Thursday, January 31, 2019

Cheesy Garlic Bread Bombs

Alright, I take back my previous statement about me not liking bread! I had some leftover pizza dough, so I decided to make these insanely good cheesy garlic bread bombs (CGBB). You stuff the middle with cheese then top them with a slathering of garlic and herb butter AND...wait for it...more cheese. They are ooey and gooey and the cheese is stretchy and just oh so good! Did I say they are good? Well, they are!

Just look at that cheese!

Nice and crusty on the outside with
gooey deliciousness on the inside!

To make these, you will start with a pizza dough. If you don't want to take the time to make pizza dough, then just buy the pre-made stuff or use the frozen rhodes rolls.

Let's start with the pizza dough.

Pizza Dough
Makes 11-12 CGBB or 1 large pizza crust

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1.5 tsp rapid rise yeast
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 2.5 cups flour, divided

How to make pizza dough:

  1. In your stand mixer mixing bowl, combine warm water and yeast. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it starts to bubble. If it never bubbles, your water was too hot or too cold - start over. 
  2. Add 1.25 cups flour into the proofed yeast and mix well using your dough hook.
  3. Add additional 1.25 cups flour and salt and continue to mix until mostly incorporated. 
  4. Remove your dough from the mixing bowl and need until smooth.   
  5. Form your dough into a ball and place it back in your mixing bowl. Cover your bowl with saran wrap and a dish towel and let the dough rest for 1 hour until it nearly doubles in size. 
  6. Remove the towel and saran wrap and give your dough a big ole punch right in the center. 
  7. Remove from the bowl and form into another loose ball. 
Your dough looks something like this:

Now, for those CGBB!
Makes 11-12 CGBB

Ingredients:
  • 1 batch pizza dough evenly divided into 11-12 pieces
  • 22-24 cubes of cheese (I used part skim mozzarella - it is a hard cheese, not a soft cheese - because I new it would stretch. Something else that would work well would be cut up string cheese).
  • .5 stick of  butter 
  • 1 tbsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Cooking spray
How to make CGBB:
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a small baking sheet. 
  2. Flatten one of your pieces of dough (make a flat disc) and place two pieces of your cubed cheese into the center. Bring the edges up over the cheese and seal your CBGG. Place seam side down on your baking sheet. Continue until all are complete. 
  3. Spray your dough balls with cooking spray and cover with saran wrap. Let these rest for 20 minutes. 
  4. In the meantime, combine your butter, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl and microwave until your butter is melted. Stir to combine everything. 
  5. Remove the saran wrap and brush each ball with a generous amount of garlic butter. Top with your grated parmesan cheese.
  6. Place in the center rack of your oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until they are nice and golden brown. 
Here is a quick look at the process:




 

These would be a fun idea for super bowl or you can just serve them up with your favorite pasta or soup. I made a pasta fagioli to go with these and it was just perfection!

Enjoy!

- H

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Monster Jam!

I love going to random events and I especially love people watching at these random events. Last weekend, a large group of our friends all got together and went to Monster Jam. We ended up having a great time and we did get in some good people watching too! The event was at Petco park downtown, so we took advantage and grabbed some dinner before at a little place called "The Neighborhood." They were very hospitable and I would definitely go back.

Here are some pics from the event:

Just enjoying dinner before the event. 

Hand crafted, locally produced. 
Lucy made her own signs. Too cute!


The entire group.



And...that's a wrap!

Enjoy!
- H & J

Monday, January 28, 2019

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

Asian food is probably my favorite food. Mainly because of the variety of noodles - and I love noodles - but also because of the unique flavor profile that Asian food brings. Salty, sweet, sour, umami - just yum!

I like a good teriyaki chicken, but I am not a fan of foods drenched in sauce. I mean, I like the flavor and all, but without all the messy, sticky sauce. Hence, this grilled teriyaki chicken. You marinate the chicken overnight, then grill it. You get all the delicious teriyaki flavor - just no sauce. Now, I know some of you are freaking out because you love sauce. Weirdos. If you really want sauce, make an extra batch of the marinade, reduce it down and serve it on top of your chicken after you have grilled it. Not my cup of tea, but to each his own.

