Wednesday, February 19, 2014

His and Her Wonderful Wednesday - Chicken Schnitzel Wraps

Last year we discovered a great little place to eat near my sister's house in Australia. I was starving and we kept seeing these sign for a place called Mr. Schnitzel. My sister had not been there before but we decided to give it a try and I am so glad we did! They serve a variety of chicken schnitzel wraps which are now one of my favourite foods. We have been sad that we haven't been able to find anything similar back in the States so I set out to try and recreate it in my own kitchen and squash my Mr. Schnitzel craving once and for all. Read on to see if I was successful or whether I need to just book a ticket to Australia to get the perfect wrap.

All of the ingredients lined up and ready to go.
Thin sliced chicken is dipped in beaten eggs then breadcrumbs to create the breading.

Place chicken in a skillet on Med-Med high that has a generous amount of vegetable oil.

Cook until fully cooked and is golden brown on the outside. Remove from pan and cut each breast into about 4-5 pieces.

We made two different wraps. This is the Mexican wrap. Place cheese and about 4-5 pieces of chicken on the wrap.
Add any additional toppings that you desire. Options can include salsa, shredded carrots,  lettuce and sour cream. Then roll up the wrap and serve with your side dish of choice

For a Hawaiian wrap place a few slices of ham and cheese on the wrap.

Then add the chicken and pineapple. Add any additional toppings that you desire. Then roll up the wrap and serve with your side dish of choice

Completed Mexican wrap served with Fries

Completed Hawaiian wrap served with Fries

Making these wraps was really easy and is pretty close to the real thing. We chose not to deep fry the chicken to make it a little healthier and to save a few calories but you can if you want to. We chose to recreate our favourite wraps (Mexican for Amanda and Hawaiian for Sean) but you can easily customize it to include your favourite toppings. I have included the toppings for the Mexican and Hawaiian wraps to give you some ideas.

Ingredients. Makes about 4 wraps
 1.5 LB/600g Boneless chicken breasts sliced to about 0.25 inch/6mm (if you can find thin sliced chicken breast in the meat department that makes it easier)
Approx 1 cup of breadcrumbs.
2 eggs.
4 Burrito size flour tortillas.
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil.

Toppings for Mexican Wrap. (per wrap)
1/8 cup shredded carrot
1/8 cup shredded lettuce
1/8 cup salsa of your choice
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup of shredded cheese

Toppings for Mexican Wrap. (per wrap)
4 slices of ham
1/4 cup of pineapple pieces.
1/4 cup of shredded cheese

1: Slice the chicken so it is 0.25 inch/6mm thick (if you can buy the chicken sliced thin at your grocery store this will make things a lot easier).
2: Place the breadcrumbs into a bowl and the beaten eggs into another bowl. Dunk the chicken in the eggs, then into the breadcrumbs. Make sure that the chicken is well coated with breadcrumbs.
3: Place chicken into a large skillet that has a generous coating of vegetable oil and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and has a golden brown exterior.
4: Remove chicken from heat and cut each breast into 4-5 pieces.
5: Place the toppings of your choice on the tortilla. 
For the Mexican wrap.
Place cheese on tortilla, then chicken, salsa, carrots, lettuce and sour cream.

For the Hawaiian wrap. 
Place 4 slices of ham on the tortilla, then cheese, chicken and pineapple.

6: Roll up the tortilla and place on a baking pan and place into a 350F/176C oven for 2-3 minutes to melt the cheese and warm the tortillas.
7: Remove from oven and serve with fries or your favourite side dish.

It's not quite the same as the real thing, but it is pretty close and a lot cheaper than a trip to Australia just for a chicken wrap. Try this recipe out for yourself and experiment with your own toppings if Mexican or Hawaiian is not your thing. 

Let us know what toppings you would use if you made this recipe. If you try these wraps, we would love to hear what you thought of them.

Happy eating!

 



Monday, February 17, 2014

His and Her Travel Review: Finding Opals at Lightning Ridge

An example of black opal - Source
Amanda's first trip to Australia was in 2006. One of her wish list items was to visit the outback, but sadly we didn't have the time to go out that far. My parents and I thought we would do the next best thing and show her one of the opal mining towns nearby. We did this for a few reasons: 
1- It was not quite the outback but it was pretty close. 
2- It would give her an idea of how isolated most of Australia was ---and---
3- it would let her see one of the few places in the world where they mine this precious stone. About 95% of the world's opals come from Australia and just about all of the black opal comes from Australia as well. 

Opal mine at Lightning Ridge
The closest opal mining town to us was Lightning Ridge. It is a small town with a population of just a few thousand people and was about 6 hours from my hometown. The trip to Lightning Ridge is pretty monotonous as there is not a lot of towns or scenery on the way. After several hours you see the turn off for the town, crest the ridge, and down into town you go.

       At first glance there is not much to this town. It has one main street and a dozen or so side streets. There was no McDonalds or Hiltons here, just a couple of motels, a few cafes, and a supermarket. Most of the action occurs out of the main area of town. 

        It is possible to drive and see the mines and shops by yourself but we decided to take a small tour bus to make things easier and so we wouldn't get lost. We saw a few different places where active mining was going on and were able to go down into a old mine to see just
Down inside an old mine
how conditions are for the miners. (When we were kids we were able to go mining down in one of the mines for a few bucks but we didn't see that this time around.) The next stop was where miners discarded rocks that had mined and you could see if you could find an opal. Some people have success, but sadly we didn't find our fortune that day.


