Three Broomsticks

The day we'd all been waiting for had finally arrived.  We were going to Harry Potter Land!  That's what my kids call it and their excitement was unbridled!  I have to admit that I was a little excited too but it was because I desperately wanted to try Butterbeer.

We were told to get it frozen and to get it at the restaurant not the street carts.

This worked out well because after three hours of exploring Hogwarts....we were starving! Click here to read more about our visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 We all enjoyed our Butterbeer very much and it was kind of like having dessert with your meal.  We each got a souvenir mug which I advise against because I think they are $10 each and now I have to store them.  I'd have been much happier with TWO mugs.  Bygones.

Look how cool we all look with our mugs!  Okay...maybe it was worth the money.  If you buy the mugs...you are supposed to be able to go to any counter service restaurant in the park and get free soda refills.  We didn't test this out because we forgot to bring our mugs the next day. Whoops!

Three Broomsticks is considered casual dining at Universal Studios but the food is outstanding.  They do have kids meals for $5 but my son had his heart set on Ribs.  They were very good and the potatoes that came with them made their way to my plate because they were better than the french fries that came with the Fish and Chips.

I love Fish and Chips and generally always order it when it's on a menu.  This was an exceptional meal because the breading was very light and the pieces of fish were large.  I really liked the tarter sauce too but ended up not using most of it because the breading on the fish was so flavorful that I didn't need it.

The atmosphere at Three Broomsticks is really fun!  You feel like you are really in an old English Pub and if you're lucky....you'll see the house elves scurrying around on the second floor.

Click here for Three Broomsticks full menu.

Holiday Chocolate Festival 2012

Do you live in Colorado?  Do you love Chocolate? 

If so, you will want to join me (I'm a guest chocolate judge) on Sunday, December 9th from 11am-6pm at the 4th Annual Holiday Chocolate Festival in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor Hotel!

The event hosts over 60 vendors; a third are chocolate vendors giving tastes of their wonderful truffles, dark chocolates, chocolates infused with mint, cayenne pepper, and basil, plus other fun treats. In addition there are gift booths, holiday booths and more — a one-stop shop for all of your holiday shopping needs.

In addition to the chocolate vendors, enjoy great stage entertainment throughout the day including a visit from Santa Claus (11:00 AM – 12:30 PM) where he will be reading stories and sharing cookies and milk with kids in attendance. Also, The Chocolate Therapist Julie Peck will be doing beer and wine pairings and enjoy great holiday music.

The entry fee for attendees is $5 per person (children are not required to purchase a ticket), and the option of buying tasting tickets for food and chocolate tastes (highly recommended). Taste Tickets are available in pre-sale for one ticket for $1, 12 tickets for $10 and 30 tickets for $25. At the door tickets will be $1 per ticket.

Purchase advance tickets here 

The Broadmoor Hotel is located at 1 Lake Avenue in Colorado Springs.

Guests of the Holiday Chocolate Festival can stay at the Broadmoor Hotel for a reduced rate of only $145 per night.  Call (866)837-9520 and tell them you are a part of the Holiday Chocolate Festival for this great rate!

 

Bananaberry Fabulous Muffins

See that little girl in the header?

I named this blog after her because when she was two years old she took an interest in cooking and insisted on pushing her own cart.

She also took a liking to blue cheese at an early age.  The girl is a foodie!

We took her to California last March and made the mistake of feeding her some Porterhouse steak from our plate.  Now....she's won't eat steak, unless it's a high quality.

Now the girl is dreaming recipes and insists that we make them!  The latest one involved muffins made of raspberries and bananas.  I only added baking soda and powder because apparently...a five year olds mind doesn't realize these are important.

Please note we only added the raspberries to a small portion of the muffins because The Rookie Foodie's brother was not so sure about how this was going to turn out.  Six year olds have little faith in their sisters.

P.S. The raspberry muffins were awesome.

