Bison and Black Bean Crispy Tacos

I recently made a mid-April New Year's resolution. I'm sure this concept doesn't even truly exist, but I figure I can make up my own rules as I go along. I am always up for a little competition and thought making a mid-April resolution might be the best way to go about conquering this small issue that I seem to be having. I'm suffering from a habit of purchasing pre-made sides from Whole Foods.

I've recently been purchasing a small container - ok sometimes the large container - of guacamole from Whole Foods. It's guacamole that is pre-made and immediately ready to go. It's slightly spicy. It's bright green. It's smooth. It has bits of tomato. It's awesome. And it goes so well with the green bag tortilla chips. I can't say no to it. It's not so much the fact that I am eating the guacamole on a daily basis because everything in moderation is ok in my mind. It bothers me that I am paying a premium price for something I can make on my own. It would be much cheaper to buy 2 avocados, a lime, a tomato and some cilantro and whip up my own batch.

I've also been having the same problem with containers of diced mangoes in that same produce section. Mangoes are in season right now and very reasonably priced, yet I seem to buy the version that is already cut-up. In the midst of my mid-April resolution, I recently bought 2 fresh mangoes to dice up and eat throughout the week - instead of purchasing the container of mangoes. Do you know what I threw in the trash last night because they had gotten too ripe and crinkly skin? You guessed it - my 2 mangoes. I also caved in and bought guacamole on Saturday night because it just seemed like the easier thing to do. So my mid-April resolution is not going so well.

I really don't want to become one that chooses convenience food over the extra 10 minutes that you could spend in the kitchen to throw something together yourself. It's still cheaper and healthier to make my own - so I do hope I get back on track and stay motivated to purchase the individual ingredients.

Bison tacos. I know what you are thinking. Why in the world would I want to make bison tacos? I've been tempted to try bison for quite awhile now and randomly decided to make tacos one night for dinner. Smitten Kitchen had a post in her quick meals recipe section for black bean crispy tacos. I didn't know how much plain bean tacos would fill me up, so I knew I needed to add something a little different to the mix. Why not go with ground bison? I found a small 1 pound package at Whole Foods and decided to give it a whirl.

In all honesty, if you didn't know it was bison, you would think you were eating ground beef. I used packaged taco seasoning to make the taco mix and added the can of black beans to the pan right before assembling my tacos. The term "crispy tacos" holds true in this recipe. Be patient, as it takes some time for the corn tortillas to crisp up, but they really do. I served mine with chopped cilantro and fresh pico de gallo (purchased from Whole Foods - ha!). You could also serve it with sliced cabbage/lettuce, diced fresh tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, or fresh cheese. I kept it simple and went with the basics. I had tacos all week and they were awesome.

Bison and Black Bean Crispy Tacos

adapted - sort of - from Smitten Kitchen

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1 pound ground bison

1 package taco seasoning (any basic brand will do)

1 can black beans, drained

2 tablespoons olive oil

Corn tortillas

Fresh pico de gallo or tomato salsa

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

In a large skillet, cook the ground bison over medium high heat - gradually breaking up the meat into small pieces. Once the bison is cooked through, add the taco seasoning and water (according to package seasoning directions). Simmer over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Add the drained black beans to the pan and heat through.

In a separate skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the corn tortilla to the bottom of the pan. Top 1/2 of the tortilla with the bison/bean mixture. Top with fresh pico de gallo, lime juice and chopped cilantro. Fold the taco over. Sear on both sides for at least 5 minutes. Eventually, the tortilla will start to get browned and crunchy. Serve with additional salsa, cilantro, guacamole, etc - whatever your favorite taco toppings are.

Oatmeal Bars with Walnuts and Dates

After a busy month of March at work, I'm finally getting back into my daily workout routine - and it's about time. Not that anyone is counting, but I made it to class 4 times this week - which is definitely a step in the right direction. I keep telling myself that during the busy event season - so March through October - I should just get up at 6am and get my workout over with in the morning, before even getting the work day going. Spinning is at 6:30 each morning, which is completely doable on the level of being early. However, every time the alarm goes off in the morning, I laugh out loud, turn off the alarm and think "what in the world was I thinking".

As with most people, I feel so much better when I have worked out at some point in the day. Not only does it relieve a little stress, but it is good to get out and do something for yourself on a daily basis. The past couple of weeks, I've finally gotten past the looks from the regulars that glanced my way and thought "where has she been" for the past 6 weeks.

