How to Make 2 Types of Cinnamon Rolls Plus Pigs-in-a-Blanket from 1 Tube of Cresent Roll Dough

It's Christmas! Merry Christmas, everyone! I wanted to make a fun breakfast for my family out of cresent rolls. I had several ideas of what to do, but there's only me, my husband and our 1 year old, so I didn't want to make too much food. What did I do? I used 1 can of cresent roll dough to make 3 different breakfast treats, my husband's favorite pigs-in-a-blanket, and 2 types of cinnamon rolls! Yum! Best, easiest Christmas breakfast ever! Here's what I did. Enjoy!

Pigs-in-a-Blanket, Mini Cinnamon Rolls, Mini Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury cresent roll dough

12 little smokies

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp powdered sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp + 1 tsp butter

2 tbsp cranberry sauce (I use this recipe)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 375.

For the Little Smokies...

Place parchment paper on half of a large baking sheet.

Place 10 mini muffin liners in a mini muffin pan. Set the muffin pan on the half of the baking sheet that is not covered with parchment paper.

Open the cresent roll package.

Separate the dough in half (there’s a seam in the center).

Open open half of the dough and cut the 4 triangles in 3rds lengthwise. You now have 12 very narrow triangles. (It's easiest to do this with a pizza cutter.)

Put a little smokie at the widest end of each triangle and roll up cresent roll style.

Place on parchment paper. Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in microwave and brush the butter on top of the dough (or you can spray the top of each with spray butter).

For the Cinnamon Rolls...

With remaining dough, separate into 2 rectangles and push the seams together to seal them. Now you don't have any triangles. You have 2 rectangles.

Mix 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp powdered sugar, ¼ tsp cinnamon and ½ tbsp. melted butter. Leave about half a tbsp. in the bowl. Spread the rest of the mixture onto one of the rectangles, evenly covering the surface.

Starting on the short end of the rectangle, roll up tightly to make a swirled log of dough. Using a serrated knife, cut the log of dough into 5 equal pieces.

For the Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls...

On the other rectangle, spread your favorite cranberry sauce. (I used my homemade one.) Sprinkle with remaining sugar mix.

Starting on the short end of the rectangle, roll up tightly to make a swirled log of dough. Using a serrated knife, cut the log of dough into 5 equal pieces.

Set each mini cinnamon roll into one of the mini muffin liners, cut side down. (This can be either end, but basically, you can see the swirls.)

before baking

after baking

Place the baked sheet in the preheated oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. Breakfast is ready when the cresents are slightly golden brown. It may take a couple minutes longer than 10 minutes, but it’s always best to check early so they don't burn. Add one minute at a time until done.

When they’re done, remove the pan from the oven. Let everything cool slightly while you make a glaze. Combine 2 tbsp powdered sugar with 1 tsp butter, ¼ tsp vanilla extract and a drop of water at a time until you have a glaze that’s about the thickness of maple syrup.

Remove the cinnamon rolls from the mini muffin liners and place on a serving place. Drizzle with glaze.

Set the pigs in a blanket on another servings plate. If desired, add your favorite dipping sauces, like BBQ sauce and mustard.

Breakfast is served! Merry Christmas! 

Peanut Butter Danishes and Nutella Danishes

Want a quick, easy, delicious breakfast that the whole family will love?  That's a silly question.  Of course you do!  Well, for my husband's birthday, that's exactly what I needed, and with a baby in the house, I obviously needed something easy.  Cresent Rolls to the rescue with a little help of peanut butter and Nutella.  You see where this is going, right?  I created something similar to my Easy Cheese Danishes recipe but instead of cream cheese I used peanut butter and Nutella.  Here's the quick and easy recipe so you can treat your family (and yourself).

Peanut Butter Danishes and Nutella Danishes

Ingredients:
1 tube Pillsbury Cresent Rolls
2 tbsp of your favorite peanut butter (I like Jif Natural Creamy)
2 tbsp Nutella
1 packet Truvia (or 1 tbsp sugar or your favorite sweetener)
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray (or melted butter)

Method:
Use the cresent roll directions for baking.  Go ahead and preheat your oven.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and open up the tube of cresent rolls.  Separate them into 4 pieces so you have 4 rectangles (instead of 8 triangles).  Press the lines together to get rid of the triangle shape and cut each rectangle in half so you now have 8 squares.

Put 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter in the middle of 4 of the squares, and put 1/2 tbsp of Nutella in the middle of the remaining 4 squares.  Spread the peanut butter and nutella to fill the center, but leave room around the edges (kind of like a pizza crust).

