Serendipity Sign...

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Serendipity (srn-dp-t)
n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties


1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.

A friend asked me to make this sign for her.  I wasn't sure what serendipty even meant, other than I remembered that there had been a fairy tale that had used the word.  I don't like making things if I don't understand what the meaning behind them is, so I googled it and was so happy when I saw the meaning!  It's beautiful!  Who doesn't love to make a fortunate discovery by accident?  Isn't this how most of us find love?  I hope she loves the sign as much as I do, the picture doesn't do it justice!

Linking to:
craftomaniac-monday
& making-monday-marvelous
& trash-to-treasure
& mad-skills-party
& tipjunkie
& too-cute-tuesday
& whatever-goes-wednesday
& lil-luna-link-party
& wednesdays-wowzers

Happiest Place On Earth...

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Taking a break!  We are going to visit our beautiful daughter in Orlando for a week.  She has been doing an internship at Walt Disney World working in a gift shop on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.  I'm so excited to see her and for my Hubs and our son to get to experience Walt Disney World, neither have been there before.  I'm not organized enough to have pre-scheduled any posts or guest posts, so I'm just taking a break and will be back at it in about 10 days.  I hope you all have as much fun as I intend to, I can't wait to catch up with you all when I get back!
Have a wonderful week!

Very Pinteresting- Mother's Day Gift Ideas...

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I'm baaaack!  We had a fantastic, much needed family vacation!  Since I have done ZERO crafting and am now in desperate need of idea's for Mother's Day gifts, I decided to search Pinterest for ideas and share my fav's :)

First up, how cute is this text art frame from keepitsimplesisterblog ?  LOVE it!



These flower pots were actually made as a cute teacher appreciation gift by thedailycraziness but I think they would be super cute for a mom or grandma as well:


I'm in love with this rose cuff bracelet from rufflesandstuff

This Mother's collage  from valentinedecor would be a fun gift as well:


This picture plaque from homespunblossoms is also super sweet:

And finally, I think this glass tile pendant from sugarbeecrafts is so darling!
So many great idea's to show the amazing moms/grandma's/stepmoms/mom-in-laws/women in our lives how much we love and appreciate them!  Now I've just got to figure out what I'm going to do and get it done :)

Father's Day BBQ Gift Basket....

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If the men in your life are grill masters like the ones in my life are, this is the perfect Dad's day gift!  Last year we got Hubs a super duper new stainless steel outdoor BBQ grill for father's day.  To go along with it, I made him and my daddy-o gift baskets full of grilling supplies.

For the basket portion of the bucket, I found these nice ice/champagne buckets and used my Cricut to cut their names out in vinyl and placed them on the buckets.  It gave them a nice personal touch.  I put "Poppa" on my dads because that's what the kids call him and, "WHUB" on my hubby's because that is my nickname for him:
Then, I bought a ton of nice BBQing supplies such as spatula's, wire brushes, oven mitts, mini meat thermometer's, skewers, tongs, etc. and placed them in the bucket with some gift basket filler:
I made these cute "apron" cards to attach:
Then, I just wrapped it all up in cellophane, attached the card with curling ribbon, and ta-da!
It was the perfect gift to go with a brand new grill!

My early birthday gift...

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My wonderful hubby and sweet kiddo's gave me an early birthday present:
I'm so dang excited!  I can't wait to start busting out the projects with it :)  I think hubs may be even more excited than I am though, he insisted we drive 2 1/2 hours to purchase it rather than just ordering it online.  One of the many reasons I love him, he loves my crafting as much as I do! 

                   Stay tuned because I intend to figure out how to use this baby!

Recipe: Homemade Pizza with Wheat Crust

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I LOVE pizza.  I haven't really had many kinds of pizza that I didn't like.  Many people have asked me what is my favorite, and I really can't decide.  There are so many that I like!  I have been wanting to make pizza at home more and experiment with different toppings and crusts.  Awhile back I tried a mix for a dough from Kroger that I didn't really care for.  It was too thin and hard to roll out.  I've seen different dough at Trader Joe's in their refrigerated section that looked good and was only about $1 a piece, so I thought I'd give that a try.  You really can't beat a dollar for the dough.  I opted for the whole wheat dough to see if we would like it, got the sauce from Trader Joe's as well, and we went with more traditional toppings this night.

