Fort Fun Weekend

One of my very dear friends refers to Fort Worth as Fort Fun, and whether she is being sarcastic or not, I appreciate all Fort Worth-related enthusiasm.  Hubby and I have been living here for 6 months now and have settled into a routine with favorite spots and things to do.  Although sometimes we feel like we know all we need to know about Fort Worth, there are still some surprises left as we have found out this weekend. 

Saturday we went to the Fort Worth Nature Reserve to go for a hike with Maui.  Our expectations were low, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a hilly park with plenty of wildlife.  The hike took us along a dirt path through wooded areas and fields, up canyons and down slopes.  We were impressed that this terrain existed in the Texas plains.  It is definitely a place that Andrew and I want to go back to again.

Hubby and Maui enjoying the hike.

 A clearing after a wooded trail up the hill.

 Through the trees, we could see Lake Worth.

There were some ruins on the hike.

Then today, Sunday, we stopped by the new food truck park that is located just down the river from our apartment.  We walked with Maui along the Trinity Trail and made it to the Clearfork Food Truck Park in mere moments.  Several food trucks were parked in a semi-circle around an area filled with picnic tables and music playing.  There is a permanent building that serves as a bar for all the food trucks making it the perfect place to hang out and stay a while.  Hubby had a Flyin' Hawaiian Hot Dog from the Dog Pound while I had loaded french fries (the First Bell) from First Bite Gourmet.  Both meals were delicious and made that much better by perfect weather.  This is definitely a place we will go again.

The perfect day for food trucks!

Granola Bars and Healthy Pursuits

This past weekend was the Dallas Marathon.  Hubby got into running a little over a year ago and was asked to run the 5 person relay with some of our friends.  The relay is basically a team of people that each run a leg of the marathon.  I was so proud to see hubby take on the longest and final leg of the marathon relay.  Maui and I waited in downtown Dallas to see hubby cross the finish line, which he did in respectable time.  It was a fun day that ended in the beginning of winter (it has since been super cold in Fort Worth).

Because I wasn't running in the race, I wanted to make a fun race day snack for runners and non-runners alike to enjoy.  At first I thought of some very soccer mom type options like sliced fruit or veggies or juice boxes.  Then I remembered a recipe from Laura in the Kitchen that I had been wanting to try... granola bars!  The recipe was really flexible and really easy... two of my favorite recipe descriptors besides delicious.

I used my favorite trail mix from Trader Joe's, which has cashews, almonds, and craisins.  Combining the trail mix along with oatmeal and the other ingredients, I had granola bars ready for the oven in mere moments.  The hardest part was waiting for the granola bars to cool before cutting a piece and giving it a try, but once we took our first bites, hubby and I never looked back.  At one point, he asked if we really needed to bring them since he wanted them all to himself.  Then he said that they tasted like oatmeal cookies, which is sort of true, though there are a lot more nuts and oatmeal then there is in an oatmeal cookie (and less sugar too).  They were the perfect snack for race day and for staving off hunger until lunch, which didn't happen until 2pm.

Tia Susan's Indian Corn Pudding

I had a request for the corn pudding recipe from Thanksgiving and thought I would share it with everyone since it was one of the few recipes I didn't get from an online source... and because it is delicious, and I want to share all things delightful with you.  The recipe is surprisingly easy and results in an impressively yummy side dish for any meal.

Tia Susan's Indian Corn Pudding

2 cans creamed corn

1/3 cup corn oil

1 cup yellow corn meal (I used white because that is what I had on hand)

1/2 of a small can of mild green chiles

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup 2% milk (I used skim, and it still worked out)

1 tbsp salt (My creamed corn was low sodium, so I didn't feel bad adding in so much salt)

Combine all the ingredients and bake in a 9x9 baking dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

It is just that easy.  In the picture, you can see the edges get slightly darker, but other than that, I couldn't really find another indicator of done-ness... I just took it out after 45 minutes and hoped for the best.  I hope you enjoy it!