Garlic Cheese Fries

For the second year in a row, it was a pretty easy January over here! No crazy cold days or huge dumps of snow meant I was still in pretty good cheer throughout the month. Because I was back in the meal-planning/cooking dinners at home routine, I didn’t get out that much, but here’s what I got up to in the kitchen:

  • I got a new waffle iron ages ago and finally broke it in on New Year’s Day! I used this recipe from Orangette (not the raised version), and it was a keeper! I’ve been looking for a basic waffle recipe forever! I need to make it a few more times before it reaches “My Favourite” status, and then I’ll blog about it. Side note: I bought my waffle iron with Air Miles and it has REMOVEABLE DISHWASHER SAFE PLATES. Game changer right there!
  • Last year a Harry Potter themed bar named The Lockhart opened in Toronto, and I finally went to check it out with my friend Weedy. We ate a few snacks (polenta fries, tempura vegetables, steak sammie) that were okay, but the cocktails potions & elixirs, were the standout. Bonus: make sure you go to the washroom which is covered with the cutest HP graffiti!
  • Kristine & Nicole came over for the Superbowl of Awards shows, the Golden Globes, and I cooked up a feast: Creamy Chicken Taquitos with Green Garlic Dipping Sauce, Jalenpeno Cheddar Chicken Meatballs, and a Mexican Layer Dip. The only thing I would make again was the taquitos; the meatballs were weird and the bottom layer of the dip (black beans and chorizo) was so thick it was impossible to actually scoop up. For dessert we had Dolly’s Doughnut and it was a hit.
  • Book Club reconvened for 2016 at El Catrin, and it was amazing, as usual. The girls and I shared a pitcher of margaritas, guac & chips, spicy shrimp, fish tacos and mini chicken burritos. I still love this place.
  • Here’s a round-up of a bunch of the things I made this month that I loved: Homemade Cheeseburger Helper (not ashamed), Quiche Lorraine, Baked Fries with Garlic Cheese Sauce & Bacon (pictured above), Weekday Weenie Bake, Crispy Peanut Tofu, Cauliflower Fried Rice and lots and lots of my favourite Kale Salad.

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • I started re-reading the entire Harry Potter Series and I’m just so, so into it! Danielle and I went on the Warner Brothers Studio Tour of the Harry Potter sets when we were in London and it was so much fun and inspired me to watch all of the movies again, but I decided to start from scratch with the books.
  • As mentioned last month, I finally got Netflix, and the first thing I watched was Aziz Ansari’s show Master of None. Highly recommend! A lot of the same themes as his stand-up and his book, Modern Romance.

Flashback!