Fold up the edges of the dough to hold in the filling.  Spray butter on the edges of the dough, and sprinkle Truvia on the edges of the dough and on top of the peanut butter (but not on the Nutella...that's sweet enough).

Bake according to the cresent roll directions.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  You can keep leftovers on the counter, but I doubt they'll last very long!

Happy eating!

Orange Sweet Rolls

After my success with Pumpkin Banana Muffins, I decided to be daring and modify another recipe.  I’ve had a recipe for Lemon Poppyseed Bread for years.  I’m not sure where I got it, but I remembered liking it well enough.  We have an orange tree in our backyard, so I thought, why not leave out the poppyseeds and make it with an orange instead of a lemon? 

These rolls would be perfect for Easter brunch, a potluck, or just for snacking.  They’re slightly sweet, and they’re delicious without slathering on any butter.  You’d never know they only have 100 calories each.  You might want to make a double batch because it’s hard to eat just one!

Orange Sweet Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter (softened)

1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

¾ c Splenda (you can substitute an equal amount of sugar)

2 servings liquid eggwhites (you can substitute 2 eggs)

1 tbsp orange juice

zest of one orange

1 c white whole wheat flour

1 c bread flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

¾ c milk

For the glaze:

2 tbsp orange juice

2 tbsp powdered sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or insert paper liners.

In a stand mixer, combine the butter, Greek yogurt and Splenda.

Add the eggwhites and orange juice.

Add the milk.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients and the orange zest to the mixer bowl.  Mix to combine.

Bake about 10 minutes or until the tops of the rolls spring back when you touch them.

Combine the orange juice and powdered sugar for the glaze. 

Put the rolls on a serving plate.  Brush the glaze on top of the rolls while they’re still warm. 

They’re delicious warm, or you can store them at room temperature for a couple days, if they last that long!  I haven’t tried freezing them, but I don’t see why you couldn’t.

Happy eating!

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

I love bread and other yummy baked goods.  It’s totally my weakness.  For some people, mac and cheese is comfort food, but for me, it’s bread.  I think it’s the texture that I love so much.  I love French bread, multi-grain bread, biscuits, muffins, cake.  I also love to bake, so it’s constantly a challenge for me not to be my own worst enemy by filling my house with tempting, sinfully delicious baked goods.  They’re so not healthy.

For the past couple years, I’ve been on a mission to bake healthier.  I now have a delicious whole wheat bread recipe, a whole wheat pizza crust recipe, a multi-grain waffle recipe, and even a whole wheat pancake recipe.  But, what if you just want a really good muffin?  I didn’t have a recipe for that.

I’ve spent hours on pinterest looking at muffin recipes.  I was hoping to find something full of healthy ingredients that would also taste delicious. 

Did I mention that I have a baby?  He’s 7 months old, and he’s been eating my homemade baby food creations for about a month.  His purees have been the inspiration for some of my baking experimentation.  For example, I bought a huge bag of carrots to puree for him (he LOVES carrots) and thought, “I should eat more carrots.  Let me try to find a healthy carrot muffin or cookie bar recipe.”  I tried about 3 recipes and none of them was a “do again” (what my husband and I call a recipe that we love so much we want to make it again). 

My baby’s latest pureed concoction consists of pumpkin, banana (he LOVES bananas even more than carrots), breastmilk, baby oatmeal cereal and a dash of cinnamon.  He loves it and wolfs it down.  It made me think, I bet a muffin recipe that included both pumpkin and bananas would be delicious!  I have a pumpkin bread recipe that I frequently make into muffins, so I figured I’d start there and change, well, just about everything. 

before baking

I was inspired this morning, so during my baby’s morning nap, I daringly whipped up a batch of Pumpkin Banana Muffins.  I figured it was no big deal if they didn’t taste great on the first try so I just guessed at what I thought would be good in them, and let me just say, I was more than pleasantly surprised.  My husband and I couldn’t stay out of them!  It makes a dozen, and there are only 5 left!  They’re that good, at least, they are in my humble opinion. 

after baking

The best part?  Besides the delicious taste, they’re only 95 calories each!  That means it’s not such a bad thing if you can’t eat just one.  They’re so good you don’t need to put butter or anything on them, so that saves calories and fat grams too.  When I was first making them, I thought they tasted a little too sweet, but the Greek yogurt tones it down to the perfect sweetness.  The texture is perfect too.  The bread flour keeps them from being too dense.  They’re fluffy but not too airy. 

perfect texture inside

All I can say is that if you like pumpkin pie and banana bread, I really think you should try making these muffins!  They’re a definite “do again” in my book.