I recently made the switch at the gym and upgraded myself to be a member at the multiclub access level. Get a little promotion at work and what is the first thing on my mind - upgrading the gym membership. FFC has 8 locations throughout the city. I used to be able to just attend at my one location - which was never a bad thing -but now I can attend anyone of them for just a small additional monthly fee and the times and schedule of classes available to me has definitely expanded.

Yesterday, I attended the spinning class at the Lincoln Park location for the first time. This is a perk of the multiclub access. My old location didn't have a Friday evening spin class, but this one does. My usual spinning class is held in a small, slightly dim room that doesn't have any windows. I was used to it - I didn't know any better. The spinning room at Lincoln Park? Wide open. Floor to ceiling windows overlooking the skyline of Chicago. Bikes facing the windows. A view of the city skyline all while spinning your legs for an hour? Awesome.

Too good to be true, right? I failed to mention that the spinning room directly overlooks the new, amazingly enormous, I wish I could eat every meal there, Whole Foods. Do you know how many times I said the word tuna in my mind yesterday while in spin class? At least 50. I mentally walked up and down the aisles thinking about what I would be getting at the end of class. There were 5 Whole Foods signs visible from the sitting position on my bike. I don't know if I can mentally handle that on a regular basis. I could maybe just use a trip to WF as a reward for attending spin class.

Look out. The Made for Monday treat made an appearance again this week - granted it came on a Tuesday - so it wasn't officially on time - but I don't think anyone really notices what day it is when I bake and bring things into the office. When the week started off slightly stressful and hectic I felt the urge to bake. Not only did I make these oatmeal bars with walnuts and dates, but I also made a big pot of clam chowder and red lentil soup. Why cooking has a calming affect on me, I will never know, but it definitely did the trick.

Things have a tendency to disappear in the kitchen at work, but these bars went quicker than the average Made for Monday treat. I believe Caitlin walked up to me and said - in true Caitlin fashion - "Are you freaking kidding me? EP, you shut those bars down. Don't tell anyone but I'm going to go back and get another one".

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies book - which I highly recommend. I didn't tell anyone that there were dates in the bars, because I thought that might scare people away, so I labeled them as "oatmeal walnut bars". They were a huge hit. I made them the night before and they kept very well overnight. They are moist, scented with cinnamon, have a sweetness from the dates, and have a chewy bite to them with the large quantity of oatmeal in the recipe. These bars will make your house smell amazing.

Oatmeal Bars with Dates and Walnuts

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

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1 cup finely ground old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

3 eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped and toasted

1 cup dates, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Stir together ground oats, flour, 1 cup whole oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice in a large bowl. Set aside.

Put brown sugar and butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs - one at a time. Mix until well combined. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture. Mix until just combined. Mix in walnuts and dates.

Coat a 9 x 13 dish with cooking spray. Spread the batter evenly in the dish. Top with remaining oats. Bake for about 35 minutes until browned and set. Cut into squares.

Pot Roast

You might want to sit down for this one. I have a new addiction. Well, let's be honest - that really shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you reading this. My likes and dislikes for certain foods can honestly just depend on which direction the wind is blowing on that particular day. I'll admit though, this latest item seems to be sticking around longer than I expected. It currently has a permanent spot on the top shelf of my refrigerator, as I very rarely seem to be without it these days. It ranks right up there with 365 crunchy peanut butter phase, the awesome dinner of eggs poached in marinara over polenta and it is even starting to rival Edy's Slow Churned Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

You may not know this, but I haven't purchased a jar of 365 crunch peanut butter in almost 2 months - after going through about a jar and a half a week consistently for at least a year - and swearing I could live without peanut butter in my life. I also can't remember the last time I had Edy's Ice Cream in my refrigerator - December maybe - and I haven't made eggs poached in marinara sauce in over a week. I wish I could tell you the eggs and marinara phase is over with, but it isn't.

The latest, gotta have it item of mine? Chocolate milk. I don't even like drinking plain milk, so I have no idea how this caught on so quickly. But to tell you the truth, after dinner, I can't think of anything better than having a glass of chocolate milk. While in Arizona, what did I get at the store to keep in the hotel refrigerator? Chocolate milk. What did I just finish drinking about 10 minutes ago? Chocolate milk.

As I did with my reView of the different brands of peanut butter available at our local grocery stores, I'm going to do the same thing for brands of chocolate milk. I'm starting to develop a few favorites, but I'm going make it an official taste testing - using the same rating of A-F. I'll report back with the results when I feel like I have a winner.

