Chubby Balboa's

Last night Mike and I needed to go to Total Wine for opening day supplies!  We always make a date night out of it and grab dinner before we venture to Delaware.  We recently heard about this restaurant from Mike's Dad and we trust his foodie opinion.  It is a sports bar in Glen Mills called Chubby Balboa's.  I have no idea where the name came from, I even tried to Wikipedia it and nothing came up.

We bellyed up to the bar instead of getting a table.  We ordered our beer and Mike checked into four square...

The atmosphere was really cool!  There is 14 TVs in the bar area alone and about 15 more through out the restaurant!  It is set up like a Roman colosseum. 

They also have a giant mosaic made out of tile with a waterfall going down the front of it.  They seemed to have taken great care to pick out the decor.  We loved that decor and the feel of the restaurant, just one last thing that had to pass our scrupulous test...the food!

We got there during happy hour and the special was 1/2 off select apps.  We couldn't pass that up!  We ordered the nachos (a big favorite of  mine) and cheesesteak eggrolls (mainly for Mike). 

The food came out super fast!  When I saw the pile of nachos coming towards me, my mouth started watering and I swear there was a twinkle in my eye!

Look at the mound of chips with so many delectable toppings.  Not only did they have processed, runny cheese (Mike's favorite) but, they had real melted cheese too (my favorite)!  They also had chili, beans, fresh pico, sour cream and (something a little different) fresh Serrano peppers!  I am a huge fan of hot foods, it made me happy that they put a pepper on that packs a little more punch then jalapenos. 

The cheesesteak eggrolls were really good too.  I'm not as big of a fan of them as nachos (in general).  I feel like I could be a nacho expert and I haven't had as much experience with this style of eggroll.  Mike on the other hand LOVED them!  He ate three to my one half.  He did say that he wished they served it with a little more ketchup but, he still did a great job clearing the plate! 

The nachos, on the other hand, defeated us...there was no way we could finish that massive pile.  We waved the white napkin in surrender...

Probably the best thing about CB is that 16 oz bud lights, coors light and miller lite drafts are $2 all day, everyday!  WAHOO!!!  I had to put a little jacket on mine because it was a frosty mug and I was FREEZING!

Our total bill was sooo cheap!  We had 4 bud lights, nachos and cheesesteak eggrolls, check it out..

Overall, we really enjoyed CB!  The food, the atmospher, the cheap beer!  Mike said he wishes it was closer to our house so we could go there all the time. 

Cheers!!

Creamcicle Cupcakes

One of my besties, Jessica, decided it was time to have a girls night, we had gone way too long without one.  Out at happy hour (a couple of drinks in) we set the date and to our surprise, remembered it!  Probably because we instantly put it into our phones and contacted Jen to make sure she was able to attend that day, too.  Our date was set and then the wheels started turning...what am I going to make?!  We were going to do our typical wine and pizza night (classy, right?!) so, the only thing we were missing was dessert!  I wanted to try something new and came up with this recipe.  It was a complete gamble but, it turned out really well! 

The cupcake is a vanilla and orange icing swirl with orange cake.  I took some help from the store by using boxed cake and spicing it up a bit!  They were a HUGE hit!  I made mini cupcakes because I like the idea of having two and not feeling too guilty :)  Plus, you can spread the love more.  Mike had boys over for poker night when I was icing them so, they had a few, I took some to work, some to girls night and the rest to my mom.  That's a lot of love being shared!

What you need:

Cake

• 1 box of yellow cake mix
• 1 c orange juice
• 1/4 c veggie oil (or what the instructions on the box says)
• 3 eggs (or what the instructions on the box says
• 1 tsp orange extract

Icing

• 8 tbs butter (one stick)
• 4-4 1/2 c powder sugar
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 2 tbs orange juice
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs milk

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  To get the orange flavor into the classic yellow cake you replace the water with orange juice.  Follow the rest of the directions as they instruct on you particular cake mix.  Add the oil to the cake powder...

Orange juice...

eggs and the orange extract.

and mix until smooth.  

Use a spatula and scrap down the sides to get loose any dry ingredients that are being stubborn.

Pour into paper lined cupcake pans either, small or regular size.  I use a measuring cup to pour into the small cups, it helps cut down on the mess (I need all the help I can get!).

Bake as directed per the box, turning once during the cooking process.  When a toothpick comes out clean, they are done!

Let the cupcakes cool completely before icing.  The icing is a two part step and I got caught up in some moments and forgot to take pictures.  I'm sorry for the steps I missed!  What you do is make an orange icing and a vanilla icing and you swirl them together using a pastry bag.

To make the orange flavor place 4 tbs of room temperature butter in the mixing bowl and beat until creamed.

add in the orange juice...

the orange extract and the orange zest.  Whip until blended.

With the blender on low, slowly add 2 1/4 c and mix until completely mixed in.

