Dog Friendly Restaurants in North Houston

Over Easter weekend I went down to Houston to visit some old friends as well as the cute little town that I used to live in.  I brought Nash along because a)it was cheaper to get an AirBNB that allowed him than it would have been to get a hotel/AirBNB & to board him and b)I'm obsessed with my dog.  

Because I had him with me, I wanted to be able to take him places some of the time too rather than just keep him at the house the whole time.  A quick Yelp search made me want to move back even more.  I currently live in the DFW Metroplex, essentially halfway between both Dallas & Fort Worth.  When I lived in Houston I lived in a smaller town on the north side of the metro.  If you currently search restaurants on Yelp & then put on the "Dogs Allowed" filter, there are nearly 4 times as many dog friendly restaurants in the vicinity of the small town that I lived in near Houston compared to the city I live in now.  For added comparison, the city I live in now is 5x as large as the town I lived in near Houston.... soo 5x larger, 4x fewer dog friendly places.  As a girl obsessed with her dog, let's put another check in the win column for Houston.

I wanted to share with you a few of the places that I have been to, as well as a couple that I definitely want to go to next time!  (I was really bad about taking pictures while I was in Houston so with the exception of Bruster's & Cisco's, all other photos are from Yelp.

Have Tried

1. Bruster's Real Ice Cream (Ice Cream)

2. Tejas Chocolate Craftory (BBQ & Chocolates)

3. 403 Eats (Food Truck Park)

4. Cisco's Salsa Company (Mexican)

Must Try

5. Fire Ant Brewing (Brewery)

6. Craft Grill (Southern)

7. CorkScrew BBQ

8. Tapped Drafthouse & Kitchen

9. Lucky Dog Sport Bar & Grill

For more dog friendly restaurants in North Houston, click here!

8 Scrumptious Seafood Recipes for Lent

Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, marked the beginning of Lent.  While I was raised Catholic, I am not a practicing Catholic.  Those that are practicing Catholics however abstain from eating meat on not only Ash Wednesday & Good Friday, but all Fridays during Lent.  Seafood however is an exception.  In fact many parishes have a fish fry every Friday during Lent.  Lent this year is March 6-April 19.  So for those of you that are practicing Catholics, or are just a lover of seafood, here are 8 scrumptious recipes in honor of the 8 meatless days of Lent!

Banging Grilled Shrimp Skewers - Skinny Taste
Bay Scallop Gratin - Food Network
Fried Oyster Po'boy - The Daily Meal

Italian Shrimp Tortellini Bake - This Gal Cooks

Lobster Mac & Cheese - Food Network

Shrimp & Avocado Pasta - No Cooking

Shrimp Pesto Pasta with Spinach & Mushrooms - Peas & Crayons

Tuna Casserole - My Crazy Good Life

11 Tasty 21 Day Fix Recipes

I have done the 21 Day Fix twice now.  I will definitely do that, or the 21 Day Fix Extreme, again in the future.  The workouts are short (30 minutes) & the meal plan is easy to follow.  But even if you aren't wanting to follow the workout plan, these recipes are still healthy & super delicious!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza - Confessions of a Fit Foodie

Quick Turkey Taco Skillet - Confessions of a Fit Foodie

Instant Pot Bacon & Beer Cheese Soup - The Foodie & the Fix

Cauliflower Cheeseburger Casserole - Adventures of a Shrinking Princess

Chicken Parmesan - Fit Mom Angela D

Baked Lemon Garlic Chicken - Confessions of a Fit Foodie

Cajun Style Shrimp & Grits - The Foodie & the Fix

Bacon Cheeseburger One Skillet Meal - Fit Mom Angela D

Tuna Casserole - My Crazy Good Life

Crockpot Garlic Chicken - Raining Hot Coupons

BLT Chicken Stuffed Avocados - The Garlic Diaries

3 Sweet Potato Recipes & 5 Trader Joe's Finds

February 22 is National Cook a Sweet Potato day.  In honor of that, & my relatively new found love of sweet potatoes, I wanted to share not only 3 sweet potato recipes that I love, but also 5 sweet potato finds from Trader Joe's.

Recipes

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes - Well Plated

Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet - Life, Love, Liz
Baked Parmesan Sweet Potatoes - Lil Luna

Trader Joe's Finds

Salmon & Sweet Potato Dog Treats

Organic Thai Style Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup

Harvest Chili with Butternut Squash

Mashed Potatoes with Maple Roasted Pecans

Riced Cauliflower Bowl

Do you have any favorite sweet potato recipes?

9 Instant Pot Recipes I Can't Wait To Try

I got an Instant Pot for Christmas & yet all I've managed to make is frozen chicken breasts & white chicken chili (I wasn't a huge fan so I'll spare you the recipe.)  There are so many things I want to try though!  I need to just buckle down & do it!  Especially since softball season is currently taking over my life.  Now is the perfect time to put 1 or 2 things into the Instant Pot on Sunday & call it good!