While working at Kalck's Butcher Shop back in the day, I learned that pot roast is not only one of the cheapest red meats that you can buy, but also one of the most tender cuts of beef that you can prepare. I do believe the Whole Foods pot roast is still more expensive than that at Kalck's - but even at $5.99 per pound, you can't go wrong for a Sunday night dinner. I can't say that pot roast was a staple of ours growing up, but I can distinctly remember the beef roasts that we did have, that were cooked with roasted potatoes and carrots.

Pot roast, like corned beef & cabbage, seems like such a simple dish. There are so few ingredients that go into the pot, yet it produces such an amazing meal. As we were eating, I believe I said aloud "you really can't get food this good in a restaurant". I just love it when dishes turn out that good, coming out of your own kitchen. The process for this pot roast is extremely simple and straight forward - as I think pot roast should be. Why mess with a good thing?

We did run into a slight problem when it came time to actually start cooking the roast. And by slight problem, I mean - a could have been disastrous, but wasn't sort of thing. The Whole Foods trip had been made, all of the ingredients were purchased, and it was time to get the beef in the oven. We had originally planned to cook the pot roast in the oven using the brand new roasting pan - which was the main reason for cooking the pot roast in the first place. It seems the oven is slightly too small to hold the new roasting pan. Even with taking all of the racks out, it still didn't fit. How do you cook a pot roast in a roasting pan that won't fit in the oven? Good question.

We went with plan B and cooked the roast in a Dutch oven on top of the stove. Sure, it would turn out just fine, but kind of defeats the fun of trying out the new roasting pan. For your next Sunday meal, make this awesome pot roast recipe - either in the stove or the oven - it will turn out either way.

Pot Roast

A Tastes like Awesome Recipe

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1 3-pound pot roast

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

1 quart beef stock

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 large Yukon gold potatoes, quartered

5 large carrots, quartered

In a large Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the beef to the pot and cook for about 3 minutes on each side - until the beef is browned. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute. Add the beef stock to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 3-4 hours. Turn the beef over every so often.

With 1 hour remaining, add the carrots and potatoes to the pot. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour until the carrots and potatoes are cooked through. Slice the beef and serve with carrots, potatoes, and leftover broth.

Marathon Pasta

I sometimes forget how big the city of Chicago feels - I see it everyday. Or maybe it's how small other big cities in the United States feel. I've grown accustomed to the packed streets of Chicago, cabs honking and speeding up and down the streets, shoppers going in and out of the stores on Michigan Avenue, buses and trains constantly commuting people back and forth, the stream of people going in and out of busy restaurants, and Walgreens and Starbucks at every corner. Chicago is a big, big city. New York is a big, big city. New Orleans is a small, big city. I would also say that St. Louis is a small big city.

Andrew and I road tripped down to St. Louis this past weekend for the Go! St. Louis Marathon. He was running. I was not. I was just looking forward to a nice, long 4 day weekend in St. Louis. I get used to seeing the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Chicago Marathon each year, so it was nice to see a marathon on a slightly smaller scale.

I was amazed at how quiet the streets of the city were on a Saturday afternoon of a busy race weekend. Where is everyone? Where are the cabs? Where are the 7-Eleven's when you get a craving for chocolate milk? Where is the Walgreen's when you need some sunscreen? It's just different than Chicago. Not a bad different - just different. You could walk up and down the streets on race day without being flagged by policeman and traffic guards at every corner. You could walk into a restaurant and sit down right away without having reservations. You could easily get a good spot to watch the runners go by at the major mile markers. I was so surprised at how quiet the streets were. I like the feel of a smaller big city. It feels manageable.

After the race, we walked back down the street to get a picture of the giant American flag that was suspended by the ladders of 2 fire trucks over the finish line of the race. I'm glad we did.

I don't get tired of looking at the Arch. It never fails that I ooohhhh and ahhhh when I see it. I can't say I loved riding the tram up to the top though. I think I remember worrying more about the tram stopping and me getting stuck inside on the way up than actually enjoying the view - no surprise there. I suppose it is how tourists feel in Chicago when walking by Wrigley Field, the Michigan Ave. bridge, Millennium Park, the Wrigley Building, and the Sears Tower. They stop and take pictures. When dealing with the arch - so did I.

It was a great day in the city of St. Louis. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and it was nice to be out at a race while not working. It might have been a little hot for the runners, but I'm sure they'll take comfort in knowing I thought it was perfect spectating weather.

Sunday Night - Post Marathon

Andrew: What do you want for dinner?

Me: Anything but pasta.

