All the Cheese

We just returned from a lovely trip to visit my brother in Wisconsin. This trip ticked all the boxes: good food, special times with family, and lots of outside time and exploring new spaces. I would totally go back, like tomorrow. But anyway. Brother said I should name my trip recap "cheese and gadgets," so in his honor, here is part one: the cheese.

We ate, like, a lot of cheese. There are stereotypes about Wisconsin cheese, and then there is the real thing. Yes, cheese is really a big thing up there! I mean, have you every seen this big of a cheese aisle in your grocery store? This photo was one side of the aisle, and this was at a budget store!

Needless to say, we picked up some cheese at the store, and tried it later at home.

Bread cheese (fried on the stove)

But before that, we visited a local farmer's market and bought some local stuff

Yes, the curds squeaked when we ate them. It's a freshness thing?

Spicy cheese roll with havarti

We ate fried mac 'n cheese bites at brother's company picnic.

The boys loaded up their baked potatoes with some shreds when we grilled out.

Brother got a pesto grilled cheese and shared when we went out for coffee at Barrique's Market.

We got all the cheesy appetizers at dinner:

Bavarian pretzel with cheese sauce and fried cheese curds at Great Dane Pub and Brewing

And plenty of cheesy entrees:

Texarkana burger (with sharp cheddar) and waffle fries

Irish road reuben (with melty Swiss) and house salad

Big dog smash melt (with sharp cheddar and white American cheese)

We tried goat cheese with marinara at Sugar River Pizza Company for lunch another day.

As well as some green goddess pizza

and ricotta be kiddin' me pizza.

We snacked on some tiramisu we made with marscapone cheese at brother's house.

And yes, we brought some smoked gouda cheese home. I don't think we're cheesed out yet?

Bucket List Birthday Weekend

I only turn 30 once, right? So I might as well live it up. I took a day off work on Friday and decided to try to cross quite a few more items off my bucket list. I feel pretty successful and very grateful. 

Here's a recap of the weekend:

Friday, May 4th

Hiking the Hotshots and Journey Trails with Mom:

These trails are at the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park and are a tribute to the 19 firefighters who lost their lives five years ago protecting the town of Yarnell.

The trail was 6.5 miles total, but pretty challenging. 

The views were gorgeous.

The memorials were sobering.

Thanks to all who did and do serve in a firefighting capacity.

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Cooking dinner for the family:

The best weeknight pasta sauce (recipe from Budget Bytes) over spaghetti, with sides of  broccoli and cauliflower and garlic bread

Saturday, May 5th

Prescott Home Tour with Mom: This was my Mother's Day gift to Mom, but I enjoyed it, too!

We dressed alike for a mother-daughter photo

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Dinner at Arturo's:(I wanted to go to Prescott, but then remembered that it was Whiskey Row Marathon weekend. Mom suggested going to Chino Valley, and trying a restaurant there was on my list for this year, so I was like, "Sold!")

My new standard order for Mexican is chili rellano. This was served with beans and rice.

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After dinner, I had a birthday card and gift opening extravaganza.

I cleaned up a little afterwards....

Thanks to all who sent cards, and wishes, and gifts for my birthday. I felt so loved!

The Great Big Burrito Search

Some of you probably saw my recent Instagram post about digging Mexican food. Yeah, I've been craving it lately. But I'm also on a personal mission to find the best burrito in town.

Before you get too excited, I should clarify that I'm pretty picky about my burritos. I want a bean burrito without cheese. (I like cheese, but not with beans.) I don't label myself vegetarian, but I'm not a big fan of meat, or the spices used on meat at Mexican restaurants. So I'm looking for a bean or vegetable burrito. I like avocados, but only in chocolate banana pudding, so hold the avocado and guacamole. (Plain avocado tastes soapy to me.) Enough criteria? Okay, okay. Moving on to the burritos, here I'll review each burrito's ingredients, tortilla, price, and overall flavor. Then I'll give a star rating. I am a BIG fan of salsa, so restaurants with good salsa get extra points!

1 star: Blah. I wouldn't go here for a burrito again.

