Saturday in Santa Fe

On Saturday we went to Santa Fe with some friends for the morning. The husbands went skiing and the wives and kids went to breakfast and played around town. I love living so close to Santa Fe. It is one of my favorite cities to visit, and each time I go I seem to find something new to enjoy about it and of course, I love going back to all my old favorites too!

We decided to eat breakfast at Cafe Pasqual's, which has become one of my favorite spots. The atmosphere is colorful and lively and the service is friendly. Please excuse the poor photo quality above. I was wrestling a squirmy toddler while trying to take it. We did not have to wait for a table thankfully, which would have been difficult with three kids under the age of four. Shortly after we sat down, it became very busy and many people were waiting. So be prepared to wait, it is a very popular place! The food here is fresh, delicious and unique. I ordered the French Toast, which was good and my friend ordered the Huevos Barbacoa con Chile D'Arbol Salsa and it looked amazing. She loved it. I definitely want to try that next time. I have only been to Pasqual's for breakfast, so I cannot say what it would be like during dinner, for instance, but from our experience, it is very kid friendly. It's loud enough that you don't feel your chatty kiddos will disturb everyone, and the kids loved the colorful, festive decor. Plus, they loved the French toast I ordered!

Many people consider Santa Fe more of a destination for a romantic getaway, or a trip with friends. Although it is perfect for both, it is also a great place to bring your family. In warm weather, there is plenty of hiking and outdoor activities plus a nice plaza with a grassy area in the middle for kids to run around. In the winter you can ski or enjoy other winter activities like snow shoeing  or sledding.

The ski area at Santa Fe does not have a "village" like many ski towns. There are no hotels, shops, or other amenities such as that at the mountain, just a day lodge with a food court, ski rentals, etc. It's a 16 mile drive from town. Although some may see this as a disadvantage, for many groups and families, this is an ideal set up. If not everyone in your group will be skiing, there are plenty of other things for them to do in the town of Santa Fe. Also, the weather in town is generally pretty mild compared to the mountain, so for those who are not big fans of the snow and super cold weather, they can stay in town. Although the mountain is not as good as Taos or those in Colorado, Utah, and other areas, it is still good skiing. If you live in the Albuquerque area, this is a great option as it is relatively close. My husband and his friend left in the morning, skied a half day, and were back in the afternoon.

After breakfast my friend and I took our kids to the Santa Fe Children's Museum. This is a great option for families with young kids. It was my first time to visit, and I was very impressed. It is not as big as other children's museums we've been to in bigger cities, but there were still plenty of fun things for the kids to do. I am pretty sure they would have stayed there all day if we would have let them! It is one big open room, which is very nice if you have multiple children to keep an eye on! Admission is $9 per person unless you are a New Mexico resident, then it is $6.

I also took my friend to my favorite store, Design Warehouse. It is filled with beautiful, modern furniture, and fun accessories for the kitchen and the rest of the home, including items for children. It's a great spot to find fun gifts and inspiring modern design.

I look forward to more visits to Santa Fe in the future, whether for the day or a weekend, with the entire family, or for a romantic getaway, it is a great place!

Ugly Dip

When I was in college, I found a recipe which I believe was on the back of a bag of Mission tortilla chips. However, I no longer have the actual recipe, and I cannot find it anywhere online. When I make it now it is completely going off of memory (or lack thereof). So this may or may not be the original recipe, and if any of you happen to know the original source of this one, let me know so that I can give them credit.

The first time I made this in my college apartment I read the instruction to blend the ingredients together, and thought it was referring to a blender. Well, after breaking my roommate Heather's blender, I quickly realized that may not have been what was intended (sorry, Heather! I still feel bad about that). But don't worry, Heather is a very forgiving person and still one of my best friends!

After the above trial and error, I used a mixer and the results were much better. This dip was so delicious and is something I have continued to make over the years. I don't remember the original name, so now I call it "Ugly Dip." And if you look at the picture of it, you will understand why! But as your parents taught you, appearance isn't everything. So look beyond the bowl and give it a try!