Marathon weekend has come and gone. I think I've had my fair share of pasta over the past week - no - I don't think, I know. It might surprise you that I say this, but I've actually come to like pasta as a weekly staple on the dinner table. Although, this recipe should really be entitled "Marathon Pasta (again, again, and again)". Don't get me wrong - eggs poached in marinara over polenta is still a mainstay and a food group in itself within my diet, but the list of recipes I'm wanting to try involving pasta is starting to grow. Pasta carbonara, linguine with clams, and various forms of homemade marinara sauce are simmering at the top of the list.

We made this pasta dish quite a few times over the past month, so I thought I would finally post the recipe. The ingredients are simple, but that's what makes it good. Fresh is key here. Whole-wheat spaghetti. Olive oil. Cherry tomatoes. Fresh basil. Fresh Parmesan cheese. Garlic. Red pepper flakes. Shrimp. It comes together quite easily and makes for a simply awesome carbohydrate-rich meal. I was not always a fan of shellfish with pasta, but the more I have it that way, the more I like it. Let's cross the St. Louis Marathon off the list. And while we're at it, let's cross this marathon pasta off the list too.

Marathon Pasta

A Tastes like Awesome recipe

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1/4 olive oil

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 bunch of basil, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 shrimp, thawed, peeled and de-veined

1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti

Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp to the pan. Cook the shrimp until they are just cooked through and start to turn pink - about 3 minutes per side. Add the garlic to the pan and saute for 30 minutes - or until fragrant. Add the cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and basil. Cook until the tomatoes just start to soften - about 10 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the saute pan and stir just to combine. Sprinkle pasta with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Granola Bars

Its happened. 7 long months. It's what I've been waiting for all winter. The sun is shining in Chicago and I am sitting outside at Starbucks, listening to music, watching the world go by, drinking my Americano and blogging. Sure, I might be the only one sitting out here right now, and my fleece is zipped all the way up, but that doesn't bother me one bit. A handful of my favorite past times, happening all at once. I think I'll make it an even better day and throw in a trip to Whole Foods for lunch.

One week ago today, I was sitting in the sun at Camelback Mountain. If it was 12:38 at this point in the vacation, I had probably just moved from my seat by the fire in the morning sun to the chaise lounge that was covered with partial shade, book open, sipping an iced latte, and closing my eyes to doze off every so often. Vacation was wonderful. It was everything I was hoping it would be - sunny, warm and relaxing. People ask me what I did on vacation and my response is exactly the same as last year's response - "absolutely nothing". It's the beauty of the vacation.

I'll try to stick to the food related highlights of the vacation for the purpose of the blog here. Mom and I started off the trip with our beloved warmed nuts that you get on the plane. We can never quite figure out what makes these nuts so good, as we could easily recreate them in our own kitchen, but our mouths were watering just at the thought of them.

When uploading pictures from the weekend, I realized I took more pictures of the drinks I ordered and dishes I tasted instead of actual people pictures - which I guess isn't a bad thing. My favorite drink was hands down, the avocado margarita, pictured on the left below. The waitress highly recommended it. They mash an avocado in with the drink and then strain it before pouring it into the glass. The drink is creamy and does have a hint of avocado as taste. You can bet that at my next dinner party, avocado margaritas will be making an appearance. No one else seems to be as excited about the avocado margarita as I am - but I'll start converting people one at a time.

Friday night was dinner out at Cowboy Ciao. We had eaten there years ago. The restaurant was actually featured in Bon Appetit and is very well known for their chopped salad. I didn't get caught up in the chopped salad hype this year. Instead, I ordered seared ahi tuna - no surprise there. It was awesome. I also inhaled a bag of the chef's special chocolate bacon caramel popcorn for dessert - which should be a staple at every meal when dessert is served.

Saturday's dinner out at Mission was the highlight of the trip. It was one of the best meals I've had in awhile. We even conceded and took the only 5:30 reservation that was available, just so we could eat there. Amazing tableside guacamole, the much talked about avocado margaritas, grilled sweet corn, mini skirt steak tacos with smoky sauce, refried black beans, and espresso churros with a chocolate milkshake for dipping. I wish I could go back.

The granola bars that I made right before leaving for Arizona don't really stand a chance next to the caramel bacon popcorn - but you can't go big or go home everyday of the week, right? This is a recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I altered it just a bit by adding a variety of nuts and I added a little vegetable oil to help bring the mixture together. I ran out of honey, so substituted with a little brown rice syrup instead. I also added dark chocolate cocoa nibs instead of dried fruit. They are a great snack to travel with - just don't leave your bag of granola bars on the kitchen counter as you leave your apartment - and that definitely didn't happen to me on this last trip.