Just look at that marinade!

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
Makes enough to marinate up to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (if you prefer breasts, then use them, but cut the count down to 5 or 6)

Ingredients:

  • 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 5 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar loosely packed
  • 1/4 soy sauce (more if you like it a little bit saltier)
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce (if you don't have this, just add a little more soy sauce)
  • 1/3 chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1-2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1-2 tbsp chile sauce (the one with the green cap or you could also use Sriracha) optional
  • Pepper to taste (you do not need salt for this one)
How to make grilled teriyaki chicken:
  1. Make your marinade by mixing together everything but the chicken. Taste it - to assure you are satisfied with the salt to sweet ratio. If you aren't add more sugar for sweetness or more soy sauce for saltiness. Continue to taste until you are satisfied. 
  2. Place your chicken in a zip lock back or airtight container and dump your marinade over top. Marinate at least 8 hours, but preferably overnight. Make sure you turn your chicken frequently if it isn't fully immersed. If you are using a bag, just flip it over every now and again. 
  3. Remove your chicken from the fridge 30 minutes prior to grilling it.  
  4. Light your grill/bbq (I have a big green egg) and heat to 350-400 degrees dome/bbq temp. You are going to be grilling on direct heat. 
  5. Place your chicken on the grill and immediately baste with a little bit of the leftover marinade. Now, toss this marinade because it is a big salmonella bath - don't worry, all that will cook out when you cook your chicken - just don't use this marinade for anything else. Turn every 2-3 minutes until done (165 degrees internal temp). Note: watch the chicken closely because these will caramelize/burn very quickly due to the sugar.


Look how good that looks - I served this with some garlic rice and some sweet and spicy asian pickles.
You can see the nicely grilled caramel-y edges. Mmm!
If you really need the sauce on this chicken, then make an extra batch of the marinade like I said up top. Place it in a sauce pan when you remove your chicken from the fridge to grill. Reduce it down by about half over medium heat. Again, watch this closely as it will burn due to the sugar.

Enjoy!

- H & J - he grilled :)

Friday, January 25, 2019

Crispy Creamy Roast Potatoes

Happy Friday!

Who doesn't love a great side dish? I have been working on this recipe for quite some time and I think I finally have it down. These are delicious - crispy, crunchy, and creamy - all seasoned with rosemary and garlic - to make the perfect little pillowy potato bites. YUM! Although the process seems a little bit daunting, they really are easy to make and are so good!



Crispy Creamy Roast Potatoes
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 4 pounds yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1" squares
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic
  • 2-3 sprigs rosemary
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Crispy Creamy Roast Potatoes:
  1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. 
  2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add in a generous amount of salt and the baking soda. Once boiling, add in your potatoes. Cook until they are just soft enough to pierce through them with a fork. 
  3. In the meantime rough chop your garlic and add it along with the rosemary to a small sauce pan. Add in the olive oil and bring up to heat over medium. You do not want this to get too hot - just hot enough that you infuse the flavor of the rosemary and garlic with the oil. Once you have achieved that, remove the garlic and rosemary from the olive oil.
  4. Drain your potatoes and allow to sit in the colander for an extra minute to assure there is no excess moisture. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and begin to toss. You will notice that the starch begins to form a coating on the potatoes. Once that starts happening, start tossing with your olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 
  5. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet assuring they have enough room to roast (don't crowd your pan). Bake for 25 minutes (do not touch them, do not open your oven, just don't do it! You are going to want to, but don't!).
  6. After 25 minutes, turn the potatoes and continue roasting for an additional 30-35 minutes. 
  7. Finish with salt to your liking.
I know you will not be disappointed with this recipe!