First, I put our pizza stone in the oven and pre-heated the oven to the directions on the bag of dough.  Next, I sauteed some red onion and mushrooms with garlic and olive oil.  I had some apple chicken sausage in the fridge, so I chopped some of that up and sauteed that in the pan as well.

 I put Ross in charge of the dough.  He used to work at a pizza place in high school, so he likes to re-live his old job :)  When working with this dough, you want to be sure you use a good floured surface so it doesn't stick to the counter.

He rolled it out to the best circle shape he could get.

The instructions on the dough bag said to put on your sauce and toppings on the dough then bake.  So we added our sauce, sprinkled some oregano,Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder in the sauce, added our shredded mozzarella, and then our toppings on last.  I like to buy the blocks of cheese and shred it myself with a grater, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I like it better in many recipes this way.  We put the sausage, onion, mushrooms, and added some banana peppers as well.

We sprinkled the pizza stone with corn meal before we put the pizza on to bake.  Then we popped it in the oven.  We ended up baking the pizza for longer than it suggested of 10-12 minutes.  Ross and I actually were having a bit of a debate about it.  I thought it was finished around 15 minutes or so, but he was thinking that the dough didn't look finished.  We ended up baking it for about 20 minutes or so and it turned out pretty crispy.  It wasn't over-done, but I think 15 minutes would have been a bit better.

All in all, we really liked this pizza.  If you have been nervous to try wheat crust, don't be! We could barely tell a difference at all.  More pizza nights will be in our future with hopes of more variety of toppings :)

~Kate

Recipe: Hot Pizza Dip

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For parties and get-togethers, I love dips.  Pretty much any and every dip I typically like.  I recently had some friends over for a game night and wanted to make a couple appetizers.  I went with two that I had made before and knew were good but I wanted to try something new as well.  The first two appetizers I planned were cold, so I wanted something warm and I wanted something a bit more savory.  After perusing the web for a couple minutes, I went to one of my favorite food websites, allrecipes.com.  There I found this recipe for Pizza Dip. I always like to check out the reviews because people often give other tips and honest opinions about whether or not it is good.  This dip had only good reviews, so I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients:1 8oz. package of cream cheese, softened 1/2 tsp. dried oregano1/2 tsp. dried parsley1/4 tsp. dried basil1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese1 cup grated Parmesan cheese1 cup pizza sauce2 tbsp. chopped green bell pepper 2 oz. pepperoni sausage, chopped2 tbsp. black oliveTortilla chips for serving
In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese with dried spices.  Here is where you can use a low-fat or reduced fat cream cheese if you want, and I just eye-balled the measurements.  
Spread the mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese on top of mixture.

Spread the pizza sauce all over the top.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and top with green pepper and pepperoni.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so, or until all the cheese is melted and bubbling.  
I just used regular slices of pepperoni and cut them up and I don't like olives so I didn't use them. You could really use any kind of pizza toppings you would like for this dip.  This turned out really great!  We served it with tortilla chips but you could probably serve it with some sort bread, like a baguette as well.  I liked the tortilla because it was a bit salty and crunchy with the dip. 
Everyone really liked this!  My friend even said, "this is the new Skyline Dip!" haha, so I guess that means he liked it!  

Recipe: Chicken Gyros

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I have always really enjoyed Mediterrean food, but besides store-bought hummus, it's not usually something I make at home. Recently, I decided to try my hand at making chicken gyros, and it was a success! I looked up a few different recipes and came up with one that was pretty healthy and delicious!


Ingredients (Servings: 2)
For tzatziki sauce:
2-3 oz. Greek yogurt, plain (a little less than half of a standard 6 oz Chobani yogurt container)
1/8 cup cucumber, very finely diced 
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp dill
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper
Fresh lemon juice (from about a quarter of a lemon)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil 
For chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Greek yogurt, plain
Fresh lemon juice (from about a half of a lemon)
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dill
Salt and pepper
For assembling:
2 pitas (I used whole wheat)
Feta cheese
Kalamata Olives, chopped
Tomatoes, diced (I prefer roma)

I know this seems like a lot of ingredients, but a lot of them are spices and vinegars that you probably already have on hand. I actually only had to buy a couple things to make these.

To start, mix together all the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Once combined, add the chicken to the bowl and make sure each piece is completely coated. Cover and refrigerate it for 30 - 60 minutes.

Once that is complete, assemble the tzatziki sauce by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. It helps if you can let this sit in the refrigerator for a little bit while the flavors marry. My tzatziki sauce was actually better the second day because the flavors had melded together more.