If the icing is too thick, add more orange juice.  If the icing is too thin, add more sugar.  Make it the consistency you like.

For the orange flavor, I added food coloring to make it an orange color.

Now that that is all done, we get to do it all over again!  Clean out your mixing bowl, put the delicious orange icing in a bowl and set aside.  For the vanilla icing, cream the other 4 tbs of the butter add in vanilla extract and the milk.  Mix completely and add 2 1/4 c powdered sugar to the mix.

Using a pastry bag, put the orange on one side and the vanilla on the other side.  Don't try to make it perfect, it all gets swirled together anyway.  When the cupcakes are cooled, pipe the icing on top.  I used a star tip, start around the outside and worked my way to the center.

This picture doesn't do it justice but, the color swirl on top looks really cute and really tasty!  I couldn't help myself...

When I took them to work, they disappeared.  Jenny Butler ate 5 in one day!  But, if anyone can afford eating that many it is her, she has zero body fat, crossfitter to the core.  She also skipped lunch so she could eat more.  Those are the things that make you feel good!  Then it was time for girl's night!

We had to try this picture multiple times...

But, like always with my girls, it just turned in to a gut wrenching laughter!  At least we got an ab workout in before stuffing our faces!

Kate brought a little crasher...she got drunk off of milk while we all drank wine.  Then it was time to reveal my cupcakes!

which we turned into a mini photo shoot!

and they didn't over react at all...

Goofballs!  In all seriousness, they did really enjoy them!  Kira even got in on the cupcake love!

Too cute!

These little guys were worth the effort!  Not only were they really good and tasted really fresh because of the citrus but they made people happy! 

Phillies 5K!!

This morning, Mike and I ran in the inaugural Phillies 5K and it was AWESOME!  It starts at Citizens Bank Park, loops around FDR park, finishes back at the stadium and then you get to go on the field!  Mike heard about it through a friend and when he told me about it, I instantly wanted to do it!  To be able to go onto the field where my favorite team plays would be the opportunity of a lifetime!  I couldn't wait to do it!

Today was an early start!  We left our apartment a little after 7:00 to go to the stadium to get our shirts, bibs and chips.  Let me tell you, at 7:00 am it was FREEZING!!!!!!  The race didn't start till 9:00 so, I was hoping that it would warm up a little...it didn't...

Before the race it was all smiles from us!  

We had our bibs and were ready to get our run on!  When Mike was putting on his bib, he said he was lucky that his hands were so numb because he stabbed himself multiple times...boys...

In true Phillies spirit they made everyone take off their hats and a woman sang the national anthem.

 

The race was really good.  It was a very easy run.  There was no hills and FDR is a very pretty park!  I had never been through it before.  I stuck with Mike the whole time and I am very proud of him for doing this run.  Running isn't really his thing but, he did it anyway.  He even had enough spunk left over to sprint out the end.  Then the time came to go onto the field!!  This is the first view we saw when we came out of the tunnel.  How breathtaking is that?!  I was totally geeking out!

Mike, Chris (Mike's friend) and Nicole (Chris' sister) soaking in the glory!  Please take notice of Chris' shirt, he stole it from his dad...

It took us longer to get all the way around the warning track to home plate than it took us to run the race.  But, we entertained ourselves buy taking goofy pictures.

Just think, this is Victorino and Ibanez's view every game.

We took more jumping pictures..

We were finally getting close to home plate!  We had Chris snap this shot of us with the liberty bell.  We better see that bell ring a lot this year!  

Then we finally got up home plate!  That is Mike's little footie on home plate.

Then we got to run to first base before we had to exit the stadium.

We felt so lucky to be some of the few (other than baseball players) that have gotten to be on the field.  Seeing the view that the baseball players have is really cool.  We didn't want to leave the field, even though we had been on it for over an hour.  Who knows if we will ever get an opportunity like that again.  I thought the fun was over but, I was WAY wrong.  On our way out, I noticed that speed pitch was open and that is one of Mike's favorite things to do!  He through a couple and after that, we were standing around and the Phillie Phanatic showed up on his 4 wheeler!  

AHHH!! How cute is he?! Apparently, Mike heard him talk and it really creeped him out.  Oh well, it is still an awesome picture!  But, the fun wasn't over yet!  On the way out Mike got stopped by a camera guy and asked if he could interview him!

It was for a Comcast show called Phillies Club House!  The camera guy said it will be on in the next couple of weeks.  Keep your eyes out for my handsome man!  He is a TV star now!

We went to Chickie and Pete's after with Mr. and Mrs. Bogusky, Chris, Nicole and James for a celebratory meal and beer!  BTW, Nicole Bogusky ran the 5K in 21:30 A-MAZ-ING!

It was such a great experience!  It makes me so excited for opening day!  It is only a week away!  This run was a great way to get ready for the baseball season.  I'll always remember this day fondly and I hope that we can do it again next year. 

Go Phillies!!!!!