-H

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Lasagna

Mmm yum yum, lasagna! If there was a staple Italian pasta dish that Americans think of, I think it would be lasagna. Maybe it would be spaghetti and meatballs, but lasagna would probably be right up there. Funny story - a few weeks back I had jury duty and rather than park downtown, I decided to take Lyft. I had a driver who had recently moved here from Africa on the way home. He asked me what I love to do or what I am passionate about and the first thing that came to mind was cooking. He then asked if I could make lasagna. I told him that I definitely can and actually just made a lasagna. He then said to me "well, I can't make a lasagna but I can make Hamburger Helper and that is basically the same thing, right?" I then proceeded to laugh the entire ride home as did he at his comment! Hamburger Helper? Yeesh!

A week or so ago I posted about making creamy bolognese - recipe here. Since I had a ton of leftovers, I decided to throw together a lasagna. I like to make more of a rustic lasagna - mainly because I was too lazy to cut my noodles down to size - but also because I love the crispy edges that you get with a rustic lasagna! Mmm crispy edges!

Look at those crispy edges!

This recipe has quite a few elements, but don't get discouraged. Once you have everything prepped, it comes together quick.  Please also note that I used a small casserole dish (8"x8") so if you are making a larger lasagna you will need more noodles. The other ingredients are enough for a large lasagna. 

Lasagna
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
  • 9 lasagna noodles cooked to al dente
  • 2-3 cups creamy bolognese (or regular bolognese or just marinara if you are vegetarian)
  • 15 oz container ricotta cheese (part skim or whole, doesn't matter - if you are making a smaller lasagna, you will not use all of this)
  • 1 bunch basil leaves chopped or 2 tsp dry basil
  • 4 oz grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese (more if you like it super cheesy)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 1/4 cups of milk at room temperature
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1-2 spritz of cooking spray
How to make lasagna:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prep a casserole dish by spraying with cooking spray and set aside. 
  2. Prepare a bechamel sauce. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2 mins. Whisk in 2 tbsp of floor and continue to stir until the paste cooks and bubbles slightly, but do not let it brown. I repeat, do not let in brown. Add the milk and continue to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil and add in half of your parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Take off the heat and set the sauce aside. 
  3. Mix together the ricotta cheese, basil, and some salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set this aside as well. 
  4. Now we are going to assemble the lasagna. Pictures to follow because it helps to make sense of the madness. Layer 1 - Place 1/4 cup of the bechamel in the bottom of the casserole dish. Place three lasagna noodles on top of the bechamel (notice I did not cut mine and just let them creep up the sides). Cover the noodles with a thin layer of your ricotta mixture. Cover the ricotta mixture with 1/4 cup of bechamel. Now, top this with some parmesan cheese (half of the half that you have left). Scoop about 1 cup of bolognese on top of the parmesan cheese. 
  5. Layer 2 - Top your bolognese with 3 more lasagna noodles. Notice that I placed these the opposite way to you get a ton of crispy edges. Cover the noodles with a thin layer of your ricotta mixture. Cover the ricotta mixture with 1/4 cup of bechamel. Now, top this with some parmesan cheese (half of the half that you have left). Scoop about 1 cup of bolognese on top of the parmesan cheese. 
  6. Layer 3 - Place the final 3 lasagna noodles on top of the bolognese. Top with plenty of mozzarella cheese. 
  7. Cover the lasagna with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the tinfoil at the 30 minute mark and bake for 30 minutes more. It should come out nice and toasty on top with delicious crispy edges. Wait 20 minutes to cut into the lasagna so it has time to setup. 

Bechamel

Layer 1 of noodles

Layer 1 of ricotta


Layer 1 of parmesan

Layer 1 of bolognese

Layer 2 of noodles (repeat the process from here)

Layer 3 of noodles topped with lots of Mozzarella cheese

Mmm yum yum!!

You could also choose to make a low carb or version of this with zucchini as a replacement for the noodles. If you can't eat gluten, there are plenty of options nowadays for gluten free noodles made from corn, quinoa, etc.