Here’s the recipe.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my husband and I did this morning.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 c Splenda (you can substitute 1 c sugar, but it’ll add more calories)

½ c packed dark brown sugar

2 servings liquid egg whites (you can substitute 2 eggs, but it’ll add more calories)

¼ c nonfat plain Greek yogurt

½ c mashed bananas (about 1 large banana or 1 ½ smaller bananas)

½ c whole wheat flour

½ c bread flour

1 c old fashioned oatmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1/3 c water

1 c (8oz) pumpkin

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper liners.

In an electric mixer, mix the Splenda, brown sugar and egg whites. Add the Greek yogurt and bananas. 

In a separate bowl, mix the flours, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add about half of the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix well.  Then add the water and mix well.  Add the rest of the dry ingredients.  Then add the pumpkin.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm, at room temperature or cool.  You can keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze and defrost in the microwave for a quick snack anytime you want.

Now, try to eat just one.  I dare you!

Happy eating!

Healthy and Delicious Overnight Oatmeal

As a busy new mom, I’m always looking for easy and healthy breakfast ideas. Thanks to pinterest, I’ve been experimenting with overnight oatmeal. I love oatmeal, and it’s supposed to help with breast milk production. The problem is that I never have time to make it in the morning.  Overnight oatmeal solves that problem because I can make it before I go to bed (or anytime during the day when the baby is napping), and it's ready for breakfast (or a healthy snack) the next morning.  But, the absolute best part is how delicious it is.  Seriously, it's like eating pudding with granola in it.

So far I have 6 overnight oatmeal recipes that I make and eat almost every day.  They are my Dark Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal, Milk Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal, Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oatmeal, Elvis Overnight Oatmeal (because it features peanut butter and bananas), Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oatmeal, and (because it's almost Christmas) Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal.  All of these recipes except for one (my Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal) feature chocolate because I just can't get enough chocolate right now.  I think this oatmeal is as good as dessert, but there's no guilt.  It's so easy to make and tasty enough that your whole family will probably enjoy it.

Dark Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

Serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons Hershey unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light vanilla soymilk

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Milk Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

Serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

6 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light chocolate soymilk

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons PB2

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light chocolate soymilk

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Elvis Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons PB2

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light chocolate soymilk

2 ripe bananas

Method:

In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.  Add the first five ingredients, and stir to combine.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

4 tablespoons milk chocolate malt Ovaltine

Half cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Silk light vanilla soymilk

2 5.3oz containers Dannon Light & Fit strawberry Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the soymilk and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal

Serves four

Serving size: one cup

Ingredients:

2 cups Quaker oatmeal (minute or old fashioned)

Three-quarter cup Splenda

Quarter teaspoon salt

2 cups Eggnog (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog)

1 cup plain fage Greek yogurt

Method:

Combine the first three ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together.  Add the eggnog and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt and mix with a fork.  Separate into four airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight.

Happy eating!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pancakes

Not too long ago, I posted a recipe for Fluffy Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes.  I still make those pancakes almost every day for breakfast, but I switch up the berries sometimes.  I even made them with crushed pineapple once! 

I’m pregnant, and one of my food aversions has been chocolate.  It’s so weird because I used to eat chocolate every day.  Well, recently my chocolate taste buds have been coming back (thanks, baby!), and I decided I needed to modify my pancake recipe to turn it into a chocolate pancake recipe.  After a couple attempts, I finally got it chocolatey enough to be husband approved!  I made these pancakes with strawberries because I love the combination of chocolate and strawberries, but you could use sliced bananas, flaked coconut or even chocolate chips instead.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pancakes

Serves 2 (4 pancakes per serving, 8 pancakes total)

Ingredients:

1 c whole wheat flour

5 tbsp Splenda (you can substitute an equal amount of sugar)

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 c + 2 tbsp Silk Light Chocolate Soymilk

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

about 8-16 strawberries, chopped (how many depends on the size of the berries)

Method:

Whisk the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk the soymilk, egg and vegetable oil in a separate bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.  A few lumps are okay.

Heat a skillet or griddle over medium high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour about a quarter cup of batter onto the hot surface.  Drop about a strawberry or two worth of berry pieces on top of each pancake.

Cook until bubbles form on top of the pancake.  Then carefully flip over with a spatula.  Cook another minute or so. 

