Category Archives: September

Wine Review: Little Black Dress

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Continuing with my stock of wine from my recent trip to Total Wine & More, this week’s selection is Little Black Dress.

 

 

Off the bat, this bottle won me over: adorable label, decently priced and tasted awesome. So crisp and delicious – lets just say its halfway done for a reason!

Here’s what UlitimateWineShop.com had to say about it:

“A nice light white wine with optimal flavor and acidity. Bright aromas of apple, pear and lemongrass followed by those of lively orange and tangerine. A balanced mouth-feel full of citrus with a touch of floral from the Viognier. Little Black Dress Pinot Grigio is fermented in 100% stainless steel to emphasize the fruit.”

I am a sucker for a great Pinot Grigio, its just so delicious and trumps all other whites! :) God, I sound like Ramona from RHWNY. It is her and her psychotic obsession with Pinot Grigio that makes me try other whites and reds, so I don’t sound like a crazed, bug-eyed middle aged woman. Along with Pinot Grigio, Little Black Dress makes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I am DYING to try the Pinot Noir and Cab…if the Pinot Grigio was that smooth going down, these have to match up as well!

You can always check your local wine stores to see if they sell Little Black Dress, with a price tag of $8.99 you can not beat it! If your local store doesn’t carry it, try the UltimateWineShop.com or Total Wine & Spirits.

Having a girls night in? Stock up on some Little Black Dress and make/buy some personalized wine glasses for your guests.

AntiMom Rating from 1 to drunk: I give it a DRUNK! This wine was soo soo smooth and delicious! That explains why I killed more than half the bottle myself in one evening. It’s THAT good. It is also perfect to pair with a nice fish or chicken dinner but with or with out food, this wine really hits the spot!

- Amanda

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Roasted Tomato & Veggie Soup

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I am a soup person. Love all kinds – broccoli cheese, French onion, minestrone, veggie, lentil, clam chowder – you name it. They are so easy to prepare and always a home run with the family.

There was a sale on some tomatoes at Publix, so I stocked up on some and decided to try a roasted tomato soup. Perfect for the rainy, dreary day here in South Florida. This was by far one of the easiest soups to not only prepare but cooking time took just about 30 minutes! Can’t beat that….

 

Roasted Tomato & Veggie Soup

  • 4-5 plum tomatoes
  • 2-3 vine or beefsteak tomatoes
  • 1 cup of baby carrots
  • 1/2 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 bell pepper or 5 mini sweet peppers
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice tomatoes, onion, peppers and carrots and place them on a baking sheet that has been drizzled with olive oil. Add the garlic cloves (keep them in their skin, you will take it off after they roast). Drizzle veggies with more olive oil then some salt and pepper.
Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Once all the veggies have been roasted, give everything a rough chop & remove the skins from the garlic, then dump the entire pan into a medium sized pot, along with stock, cheese, parsley, paprika, garlic powder and bit more salt and pepper. If you have an immersion (stick) blender, you can just blend everything right in the pot, if not, put all the veggies in a blender and pulse till everything has been pureed, then pour back into pot. Heat & serve!

You can garnish the top with some extra parsley, cheese or even some sour cream or Greek yogurt to add some creaminess. Orrrrrrrr grill up some kick ass grilled cheeses using ciabatta rolls and a variety of cheeses for an “adult” version of tomato soup and grilled cheese.

- Amanda

Easy Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

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I was so not in the mood to cook the other day and was doing everything I could to avoid going home to start preparing. So what would any woman do – I went to Target. That place just sucks me in for hours at a time and I leave spending close to $100 every time. Damn Target.

As I combed the aisles I came across this stir fry sauce that looked delish so I grabbed a bottle and figured a stir fry was the easiest and most filling thing I could think of last minute. So as I’m unloading the car full of Tarjaaay goodies, one bag falls from my SUV trunk and smashes on the driveway. Yup, my stir fry sauce. As good as it looked in the bottle it smelled even better. I wanted to cry!

I checked my fridge and pantry for a few ingredients and decided to just whip up my own sauce. 9 out of 10 times that I do something like this I end up throwing the dinner away and eating a frozen pizza. So the odds were against me. I was fully prepared for a dinner fail but it actually came together quite nicely. I thought to myself, “man I gotta try whipping something up again!“, then I remembered the odds..this must have been my 1 shot out of 10! And it was sooo worth it.

Easy Stir Fry Sauce

Sauce Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon Hoisin
  • 1 tablespoon Plum Sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sesame Oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon Brown Sugar (or Honey if you don’t have brown sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
  • A splash or 2 of Rice Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon grated Ginger

Stir Fry Ingredients

  • Chopped Veggies: peppers, snap peas, carrots, onion, broccoli
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 2 Chicken breasts, cleaned and cut into chunks

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Adjust accordingly.

Put some oil in a wok and heat over medium high heat. Add some chopped garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add chicken or select protein of choice and brown. Add veggies – we like peppers, broccoli, carrots, and snap peas. Pour the sauce over the veggies and protein and cook for about 5 minutes or until veggies are cooked.

Make some white or brown rice and top with some lo mein noodles and you have yourself one easy and veggie packed stir fry!

- Amanda