Enjoy!

-H


Monday, January 21, 2019

Sundays are for smoking meats - Brisket!

Not only do I love cooking, but I also love smoking, grilling, and bbq'ing  meats. It has rained so much in San Diego the past week, so it was a nice break to have some sun this weekend. Yesterday turned out to be the perfect day to smoke a brisket.


A full brisket consists of two different cuts - the flat cut and the point cut. The flat cut is very lean, so that cut is just not for me. The point cut, on the other hand, is fatty and makes a super moist and juicy smoked brisket! If you are adverse to fat, 1. I do not know if we can be friends and 2. you better have some crazy health reason for not wanting to eat juicy moist brisket!

Smoking any type of meat takes time, but smoking something as large as a brisket takes a lot of time. Even when you are smoking just the point or just the flat, you are looking at an all day affair - I mean all freaking day! We had a point cut brisket that was just under 5 pounds and it took 10 hours just to smoke it, that didn't include the resting period, so just be aware. When people smoke an entire brisket, you are looking at 24+ hours, so 10-14 hours for delicious brisket isn't too bad! The key to any brisket is low and slow over indirect heat. I repeat, low and slow over indirect heat...low and slow over indirect heat. Got it? Good!

I have a big green egg (BGE), so it actually does most of the work for you. You could use any variety of smoker just as long as you smoke low and slow and over indirect heat.

Smoked Point Cut Brisket
Plan on .5 pounds per person

Ingredients:

  • 1 point cut brisket trimmed (they range in size typically from 3-5 pounds)
  • Yellow mustard
  • Your favorite rub (make one, buy one, it doesn't matter)
  • 1 bag of your favorite smoking wood - chunks or chips (I use a combination of apple and cherry)
  • 1 disposable pan

How to make a smoked point cut brisket:
Day 1
  1. Line a baking sheet with foil or use a disposable pan. 
  2. Place your trimmed brisket (have your butcher do this for you) in/on your sheet/pan, then squirt a  light coating of mustard on your brisket and spread it around. Make sure to cover all sides. 
  3. Generously season the entire brisket with your favorite rub (I keep it simple with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a seasoning call "Butt Rub" - it is just an all purpose bbq rub). the key word here is GENEROUS. 
  4. Cover with tinfoil and refrigerate over night. 
Day 2
  1. 1-1.5 hours before placing your brisket on your smoker, remove it from the refrigerator. Soak your smoking wood in water at this time as well. 
  2. 15-30 minutes before placing your brisket on the smoker, light your smoker. The BGE uses lump charcoal, which you light, then throw your smoking chips on top. When lighting your charcoal, I like to make sure the vents are open and the daisy wheel is off. 
  3. Once lit, throw your smoking chips on. They should start to smoke pretty quickly.
  4. Once they are smoking, put in your plate setter (this allows for indirect heat). Place your disposable pan (not the one with your brisket in it) on the plate setter to catch the juices. Place the BGE grill in now, so the disposable pan basically sits between the plate setter and grill. 
  5. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of your brisket. I have a dual probe, wireless thermometer so I can monitor the temperature of the meat and the grill without walking outside. 
  6. Place your brisket on the grill and place the second probe on the grill. This will monitor your smoking temp. 
  7. Close the lid and adjust your vents, daisy wheel, etc. so you can get up to a cooking temp/smoking temp of 250 degrees. Now, maintain that heat. Just let your brisket do its thing - no need to manipulate your temp or your vents as long as you stay in the 240-260 degree range. 
  8. When your internal temperature hits 203 degrees, your brisket is ready to come off the smoker. It is NOT done yet, so persevere and just get it done. You will thank me for this tip later. 
  9. Wrap your brisket in foil or butcher paper and place in a cooler to let rest for at least 1 hour - preferably 2 hours. 
  10. Now you are ready to cut your meat and enjoy!
Here are some pics to get a sense for the process:

Uncooked brisket that was seasoned 24 hours
ago and has been resting in the fridge

The BGE is ready- you can see the disposable
pan on the plate setter under the gill. 

