Sweet T and a Honey B July 23, 2018

The Wooden Spoon

Last week Bryan and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary and it’s unbelievable how much has changed and how fast these three years went by. I love this man more and more each day and have truly enjoyed having him as my partner to tackle life’s lows and celebrate the highs. With that said, as I am sure the majority of couples can relate, it’s easy to get caught up in day to day routines. Often times we have to remind ourselves to step back from the responsibilities of running a home, graduate school, work e-mails, taking care of a dog, etc. and that before any of this, it was just him and I wanting to spend every moment together (still true..well..most of the time 😉 ). Because him and I usually have so much going on, date nights are sometimes a rare commodity. This is why I surprised him with a cooking class in the city to enjoy some wine + good food, celebrate these last three years, and possibly learn a thing or two along the way.

While researching the dozens of places to partake in a cooking class in Chicago, one place in particular caught my eye. The Wooden Spoon had everything I was looking for – an intimate setting with a great menu, knowledgeable chefs, and was tucked inside of one of Chicago’s many interesting neighborhoods. It was a mere coincidence that once I had decided on this location for our class, they had a ‘Whiskey Grilling’ class scheduled for the week following our anniversary. I was sold.

Let me start off by saying that this is one of those times I wish I could capture just how incredible of an experience we had in a blog post. I got a small taste of how kind and patient everyone is there after a small bout of panic while calling and telling them we would be 25 minutes late to our class due to a bad accident on Lake Shore Drive. Needless to say, we arrived a little bit flustered but were greeted by Chef Richard and four other wonderful couples with cheers, blue aprons labeled with our names, and wine opener to quickly get the Zinfandel flowing.

The Location

In order to convey how cool this place was, it’s definitely worth mentioning the neighborhood as well as the welcoming store front, store and kitchen set up, and beautiful outdoor grilling area. The Wooden Spoon is located in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood and is family owned and operated. Upon arrival you are greeted by an adorable store front complete with an actual giant wooden spoon, windows adorned with various kitchen gadgets, and chalkboards boasting the cooking classes scheduled for that day. It’s also important to mention that The Wooden Spoon is not just a cooking school but also a one stop shop for pretty much any kitchen tool or gadget you’re looking for. I had barely gotten my apron on and I had already made mental note of a few items I wanted to purchase after class.

At the back of the store is the kitchen area out of even the most inexperienced of chef’s dreams. At the center of the prep and seating area is the equipment and enough open space to ensure that everyone feels included in the preparing/cooking of the meal and for the Chef of the evening to demonstrate and answer questions.

Just outside the back door of the kitchen is the patio and grill. I could have easily spent all evening on this patio staring at the colorful mosaic tiled pizza oven and charming fountain and garden area. We got incredibly lucky with perfect grilling weather for the evening and as a result, we were able to socialize with everyone inside and outside while we sipped on our wine and waited for the last few dishes to finish up.

The Chef

Bryan and I both agreed that Chef Richard Ginn was probably one of the coolest people we have ever met. If I could describe the ideal person to walk us through how to cook with our favorite beverage – it would be him. Originally from South Carolina, Chef Richard is not only part of the team at The Wooden Spoon, but also has his own custom furniture design and construction company in Chicago called Riftsawn Woodworks. With such an interesting background, we really enjoyed learning from him and he creates an environment in which every couple feels relaxed and comfortable asking questions.

The Menu

It would be ridiculous to not mention what we made but I left this for last because I sit here still dreaming about easily one of the best meals I have ever had (husband agrees too). The pictures I took on my phone don’t do any of this any sort of justice but I was desperate to capture each and every dish.

The couples began with preparing of all the sauces/glazes we would need, chopping vegetables, and combining the ingredients for the dessert. After the initial prep, the real nitty gritty of the meal began. First up was Grilled Shrimp with a Whiskey Cocktail Sauce. This looked delectable despite me not being able to take part (silly shellfish allergy). Luckily, Bryan took one for the team and ate both of our shrimp portions. Between bites, his only words were “holy crap”. I’d call that a stamp of approval.