Mallory has named these:

Bananaberry Fabulous Muffins

3 Large ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup white sugar

1  egg

1/3 cup melted  butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

In a mixer, mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and butter together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Mix wet and dry ingredients all together! Pour into greased muffin tins, place a fresh raspberry in each cup and push down into the batter. Bake in 350 degrees F oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Debate Watching Party

I'm excited to watch the debate tonight between President Obama and Mr. Mitt Romney.  We've talked about the election with our Kindergarteners and they are excited to watch with us. 

Of course, I took this as an opportunity to plan a party.  A debate watching party!

My original theme was All-American Foods.  I discussed it with Mallory and we'd decided on Hot Dogs, Chips and Apple Pie.  Once we got to the store, she changed her mind and wanted bologna sandwiches. 

I agreed and knew there was going to be a shift to my theme when I saw the big cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Our theme is now.....What the 47% eats!

Our Menu:

Bologna,  Salami and Cheese Hoggies
Chips
Carrot Sticks with Ranch
Little Apple Turnovers
Orange Soda and bottles of Coke
Pabst Blue Ribbon

Enchilada Showdown

My daughter has a favorite show.  The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network.  Every Saturday morning, she gets her blanket and her bean bag and begs to watch it.

I'm more than happy to watch it with her!

A few weeks ago, Ree made Simple Enchiladas and Mallory got very excited.  She wanted to make them too so I challenged her to a Enchilada Showdown.

She'd make The Pioneer Woman's Enchiladas and I would make mine.

We waited patiently for the boys to try each one to see which one they liked better.

Here's a hint:  I didn't win, although the boys said they did like mine. 

Here is the recipe for Creamy Chicken Enchiladas....in case you want to try them for yourself.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 pound of chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 block of cream cheese
1-2 jalapenos, finely chopped
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 28 oz can of green enchilada sauce
2 cups of monterey jack cheese, shredded
10-12 corn tortillas
oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Bring the cream cheese to room temperature.  Boil the chicken breast (or use left over chicken from another meal) and shred.  

Mix together cream cheese, jalapenos, milk, garlic powder, cayenne and salt.  Add the chicken.  Stir until combined.

In a small pan, heat some oil and lightly fry the tortillas until soft by not crispy.  Set them aside.

Pour some of the green enchilada sauce into a 9X13 pan.  Lay the tortillas on a work surface.  Place a small amount of chicken mixture in the center of the tortilla and then roll it up.  Place in the pan and continue rolling tortillas until finished. 

Pour the remaining sauce over the rolled up tortillas and then sprinkle the cheese over the op.

Back for 30 minutes.

You can find The Pioneer Woman's recipe here.

I Love AeroPress Coffee

My birthday was a few weeks ago and my five year old daughter decided that she was going to plan my party.  She enlisted my husband to help her but it was less about his abilities and more about the fact that he had money to make her plans a reality.

I'm not sure that she'll ever hire him again because he totally dropped the ball a cake she had wanted made.

Her theme was based on something that I love and talk about all the time.

Coffee.

My little Rookie Foodie had my husband take her to Sur La Table and talked him into a number of lovely gifts to make all of my coffee dreams come true!

 One of my favorite gifts is the AeroPress Espresso Maker.  It's like a french press but it uses air pressure and the grounds are totally saturated in the water.  It makes for an incredibly smooth cup of coffee or espresso.

I'm mostly using it on the weekends when I have more time to boil water (note to self: get a kettle). 

Disclaimer:  I have not been paid to talk about the AeroPress or Sur La Table. 

Bonnie Brae Ice Cream

I knocked a bunch of things off my foodie bucket list today ( more on that later) and it reminded me that I've been remiss in posting my adventures in ice cream.

In July (i think) we visited Bonnie Brae Ice Cream on a whim.   As in, I said....hey!  Who wants some ice cream and we drove like bats out of hell to another part of town without checking the weather and found ourselves at Bonnie Brae.

We got caught in a major downpour and I was glad I wasn't wearing a white shirt that day.

We loved the ice cream and my husband was VERY happy with all of the choices of flavors.  I'm easy.  I had the mocha.

I don't remember what the kids had but they loved it.

Come to think of it....it was probably Rocky Road and Chocolate.  Their stand by order.  Maybe someday they'll branch out.  Oh what am I saying....I get Coffee most of the time.