christmas. Buuut we dont have any Dutch bakeries here in Phoenix that I could find, so I ordered them from a bakery in Michigan.

It then took me 4 months to purchase a 99 cent loaf of white bread. (I'm so against white bread in the house...lol)....So as a family we all tried out the Chocolate Hagel.....................................

.............................and well I hate to admit it, but it was actually pretty tasty!! I split an extra slice with my daughter. I'm thinking I would most compare the taste to a light and fluffy yeast doughnut.

This Dutch TREAT will probably be making a few more appearances in this Douma household...right after we fill up on our nutrients in our actual meal. hahaha



(on a sort of side note....have you ever eaten Toast with Butter sprinkled with Cinnamon & Sugar? ---ya well I think I would consider this the *American* version of Hagel - so no more making fun of the Dutch Hagel I guess?)

Homemade French Fries & Patty Melts

I absolutely LOVE homemade french fries. I mean...how couldn't you? Seasoned to perfection-crispy delicious wedges dipped in your favorite sauce....come on? So wonderful. Oh and you don't get all the greasiness that weighs you down after a large order of fries at a restaurant.

OK -- I have to admit. When I made these the last time my count of *Almost Burning The House Down* went from 3 times to 4 times! Here's the deal -- we have a REALLY OLD oven that came with the house and it probably hasn't been cleaned in ages. Add that to a 500 degree oven temperature and olive oil dripping down....umm, ya.....a few flames and screaming for my hubby became absolutely necessary! BUT ---- BUT --- not to worry, through the smoke and flames our homemade fries still came out absolutely amazing!

Then I prepared a yummy patty melt for my hubby and a veggie patty melt for myself (which my husband cringed about--and said I was really missing out!) hah.

Both these recipes can be found in my cookbook: Our First Year