Next, the couples split up cooking the main dishes and sides. This included Grilled Chicken with a Whiskey BBQ sauce and spicy slaw, Grilled Whiskey Mustard Pork Chops with grilled apples, and Whiskey Glazed Carrots (this was my”holy crap” moment – we’re talking carrots glazed in butter, brown sugar, and whiskey, people). While it’s easy to say that any of this was the ‘best of’ chicken, pork, vegetables, etc. we’ve ever had – let’s talk dessert…

GUYS.

I kid you not- there was complete silence once the Double Chocolate Whiskey Cake with Whiskey Chocolate Ganache was served and everyone took their first bites. We’re talking out-of-body-experience kind of cake. It was the perfect amount of moist (I hate that word) cake mixed with a warm, oozing, ganache at the center of it all. One of the other ladies in our group caught eyes with me from across the seating area, shook her head, and threw up her arms in praise. We were each able to have a gigantic slice and I borderline licked the plate.

Bryan’s reaction: “I never want another kind of cake for my birthday ever again”.

We ended the evening with applause for ourselves and Chef Richard, took pictures with our newly made cooking friends, and perused the shop for some must-have kitchen items. Bryan and I picked up a cute cast iron cook book, new meat thermometer, and of course- a couple of adorable wooden spoons with their logo to remember the evening by.

To say that we left with our bellies full is the understatement of the year. I loved that Bryan and I got to share this experience together and we will 100% be going back for future classes. The recipes from the evening were shared with us via e-mail minutes after we left the class and I know these dishes will be on rotation in our own kitchen here at home. I more than recommend The Wooden Spoon for your own date night or a fun evening out with a group of friends. Thank you to everyone at The Wooden Spoon for making our anniversary celebration such a special one!

Link here to the calendar of classes to book your own experience at The Wooden Spoon!

Sweet T and a Honey B July 13, 2017

Sweet Barbecue Chicken Tacos

It’s Thursday morning y’all and that means we’re over the hump of this gloomy workweek. Also, holy humidity. Did anyone else feel like they needed a shower immediately upon opening their front door this week? Did anyone else’s hair look as unruly as mine?

I’ll admit, the humidity made me feel pretty lazy this week. This, combined with the amount of time I’ve spent at the hospital with my mom, has made it virtually impossible to stick to a routine or retain enough energy at the end of the evening to cook a healthy meal. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought my breakfast and/or lunch on the go in the past month. And let’s talk about my lack of time at the gym or sticking to my training plan for the Chicago Rock and Roll 10K this coming weekend.. urgh, yes. THIS. Weekend.

But Monday always rolls around and it’s always a good opportunity to begin the week off on the right foot. Moms on the up and up and I’m finally feeling like myself again so I was eager to spend some time in my kitchen and make some dinners for the week. Full disclosure, I had a taste for barbecue and Mexican this past weekend. As I’ve expressed many times before, your favorite meals don’t have to require an abundant amount of ingredients or take a ton of time to throw together. My lack of grocery shopping in the past ten days or so led me to dig through what I already had and I’m thrilled I did because we’ve been eating these Sweet Barbecue Chicken Tacos for the past few nights. We wanted enough leftover shredded chicken to have these for 2-3 dinners as well as extra for topping salads and sandwiches this week but you could always use half of the chicken if you don’t want as much.

They’re a little sweet and a little tangy and combines some fresh lime juice, veggies, and blue cheese for a pretty awesome flavor. I’ve been using this Wholesome Organic Coconut Sugar in a few recipes recently and been pretty pleased. The flavor is just as sweet as brown sugar, but coconut sugar contains nutrients like zinc and iron and also contains insulin- which acts as a prebiotic – aka gut health! It’s also easy to replace brown sugar in your recipes because it’s a 1:1 ratio. 1 cup of brown sugar = 1 cup coconut sugar.

We had some fruit with our tacos but would also be pretty tasty to serve with some black beans or rice.

