Mango Madness

So, remember my computer problem? Well, my computer has now been sent to the Apple store to get fixed... and it will take a WEEK!

Ok, really a week is not a long period of time, but it just throws off your daily routine a bit. You just have to do things a little different than you would normally, which isn't necessarily bad...but its just different.

Luckily, my mom sent me my old computer so I can get my school work and blogging done in this computer-less week so I'm not completely removed from the technology world. But it has delayed my planned blog post.

Without further ado, this was my blog post that was supposed to happen a few days ago in honor of National Margarita Day! (Fun Fact: a margarita is my favorite cocktail drink)

National Margarita Day is always on February 22nd, however I was completely not aware of that fact until Feb. 22nd at about 7:30 pm at night. Nevertheless, I still made a margarita to celebrate said day, and now I am sharing my concoction with you!

Enter Frozen Mango Margaritas

Delicious and refreshing in every way. My pet peeve with most margaritas is that they are made with super fake and super sweet, loaded with refined sugar, margaritas mixes. True margaritas should never be touched with refined sugar and should be sweetened simply with agave nectar.

And because I used real, frozen mango, I'd call that a serving of fruit right there! This drink is perfect for a chill night at home, or a nice weekend afternoon sitting on the porch in 70 degree weather. (I can't wait for spring!)

Onto the recipe!

You need to gather your ingredients....

Rule #1 --> DON'T BUY CRAPPY TEQUILA! That is the first margarita no-no. If you're going to make a margarita, you want to make sure its good!!! So go get a nice bottle of 100% agave tequila. It doesn't have to be expensive but it has to be 100% agave tequila.

And you will need either a food processor or a blender. And don't forget the most important ingredient!

MANGO

Make sure the mango is completely frozen. So that does not mean you go cut up and put your mango in the freezer an hour before you want to make this. It will NOT work. But this is not a problem if you're like me and always have some mango in the freezer for impromptu occasions like this.

Next Step --> take your two limes and juice them. Make sure to get ALL of the juice out... this is easily accomplished with a citrus reamer. 

Aren't limes pretty?? Ok, moving on... go put your frozen mango in the food processor/ blender. It used about one entire mango, frozen. (It's a lot of whole yummy fruit!) 

Pulse in processor until the fruit is chopped up into little pieces. Like so:

Then add the rest of your ingredients....

• 2 oz. tequila
• Juice of two limes (~ 2 oz)
• 1/2 oz. of triple sec
• 1 Tablespoon agave nectar (more or less to taste)

Add to blender and mix until it is smooth. If it looks too liquidly, you will need to add more frozen mango. Serve in your favorite glass with a sugared rim (or salted if you prefer) with a lime wedge to garnish.

And this recipe serves one. Enjoy!!

Cookies make it better

February 21st was not a good day for me. It started at the stroke of midnight not so great.

Long story short, when a computer is supposed to look like this:

 Mine looked like this:

Frankly, it is a major problem when your computer screen is not functional and you have just about a day to study for a test that you have barely looked at the material. Needless to say, I was freaking out.

I had never before realized how much value I place on my computer. The majority of the things in my life (such as school work and this blog) revolve around having a functional laptop with internet access. I was literally terrified when I thought I would not be able to use my study guides, since they had yet to be printed.

Thankfully, everything worked out and my test is over! And yes, I did recover my study guides if you were wondering (thank you extra computer monitor!).

Nonetheless, yesterday called for cookies. And want I came up with were delicious and had the potential to be vegan with a few minor adjustments! And I have determined that they are healthy due to their lack of eggs, oil, and butter.

The resulting deliciousness turned out a bit like a mix between a cookie and banana bread, but when you eat them straight out of the oven, its hard to believe these are "healthy" because they taste so darn similar to the real full-fat butter laden version. (and ridiculously simple to make)

(Side note: I'm pretty sure these would be considered fat-free....didn't mean for it to happen like that, but I will take it!)

Your day will turn around super fast after consuming one of these. I promise!

Print this recipe!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: a perfect size batch for one person, 7 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 banana, mashed
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/8 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground flax
• 1/8 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
In a bowl, mash banana with brown sugar with a fork until the majority of the lumps are gone

Add in the oats, flours, flax, baking soda, baking powder, and milk. Stir with fork until just combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips and set in the refrigerator for 30 - 60 minutes.

safe to eat raw!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake on parchment lined baking sheet for 11 - 13 minutes. (Bonus points if you have a silicon baking mat)

Promptly consume

Valentine Date!

I hope you all enjoyed the cute aquarium pictures! Once stepping foot inside the aquarium, I was obsessed! I love that there were a lot of other animals besides fish in there as well. (My fav's were the monkeys! They were the size my hand... so cute!)

I know this is like, WAY after the fact, but it is also one of my final "Dallas Eats" posts. And I thought it only appropriate to save the best for last!

When Marshall was here, he took me out to a fantastic dinner as an early Valentine's Day Date! The fun part was that I had absolutely no idea where we were going for dinner until we drove up to the restaurant. (Fun fact: I love surprises!) And when we drove up to Ocean Prime, I was super excited!

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 I had heard about this restaurant and had be DYING to go! Especially since their Carrot Cake Dessert has been voted the best in Dallas (score!).

But since dinner was on the late side (8:30 pm), we began our Valentine's Day date in my apartment with pink prosecco and chocolate covered strawberries. This was my surprise to Marshall. I know how much he loves chocolate covered strawberries, so I picked him up a few from my other favorite, Central Market.

After our little "appetizer" it was dinner time! The entire meal was delicious. We began out dining experience with cocktails!

He got bourbon, and I got a Prime Margarita which has Elderflower, Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Agave Nectar. Refreshing!

Ocean Prime is known for both their seafood and steak dishes, so I made sure to get a taste of both. Appetizer = one of the best things ever (Marshall and I decided that if we go back, we are ordering three of these and calling it a night).

That outstanding creation would be the Ahi Tuna Tartar with avocado and ginger ponzu sauce. This was seriously one of the best things of the night. The flavors worked perfectly together, with just a hint of heat from the jalapenos in the avocado. I'm so glad that this was a large appetizer, because you really never wanted it to end.

Onto the dinner course. And after the appetizer, I was expecting an amazing meal... and that is exactly what I got. I ordered the special of the night, a ribeye tenderloin with chipotle sauce, queso fresco, and  roasted tomatoes.

Very delicious and tender. The way the chipotle was incorporated into the sauce also made for an interesting flavor combination. Marshall ordered the seared scallops.

He enjoyed every last one of them! They were perfectly cooked and the soy butter sauce they were sitting in was a nice touch!

And we can't forget, we needed our vegetable intake.

Roasted asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Wonderful! But after all of this food, we saved some room for dessert. As soon as we walked in the door tonight, I knew I would be ordering the carrot cake for dessert. Didn't even need to look at the menu... knew exactly what I wanted.

This was seriously some of the best carrot cake I have ever eaten. Hands Down. Totally the best dessert in Dallas. Seriously if you only go to Ocean Prime and order one thing, get the carrot cake (or the tuna tartar). Either way, you will NOT be disappointed. 

So many layers with perfect cream cheese buttercream in between all ten layers (I counted). Perfect way to end a wonderful day!

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I hope you all enjoyed a little restaurant tour through Dallas. This city really has wonderful restaurants and I don't think you could go wrong with wherever you go.

But I promise I will be back with some recipes soon! School has taken over my life a bit, which doesn't leave much time for recipe experimenting. But my next recipe is tasty, so you should get excited.