When the chicken is finished marinading, transfer it to a skillet over medium heat. While the chicken is cooking, toast the whole wheat pitas just so they're slightly crispy and warm. I put mine in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Once the chicken is cooked through, place half the chicken on to each pita. Top with feta cheese, kalamata olives, the tzatziki sauce, and diced tomatoes. I served it with a delicious Greek salad with similar toppings as the gyro.  

Here is the final plate....good for you and delicious! Enjoy!


~ Kris

Review: Bakersfield OTR

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After hearing a lot of buzz about Bakersfield OTR, the new taco joint in Over-the-Rhine's Gateway Quarter, Kate and I decided to give it a try. Our friend Christina met us there at about 6 pm on a Tuesday night.

The restaurant was already filling up even at this early hour, but luckily we were seated right away. I've heard the wait time on the weekends can be 2-3 hours, so be prepared and get there early if you plan to go on a Friday or Saturday. When we arrived at 6 pm, there weren't any "regular" 4 top tables available, so we were seated at a long picnic-like table at the front of the restaurant. A few other people were already seated at the same picnic table, but it was spacious enough that we weren't right on top of each other. It didn't bother me at all; however it could be annoying if there was a loud/obnoxious group sitting next to you. :)

Shortly after being seated, our amazing server came over to get our drink orders. He was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and full of great suggestions. There was quite a lot to choose from, including specialty cocktails made with mostly whiskey or tequila (since that is what they specialize in), margaritas, sangria, wine and beer. After some debate, I ordered the Sangria, Kate got the Red Headed Stranger (bourbon, cayenne pepper, candied ginger, lemon, bitters and Domaine de Canton) and Christina ordered the Bakersfield Margarita.


We were all very pleased with our cocktails! The sangria was made with Rosé and was rather sweet, but delicious. One was definitely enough. Kate really liked her bourbon concoction as well, and Christina was happy with her margarita! When our cocktails arrived at the table, we knew we were ready to order the chips and queso. There are a few appetizers to choose from but we all agreed that the chips and queso sounded great! And we were right! Deliciosa! The chips were clearly homemade and so was the queso and the two salsas. They have a green salsa verde that was my favorite. It was clearly made with fresh ingredeints. The same can be said for the red salsa, which is smoky with a nice spicy kick. They were both fantastic with the chips - and the tacos!

Just as he did with the drink menu, our server thoroughly explained the food menu to us and made fantastic suggestions. In addition to appetizers, there are salads, tortes (sandwhiches) and lots of TACOS to choose from! There are 7 different types of tacos to choose from, and they're priced individually so you can mix-and-match. I aboslutely love this concept! You don't have to commit to one type of taco...you can order a few different ones and try a little bit of everything. The server said the Pastor (chili marinated pork with pineapple, onions and cilantro) was the #1 favorite, so we all ordered that one. In addition to the Pastor, I ordered the Short Rib and Fish tacos. Kate ordered the Rajas (portobello mushrooms) and the Short Rib. And Christina ordered the Pollo Verde (tomatillo braised chicken) and cochinita pibil (spicy pork). 

We could not have been happier with our choices! Of all nine tacos, there was not a single complaint about any of them. I aboslutely loved all three of mine. The Short Rib taco was the winner (Kate also agreed), but not by much. The Pastor was a close second! The combination of the sweet and spicy was fantastic! And the mahi mahi taco was light and flavorful and a good change from the other two tacos. It was topped with a cabbage slaw, cilantro and a tabasco lime mayo. Yummmo!!
I will definitely be back to Bakersfield in the near future! The service, atmosphere, food and cocktails were very impressive and worth a repeat trip! I'm already planning my next visit!

~ Kris  
Food: 5Service: 5 Overall: 5

Review: Pompilio's

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My friend has been raving about Pompilio's in Newport for a couple months now.  She said she loved the small local feel of the restaurant and really enjoyed her meals that she has had here.  I do love Italian, so when my husband was recently craving Italian, I suggested we give it a try.

Pompilio's is located in the small neighborhood of Newport, KY and there is a location in Independence too.  It is well-known for having a scene from Rain Man filmed here.  There was plenty of parking options located on the neighboring streets.  I loved the location, making it definitely feel like a neighborhood gem.