What flavor combos do you enjoy? What else would you add to your barbecue tacos?

Sweet Barbecue Chicken Tacos

2 tacos per serving

1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
1/4 cup coconut sugar
4 large chicken breasts
1 cup frozen baby corn
1 small onion – diced
1 roma tomato – diced
1 avocado
2 tbs fresh lime juice
Blue cheese crumbles to top
Corn tortillas

Whisk barbecue sauce and coconut sugar together until sugar is fully incorporated.
Place chicken breasts in large crockpot and pour sauce evenly over the chicken. Cook on high for four hours. Once chicken is cooked, shred with a fork and turn crockpot to ‘warm’ until ready to serve.
Combine corn, diced onion, diced tomato, and lime juice in a large bowl. Set aside.
Warm your corn tortillas. Top each taco with a little shredded chicken, corn ‘salsa’, a couple avocado slices, and 1 tbs of blue cheese crumbles.

Sweet T and a Honey B May 5, 2017

Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Happy Friday! This upcoming weekend is a very welcomed one. With two wedding showers, a baby shower, and a bachelorette party, these next couple days are going to be filled with lots of celebration for some very special people in my life. It will certainly be busy, but I am excited to spend some time with some great friends, enjoy the sunshine (it’s about time – is Chicago the new Seattle?), and eat some yummy treats. Whatever your plans are, I hope they are filled with your own special people this weekend!

Before my long weekend ahead, I wanted to share a delicious meal hubs and I made this week. Admittedly we were a little thrown off by the rain and chilly temperatures as we covered our grill back up again after the 70-degree weather a couple short weeks ago. I was looking for something warm to fill us up and nothing does that better than sweet potatoes. A few other blogs I’ve read recently combine sweet potatoes with other meals in such a creative way so I thought I could do the same. With some leftover shredded chicken and a never-ending supply of taco toppings in the house, it was super easy to whip up some taco stuffed sweet potatoes.

Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Makes 2 servings – 1 potato per serving. 9 WW Sps per serving

Ingredients:

2 medium sized sweet potatoes
6 oz. shredded chicken
- I had a lot of shredded chicken leftover so that’s what I used. At the beginning of the week I threw 1 lb. of chicken in to the crockpot and cooked on high for four hours with a little olive oil, cumin, chipotle chili powder, and a pinch of garlic powder. It makes for your own taco seasoning 🙂
4 tbs salsa
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 medium sized avocado – sliced
1/2 cup shredded lettuce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
After rinsing off potatoes, puncture holes all over each potato using a fork. Wrap lightly in tin foil and place in oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Slice an ‘X’ in the top of each potato and ‘smush’ (a technical term) each side to form a pocket perfect for toppings.
Top potato with chicken first, and then toppings.
Enjoy!

Happy Weekend’ing!

Sweet T and a Honey B January 17, 2017

Avocado Chicken Salad

One of the hardest things about working in an office is the constant temptation to go out to lunch with coworkers and the endless supply of leftover Christmas candy that people dump in the communal basket. I know I am not the only one that experiences this and it’s so easy to give in to the temptation of pitching in for the pizza being ordered for lunch or walking across the street for an order of McDonalds french fries. What’s not always so easy is coming up with healthy lunch ideas that keep you interested (you can only take the same turkey sandwich so many times), feeling full, and away from the extra junk food.

Because Bryan and I make the effort to pack a lunch every day and sometimes have very little time to heat meals up, we had to find some more cold lunch ideas. I knew we had a new favorite when I found that you could use avocado and plain greek yogurt as a chicken salad base instead of mayonnaise. There’s many delicious versions of chicken salad using these ingredients but I experimented with ours a few times to get it to our liking. It’s easy to play around with the amount of lime, salt, and yogurt to make your perfect salad.

I often pair this with Sweet Potato Chips. ‘Food Should Taste Good’ is my favorite brand of these and add a perfect crunch to this very simple meal. Some other ideas include pita bread, cucumber slices, baby carrots, or a slice of wheat toast. I have also made this as an appetizer for a group and served with small crackers.