Flip over again.  The pancake should be fluffy, cooked through and slightly browned on both sides.

Put the pancakes on a serving plate or individual plates.  Repeat the process with remaining batter.  You can keep the pancakes warm in the oven on the lowest setting while you cook.

Top with butter, syrup, chocolate syrup or powdered sugar.

Happy eating!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I grew up with my mom making banana bread fairly often, that is, every time we didn’t eat the bananas fast enough and they got too brown on the counter.  She had a recipe from an Amish cookbook that she used.  When I got married, I made this same recipe for my husband, but he thought it tasted a little dry, so I went in search of a new recipe.  I eventually landed on the recipe I’ve been making ever since which turns banana bread into chocolate banana bread. 

This recipe has been a hit every time I’ve made it for both family and friends.  I don’t remember where I saw the original recipe, but I’ve changed a few things along the way, like making it with whole wheat flour instead of all purpose.  I try to substitute whole wheat flour whenever I can, and I’ve found that as long as you add a little bread flour with it, the bread comes out just as fluffy as when made with all purpose, and I honestly don’t taste the difference.

I hope you enjoy this delicious treat of a recipe as much as my family and friends do!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

(makes 1 loaf or 9 mini loaves)

mashed bananas

Ingredients:

½ c butter, softened (set it on the counter a half hour before making this recipe)

1 c Splenda (you can substitute an equal amount of sugar)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c whole wheat flour

½ c bread flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

½ c light sour cream

½ c chocolate chips

3 bananas, mashed

½ c chopped walnuts (optional – this turns the bread into Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread!)

Method:

finished batter

Preheat your oven to 350. 

In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), cream together the butter, Splenda and eggs.

Mix in the bananas and vanilla.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and cocoa powder together to combine.  Then add this dry mixture to the wet mixture in the large bowl and mix well.

Mix in the sour cream, chocolate chips and walnuts (if using nuts).

Spray your bread pan and pour in the batter.  If you're using a mini-loaf pan or a muffin pan, I find that using a cookie dough scoop is that easiest way to transfer the batter.

If using a traditional size bread pan, bake for about an hour.  If you use mini loaf pans (my personal preference), bake for about 20 minutes.  In you use another size bread pan (muffin pan, mini muffin pan, etc), just take your best guess on timing.  I find that it’s better to underestimate and add a few minutes if necessary (maybe try 10 minutes and check it).  Whatever pan you use, the bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the bread cool on the counter in the pan for about 10 minutes.  Serve warm (the chocolate chips will be melty!) or at room temperature.  You can refrigerate leftovers for about a week (if they last that long!).

If you’re having a party or want to make this bread look even more impressive, you can double the recipe and bake it in a bundt cake pan for about 90 minutes.  Dust it with powdered sugar or drizzle a simple glaze over it. 

What a yummy chocolate fix, right?

Happy eating!

Spark Woodfire Grill

As June comes to an end, my husband and I realized that we were getting dangerously close to messing up our new year’s resolution to try at least one new restaurant a month.  Saturday night, he looked at yelp and found a place in Studio City that he wanted me to look at called Spark Woodfire Grill.

Sunday morning, between the early church service and Sunday school, I looked up Spark on my smartphone.  The menu looked varied.  The prices looked reasonable.  They took reservations.  I was able to make a reservation for 11:45am.  Perfect.  Sunday brunch at a new place.  Check.

After church, we headed over to Studio City.  I never would’ve seen Spark if I wasn’t looking for it.  Even with the GPS, we passed it the first time.  It’s located right on Ventura Blvd near CBS, and there’s free parking on Ventura Blvd on Sundays.  That’s great and all except we had to circle the block 3 times before we found a parking spot.  There is valet right in front of the restaurant, but I personally hate valet parking. 

We parked across the street and walked down to the corner to cross.  I noticed that we were right next to Jinky’s.  They had a parking lot with a few empty parking spots in it, but it was just for their customers.  Sigh.  At this point I’d pretty much already decided that even if the food at Spark was amazing (and I sure hoped it would be), I wouldn’t be back just due to the parking frustration.

We were about 5 minutes late for our 11:45am reservation due to the parking issue, but it turned out we didn’t even need a reservation.  There were plenty of empty tables.  We were seated inside at a table that looks into the kitchen.  I thought it was a great out of the way table.  There was outdoor seating, but it was a little too hot out for that to be enjoyable.

Both breakfast and lunch were being served, so we took our time looking over the menu.  I usually try to order something that I can’t or won’t make for myself at home.  That was a little bit of a challenge here since most items were eggs or burgers that I could easily replicate. 

