Baltimore {Stuggy's Hot Dogs}

I love hot dogs.
I mean, love.
Now, I don't buy them from the grocery store, or eat them too often and I don't care to hear what is actually in hot dogs, but I love them. I usually get them from the hot dog vendor when walking down at the Nat'l Mall in DC.

The other weekend, we were in Baltimore for the Ravens game (caw) and decided to head to Fells Point after the game to grab some drinks. I was ready to head home to DC, until a little birdie told me "Hey, want the best hot dog ever" - so we stayed.

How could I pass that up?

Meet "Stuggy's"  - a specialty hot dog shop that also features fun soda's, desserts and cheese fries! I was tasked at finding 4 dogs for us to sample - I am a very decisive person and don't like to spend too much time figuring out what I am going to order so I chose:

{Crab Mac'n Cheese /  Carolina Slaw /  Manhattan / Bean Town }

Between 3 of us, we cut up the dogs and rated them from our favorite to least favorite. We threw out the 3rd person's votes because he obviously has no idea how to rate a dog (Sorry, Guy)




1st Fave: the  Manhattan
"Dog, Sauerkraut & Stuggy's Sauce" - this was delicious. I love sauerkraut and it complimented nicely with the dog.

2nd Fave: the Crab Mac n' Cheese
"Dog, Homemade Mac n' Cheese, Topped with Lumped Crab Meat"
If you're from Baltimore, you may rate this as your fave as the Old Bay Spice takes over all the flavoring of this dog. I, however, was hoping for more of the mac n' cheese taste and was disappointed that I could not taste the cheese whatsoever. But it gets 2nd for its creativity.

3rd Fave: the Carolina Slaw
"Dog, Carolina Chili & Homemade Coleslaw"
This was a great dog too - just got third because the sauerkraut was better than the coleslaw.

4th Fave: Bean Town
Maybe I am missing something, but not sure why this dog is called Bean Town. Brotherly Love dog may be more appropriate - but what do I know?
"Italian Sausage, Grilled Peppers, Grilled Onions, & Horse Radish Mustard"
Although this dog was also delicious, it just didn't stack up compared to the other dogs. Guy would dispute this though. So we discounted his votes.

Definitely recommend heading here if you are in Baltimore. You can get drinks next door at Willows and you are allowed to bring your hot dogs in there!

Enjoy! XO

Moment of Silence on Friday

{Homemade} Spinach Enchiladas with Jalapeno Cream Sauce

1st Lesson of the night - do not cut jalapenos with your bear hands. Wear latex gloves.

Moving on...

(FYI - my fingers are still burning, one night later)

Ok, really, moving on...

I love tex-mex and because I am trying to eat less meat, I decided to scour the Internet for a delicious spinach enchiladas recipe - well, I couldn't find one, but, I did find a delicious Jalapeno Cream Sauce and decided I could make up a Spinach Enchilada recipe on my own!

Spinach Enchiladas Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas (Flour would also go nicely with this dish)
1 10oz frozen spinach OR 4 cups of fresh spinach
3 cups of Monterrey jack cheese
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup of onion, diced 

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 325F
• Heat tortillas in microwave between 2 wet paper towels (This will make them easier to roll)
• If using frozen spinach, thaw and drain (I take a handful and squeeze out); if using fresh spinach, heat in 1/4 cup of water in microwave until spinach is wilted; drain
• Mix together, spinach, cheese, green onions, onion
• Scoop mixture into tortillas, fold tortillas, seam down and place in deep baking dish

Then add on the sauce

Sauce Ingredients:
As I was scouring other people's blogs, I found that a friend of mine made shrimp enchiladas with a jalapeno cream sauce that she found from another blogger (must be a popular sauce!)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup sour cream (I used a 1 cup)

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced (use gloves to chop)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sauce Directions:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan on high heat. 
• Add flower; whisk 2-3 minutes. 
• Add in chicken broth, whisking constantly, about 1-2 minutes. 
• Stir in the sour cream then add in the jalapenos and garlic powder and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.
• Add in salt and pepper, to taste. 
• Remove from heat and add the cilantro.

Pour 3/4 of the sauce onto the spinach enchiladas. Put in oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove enchiladas from oven and pour on additional sauce mixture. Add more chopped cilantro onto each serving.




Enjoy! XO

Stocking Stuffer {Hot Sauces}

One of my favorite gifts to give Alex at Christmas is Hot Sauce from Tijuana Flats. I love Tex-Mex food and they had opened a Tijuana Flats location in Fairfax, Va. when I was in college and I became addicted. It has since closed, however, they also have locations near my family in Florida so I make it a must-go place when I visit them. A few years ago, I forgot to buy the hot sauces when I was visiting but then I discovered that you can order the bottles on their website and they ship to you in no time!

They offer over 70 different types of flavors - ranging from "sweet" to "death-like hot" and most of the bottles are less than $5.00.

Because it's for Christmas, I always get the  "Smack my Ass & Call me Santa" - it's hot and has a Santa on the bottle so totally relevant.

 I also chose the "Smack my Ass - the Jalepeno The Second Slapping"

On the Tijuana Flats website, you can even get fun stories/descriptions of the hot sauces. The one for the ...Jalepeno The Second Slapping - "Chet was a bad dude, the kinda guy that would steal the wooden that would hide dentures from his grandmother. So it was no surprise when Janice (Chet's wife) slipped some of this homemade hot sauce into Chet's moon-shine. After one sip, big Chet fell to his knees and with a tear in his eyes shouted, "Well Smack My Ass and Call Me Sally".

And a new one I picked up this year is "Don't be a Chicken Shit" this sauce claims that it can make a bald man grow hair so I am hoping it's super hot!

 Enjoy! XO.