Author: twinswithoriginality

Tulips in Lisse, Netherlands

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It was our first time staying in The Netherlands during Springtime. Last Spring on our way to Copenhagen, we flew into Amsterdam as a layover and saw the tulip fields from above which was a pretty sight.  Seeing them in person though at ground level was even better! Our day trip out to Lisse was such a fun adventure – check it out!

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Bohemian Vineyards and Wine Tasting Tour

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As much as we loved the city of Prague, we wanted to get out to the countryside to experience the real Czech culture and see some smaller villages.  After doing some research, we found – OFF ROAD SAFARI, CZ .  Click to jump on our journey! Continue reading “Bohemian Vineyards and Wine Tasting Tour” →

Eating Our Way Through Prague

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We were in Prague at a special time – Easter time! Easter in Prague is big – they decorate the Old Town with eggs, ribbon and set up Easter Markets.  In addition to the Easter Market, we found ourselves some wonderful restaurants.  In this post, we feature our favorite restaurants in Prague!

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Prague, Czech Republic

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We have been waiting to go ‘czech’ this city out for a couple years now and finally got a chance to this Spring (April 2018).  What a lovely capital city it is – bustling with history, cobblestone streets, gothic churches, colorful baroque buildings and of course the beer! Czech Republic consumes the most beer out of any country in the world.  When you visit you will see and taste first hand why – its smooth, delicious and cheaper than water! Find out more what we did on our trip below and in the next post where we ate!

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London – Spring 2018 Update

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Since visiting London now a couple times we can truly say its one of our favorite cities!  As seen HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE you will learn about the sites we saw, places we ate and hotels we recommend while in London  In this post, you will find some additional recommendations we discovered on our last two trips.

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Cioppino

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If cioppino is on a restaurant menu, it will be ordered! T.W.O. absolutely loves this dish, but has not yet experienced making a pot of their own. So we decided to take a stab at it – it was a success! This cioppino recipe is simple, full of flavor and is definitely a favorite recipe to file in the book!

Cioppino

Ingredients:

-3 tablespoons olive oil
-1 large fennel bulb, chopped
-1 sweet onion, chopped
-3 large shallots, chopped
-4 large garlic cloves, minced
-3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
-1 small can tomato paste
-2 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes, in juice
-2 cups dry white wine
-4 cups chicken broth
-1 teaspoon dried basil
-Salt & Pepper
– Mixed seafood (mussels, shrimp, calamari, rockfish)

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and saute 2 minutes.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes, wine and chicken stock. Season with salt, pepper and basil. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
  4. Add the mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add the shrimp, calamari and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the mussles are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer.
  6. Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.
  7. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

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Homemade Tortilla Chips

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DSC_0093Chips can make or break a meal. We all know everyone fills up on chips before they even get to the main entree. So why waste the calories on fattening, unsatisfying chips? T.W.O. Has the perfect recipe for you to “wow” you guests on the next taco night! Grab you salsa and guacamole because these homemade chips are sure to be a crowd pleaser!!

Ingredients:

-1 package corn tortilla chips
– 2 tablespoon olive oil
– 2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
-salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cut tortillas into triangles. Place on a foil lined baking sheet.
3. Brush with olive oil and season with cayenne pepper and salt.
4. Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. The “chips” will become brown, but don’t over cook.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. They will harden as they cool, but serve warm for bet results.

Happy cooking!

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Chinese Shrimp Salad

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Tired of chicken in your Chinese salad? T.W.O. was too! So we decided to add shrimp AND rice noodles to mix the tradition recipe up! This salad is so easy to make and is great for a summer time dinner – it’s so refreshing, hearty and will make you want seconds!

 Chinese Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Fresh tiger prawns, cleaned and deveined
  • 1 Head of Napa cabbage
  • 1 ½ cups of Julienne Carrots
  • 2 Mandarin oranges, peeled
  • ½ Green onions, chopped
  • ½ cup Cilantro, chopped
  • 2 cups of Snap Peas
  • 2 cups of thin Rice Noodles
  • ¼ cup of Lemon juice
  • 4 Tablespoons of Sriracha sauce
  • ¼ cup of Rice Vinegar
  • Garlic Powder
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Olive Oil

 Dressing:

  • ¼  cup Trader Joe’s Island Marinade
  • ¼ cup Rice Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce, reduced-sodium
  • Salt & Pepper

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, marinade the prawns with lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Sriracha sauce. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  2. Cut up cabbage and add into a large bowl. Toss in carrots, oranges, green onions, and cilantro. Set aside.
  3. Bring a pot of water to a bowl. Once it reaches to a boil, remove from heat and add your rice noodles. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Once the noodles are cooked, drain and add rice vinegar. Toss into salad.
  4. For the dressing, mix all the ingredients together. Toss in with salad mixture.
  5. Sauté shrimp in a skillet with olive oil. Cook shrimp over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add in the snap peas and cook until shrimp is done.
  6. Plate salad and top with shrimp.

 

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Greek Marinated Chicken

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Mediterranean food has been on T.W.O.’s mind lately so we decided to mix up our ordinary chicken meal into a one that will make us feel like we are in Greece! And we did it with some Greek Marinated Chicken kabobs. The marinade includes Greek yogurt, which keep the chicken so moist after barbequing it. Pair this dish with some hummus, orzo, Greek salad and you will be breaking plates all night!

 Greek Marinated Chicken

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Greek Yogurt
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 Garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ Tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Fresh cracked pepper
  • 2 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless

Instructions

  1. For the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from the lemon. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Add the parsley and stir it into the marinade.
  2. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes.  Add the chicken and marinade to a large Ziploc bag. Massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for at least 30 minutes.
  3. After marinating for 30 minutes, skewer the chicken breasts. Place on the BBQ and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until done.

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Spicy Chicken Chipotle Tacos with Mango Salsa

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It’s that day of the week again-Taco Tuesday!! For this week’s taco Tuesday, T.W.O. is featuring their spicy chicken chipotle tacos with a fresh mango salsa. The spice of the chipotle peppers in adobe sauce are complimented well by the zesty, refreshing mango salsa. Try this recipe for your next taco night!

Spicy Chicken Chipotle Tacos with Mango Salsa

 Ingredients:

-2 Chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
-2 cans Embasa chipotle peppers, in adobe sauce
-2 Mangoes, cubed
-4 Cocktail Tomatoes, chopped
-1/2 of a red onion, chopped
-1 Orange bell pepper, chopped
-Cilantro, chopped
-1 avocado
-2 limes
-1/2 of a lemon
-Salt and Pepper
-Corn tortillas*

*T.W.O. uses La Tortilla Factory corn tortillas

  1. Marinate the chicken breasts with the peppers in adobe sauce for at least 2 hours before cooking.
  2. To make the mango salsa, cut up the mango, tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper, and cilantro. Season the salsa with salt, pepper and the juice of the limes and lemon. Mix and refrigerate until the chicken is done.
  3. To cook the chicken, begin by slicing the chicken into thin strips.
  4. Heat up a skillet medium to high heat. Place chicken, along with the remaining of the marinade into the skillet. Cook until chicken is done.
  5. Heat up the tortillas and plate. Build your tacos by placing the chicken with sauce and salsa on the tortilla. Garish the taco with a slice of avocado.

 

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