Upon walking in, I was a little taken aback.  The bar area was packed with people...and smoke.  I forgot that Kentucky still allows smoking in restaurants.  I am not one who typically is bothered by smoke actually, but this was pretty intense.  We were led to the hostess stand in another room who asked if we wanted smoking or non-smoking.  We chose the latter.  We were immediately seated to a cozy booth in the back of the restaurant.

As we got comfortable I was able to take a minute to soak in the ambiance and patrons of Pompilio's.  I liked how the interior had a feeling of being in a family restaurant.  There was a variety of patrons, including families, children, and couples.  It wasn't too loud and had some great eccentric pieces adorning the walls.

Ross and I took some time looking over the menu after ordering our drinks.  The menu is huge.  It offers specialty dishes, pastas, chicken, salads, appetizers, and more.  It really is pretty extensive.  I asked our matter-of-fact waitress what she recommended, and she suggested the chicken tortellini which was one of the dishes I was debating, so I went for it.  This was served with a side salad.  Ross decided to order the Cannelloni.  He has never ordered this before, so I was surprised, but it sounded good! He wanted a Caesar salad with his meal.

As we waited, a server brought us some bread to snack on.  This was pretty boring.  It really just was white bread.  It seemed to me like bread that I could get from a bag at the store.

Next, came our salads.  These salads were too a bit disappointing.  It was a portion of iceberg lettuce topped with two cucumbers and two tomatoes.  I had the Italian dressing, which was just okay. Ross didn't really care for his salad either.  It was over-dressed making it taste a bit soggy.  Not terrible, but not that great either.


At this point, we were excited for our entrees to come.  We finished our drinks and chatted while we waited....and waited...and noticed that the table who was sat 10-15 minutes after us received their entrees.  We weren't terribly bothered by this, but we did notice it.  Our waitress did stop by a bit later and apologized for the food taking longer than normal, which was nice to acknowledge.  Finally, our food arrived.

The chicken tortellini is sauteed with garlic, basil, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes and served in a Parmesan cream sauce.  This overall was just okay.  I thought there was way too much cream sauce making it a little too rich for me.  Other than that, I really liked the sun-dried tomatoes and the chicken was pretty good too.  This was a big portion and had about half to take home.  I think this was a decent dish, but just too much cream/cheese, in my opinion.

Ross' dish was not good.  I really can't even try to make it sound good.  I thought it was terrible.  The cannelloni tasted rubbery to me.  It was stuffed with beef and Italian sausage, which really had no flavor.  Ross chose Alfredo sauce on top of it, and I didn't think that had any flavor either.  It really needed some salt and pepper at least.  This was a very bland dish.  I also thought for Italian food it was a small portion. Ross didn't mind though because he didn't like this either.

I was so disappointed in Pompilio's!  I really wanted to like this place.  I thought the interior and exterior is really unique and a lot of people seem to enjoy it.  It was busy, but not on a wait, and prices are pretty fair.  My friend who recommended it said that she has only had the red sauce and really likes that, so if I ever do go back, I guess I will have to try that.  The food and service was just mediocre in my opinion. I don't need a server who is overly friendly or anything like that, but ours was really just down-to-business.  Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear other thoughts on this place.
~Kate

Food: 2
Service:2
Overall Experience: 2.5

SPINACH - BEET SALAD RECIPE

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SPINACH - BEET SALAD RECIPE

SPINACH SALAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16 oz.) can sliced beets, drained
• 1/2 c. Italian salad dressing
• 1/4 lb. fresh spinach, cleaned and torn into bite size pieces
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 hard cooked eggs
• Additional fresh spinach leaves

SPINACH SALAD RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS
Combine beets and dressing in a medium mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate overnight. Drain beet mixture. Add torn spinach, green onions, and celery to beet mixture. Toss gently. Arrange beet mixture on additional spinach leaves. Sprinkle bacon over top. Finely chophard cooked eggs and sprinkle over top of salad before serving...Nice ! Enjoy the spinach salad !
wilted-spinach-salad recipe

Strawberry and Spinach Salad Recipe

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STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD RECIPE

Try this spinach salad recipe.....Spinach salad with strawberries and a red wine vinaigrette. Great tasting appetizer !

