Crown Brewing Company

As you know, Carl and I are steadily working our way all around the local breweries.  Fortunately, I don't think we will ever run out of places to try since there are so many in the Chicago, Northwest Indiana, and Southwestern Michigan areas. 

Crown Brewing Company hosted the beer festival I blogged about here, so I'd known for awhile that I wanted to head out to Crown Point and try a whole flight full of their beers.  My gut feeling did not lie.  Crown Brewing is definitely one of my favorites around! 

My flight consisted of Crown Blue, Crown Brown, Weizenhammer Weiss, Industrial Porter, Raspberry Creme Java Porter, and Plead the 5th Anniversary Imperial Red Ale.  Crown Blue was a very light blueberry that is definitely a summer beer.  I also really enjoyed the Crown Brown because unlike other brews that boast a nutty, caramel flavor, I could actually taste both flavors impeccably well.  The industrial porter was very smooth, much smoother in fact than my normal stout picks.  And my absolute favorite was the wonderfully delicious Raspberry Creme Java Porter.  It is so good.  You can smell the hint of raspberry the second your glass is raised and it has an incredibly smooth finish for a porter.  I added to our growing growler collection (SunKing, Figure 8, etc.) and landed one of these to go.  I can't like 'em all, so naturally I was not a fan of the red ale; it really came off as more of an IPA taste to me.  With that said, I can't believe I thoroughly enjoyed five out of the six beers I sampled, so we will definitely be returning to Crown Brewing.

As a side note, they are in the same building as Carriage Court Pizza, so you can enjoy some carbs to soak up the good beer.  I recommend the margherita pizza, but skip the beer cheese appetizer (not the best we've had.)

Overall, I definitely recommend trying this place; I'm ranking it right up there with my Three Floyds review.  Enjoy & let me know which beer is your fav!

S'mores Graham Krispies

Say hello to the chocolately goodness of the S'mores Graham Krispie.  While I've tried several variations of several s'mores cookie recipes and been left disappointed and unsatisfied, this recipe certainly takes the cake.  It's a fabulous and true-to-taste combination that will definitely give you the s'more taste you're looking for!

S'mores Graham Krispies

4 tbs butter
1 bag (10oz) mini marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups Golden Grahams cereal
1 1/4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter over low heat.  Add in marshmallows and continue to melt.  Once marshmallows are melted, stir in vanilla extract and remove once fully combined.  Pour over cereal, begin mixing, add in 1 cup of the chocolate chips and continue to mix until evenly coated.  Using a spatula, press into a greased 13x9 cake pan.  Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the top and press into the mixture.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.  Enjoy that campfire taste!

Baked & Crispy Coconut Chicken

We've been trying to stay healthy lately since it's swim suit season, of course.  In order to do this, we make ourselves sit down on Sundays and plan dinner for the week.  Otherwise it's way too easy to grab a bite out!  This week we tried several new recipes and this coconut chicken is by far one of my favorite dinners that Carl has ever cooked up!!

Baked & Crispy Coconut Chicken
(originally found here)

12 thin sliced chicken tenders (ours came as a 6 pack which we cut in half)
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Chop the coconut the flakes until they are roughly a similar size to the bread crumbs.  Combine with bread crumbs and all of the spices.  Mix well to make sure all the ingredients have blended together.  Place the flour in a separate dish, and in another dish crack both eggs and beat lightly.

One chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour, dip in egg, and coat in coconut/bread crumb mixture.  Press the mixture into the chicken and make sure it is well coated.  Place the tenders on your baking sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the juices run clear.  Make sure not to overcook!  The coconut/bread crumb mixture will be lightly crisped and golden.

Sweet & Spicy Apricot Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup sugar free apricot preserve
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together until they are well incorporated and use as a yummy dipping sauce for the chicken!

Like I mentioned above, this has been one of our favorite recipe finds yet so enjoy and let me know what you think!!