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Hotel Thrillist Phoenix Feast

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Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies

My all time go to, favorite dessert is a Homemade Chocolate Chip cookie. I love them soft and chewy with lots of chocolate chips. In fact if there is a bite left without a chip in it, I will pull a single chocolate chip out of the fridge and stick it on top. Yes I am that person!  

Even though I already have a couple of favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes, I still like to search for new ones and try them out regularly. While this makes my husband a little crazy since trying new things isn't his style and he would stick with the same old cookie forever. It's hard to find ones that are all that different from the ones I've already tried, when I saw this one that had a new, never before seen ingredient in it I HAD to give it a try. Well It was Amazeballs! The secret ingredient was Karo Syrup, totally different right?  It was still a soft and chewy like I like it but it was also really smooth and silky. I will definitely be putting this in my FAV  5 of chocolate chip cookie recipes. You can find the recipe here . I followed her instructions completely making sure to chill the dough and also putting some choc. chips right on top to make it look super pretty. 

 I sure do love pinterest and all the exciting new recipes I come across.


Make sure you freeze them right away to eat them all month or in my case for the next two days!

Arepas

While watching DDD I saw this concoction called an Arepa - a Venezuelan english muffin with a Venezuelan Chicken salad inside, aka reina pepiada. Well it was love at first sight. It looked pretty simple and easy though it was a little more work than I bargained for.( worth it!) On the show they used chicken breast that they had roasted and since I wanted it to be authentic I decided it was time to roast my First chicken! That's right I have never roasted a bird before chicken or turkey. I gotta say I was pretty nervous, turns out I didn't need to be. It was super simple and turned out perfecto! I found out everything I needed to know about cooking the bird from this website. 

I have never cared much for the skin of a bird but oh man me and the kids were fighting over it, and the meat too! 

I cooked the bird ahead of time and then separated the breasts from the bird once it had cooled completely. 

After that I diced both breasts

added generous amounts of mayo, dijon mustard and worchestire sauce, salt and pepper

then diced 3 avacados

then mixed it all together, works best to use your hands

Now it came time for the Arepa- I had no idea how to make one so I searched the web and came across this blog that went through it step by step with someone who KNEW how to make them. Normally I would explain how I made it but her instruction were so good and worked great that I want you to use hers. But please follow the instructions perfectly. 

Now the end of this tale is happy. I made, we ate and EVERYONE loved! Yes I mean it everyone loved these. My husband told me I will need to make them again exactly the same! ( that is big for him since usually he has one or two thing I could change or improve upon the food) 

Pogo Pass

So excited for our New Pogo Passes. My sister in law has been telling me about them for awhile and I kept putting them off. Now that I finally got them I know what she is talking about. So many great places to go. Im especially excited for the new Fat Cats in Mesa. It's got bowling, glow in the dark golf all included in the pogo pass membership! So hurry and get in on the deal and start using them right away! Just click on this link to use code "LOVEIT".

My FREE Food Birthday!!

Ever since I learned that Joe's BBQ gave $10 towards a meal on your birthday I have been on a mission to find as many places as I could that gave away free food for the special day. For the past 5 years each time my birthday rolls around I make a list and plan out how I am going to hit as many places as possible and maximize my free food!

So Here is our list of our Favorite 

BIRTHDAY FREEBIES!!!!

There are places that if you sign up ahead of time you can get $10-$30 during your birthday month to use at their restaurant. Booyah!!! ( must sign up prior to your birthday month)

The Keg- $25
Grimaldis- free one topping large pizza (up to $18)
Benihanas- $30-with purchase of another entree'
Jersey Mike's- free sub and drink
Ra Sushi- $20 during your Half Birthday month
Spinatos Pizzeria- $10 off near your birthday

Then there are places that you can only go to On your Birth Day and receive your free food . Bonus, most of these places you can order to go. Must have id present.

Joe's BBQ- $10
Liberty Market- $10- if you don't sit down to eat, you get a dessert to go instead.
Joe's Farm Grill-$10
Someburros- free entree
Firehouse Subs- A medium sub of your choice
Tia Rosas-$10

Who can forget about dessert. Lots of restaurants offer a free dessert on your birthday. (bring your id just in case)

Orchard Eats- dessert crepe
Oreganos- pizza cookie
Everybody Loves Fondue- ice cream with chocolate fondue sauce
Sweet Cakes Cafe- cookie
Cracker's - Kahlua cake
Krispy Kreme- donut with Id

Since I love doing this so much, naturally my kids have also adopted the same love of Free food. So on their birthdays we go around taking them to the favorite free spots as well. If you are wanting to take your kids I would bring a birth certificate or passport to be safe. Though lots of places will take your word for it.

Our Frozen Birthday

So the night before this little girls 3rd birthday I asked her what kind of cake she wanted and she said an Elsa cake. Well needless to say I was unprepared, so I of course googled, Pinterested and youtubed   who to make a Frozen cake and came up with this little number. I had already learned through youtube how to master the ombre' rosette cake, so all I had to learn was how to make frozen icicles. 

 Let me tell you it was beyond easy. If you have every made a simple sucker using Karo syrup, water and sugar then you pretty much know how to make this. After the candy mixture has set and is hard you just smash it into a bunch of shards of "glass" and there you go! 

It was totally worth it especially after she told me her favorite present was her "Elsa cake"!!!