Spinach Salad Recipe Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 6 cups fresh spinach leaves, torn
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, dried, hulled

Dressing

• 1/4 cup salad oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

Spinach Salad Recipe Instructions:

In a large bowl, toss spinach with sesame seeds. Prepare strawberries, cutting large ones in half. Add strawberries to salad. Cover and refrigerate. Combine dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar or shaker; shake well then refrigerate to chill. Pour chilled dressing over strawberry and spinach salad mixture in bowl and toss gently to distribute well. The spinach salad is ready to serve....enjoy this amazing spinach salad ! Great !
spinach-lettuce-salad recipe

SPINACH EGG SALAD RECIPE

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SPINACH EGG SALAD RECIPE

SPINACH SALAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS

• fresh spinach, stems removed
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 5 slices bacon, reserve bacon grease

SPINACH SALAD RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS
Hard boil the eggs (simmer about 10 min). Remove yolks from whites. Chop whites coarsely.
Mix egg yolks, olive oil, celery seed and Dijon mustard to make a dressing for salad.
Heat bacon grease till it just about smokes and add red wine vinegar. Add chopped whites .
Pour over salad, add cut up bacon, toss and serve and serve on a bed of fresh spinach.Enjoy it !

SPINACH SALAD WITH HONEY - MUSTARD DRESSING

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SPINACH SALAD WITH HONEY - MUSTARD DRESSING

SPINACH SALAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS

• 1 (10 oz.) pkg. fresh spinach
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, cut into thin strips
• 1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms, drained (I use fresh)
• 1-2 tbsp. bacon bits
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

SPINACH SALAD RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS
Wash spinach well. Drain and tear into bite-size pieces. Be sure to remove all sand. Combine remaining ingredients and toss lightly with dressing.

HONEY-MUSTARD DRESSING:

• 8 oz. mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1/4 c. Dijon-style mustard
• 1/2 to 1 c. honey to taste

Combine ingredients and mix well. Makes 2 to 3 cups dressing. (Low-calorie mayonnaise or salad dressing can be used, if desired.)

Spinach Salad With Apple Vinaigrette

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SPINACH SALAD RECIPE WITH APPLE VINAIGRETTE
Another amazing Spinach salad recipe to try.....nice !

SPINACH SALAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS

• 1 bag fresh spinach, about 10 t0 12 ounces
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons grated sweet or purple onion
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup finely chopped apple
• crumbled cooked bacon, for garnish, optional

Spinach Salad Recipe Instructions:

Wash spinach and let dry. Whisk together sugar, vinegar, onion, mustard, salt, oil, and apple, or pulse a few times in blender. Refrigerate spinach and dressing separately until serving time. Pour dressing over spinach just before serving and toss. If desired, sprinkle with crumbled bacon. The spinach salad recipe is ready to serve...Hmmm..good taste of salad !

spinach-mushroom-and-bacon-salad

Call for Art at Light Grey Art Lab!

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Light Grey Art Lab has a new call for art! This time it's a little rowdy! Type lovers - if you're interested in being a part of a 50 person poster exhibition celebrating all those four letter words (and of course, the phrases, exclamations, the monologues and the rest of the nonsensical things we blurt out) - this is what you've been waiting for!Head on over HERE to post a link to your portfolio to be considered for the upcoming show! The exhibition will be featured in their brick and mortar gallery in Minneapolis as well as online & in their shop. Tell all of your type-loving friends and make sure to get your name on the list before July 3 to be considered!

Review: Coffee Please

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One thing I love about working at a school is having the school hours!  It really is nice to have lots of holidays and breaks off to relax or get things done.  When we were off on President's Day, I was planning to run some errands, go to the grocery store and grab lunch somewhere.  Since I typically go to Kroger in Madeira, I decided to grab a bite to eat near the Kroger.  Coffee Please is a little cafe and coffee shop located on Miami Ave. right by the Kroger.  Very convenient for me!  I had been here once before, but it had been a long time, so I didn't quite remember a lot about it.

There is parking on the street right in front or there are lots around back as well.  The coffee shop was packed!  I went around lunch time but I'm guessing a lot of other people were enjoying their day off work as well.  I saw the menu board hanging behind the counter, so I made my way toward the front to try to read the menu.  I don't know if it is my eyes or what, but I had a really hard time reading the menu.  I didn't see it written anywhere else or a print-out, so I just went up to the cashier and asked her.  There were options of soups, hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, and a few salads.  I really couldn't say the variety of food there was because I couldn't see.  I went in knowing I was in the mood for a grilled cheese and tomato soup, so I just asked the cashier if they had that.  Sure enough, they did!  I asked for a half sandwich and soup, but they don't do half of grilled cheese.  She said they do offer half sandwiches of other ones, however.

