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After creating or sharing news from 8-5, it’s only natural that my coworkers and I sometimes end the day at the newsroom. One of my favorite happy hour bars, The Newsroom is conveniently next door to my office. And also conveniently a four block walk home.
Minneapolis readers: Where’s your happiest happy hour?
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There aren’t many smells better than freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. This recipe is a family favorite, and I guarantee you’ll want to sample that first cookie before it’s cooled on the baking sheet. It’s best paired with a glass of cold milk.
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. Crisco
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. water
2 eggs
2 c. uncooked oatmeal
2 c. chocolate chips (semisweet)
Heat oven to 350. Blend Crisco, sugars, vanilla and water. Beat in eggs. Add flour, salt & baking soda. Stir in oats and chocolate chips by hand. Drop on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.
Variations: Instead of chocolate chips, try adding raisins or butterscotch chips.
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I love peanut butter. A lot. And not just any peanut butter, but Peter Pan peanut butter. While growing up, PB on toast was on my morning menu for as long as I can remember. Every few weeks, I’d reach into the pantry to find a new jar, with a special message carved out by my mom.
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Either my food photography is getting better, or I’m being less critical. I took 15 photos of this spaghetti compared to 140 photos of this dessert. And before you judge my culinary capabilities, those are not in fact sliced hot dogs. They are turkey brats, thank you very much!
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100 days of photos. Thousands of photos taken. I’m surprised I’m still motivated by the challenge, and I’m still learning and having fun. I celebrated with my photography mentor and friend Carly by watching a zombie movie and baking Texas-sized, red velvet cupcakes. The cupcakes were a better choice.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll stick with me for the next 266 entries!
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Food trucks are back in force in downtown Minneapolis including my favorite, Turkey to Go on 8th & Nicollet. Their turkey sandwiches melt in your mouth. Don’t chicken out on tasting the best turkey in town!
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Tater tot hotdish is one of my favorite comfort foods and fortunately simple to make.
Tater Tot Hotdish
1 lb. ground beef
1 can green beans
1 medium sized onion
1 can cream of chicken soup (or mushroom, or celery)
1 bag of Ore Ida tater tots
Salt, pepper, Lawry’s seasoning
Press the uncooked ground beef into a 9×9 baking dish. (Double the recipe if you use a 9×13 dish.) Dice the onion and drain the green beans, adding both on top. Spoon out and spread the cream of chicken soup. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and Lawry’s seasoning salt. Finally, top with frozen tater tots, neatly lined in rows. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Broil for the final couple minutes for extra crispy tots.
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Wednesday night social with colleagues.
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Friday night was an exploration of Nordeast Minneapolis, a neighborhood that feels hipster, eclectic and fun. In some ways, it reminds me of Wicker Park in Chicago. (Oh Piece, I miss you.) With a good balance of restaurants and bars that have anchored the community for years, there are also new arrivals like The Anchor Fish & Chips. Or recently new (2009), if you’re fact checking my blog.
The wait time for a spot in the 36-seat restaurant? 60-90 minutes. So my friend Ben and I headed to the nearby 331 Club for drinks, where I tried a Surly Bender and Bell’s Amber Ale. It was trivia night with a fair amount of Dr. Seuss trivia in celebration of his birthdate. I’d been Dr. Seuss rhyming for work last week for Read Across America, but that didn’t help me here.
We ambled back to The Anchor, grabbed two seats at the bar counter and ordered the main feature, fish and chips, with a side of mushy peas. Mushy peas, you may ask with a wrinkled nose? I like peas (frozen, not canned) but was skeptical, too. It was more like buttered mashed potatoes, but with peas, and actually tasty. The cod fish was great, though the handcut fries did not seem exactly award-winning to me. (Then again, I have a strong bias for McDonald’s fries.) Paired with a pint of Smithwick’s, it was a satisfying meal.
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