Brisket on the BGW with temp probes all set. 

Ooohh! Look at that smoke!


165 internal temp - not ready yet!

Getting ready to have a 2 hour rest before cutting!

First cuts.

All cut up! So moist and juicy!

So good!
Enjoy!

- H&J - this is much more fun to make with a partner in crime!

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Lemon Cheesecake

Who loves cheesecake? Me! Well, and John. We aren't too big on sweets in this house. Although, as of late, I have been baking an awful lot. Hmm...

When we do have dessert, our favorites are those that are tart and sweet (key lime pie, lemon bars), so I decided to experiment with a lemon cheesecake. Turns out, it was a good experiment! We had some friends over last weekend for dinner and let's just say they ran a train on the cheesecake.


Look at that little piece of cream trying to jump off the plate!

Right out of the oven. 
Lemon Cheesecake
Makes 8 generous slices

Ingredients for the crust:

  1. 1 1/12 cups crushed graham crackers
  2. 1/4 cup sugar
  3. 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tbsp) melted 


How to make the crust:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. 
  3. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan. I have found this is easy to do with the bottom of a measuring cup.
  4. Bake for 7-8 minutes. 
  5. Pull out and cool completely. 

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 32 oz cream cheese at room temperature
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (roughly 2 large lemons)
  • Zest from two large lemons
  • 3 eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup of sour cream at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup of flour
How to make the filling:
  1. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth and creamy. Scrap the sides of your bowl as needed to assure everything is evenly mixed. Depending upon the temperature of your ingredients, this can take 5-6 minutes. 
  2. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest and continue to beat on medium until well blended. 
  3. Lower your mixing speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each egg. 
  4. Add the flour and sour cream and continuing to mix until smooth, light, and fluffy. 

Putting it all together:
  1. Preheat the oven to 320 degrees and assure you have one oven rack on the bottom and one in the middle. 
  2. Prepare a water bath - I do not do a traditional water bath because it messes up your cheesecake. You know, the one where you have to wrap your springform pan up in tinfoil then immerse it in water? Yeah, don't do that. Instead, fill a cake pan with water and place it on the bottom rack. Same effect - less chance of your cheesecake getting messed up. 
  3. Dump your cheesecake filling into your prepared pie crust in your springform pan. Smooth it out then tap the bottom of the pan on the counter to assure everything is even. 
  4. Place your cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 60-70 minutes. At this point, your cheesecake is still going to be quite jiggly in the middle. Don't freak out, it will set up. Just trust that it will work out - you don't want to end up with a cracked cheesecake, do you? 
  5. Turn the oven off, crack the door, and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for an additional hour. It will still be quite soft - not so much jiggly anymore - but definitely soft. 
  6. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow to completely cool. 
  7. Once cool, transfer to the fridge. 
  8. It is best to let it refrigerate over night, but if you can't wait then slice into it after it has been in the fridge a few hours. Put the rest back into the fridge and it will be perfect the next day. 
As you can see, I topped mine with raspberries and whipped cream. The raspberries paired really well with the lemon. 

Enjoy!

- H




Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Easy Rustic Dutch Oven Bread

This is going to be an odd way to start this post off, but here goes. I am not a huge fan of bread. Yep, I said it. I am just not a huge fan. I don't like sandwiches, I usually make it about 2 bites into a hamburger before I remove my bun. etc. The only bread I do get a craving for is a nice rustic loaf (Ok that and those little Brazilian cheese breads - those are good!). You can get a variety of crusty rustic loaves at the grocery store with garlic, rosemary, cheese, olives, cranberries, orange zest...really just about anything you can think of baked into them. 