We sat there for quite awhile looking over the menu while we waited for our waitress to come to our table.  We asked for water and said we were ready to place our order. 

I ordered the Woodfired Baked Eggs & Linguisa Sausage.  The only description on the menu said “Romesco Sauce, Goat Cheese & Rosemary Biscuits.”  I wasn’t sure what “linguisa sausage” or “romesco sauce” were, and I wasn’t sure what baked eggs were like, but like my husband said, this was one way to find out.  I assumed baked eggs would be fluffy, kind of like quiche or a frittata, so it sounded good. 

My husband ordered the Smokey Pub Burger which was described as “smoked cheddar, caramelized onions, hickory smoked bacon, chipotle aioli.”  It came with his choice of French fries, sweet potato fries, side chopped salad, side Caesar salad, or homemade potato chips.  He decided to try the homemade potato chips.

Our waitress brought out our water, and we immediately asked for straws.  It was at least another 10 minutes before she came back with them.  I saw her refilling other people’s glasses, and eventually we tracked her down.  She had forgotten about the straws, but brought them right over when we asked for them a second time.

So far we weren’t impressed with the service.  Considering the empty tables, you’d think the waitresses would have time to cover their tables.  Maybe our waitress just wasn’t very observant.  So far two strikes, parking and service.  We really hoped the food would be so good that it would make up for everything else.

It was around 12:30 before our food arrived at our table, about 45 minutes after we arrived at the restaurant.  In the time we waited we had time to be annoyed by how loud the restaurant was.  It was just typical conversation noise from the customers, but there should’ve been music playing or something to help drown it out.  Another strike for atmosphere.

That's not cheese; that's rubbery egg!

I was surprised at the way my meal was presented.  It’s not at all what I expected, but like I said earlier, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  The first thing I did was try to taste the eggs.  I tried to pierce one with a fork, but that was impossible.  The entire top of the egg was like rubber.  I’ve never experienced anything like that.  I had to use a knife to cut it.  The top of the egg had a rubbery texture in my mouth too.  I made my husband taste a piece of it, and he didn't like it either.  The bottom part of the egg was soft, but it had no flavor.  I forced myself to eat one of the two eggs just because I was hungry, but it’s not something I ever plan on eating again.  The sausage was under the eggs.  It just tasted like sausage.  I took one bite and just didn’t care about it.  My husband ate a little of it, but he agreed that it just tasted like something you’d buy at the grocery store and heat up yourself.  It wasn’t greasy breakfast sausage either.  It was like big link sausage.  The sauce was kind of like a marinara sauce.  It was okay, I guess, but I’m definitely never going to crave it.  The biscuits did indeed taste like rosemary, but they weren’t the buttery breakfast biscuits you’d expect.  I ate one just because I was hungry and there was nothing else to eat.  All in all, I 100% regretted ordering this meal.

 

My husband’s burger was okay.  Considering the description, you’d think it’d be flavorful and have a little kick to it.  No.  It was bland.  The bun was bland.  The meat was bland.  He ate it all, so I guess it was better than my meal, but he wouldn’t order it again.  The chips were bland too.  They tasted like salt and grease but didn’t have any flavor.  Too bad he didn’t get fries or something instead.

So, nope, the food didn’t save the day.  It was a complete waste of $30+ for brunch.  Pretty depressing.  We were done eating by 12:40, about 10 minutes after our food arrived.  We eventually had to ask another waitress to ask our waitress to bring us our bill, and then it took forever for her to come back for the bill.  Eventually a different waitress came back for the bill.  We were going to pay with our Discover card, but they didn’t take Discover, so we just left cash.  We didn’t feel like having to wait even longer to deal with a credit card.  It was about 1pm before we left. 

As we walked back to the car, I once again noticed how close we were to Jinky’s.  If you want brunch in Studio City, don’t go to Spark Woodfire Grill.  Go to Jinky’s instead.  I don’t think they take reservations, and there may be a wait, but the food is worth it.  Spark isn’t, and considering how slow the service is, it’ll take forever to get your food there anyway even with a reservation.

This experience is really making us rethink our New Year’s Resolution to try a new restaurant each month.  More often than not, we get burned.  I’m sick of wasting money on food that I regret eating.  The goal was to find a bunch of new restaurants that we love, but that’s proving hard to do.  There have been a few hits, but we might just try x number of new recipes a month instead of a new restaurant.  We can cook better than the chefs at most restaurants anyway.

Happy eating!