You will need:

• Two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese (I usually use the 1/3 less fat kind but only had regular around this time).
• 1 envelope of taco seasoning, any brand will do
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can of diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained

Place all the ingredients in your stand mixer or in a large bowl if using your hand mixer. Mix together until well blended.

And this is the ugly, yet delicious result. This is great for a party (just in time for the Super Bowl) because you can make it the day before and refrigerate it until party time. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.

Sweet Boy

Jack was walking around the other day dragging his blanket and carrying his stuffed monkey. I feel like this is the way I will always picture him, no matter how old he gets or how much taller than me he becomes. He will always be my sweet little boy.

Snow Day Lunch

Today was pretty chilly here in Albuquerque and I did not have much in the fridge for lunch. It snowed this afternoon and I wanted something warm. I had a can of turkey chili from Trader Joe's so I decided to have that. If you shop at Trader Joe's much, you have probably been there when they are passing out samples of this chili. It's pretty tasty, especially for canned chili. It's a great thing to have stocked in your pantry for those days when you don't have time to cook or do not have much available to cook something from scratch.

Just empty the chili into a pot and heat over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes or until it's heated through. I like to add a little Tabasco to mine while heating it up to add some spice. It's pretty mild on it's own. One can will serve 1-2 people, depending on how hungry you are. Serve it with grated cheese, corn chips, and jalapenos.

Homemade chili will always be best, but this is a good alternative!

Cha Chi's

Do you have certain restaurants that hold a special place in your heart? These places are usually those that bring about good memories of great food, good times with friends and family, and a special place and time in your life.

For me, one of those places is Cha Chi's in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After graduating from college, I lived and worked in Las Cruces for three years. It is the place where Josh and I began dating, were engaged, and spent our first year of marriage. So, naturally, Las Cruces is a special place for us. One of the things we loved most about Las Cruces is the delicious New Mexican food. There were so many wonderful places to eat fresh, flavorful, spicy dishes. We could have eaten out everyday! Among those restaurants, one of our favorites was Cha Chi's. We would often go there for breakfast burritos on Saturday mornings, and for tacos, burritos, and everything else for lunch and dinner throughout the week.

The two best things about Cha Chi's (in our opinions), are the chips and salsa and the horchata. Their salsa has a rich, spicy, flavor and a deep red hue. I could eat it for days. Literally. It is my favorite salsa ever, and I am quite the salsa snob. If you are unfamiliar with horchata, it is a rice milk infused with flavors such as cinnamon. It can vary from place to place. This cool, sweet beverage is the perfect match for the spicy salsa.

When we were down in El Paso this weekend, Josh and I went up to Las Cruces for an afternoon to see friends. We picked up food to go from Cha Chi's to bring to our friends' house. Usually when I eat at Cha Chi's I order the chicken tacos al pastor. They are corn tortillas filled with flavorful grilled chicken and cilantro. So simple, yet so delicious. It comes with three tacos and beans and rice. It's plenty of food, so Josh and I usually split it (which also makes our meal inexpensive). This time, however, Josh wanted a burrito, so I decided to get one too. I ordered a chicken burrito smothered with red chile and cheese. It was very good, but the chicken tacos al pastor are still my favorite!

If you live near Las Cruces or just happen to be driving through sometime, give Cha Chi's a try. It is delicious, flavorful, and budget friendly!

 

El Paso Eats

This weekend we went down to El Paso to visit my parents. They lived in East Texas for almost thirty years, until last summer when my dad was offered a job in El Paso. We were so excited for them to move nearby! To some of you, having your parents 3 1/2 hours away seems far, but to me, it's the closest I have lived to them since graduating from high school!

Many people seem to give El Paso a bad rap. They think it's just some dirty border town out in the middle of nowhere. And I must admit, I was among these people until I actually visited the city for the first time while in college. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it is a beautiful, unique, international city. The Franklin Mountains and desert landscape set it apart from almost any other city in Texas, and the influence of the cultures of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico give it character unlike any other place. It's also a much bigger city than most people assume. The population of El Paso is 665,000, and it's neighboring city of Juarez, Mexico has over 1 million residents. So El Paso has a much more urban feel than you might imagine.