This has become a staple in our home and I hope that you enjoy it too!

This makes about four 1-cup servings. Each serving is 6 WW Points.

Avocado Chicken Salad

2017-01-17 05:50:30

Serves 4

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Ingredients

2 Large Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
2 Large Hass Avocados, ripe
1 5 oz. container of fat free, plain, greek yogurt
2 tsp salt
2 tbs lime juice, fresh
2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

1. Mash avocados in a large bowl with a fork
2. Add chicken, greek yogurt, salt, lime, and garlic powder and mix thoroughly.
3. Serve with sweet potato chips, pita, or veggies and enjoy!

Notes

Tip; Taste as you add the salt and lime. Play around with these two ingredients to your liking.

Sweet T and a Honey B https://www.sweettandahoneyb.com/

Sweet T and a Honey B November 21, 2016

Chicken + Veggie Fajitas

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you don’t feel like even making the move from the bed to the couch in the morning much less planning meals and cooking? I definitely had one of those weekends though I was lucky that my only plans were my favorite plans- spending time with my family. We celebrated my cousin Kaitlyn’s 30th birthday at the Atwater Restaurant inside the Herrington Inn located in Geneva, IL. The day was filled with re-telling family stories, photo props, a delicious cake, and celebrating one of my favorite people in this world. The delicious brunch + mimosas didn’t hurt either. 😉

I wasn’t feeling too well Saturday evening (Assuming the food hangover from brunch) so Hubs and I put on some comfy clothes and headed over to my in-law’s house to see my sister-in-law who was in town from Michigan. I am lucky to have such wonderful in-laws that I enjoy spending time with. We played cards, watched ‘Finding Dory’, and indulged in my Mother-in-Law’s famous pumpkin bars. It was truly the perfect Saturday.

Sunday morning my plans involved a quick workout & finding a way to talk my husband in to helping me put up the Christmas decorations. I couldn’t wait any longer to see my Nutcracker collection on the shelves. Everything is up now except for the tree- that comes this weekend 🙂 After tidying up our little condo and arranging and re-arranging my decor, I didn’t feel like going to any extreme lengths to cook. It was turning out to be such a relaxing weekend I didn’t want that to end. Luckily, I had everything I needed to put together one of my favorite dishes that also makes a lot of leftovers- a bonus on Thanksgiving week. These simple chicken + veggie fajitas combine a lot of flavor with very few ingredients. Heck- if you even CALL them ingredients. I love being able to dump everything in to my crockpot and serve when ready. Also, I am definitely a big fan of sweet peppers and I like using all the different colored peppers. These fajitas are perfect to serve as a ‘bar’ with your favorite toppings- sour cream, salsa, avocado, black beans, etc. are all good choices. We kept it simple last night and used some light sour cream. The key to this dish is finding the perfect combination of flavor/marinade for your chicken. I have used canned green chilies, tomatoes, and a few spices before. While good- I didn’t get the ‘fajita’ feel. Luckily, a few weeks ago, I found a perfect solution. I found that Frontera Kitchen makes skillet sauces for various Mexican dishes. Taco, Enchilada, and Fajita sauces are all available and I plan on purchasing quite a few of them. My dad used to love Chef Rick Bayless’ cookbooks and I always think of him when I use one of their many delicious salsas. While this is technically a ‘skillet sauce’, I thought I could use it as a marinade and eventually cook the fajitas in it in the Crockpot. I am glad I did because this, combined with a little cumin and extra garlic powder ( I can never have enough garlic), made me feel like these had just come off a flaming plate at a restaurant. Hubs loved it and I look forward to having leftovers this week. I will say, this does make a LOT of leftovers if you’re only feeding two people at a time, so if you’re looking to make a smaller batch, consider cooking them on the stovetop instead of the Crockpot.

What are your favorite/easy foods you like to make leading up to big holiday meals?

Chicken and Veggie Fajitas

2016-11-21 09:25:42

Serves 8