2 stars: Okay, but not overly flavorful, or having some off-putting element 

3 stars: Getting there, but lacking some of my favorite flavor components.

4 stars: Yum! I'd go here again.

5 stars: The perfect veggie burrito. (I'm not sure this exists.)

Bean burrito (no cheese) at Garcia's (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans inside the tortilla, topped with red enchilada sauce and a side of lettuce and tomato.

Tortilla: Run-of-the-mill food service.

Price: Don't remember, but I thought it was too much.

Flavor: Lacking. I took most of this home to doctor up. After adding chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and more salsa, it was decent.

Overall: 1 star

Bean burrito (no cheese) at Oliva's Mexican Food (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans inside the tortilla, with red enchilada sauce on top and a side of lettuce, tomato, and an olive.

Tortilla: Likely traditional food service. Large and soft, but nothing special.

Price: $7.50 for an a la carte burrito

Flavor: Decent when I added salsa.The beans were a bit liquidy, though, and the enchilada sauce was too plentiful.

Overall: 2 stars

Bean burrito (no cheese) at Plaza Bonita (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans inside the tortilla, with red enchilada sauce on top. I asked Dad for his pico de gallo, too.

Tortilla: On the small side and tough enough to have come from a store-bought package.

Price: I don't know. Dad paid for this burrito as my birthday dinner.

Flavor: Great!

Overall: 3 stars for the burrito, but knocked down to 2 stars because of poor service. If I ordered this again, I'd order to go.

Vegetarian burrito (no avocado or olives) at Cafe 51 (Ahwatukee, Arizona)

Ingredients: Lettuce, tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, and cilantro, with sides of sour cream and salsa

Tortilla: Not homemade, but extra-large, flaky, and soft

Price: $6.39

Flavor: Excellent, given that this burrito contained no beans. The cilantro balanced perfectly with the veggies.

Overall: 3 stars

Vegetable burrito (no guacamole) at Alfonso's Mexican Food (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Rice, beans (refried with a few whole pinto beans), green pepper, onion, and pico de gallo).

Tortilla: Definitely homemade, or at least cooked fresh on the grill! Thick and hearty, but a bit crispy in places.

Price: $4.95

Flavor: A little bland, but authentic. The peppers and onions were crisply sauteed, which I appreciated.

Extras: Salsa bar with red and green enchilada sauce and three types of salsa, plus radishes, limes, and pickled carrots and peppers.

Overall: 4 stars

Veggie burrito at Riliberto's (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans, rice, lettuce, tomato, and some kind of sauce (possibly avocado based, but I didn't mind it).

Tortilla: HUGE! (I could only eat half of this burrito). Probably food service.

Price: $5.99

Flavor: Excellent! The sauce added good flavor and the balance of fresh lettuce and tomatoes to beans and rice was excellent.

Extras: Salsa bar with red and green salsa, a green sauce, and a creamy red sauce, plus some pickled vegetables. I went back probably five times for more.

Overall: 4 stars

Veggie wrap (no avocado) at Sweet Potato Cafe Restaurant (Prescott, Arizona)

Ingredients: Black beans, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, and chipotle sauce. This isn't technically a burrito, but it had similar ingredients. 

Tortilla: Factory made, but soft

Price: $7.99

Flavor: Not a traditional bean burrito, but great as a wrap

Extras: Served with excellent sweet potato fries!

Overall: 3 stars as a burrito, 4 stars as a wrap

Veggie burrito at Los Taquitos (Ahwatukee, Arizona) 

Ingredients: Super smooth refried beans and rice (mixed together) with tomatoes, peppers, onions, potatoes, cilantro, and pico de gallo.

Tortilla: Possibly homemade. Soft and yummy where wrapped around the burrito, but a bit hard on the edges.

Flavor: Excellent! I didn't even need to add salsa.

Extras: The red and green sauces pictured were spicy and bitter. Luckily, I only tried them on the end of my burrito, and the burrito itself tasted better without them.

Price: $5.00

Overall: 4 stars

Winner so far? Alfonso's!

Arizona friends, what other burritos do you recommend I try?