 The tour bus then took us to see a house that was built with thousand of glass beer bottles. I'm sure the guy who built this along with his mates had a good time emptying all of the bottles needed to build his house. The final stop took us to one of the largest opal shops in town. The selection here was just mind blowing and was far cheaper than buying elsewhere as there was no middle man to deal with.

After seeing the mine and browsing the stores for opals, artwork, and jewelery, we had
Part of the beer bottle house.
seen just about everything Lightning Ridge had to offer. It was an interesting experience but can easily be done in a day. You will likely need a motel for the night as it is miles away from anywhere, but I wouldn't plan than spending much more than a full day here as you will likely run out of things to do.



I absolutely loved Lightning Ridge. I know everyone kept telling me that it wasn't officially the outback, but it was pretty desolate and the dirt was red. That screams outback to this "Yankee" (the name given to all Americans by the Aussies...I am no Yankee though!). Lightning Ridge was a small town, but I love small towns. The people were all very nice, from the tour guide, to the mine guides, to the shop owners. The opals we purchased were beautiful and I wear them with a smile. If you have a chance to go to Lightning Ridge, I urge you to do it. You won't regret the visit!


Have you been to a mining town? Share that experience with us. We would like to visit a mining town here in the U.S. since we have been to one in Oz. 


Happy Traveling,

Sunday, February 16, 2014

His and Her Sunday Social (2/16/14)

Well, hello there again Sunday! Welcome back to the day of the week that allows us to link up with some amazing and fun bloggers to answer some questions posed by Ashley and Neely. Let's get started!


Sunday Social

1. What are your favorite things to do on a lazy day?
Amanda - I love to watch the shows that have built up on my DVR and knit something simple (like a washcloth or bookmark).
Sean - Watch some shows on Netflix or play a video game is my favourite way to spend a lazy day indoors.  


2. What is your TV guilty pleasure?
Amanda - I have seen every episode of the Gilmore Girls about seven times. I DVR the show each day on ABC Family and as I am decompressing from my day, that is what I want to watch and what I look forward to watching.
Source
Sean - Prison Break and Lost are my two guilty pleasure TV shows. I have seen these shows many, many times and they never get old.

Source
 
3. What is your favorite road trip music?
Amanda - I love music that I can bop around and sing along to in the car. I will usually bounce around stations - country, pop, top 40 - it doesn't matter what type of music as long as it is upbeat, because that makes me happy and it makes the trip go by faster.
Sean - I prefer to put narrated books on my MP3 player for a long road trip. I prefer books I have read or heard before like Harry Potter or The Stand as I can still pay attention to the road instead of focusing on the book.
Source
4. What are your favorite magazines or books to read by the pool or laying around?
Amanda - I love to read so when I am laying around I enjoy just having time to read. I have a wide variety of taste in books, but I am not a big fan of magazines.
Sean - It depends on how many distractions are around. If it is quiet I like to read something new, but if there is any noise or distractions I need to read something I have read before as I am very easily distracted and would never get more than a page or two read on something new.
  

5. What is your favorite snack?
Amanda - I love anything chocolate. Cupcakes and cookies are favorites - so is chocolate mousse. If I want something small, a small handful of chocolate chips are always yummy.
Sean - This is a tough one. If I could choose from anything it would be Turkish Delights. However, they are scarce in America so I would choose Swedish Fish since it's easier to source here.
Source


Another set of fun questions from Ashley and Neely. Our favorite was #5 (that seems to happen a lot - that #5 is our favorite question). Answer that one, or another of your choosing, below or on Facebook. 

Happy Sunday,
   

Friday, February 14, 2014

His and Her Heart to Health Challenge Results

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Source
heart to health

Amanda - 
I challenged myself to be active and improve my sleep by changing a bad habit. I was able to improve my sleep by putting my phone down as soon as I went up to bed. I read for a little while and I have been getting more sleep. I, however, have not been more active. There are many excuses I could give for this, but the fact of the matter is that I did not make it to the gym or even down the street for a walk. I really, really want to change this moving forward!

Sean - 
I challenged myself to be active and eat more wholesome foods. I wasn't successful at being more active. The weather has not been kind and I was happy to just stay inside and put it off for another day. This needs to and will change soon. I did, however, eat better and we both resolved to eat smaller portions and not eat out as much. So I guess I can take that as a victory. Now it's time to work on getting more active again!


Have you made any changes lately that would make your heart healthier?

Happy Valentine's Day,

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Her Sweetheart Swap


Sweetheart Swap

I found this swap idea on Kristin's kNook blog back in January. I loved the idea of sharing some Valentine's love with a new friend.

Kristin and Meg paired me up with Micah who blogs at Unabashedly Me. I liked getting to know her and reading about her on her blog. I hope she likes what I chose for her gift box.

This is what Micah chose for me:
An assortment of teas in a very cool tin - Keep Calm and Carry On (knitting and drinking tea!)


Yummy coffee - I can't wait until tomorrow morning when I can have a cup. Speaking of...

 I love butterflies and all the patterns on the butterflies make this mug so fun. I will enjoy a hot cup of Wolfgang Puck coffee in my new mug tomorrow morning.

She also included some amazing chocolate! Two Ghirardelli chocolate bars - Dark Chocolate & Caramel and Toffee Interlude (dark chocolate, toffee bits, and candied almonds). There is also a Lindt Milk Chocolate Truffle candy bar and four Lindt truffles. OMG!! I have had Lindt truffles before (and they are delicious!), but I have never tried the two Ghirardelli bars. It was almost impossible to not rip into them and try them right away.


I absolutely love everything she included in the Sweetheart Swap box. I am so grateful to her for everything. Thank you Micah!!

Happy Valentine's Day,
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