Breakfast at the Bell

March 27, Taco Bell unveiled their first breakfast menu and new morning hours. They now offer food all day, for all meals - they did create "Fourth Meal." Last week, Taco Bell rolled out this unique menu with possibly one of the wittiest commercials, featuring Ronald McDonald.

Since the debut, I've been begging J to go out for a breakfast Taste Test date. And for a week straight, he grimaced and whined and put me off. But this morning, I won the battle! I guess since we had miserable chores planned - taking an old mattress to the dump, painting and other spring cleaning - he thought that he could start his day out with an equally miserable meal that might make him so ill he could get out of chores.

Boy, was he wrong!

Because we're hella classy, we took the Bell breakfast experience up a notch by going through the drive thru and eating in the Lowe's parking lot.

I hope to try the menu in its entirety (minus the breakfast burrito, J makes the best, why bother?) but we chose to try three stand-out items to start with. Jordan ordered a sausage AM Crunchwrap combo which included two Cinnabon delights, and I ordered a sausage waffle taco.

The crunchwrap - available in bacon, sausage or steak - was the most visually appealing dish and was the best simulation of a tasty daytime menu item. It's filled with scrambled eggs, a sausage patty, hashbrowns, cheese and what J called "a zesty sauce." The traditional crunchwrap is a riff on a deconstructed double taco with hard corn tortillas and taco fillings wrapped in a flour tortilla and grilled. This a.m. version gives a great crunch with a hashbrown "filet" that is only further complimented by the crispness of the grilled flour tortilla. And it's a substantial amount of protein all slammed into one package - a good sized meal that would keep you full. The flavor is great and it's very easy to eat without a mess; for on-the-go breakfast eaters this will give biscuits a run for their money.

In addition to being hilarious-looking, the waffle taco - available in bacon or sausage, was pretty good too. 

Only a few weeks ago, we had wistfully talked about how when we were kids sometimes we'd get to go to McDonalds for pancake platters in the big styrofoam clamshells. We realized that since they got rid of the local PlayPlace and we started driving, going out to eat pancakes fell to the wayside. But this could be a good solution. The waffle itself already has a maple flavor that adds a beautifully matched sweetness to the eggs, sausage and cheese. Sausage and sweet things are made for each other. The sage notes in the sausage patty pair beautifully with sweet points - which is why Southerners love grape jelly on sausage biscuits. I elevated the dramatic dash-side presentation by pouring on a small drizzle of syrup (included) and it was great. Syrup does complicate the simultaneous driving and eating experience, but with a steady hand this is doable, unlike pancakes.  However, this dish isn't nearly as substantial as the crunchwrap and probably wouldn't be filling without a side. 

And speaking of "sides," the Cinnabon delights are mindblowing. Our combo came with two of the warm, sweet puffs; but you can order a dozen on their own - and next time, I will. The premise is a cinnamon roll-flavored beignet, rolled in cinnamon sugar and filled with Cinnabon's cream cheese icing. Wow. They're served warm, so the icing is gooey and thick, the dough is fluffy and the delicious sugar gets everywhere. I'm a churro nut (and Taco Bell makes the best commercial franchise churro) so these are a perfect way for me to get my churro on before noon. I would order the dozen-in-a-cup anytime (do they do that?!). 

Overall, we were both pleasantly surprised - J especially. He even said that despite his skepticism he was very pleased with all of the food. I made sure to take my heartburn medicine and had emergency Tagamet close at hand but my fears were pointless. I enjoyed the flavor of my meal and appreciated the good value. There are only so many ways to eat a biscuit sandwich, so I was pleased with the whimsy and uniqueness of the Taco Bell menu! 

For the price and convenience, I would recommend anyone give the new menu a go! 

Homemade Chinese Takeout

J and I love "exotic" foods (although probably Americanized versions of such). We love to try new foreign menu items (like Ethiopian on our honeymoon to DC last week) and we especially love Asian-inspired dishes.