One thing my parents love about El Paso and I enjoy while visiting, is the seemingly endless number of great restaurants. And not just Mexican food. On Saturday night, my parents watched Jack for us, so Josh and I went to dinner at Cafe Italia. It's a great little neighborhood brick oven pizzeria. We ordered the Smoked Pizza which had bell peppers, Italian sausage, and smoked mozzarella (I did not take any pictures, sorry). It was plenty for both of us, we finished it and were full afterward. If you have more of an appetite, I have heard their salads are good as well. And at $15, it was a great deal! They do not serve alcohol, but are BYOB with a $5 bottle charge. If we would have known this ahead of time, we definitely would have brought our own bottle. The service was fast and friendly, and although the decor was nothing to write home about, the atmosphere was nice as it was full of happy diners.

On Sunday we were planning on going to brunch at Crave, which is one of my parents' favorite restaurants, but the wait was 20 minutes, and with a toddler in tow, we did not want to wait. So we headed to Basico Bistro, which is a newer place near my parents' house. The atmosphere is modern, bright, and hip. The large windows not only let in plenty of southwestern sun but also provide beautiful views (as you can see in the picture above of Jack, my mom, and me).

Before our meal they brought out lovely homemade biscuits. They had a nice, sweet flavor. For brunch I had the Basico Benedict. It was a nice, classic Eggs Benedict. My mom had the same. We both enjoyed it. My dad and brother ordered the omelet of the day which was green chile and cheese and both liked it. Josh had the smoked salmon omelet and enjoyed it as well.



The brunch at Basico was very good, the service was great and the atmosphere was wonderful. I look forward to trying it for lunch and dinner in the near future as well.

 

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Last night I made an easy pot roast in the slow cooker. I like making this because it's a "one pot" meal. The meat and sides are all in one place. Prep is simple, and it tastes great! I made this recipe, which is a usual at our house.  I just change it up a bit. I use one package of baby carrots instead of sliced carrots to make it even easier. I also add an onion when I have one. This time I roughly chopped 1/2 an onion that I had leftover from another recipe. And I like to top it with chopped fresh parsley.

This roast is so easy and very good. It's perfect for days when you are busy or working because it can stay in the slow cooker all day. You can go about your business and come home to a house that smells wonderful and a meal that is ready to go!

Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich

Last night I made this Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich. I found the recipe in this month's issue of Cooking Light. The only things I changed were using a chicken breast instead of chicken cutlets (I sliced it in half horizontally to make it thinner), and only topping it with shredded carrots (just personal preference and my cilantro had gone bad).

This recipe was simple, fast, and very good. I am looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch today!

Open Faced Prosciutto and Egg Sandwich

Yesterday morning I was inspired to use what I had in my kitchen to make an open faced prosciutto and egg sandwich for breakfast. Well, actually, I was inspired the night before and went to bed thinking about it. I rarely have much happening in my brain when my sweet son wakes me up before sunlight.

I sliced a baguette in half horizontally, drizzled it with olive oil, and grilled it on my panini press. Then I placed provolone cheese and prosciutto on top. I fried an egg over easy on the panini press as well (minimal clean up), placed it on top of the prosciutto, and sprinkled with pepper.

This was so good and easy! Although, it was not the peaceful, calm morning I was hoping for. I imagined myself slowly enjoying my breakfast, drinking my coffee, and reading articles online (I guess I was still in dreamland). But once I had the sandwich made and snapped the last photograph, the demands of the morning got in the way. So I slapped one piece of bread on top of the other (meaning it was no longer and "open-faced" sandwich) and scarfed it down. At least I got to eat it, right?

Morning Juice

I made juice for breakfast the other morning. This time I used carrots, oranges, lemons, blueberries, and spinach. It was really good!

Everything pictured above made enough juice for Josh and me plus a little for Jack. It's one of the only ways I can get him have his veggies!