So, after ordering my soup and sandwich, she gave me a number and said they would bring my lunch out to me.  I cozied up in one of the only tables available, which was by a window.  I liked being able to read my book and have the sunshine right by me as well!  It was pretty loud in the cafe with couples, children, and some individual people working on their laptops.  I did notice there were children's books and games near the window, so I'm assuming many families come into this shop.

My food was quickly brought out to me with my water as well.  I sampled the tomato soup first.  It was very warm and I loved the texture.  It wasn't too chunky or too creamy.  It had some rotini-type noodles in the soup which I really liked!  This had a hint of basil, but not very much that was overwhelming at all.  I loved this tomato soup! Probably one of the best I've had.

I next dove into my grilled cheese sandwich.  This was served on a marble rye with grilled onion and tomato.  I like extra toppings on my grilled cheese, so I was pleased to have those in addition.  This sandwich was pretty good.  I liked all the ingredients and it was melted perfectly.  My one complaint was I thought the bread was too crispy.  It was rough on the roof of my mouth and tasted a bit burnt.  Of course, it was good to dip in the tomato soup.

On the side, they gave me the option of carrots or chips.  I went with the carrots, but I ended up not eating very many of them because I got full and they were dried out.

Overall, I think Coffee Please is a great little neighborhood cafe and coffee shop.  I'd like to go back and try the coffee. The cafe as a whole was a bit noisy for me, but I could look past that.  I like that it is a non-chain shop, but I thought it was expensive.  My soup and sandwich was $10.  I think that's high for lunch and I wouldn't be going back very often to spend $10 on lunch...but I really loved that tomato soup!  Maybe next time I'll just get a cup of that and try some coffee :)

~Kate

Food: 3
Service: 2.5
Overall Experience: 3

Recipe: Vegetable Soup with a Kick

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Soup is one of my favorite winter comfort foods to make. I'm always looking for new recipes to try. I like to keep it healthy and low-calorie so I can pack them in my lunches throughout the week. My mom has a pretty good recipe for vegetable soup but I wanted to take it up a notch and give it a spicy, Mexican kick. I have to admit, this turned out really good for something I just made up with ingredients I had on hand. I will definitely be making this again and again!

Ingredients:
1 can low sodium chicken broth (could also use vegetable or beef broth)
1/2 cup water (this can be adjusted depending on how thick vs. watery you want it to be)
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Rotel)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup carrots, chopped
3/4 cup celery, diced (I chop up the leafy parts too and put those in the pot for more flavor)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
S&P to taste
fresh cilantro, chopped



To make the soup, you'll want to start out by sauteing the carrots, celery and red pepper until softened. While those are cooking, add the tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder and black beans to a large soup pot over medium heat. Once the veggies have softened, add them to the pot as well. In the same skillet as the other veggies, saute the zucchini for a few minutes. Zucchini doesn't need as much time as the other vegetables, so I do it separately. I added the red pepper flakes to the skillet with the zucchini as well. After a few minutes, toss those in the soup pot with the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to your liking and add the cilantro. I actually didn't add any salt because the tomatoes had pretty much sodium in them already.

Let it come to a boil and then turn it down to warm. I left it on warm for about an hour and a half for the flavors to meld together - stirring every so often. At the end, I added in my water because I thought it was too thick, but you may like it that way.

The fire roasted tomatoes add such a nice kick to this soup. It's super filling and very healthy - a winning combination.  :)  And feel free to play with the spices and veggies. I just used what I had on hand at the moment. Almost any veggie will work! You could make it more of an Italian soup by changing out the spices to garlic, basil, parsley and oregano and switching to a cannelini bean. They make diced tomatoes with basil and garlic in them instead of the ones with green chiles. You get the idea! Be creative...and enjoy!

~ Kris

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Today I'm excited to share a great chocolate chip cookie recipe! This is a rare occasion since Kate and I are not huge on baking. Several years ago, Shannan - a former co-worker of mine - shared an AMAZING recipe for chocolate chip cookies with me. She first wrote about the recipe on her blog Mommy Bits. I couldn't wait to try it out, and I'm so glad I did! They are truly sooooo easy to make and very versatile. They're always a crowd favorite.