A few years back, I decided to try my hand at making a nice crusty loaf and have been perfecting the recipe ever since. This bread is so easy to make, it is very forgiving, and you can put whatever your little heart desires into the loaf. I put roasted garlic into the dough and it was delicious! You can easily add cheese, rosemary, olives (I guess all the things I listed above) though. Just get creative with it. All this requires is that you have a good cast iron dutch oven. I have several brands from Le Creuset to Lodge and all of them work just fine. What I am saying is - don't run out and buy a $500 dutch oven just to make this bread :) 

The bread is nice and golden and crusty on the outside, while fluffy and chewy (in a good way) on the inside. Just look at this little beauty!



Easy Rustic Dutch Oven Bread
Makes 1 Loaf

Ingredients:
  • 3 cups + 2-3 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt (sea salt or kosher salt works fine)
  • 1/2 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
  • 1 3/4 cups water room temperature
  • 8-9 whole cloves of garlic roasted
How to make Easy Rustic Dutch Oven Bread
Day 1
  1. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Next, add your water and stir to combine. This will form a very loose looking dough. See picture below. Now, add in your roasted garlic or don't it is really up to you. I just kind of loosely poke them into the top of the dough. If you don't know how to roast garlic, I will give you a little cheater recipe at the end. 
  2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let "proof" for 14-18 hours. If you go a little bit less or a little bit longer, it is ok - again, super forgiving dough. 

See, it is just kind of a weird wet ball.
I was making multiple loaves because
I was making gifts. You will probably
make just one.

Day 2
  1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. While our oven is preheating, place your dutch oven with lid on into the oven to get nice and toasty. It should stay in there for about 30 minutes. Make sure you have your rack adjusted to the middle rack (I have found that works best for some reason).  
  2. While your oven is heating, remove the plastic wrap from the dough and sprinkle with a little bit of flour. Now, gently form it into a ball. The dough is really quite fragile, so you may get something a little bit flatter than a ball. Place your dough on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle a bit more flour on top then cover with saran wrap and let is rest until your dutch oven and oven are hot. 
  3. Once hot, pull your dutch oven out of the oven, remove the lid, and drop our parchment paper and dough into the dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven, throw it into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. DO NOT OPEN THE LID. Just leave it alone!
  4. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. 
  5. Remove your beautifully baked rustic loaf from the oven and place on a rack to cool. Cooling takes several hours, so don't be tempted to cut into it. 
John and I like to slice the bread, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, then top with cheese and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. You can also just slice and enjoy with some olive oil with a little cracked pepper and/or balsamic like the pic below. 


One more pic of the final product for good measure!
If you are going to add other ingredients, I suggest adding them at the time you make the dough initially. I think it imparts a bit more flavor. Just loosely mix whatever you would like into the dough and follow the rest of the directions.

Ok now for your cheater roasted garlic. 
  1. Buy a package of the pre-peeled garlic. You know, the ones that have multiple little vacuum sealed packs in them? 
  2. Open up one of the little vacuum sealed packs and place it on some tinfoil with a drizzle of olive oil then seal it up. 
  3. Place in a 300 degree oven for 30-35 minutes and tada - perfectly roasted garlic!
Enjoy!

-H


Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Ojos Negros Taco Run

One of the best things about living in San Diego is the close proximity to Mexico and all the amazing tacos! This past weekend we took a quick trip (ok, it took all day - who doesn't drive four hours for tacos?) to Ojos Negros with a group of friends. We crossed the border at Tecate then four wheeled to Ojos Negros then back. It was such a blast and now I have the Baja itch and am looking forward to going back. Here are a few pics from the trip.


John loves big hugs!




Chuck getting a little dirty!









I think that is supposed to be a lake...

Quick baseball stop.

Per usual, EZ is appropriately dressed.

Making tacos!

They are so good!

John is satisfied.


Great view!

Having the best time.

Border wait and a little sunset.

We will definitely be making this a regular thing. I can't wait to see what shenanigans we get into next time.

Enjoy.

-H & J - he drove :)

Collard Greens with Smoked Ham Shank