Omaha Foodie Finds and Zoo Day

We are still here enjoying are last few days in Omaha and trying to find all the good foodie places to try.

This little gem is called the Fantasy Island and can be found at Leo's Diner in Omaha. It consists of a layer of hash browns, topped with a biscuit, sausage gravy, onions and peppers, bacon, sausage and ham and then topped with one egg cooked your way. An amazing way to start the day!! 

Next stop was the Henry Doorly Zoo. I love coming here year after year as there is always new things to see.

Next to the zoo is the old College World Series stadium, Rosenblatt. I was only here for the last year at the Blatt, but it is one year that I will never forget! 

Next we read about this place downtown called Block 16. We heard they had good poutine so of course, we had to check it out!! 

We got the poutine, philly and a reuben. The reuben was the best reuben I have ever had at a restaurant. The corned beef just melted in your mouth and they put capers and a pickled beet on the sandwich, which I had never seen before, but it was absolutely delicious!!

Just down the street was a homemade Ice Cream shoppe called Ted & Wally's!! Being the ice cream aficionados that we are we had to go taste some of their unique flavors. My favorite was the german chocolate which was chocolate ice cream with a hint of caramel and mixed in was coconut and large walnut chunks. We also tried the cardamom, vanilla malted, rum raisin and root beer ice cream flavors. Everything was amazing! I love that they constantly change their flavors and even have an old school soda fountain!!

When you first walk in you can see the two old school ice cream makers filled with ice and rock salt. They even had one of them churning while we were there!!

This was definitely one of my favorite days spent in Omaha. We came, we ate and we saw.

Peace.Love.Lauryn

More College World Series and Foodie Finds

Here is a little update on activities thus far.

 Always get Runza as soon as we get into town <3 <3

Tailgating downtown next to the stadium on a beautiful, but hot day.

Upstream is one of the local breweries located in the Market Square in downtown Omaha. The falafel sandwich was awesome, and it came with extra hummus and hot sauce! Beers were great too!!

The slides are infamous in downtown Omaha. So much fun!!

Some College World Series goodies.

Hit up the humidor / bar, Havana Garage. Great drinks and cigars, but watch out for their prices! This $9 margarita with house made margarita mix definitely hit the spot on a hot day, but I wouldn't say it was worth $9. 

 

Curry fries were pretty amazing. We all got the Kabob sandwich. It was a lot of food!!

Amsterdam was an awesome little late night food spot! Loved this mural they had painted on the wall!!

The next day we hit up Big Mama's Kitchen which was actually featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It was an adventure to find this place because it is located in an old abandoned school. But once we got there, it was soooo worth it!!!  Just look for the yellow sign!

Big Mama's cranberry sun tea was phenomenal!!!

I have never had a better oven fried chicken!!! I chose mac n cheese as the side. So delish!!!

 They also had ice cream! So we tried the red velvet and the green tomato raisin pie flavors. Sounds weird, but the green tomato raisin pie tasted just like apple pie! So good!

On Tuesday we decided to take it easy and get our minds off the Spurs game that was to take place that night. We hit up Stella's in Bellevue, outside of Omaha. They are known for their Stellanator Challenge. Amazing food, and a great beer selection too!! Then we went and saw This is the End which was hilarious!!!! 

Hand cut french fries, sweet potato waffle fries and onion rings! All delicious!!!

 Just look at that burger!!!! This may be one of the best burgers I have EVER eaten! It was that good!!!

It has been an eventful week thus far. Can't wait to share more of our adventures in Omaha!

Peace.Love.Lauryn

College World Series Day 1 Game 2

We have officially kicked off the start of the College World Series!!  Something we look forward to every year. We come to Omaha for family, friends, baseball and good times!

So much fun and I am here all week!! CWS!! I will try to keep this updated, but it's hard when your constantly experiencing so much at once. Lots more to come!

Peace.Love.Lauryn

The BEST Cookies & Cream Ice Cream!!!

Confession time!!! Cookies and Cream is my all time favorite ice cream!! Nothing brings back so many childhood memories quite like this dreamy dessert. I will 9 times out of 10 choose a cookies and cream over plain chocolate or vanilla. There is just something very near and dear to my heart about this ice cream.

So this is the standard recipe I use when making it at home. Once I tried this recipe I never changed it, because it really is that good!!

PS - This is another ice cream recipe from my new ice cream book, Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones, which is written by the owners of the Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco.  I originally found this recipe on my favorite food bloggers website, Brown Eyed Baker. I will often times look to Michelle for some food inspiration or sinfully delicious food recipes. She knows her food!!!

For this recipe you will need:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
• 7 egg yolks (its a lot I know, but totally worth it!)
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• about 15 oreos or chocolate cream sandwich cookies, broken into chunks

1. Begin by putting the cream, milk and vanilla bean into a saucepan. Bring it to a simmer then take off the heat, cover and let sit for about 30 minutes.
2. Combine the egg yolks and sugar into a separate bowl. Whisk together until light yellow and smooth.
3. Put the cream and vanilla bean back onto the stove and bring to a simmer again. (The first time was for infusing the cream with the vanilla. Now its time for ice cream making!!)
4. Once it reaches a bare simmer take off heat and slowly add the cream to the egg mixture 1/2 cup at a time and whisking quickly after each time you add cream. This keeps the cream from cooking the eggs and making it chunky. Gross…..
5. Once combined, add back into the saucepan over medium low heat and stir frequently until the cream mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Once complete, add the salt and vanilla extract and strain into a clean bowl. 
6. Let the mixture cool until almost room temp, about 45 minutes. Then cover and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
7. Next day or a few hours later, take mixture out of the fridge and freeze per the manufacturer's directions on your ice cream maker.While it is churning, add the cookies and let it churn together.
8. Enjoy right from the ice cream maker for a soft serve ice cream or place in the freezer for a few hours for a firmer ice cream.

Regardless of how you like your ice cream, this one is a real treat and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!

Peace.Love.Lauryn