Here is the basic recipe:
1 (18.25 oz) package moist yellow cake mix (make sure it's MOIST)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola will also work)
2 eggs
1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips

After preheating the oven to 350 degrees and greasing your cookie sheets, mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil and lastly the chocolate chips. Drop teaspoons of dough onto your greased cookie sheets and let them bake for about 8-10 minutes. After taking them out of the oven, remove from the pan and put them on wire racks to cool. Next....ENJOY!!!!

They are so moist and delicious! And the best part is that you can mix up the flavor of the cake mix and the chips. You can do moist chocolate cake mix with peanut butter chips and/or Reese's pieces. You could do moist white cake mix with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. The possibilities are endless! Get creative!

~Kris

Review: Pompilio's

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My friend has been raving about Pompilio's in Newport for a couple months now.  She said she loved the small local feel of the restaurant and really enjoyed her meals that she has had here.  I do love Italian, so when my husband was recently craving Italian, I suggested we give it a try.

Pompilio's is located in the small neighborhood of Newport, KY and there is a location in Independence too.  It is well-known for having a scene from Rain Man filmed here.  There was plenty of parking options located on the neighboring streets.  I loved the location, making it definitely feel like a neighborhood gem.

Upon walking in, I was a little taken aback.  The bar area was packed with people...and smoke.  I forgot that Kentucky still allows smoking in restaurants.  I am not one who typically is bothered by smoke actually, but this was pretty intense.  We were led to the hostess stand in another room who asked if we wanted smoking or non-smoking.  We chose the latter.  We were immediately seated to a cozy booth in the back of the restaurant.

As we got comfortable I was able to take a minute to soak in the ambiance and patrons of Pompilio's.  I liked how the interior had a feeling of being in a family restaurant.  There was a variety of patrons, including families, children, and couples.  It wasn't too loud and had some great eccentric pieces adorning the walls.

Ross and I took some time looking over the menu after ordering our drinks.  The menu is huge.  It offers specialty dishes, pastas, chicken, salads, appetizers, and more.  It really is pretty extensive.  I asked our matter-of-fact waitress what she recommended, and she suggested the chicken tortellini which was one of the dishes I was debating, so I went for it.  This was served with a side salad.  Ross decided to order the Cannelloni.  He has never ordered this before, so I was surprised, but it sounded good! He wanted a Caesar salad with his meal.

As we waited, a server brought us some bread to snack on.  This was pretty boring.  It really just was white bread.  It seemed to me like bread that I could get from a bag at the store.

Next, came our salads.  These salads were too a bit disappointing.  It was a portion of iceberg lettuce topped with two cucumbers and two tomatoes.  I had the Italian dressing, which was just okay. Ross didn't really care for his salad either.  It was over-dressed making it taste a bit soggy.  Not terrible, but not that great either.


At this point, we were excited for our entrees to come.  We finished our drinks and chatted while we waited....and waited...and noticed that the table who was sat 10-15 minutes after us received their entrees.  We weren't terribly bothered by this, but we did notice it.  Our waitress did stop by a bit later and apologized for the food taking longer than normal, which was nice to acknowledge.  Finally, our food arrived.

The chicken tortellini is sauteed with garlic, basil, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes and served in a Parmesan cream sauce.  This overall was just okay.  I thought there was way too much cream sauce making it a little too rich for me.  Other than that, I really liked the sun-dried tomatoes and the chicken was pretty good too.  This was a big portion and had about half to take home.  I think this was a decent dish, but just too much cream/cheese, in my opinion.

Ross' dish was not good.  I really can't even try to make it sound good.  I thought it was terrible.  The cannelloni tasted rubbery to me.  It was stuffed with beef and Italian sausage, which really had no flavor.  Ross chose Alfredo sauce on top of it, and I didn't think that had any flavor either.  It really needed some salt and pepper at least.  This was a very bland dish.  I also thought for Italian food it was a small portion. Ross didn't mind though because he didn't like this either.

I was so disappointed in Pompilio's!  I really wanted to like this place.  I thought the interior and exterior is really unique and a lot of people seem to enjoy it.  It was busy, but not on a wait, and prices are pretty fair.  My friend who recommended it said that she has only had the red sauce and really likes that, so if I ever do go back, I guess I will have to try that.  The food and service was just mediocre in my opinion. I don't need a server who is overly friendly or anything like that, but ours was really just down-to-business.  Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear other thoughts on this place.
~Kate

Food: 2
Service:2
Overall Experience: 2.5