Granola Bars

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup salted peanuts

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup unsweetened shredded coc

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

2/3 cup honey

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips or cocoa nibs

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and line it with parchment paper (I did not do this). Toss the oatmeal, almonds, peanuts, walnuts and coconut together on the baking dish. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the mixture is browned. Stir in the wheat germ. Reduce the heat to 300.

While the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, oil, vanilla, salt and chocolate chips. Press the mixture into the baking dish - and press to make sure it is as tightly as fit as possible.

Bake for 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Let cool for 2-3 hours before cutting into individual serving sizes. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Tyler's Ultimate Barbecue Sauce

Would you believe that there isn't a car wash in the Loop? With all of the cars that travel the streets in the downtown area on a daily basis, there just isn't one - which is weird, right? I tend to need my car washed and vacuumed more often than not, and there really isn't anywhere to take it - which means it is usually dirtier than I would like it.

If I could suggest 2 things to get built in the Loop area it would be a drive-thru Starbucks and a car wash. There are countless times when I just wish I could stay in my car to get coffee, and not worry about parking, or chancing a parking ticket by putting my flashers on in a tow zone as I sprint in and out to get my drink.

Ben suggested I get my car washed at a location just down the road from his condo. I'm used to your basic Super Wash. You drive into the open, brick building and a metal bar circles your car as it sprays both soap and water to get everything clean. It's fool proof. Not at this place though. First of all, I'm not used to driving into car washes where you have to line up your front tire with this skinny, metal holster that eventually propels your car in neutral through the wash. I don't even want to know what happens when you don't hit it on the first try.

Second of all, I'm not used to car washes that have enormous bristle brushes that go over the sides and top of your car - multiple times - all while spinning at warp speed. As I was moving through the wash, I started to consider the large brush that was approaching my windshield. Hmmmmm......my car antenna was definitely still up. In my mind, it really didn't have a chance against this brush - unless antennas can magically lay flat at a 180 degree angle without snapping. I tried to turn off the radio to get the antenna down - because I swear I could do that with my old Toyota Camry - but the antenna didn't go down. I put my hands over my eyes and just started laughing - slightly peaking only to see if it was still attached. It survived round 1 - but there were 3 more rounds of brushes to go. It was honestly the longest car wash I had ever been in - yet somehow the antenna survived.

I don't think I will be going back to that car wash. Thanks for the recommendation Ben, but I don't have the gusto to handle that process again.

Now onto the purpose of this blog post - Tyler Florence's Ultimate Barbecue Sauce. The month of March - it may seem like an odd month to grill ribs outside, but what sounds better than homemade barbecue sauce and ribs? The sun has just decided that it might shine on a more consistent basis in Chicago and the thoughts of grilling season are slowly starting to creep back into our minds.

What makes for a great addition to a kitchen that just might be as good as a new Le Creuset Dutch oven pot? A grill. The grill has slowly expanded the possibilities of meals throughout the week. I'm pretty sure I could find a way to make eggs poached in marinara over polenta on the grill, but who needs that when there are better alternatives? Grilled tuna - my first choice. Grilled hamburgers - sure. Grilled steak with eggs - sounds perfect. Grilled ribs - why not? To make up for the weak sauce situation with the store bought bread crumbs for the baked pork chops, I needed to make up for it. Homemade barbecue sauce it is.

If you do a search for homemade barbecue sauce recipes, you will soon realize that with a few basic pantry ingredients and 30 minutes of simmer time on the stove, you really have a better sauce than any store bought bottle could give you. This recipe starts with a small bundle of bacon and fresh thyme sauteing in the bottom of the pan. With the addition of ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, onion, and a few spices - you have an amazing sauce that would go well on pork chops, chicken or ribs.

Is it the ultimate sauce? That is yet to be decided. It is a really really good sauce. I'm going to test a few recipes over the next couple of months to come up with the best combination of ingredients. I'll report back.

The Ultimate Barbecue Sauce (for ribs)

adapted from Tyler Florence

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1 piece bacon

1 bunch thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons ground dry mustard

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper

Wrap the bacon around the bunch of thyme and secure with kitchen twine or toothpicks. Add the oil to a sauce pan and saute the bunch of bacon on medium heat until the bacon starts to brown and render its fat. Add the onion and garlic and cook without coloring, about 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes. The sauce will thicken. Use it to coat the meat before grilling and as a side for dipping sauce with serving.