B/CS Restaurant Bucket List Update

I blogged earlier about how Michael and I came up with a list of restaurants we want to eat at before our time comes to an end in the Bryan/College Station area. You can read about it here.

Today I am going to update you on some of the places we have gone that are on our list.

Our list is as follows:
La Bodega
Martins Bar-B-Q
Los Molcajetes
Maddens
Koppe Bridge
Lakeside Icehouse Grill
Coco Loco
Pho John
40 Tempura
Top Of The Hill 
Cafe Eccel
J Cody's Bar-B-Q
Sodolacks
Christopher's
Good Time Charlie's
Haiku
Hullabaloo's Diner
Carter's Burgers 
We added:
BJ's 
The Village

As I mentioned in my first blog, the list is in no particular order, they are just added as we drive by and think to ourselves we want to eat there soon.

Martin's Bar-B-Q -- Let me just start by saying DELICIOUS! It has been family owned since 1925 and they have been cooking the best bar-b-q around since then! When you walk in you can smell the smoke from the smoker and you can basically taste what you are going to be eating in the air. When we went the first time (it was last week) we went for lunch and I have not been able to stop telling people about it. I will warn you, since it is a family owned restaurant they are a little slow, but it is worth the wait. The second time was this weekend (3 days later haha) and we tried new items on the menu and were even more impressed! Michael had been wanting to go for so long and I finally gave in, thinking to myself, I am not sure if I will even like bar-b-q that much and woah, I have been missing out. You have to go to Martin's Bar-B-Q if you are in Bryan!

Madden's -- Michael actually has not been yet, but I have been about 5 times now so it can no longer be on the bucket list. I work 3 blocks from Madden's so the girls go to lunch there a bunch. The restaurant is located inside a store, Old Bryan Marketplace (if you have never been you need to go, Christmas season is the best time) so if there is a little wait there is plenty to look at to keep you busy. The food is delicious and looks as if it came out of a magazine. Now we just need to get Michael to go!

Koppe Bridge -- Another new favorite! And everyone elses as well. Both times we went the restaurant was crazy busy, but the food did not disappoint. The french fries are delicious and their burgers are a little greasy, just like we like! We have been back twice and the last time we were there Michael had the chicken fried steak and it was very good.

Carter's Burgers -- We went on a Tuesday, which is half price burger night, so before we even ate we were happy. Michael's mom was in town and went with us and we all enjoyed our burgers.

BJ's -- We didn't know a chain restaurant could be this good. We went to BJ's with my mom and dad and could not believe how good it was! We shared all 4 dishes we ordered and had a yummy appetizers along with some of their home brewed beers. We will be going back!

The Village -- I had heard lots of great things about this local place and we finally tried it! We ate here with Michael's brother and sister and enjoyed our dinner while listening to a local artist. There are so many options on the menu so I will have to go back as it is 2 blocks from my work.

More to come soon!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

In an earlier blog about Tasty Thursday I showed a picture of chocolate chip cookie dough brownies. They are really easy to make and delicious!

Ingredients:
For Brownies:
4 ounces unsweetend bakers chocolate
1 cup of butter, room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of flour

For cookie dough:
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

*For the chocolate drizzle, you will want some extra chocolate chips and shortening


Make the brownies first:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan.
2. Cut up the bakers chocolate. Put in a microwave safe bowl and cook for 30 seconds at a time, stiring each time. Once smooth put aside to cool.

2. In a different bowl using an electric mixer, mix butter and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract. Once combined, mix in the chocolate then the flour.

3. Spread mixture in greased pan and cook 25 to 35 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely.

Now to make the cookie dough:
1. In a bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Then mix in the milk and the vanilla. Once combined add the flour and then mix in the chocolate chips with a spoon.

Making the final product:
1. Once the brownies have cooled completely top with the cookie dough and put in the fridge till dough is firm.

2. For me, I cut mine into serving sizes and used cupcake holders to place them in. I also melted some of the chocolate chips with 1 tbsp shortening and put it in a ziploc bag. I cut the bag corner and drizzled the chocolate over the top of individual servings.

Since there are no eggs in the cookie dough it is fine to eat raw. These things are delicious and addictive!
Enjoy!!

Oreo Crispies!

Thank you Pinterest for another good one!

I was looking for something yummy and that I did not have to actually bake to take to my women's bible study last night and ran across this recipe that I will be making again!

Oreo Crispies is what I am calling them:

It is a very simple recipe! They are made just like rice crispie treats, but instead of using rice crispies, use crushed oreos, genius! I altered the recipe from what I read on the blog, so here is what I did.

Ingredients:
1 bag small marshmallows
4 tbsp butter
1 package of oreos

First, coat an 8x8 pan with butter.
Put package of oreos in a Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin crush the oreos.
On the stove melt the butter and marshmallows, stirring continuously.
Once melted quickly add the crushed oreos to the mixture, mix, and pour into the butter pan.
Let sit about 20 minutes, cut, and serve.

Delicious!