Peach Cobbler - Various Recipes Mom

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls - Lamberts Lately

Smothered Pork Chops - Beauty & The Foodie

Tuscan Chicken Pasta - Sweet & Savory Meals

Beer Brats - Whole Lotta Yum

Baby Back Ribs - I Wash You Dry

Whole Rotisserie Style Chicken - Lemon Blossoms

21 Day Fix Bacon & Beer Cheese Soup - The Foodie & The Fix

Banana Bread - Key Ingredient

Do you have an Instant Pot?  What are some of your go to recipes or recipes you're wanting to try?

12 Easy Date Night Recipes

Appetizers

Roasted Corn & Avocado Salsa - Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts
Cream Cheese & Bacon Cucumber Bites - Living on Cloud Nine
Fried Caprese Balls - Living on Cloud Nine
Loaded Smashed Red Potatoes - Gimme Some Oven

Main Course

Easy Pesto, Spinach, & Artichoke Chicken - The Pinning Mama

Bruschetta Burgers - Cooking For Keeps

Pesto Grilled Shrimp - Closet Cooking

Broccoli Mac & Cheese - White On Rice Couple

Dessert

Brown Butter Blueberry Cobbler - Kevin & Amanda

Chocolate Italian Love Cake - Inspired Dreamer

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Filled Crescent Rolls - For The Love of Cooking

Key Lime Parfaits - Food, Fashion, & Flow

16 Easy & Delicious Crock Pot Recipes

1. Meatball Pizza Bake

2. Low Carb Taco Soup

3. Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Soup

4. Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes

5. Sausage & Cheese Tortellini

6. Buffalo Chicken Dip

7. 21 Day Fix Garlic Chicken

8. Baked Potatoes

9. Chicken Spaghetti

10. Orange Chicken

11. Cheesecake

12. Banana Bread

13. French Toast

14. Buffalo Wings

15. Pesto Ranch Chicken Thighs

16. Mississippi Pot Roast

8 Recipes If You Like It Hot & Spicy

I don't know about you but I love spicy food!  My love of spicy food has only increased over the past 7 years that I've been living in Texas.  In case you're anything like me & like a little heat in your food, I thought I'd share some recipes to help you get that kick!

Pioneer Woman Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

Neighbor Food Slow Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Soup

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli & Rice
**use Rotel w/Jalapenos & Habanaros for extra heat**

Mini Jalapeno Popper Egg Rolls

Spicy Shrimp Pasta In Garlic Tomato Cream Sauce

Sausage Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

Ale & Cheddar Soup

Low Carb Smothered Jalapeno Popper Chicken

9 Healthy Recipes To Get You Back On Track

Losing weight & getting healthy are usually a big focus for a lot of people in January.  January 1-7 is "Diet Resolution Week" & January 3-10 is "Lose Weight/Feel Great Week."  

Those two weeks may be over, but healthy eating should be a year round thing!  And eating healthy shouldn't mean starving yourself with liquid diets or eating boring food!  Eating healthy should be delicious & filling.

Here are some healthy eating recipes that I love!

Make Ahead Sausage & Egg Casserole

Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Casserole

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Creamy Cheddar Soup

Parmesan Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp

Easy Oven Fajitas

Twice Baked Mashed Cauliflower

Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats

Healthy Peach Frozen Yogurt

Toning For The Turkey

Thanksgiving 🦃, the best holiday with the exception of Independence Day 🇺🇸, is 4 weeks from today! It's the best because food 🍽! I recently started the 21 Day Fix with a friend & have had other friends start Keto as well as Whole30. I thought it would be fun and helpful to start an accountability group where we can share healthy meals, workouts, and motivate each other.

If you would be interested in joining the group, whether you want to do one of the above mentioned plans or your own version of working out and eating better, let me know by this weekend so I can add you to the group. We will start on Monday 29 & go up until right before Thanksgiving.

If you think you might be interested but have some more questions let me know!  The group will be a closed group on Facebook that I will invite you to if you decide it is something you are interested in.  There is 0 obligation to buy anything & you can post as much or as little as you would like.  I just know in my own experience, I'm much more likely to stick with something if others are holding me accountable & checking in with me!

Annnd an unrelated Throwback Thursday picture from my 21st birthday because #ThrowbackThursday & I turned 30 on Tuesday....

9 Great Places To Get Pizza & Beer In Dallas-Fort Worth

Today is National Beer & Pizza Day so I thought I'd share a few awesome places in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to get just that!

Oak Cliff Brewing Co

Heritage Pizza

Deep Ellum Brewing Co

Dough Pizzeria

Slater's 50/50

Cane Rosso

HopFusion Ale Works

Greenville Ave Pizza Company

Old Chicago