We enjoy these foreign meals so much that we've been developing our own versions to make at home (like our Russian feast). We've made our own sushi and curries, and I think we've finally perfected our take Chinese takeout dish - sweet and sour chicken.

J's DIY California Roll Stogie

Jade Dragon is our go-to Chinese restaurant and we could easily spend $35 on a takeout order for the two us. Even though it is disturbingly delicious, I have absolutely no idea what is in our food other than the obvious (or alleged?) things listed in the title and description. My only assumption is that everything we usually order is either seared or deep fried in lots of oil; covered in equally oily, and salty sauces and the vegetables are cooked to near death. It's delicious, but not affordable for our wallets or our bodies.

This dish is just the opposite.

We've been on our honeymoon for the last week and of course, came home to an empty fridge; so we're trying to "make do" with our pantry and freezer stockpiles until we can get to the store. We do have a good stock of meats and vegetables in our freezers (we buy in bulk and freeze in appropriate portions) but nothing outlandish, and we were able to complete this whole meal without stopping at the market.

In addition to pinching some pennies, it also means, that for the most part (ketchup aside, probably), I know exactly what went into this dish and it contains very little oil - only enough for the initial sear, and no MSG. The dredged chicken is lightly browned in a small amount of vegetable oil, but the majority of the cooking is done in the oven which saves lots of calories. Also, this recipe makes for a ton of sauce - which would be the biggest calorie culprit - and you can easily use less and serve the sauce warmed on the side for dipping (FYI: dipping not pouring sauces, like salad dressing, onto dishes is a simple calorie saver. Humans are much too lazy to bother dipping each bite and will usually skip it).

I love the flavor profile of this dish. Unlike real takeout, which is doused in sauce to the point of not tasting the protein, you can taste all of the elements of this dish. It is sweet and it is sour, but it's also chicken and I appreciate being able to taste all of the parts in a beautiful union -not cloyingly sweet or super bitter. The browning adds a crispness that isn't hindered by the sauce and makes for a crunchy, but still saucy bite.

I will remind you that this is a takeout-based dish, so don't come looking for authentic Chinese cuisine. For starters, I have my doubts that "sweet and sour chicken" exists in traditional Chinese diets, and secondly, if it did, I'm sure it wouldn't involve ketchup or cornstarch. If you're looking for a true-to-China dish, check out Easy Chinese on the Cooking Channel. Ching-He Huan makes dishes that are legit, but she also takes the time to explain the history and visit restaurants, farms etc. that are keeping up the traditions.

Enjoy this recipe and I hope you're able to enjoy your own homemade takeout!

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless chicken breasts (around 1 lb), cut into 1x1" pieces
salt & pepper
2 eggs, beaten
vegetable oil
3/4 c sugar
4 T ketchup
1/2 c distilled white vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 t garlic salt**

Method:

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease a glass baking dish (I use a 9x9" pan, but it's all based on how big your diced pieces are, you want to be able to lay them all in a single layer).

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil over medium/medium-high heat in frying pan. Dip chicken into cornstarch and then into eggs. Cook chicken pieces in pan until lightly brown on all sides, but not cooked through. Place browned chicken into prepared dish.

Mix sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic salt in a bowl with a whisk until sugar is dissolved. Then pour half of the mix evenly over the chicken. If you like a "wet" or saucy chicken, you can pour all of it, I prefer mine to be a bit stickier, so I gradually add more sauce throughout the cooking.

Bake for 30 minutes to an hour (until a meat thermometer in a large piece reads 160), flipping the chicken every 15 minutes (and re-evaluating sauce level, if needed). One pound usually takes around 45 minutes, but it depends on the cuts of the chicken and how crowded your pan is.

Serve with rice (homemade fried rice? yum!) and stir fried veggies.

**Note: I had a little flub today trying to throw this together (alliteration!) and used a tablespoon of minced garlic. Yes, that's a lot of garlic. And yes, it was delicious. If you love garlic, consider making this switch out. It's wonderful!