Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it’s officially the holiday season and what better way to celebrate than with homemade dishes and giving thanks to those who shared them. Last weekend Deron and I were invited to a Pre Thanksgiving Pot Luck dinner at our friend’s Jenna & Matt’s new apartment. Everyone was to bring a side dish. So, I quickly put my thinking cap on and came up with a few ideas. The ideas that I decided on were because of time and convenience. And let’s be honest, they are two dishes that I LOVE eating. 🙂 Living in a new place with not all the resources I had at my parents’ house sometimes hinders what I can cook. I decided on Broccoli Casserole, something my Nana use to make at Thanksgiving growing up. And since her passing, my mom has taken on the role of making it year after year. It is truly one of my favorite dishes. And the other thing I decided to make was a Taco Dip that I’ve made several times, that someone *cough Deron cough* loves. The recipe was given to me by my mom who got it out of an old church cookbook. It’s a pretty delicious recipe for being so simple.

You may wonder how it all turned out, and I have to say, overwhelming good! The recipe for the Broccoli Casserole is listed below. The recipe calls for frozen chopped broccoli, cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, eggs, onion and cheddar cheese. Very simple to make — cook the broccoli, mix together the soup, mayo, eggs and onion. Add the broccoli to the mixture. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and cover with cheddar cheese. Cook in a 350° oven for 30 minutes and voila! I had a cook it a bit longer so that the cheese melted all the way and became bubbly. I also doubled the recipe which still fits in the 9×13 dish. I would have to say, for the first time making it myself it was delicious. I think my nana and my mom would be proud!

As far as the Taco Dip goes, it’s beyond easy to make. Combine cream cheese with cottage cheese and add a little garlic salt to taste. Spread that mixture onto any size plate or serving dish. Cover with lettuce, tomato, cheese & taco sauce and enjoy! I’ve made this dish before so it was good as well. I doubled the recipe as well.

I’d have to say that if my grandmothers were alive today, I hope they would be proud of the recipes I’ve taken on that they made all their lives. And I hope that I’m living proof that anyone can be a good cook. It just takes joy, love and family and you can whip up anything you try. Hope you enjoy these recipes. It’s my chance to thank the women in the life who have made me who I am today. I love you all and thank you for inspiring me. Please let me know if you have any questions about the recipes. Happy Thanksgiving!

Broccoli Casserole
2 Boxes Frozen Chopped Broccoli
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Cup Mayonaise
1 Small Onion (chopped finely)
2 Eggs Beaten
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (enough to cover)

Cook the broccoli. Combine soup, mayo, onion & eggs. Add broccoli to that mixture. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and cook for 30 minutes in a 350° oven.

 
Taco Dip
1 8oz. Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1/2 Cup of Cottage Cheese
Garlic Salt (enough to taste)
1 Small Tomato (cut into small pieces)
Shredded Lettuce (enough to cover)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (enough to cover)
Taco Sauce
Tortilla Chips

Combine the cream cheese & cottage cheese. Add garlic salt to taste. Spread onto a plate/serving dish. Cover with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Pour taco sauce over the dip. Serve with Tortilla Chips.

*Recipe pictures to come soon.

I guess we really like Grilled Cheese…

We’re baccccccck! And it feels so good to be blogging about wonderful local restaurants again.  One of our favorite restaurants is The Lockview in downtown Akron, Ohio.  If you’ve never been to this place, trust me you are missing out.  We’ve gone here numerous times and it gets better every time.  From the dim lighting to the big screen TV that plays black and white movies and cooking shows, it only makes sense why it’s our favorite.  Finding restaurants like this is few and far between.  Not to mention their amazing drink selection is one of the best in the area. And you won’t find a Bud Light or Millers Lite in this place. I wouldn’t suggest asking for one either.  The Lockview prides themselves on craft beers from around the nation and the knowledge of the employees of the beers help the average person find what they like.  Enough about the beer selection because I can go on and on.

The Lockview is a grilled cheese place, which is what our last blog was about as well. But at The Lockview you’ll find other delicious things on the menu.  Allyson and I went out with a group of lovely friends over the weekend (SHOUT-OUT to our favorites, Kat & Tim and Morgan & Matt!) and we were excited to introduce some new things to everyone.

We started out with some appetizers. One of my favorites being the macaroni and cheese bites.    It was hard not to eat these bites when they first hit the table.  Crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside.  Only issue I have with the macaroni bites is they only give you 4.  It’s like a tease because these little things are bite size!  But what makes these little things amazing is the sauce that comes on the side, it’s a Sriracha ketchup. And let me tell you it’s so good.  It is a little spicy but not overwhelming.  The ketchup gives these little bites a kick but the ketchup has a lot of flavor.  Let’s just say it’s hard only ordering one order of these bites. We also had the hummus & pita and the croquettes. These were both delicious as well!

If you are wondering what I had to drink that night, it was Don De Dieu.  Very smooth, light but strong beer and at the same time about 9% alcohol.  I swear every time I go The Lockview, if it isn’t over 7.5% then I probably won’t drink it.  Allyson had a Pumpkin Pie martini, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to taste it.  I swear, I looked up and it was gone so I’m guessing it was delicious! 

Now for dinner, The Lockview has a wide array of selections from salads to sandwiches but most importantly grilled cheese sandwiches.  Allyson and I have been to the famous Melt Bar & Grilled but these grilled cheese sandwiches are different.  The Melt’s grilled cheese are more of a sandwich with cheese.  The Lockview’s grilled cheese sandwiches are actual grilled cheese sandwiches with different toppings in the middle. They really focus on the cheese.

Allyson got The Lockview salad with  mixed greens, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, shredded mozarella and white french dressing with grilled chicken.  I on the other, had The Lockview burger with sweet potato fries.  I’m a huge fan of sweet potatoes . So the sweet potatoes fries were an obvious for me to order.  The juiciness of the burger with lettuce, tomato and pickles with the sweetness of the sweet potato fries made for one satisfied stomach.

Our wonderful friend Kat had the #7 which is American cheese with a layer of roasted garlic mashed potatoes served on a texas toast with a side of bourbon gravy.

All in all, The Lockview was an amazing time.  Great beer selection, delicious food and great service keeps us coming back for more.  If you haven’t tried this place please feel free to. And if you are mainly a domestic beer drinker, step outside of the box and try something different.  If you are having a hard time choosing what to drink, just ask your server because they will be able to break down what you like and don’t like and get you the right drink.  Thank you for taking the time out and reading our post.  Allyson and I didn’t know our little post would bring so much joy to others.  Having everyone ask us when are we posting next means people actually do read what gibberish we write!  And if you have a favorite restaurant that you can’t stay away from, email myself or Allyson and we would love to feature your post on our blog!  Until next time, cook with your heart and eat with your soul.

-Deron