My sis and I had a rare and welcome Christmas alone, which meant parade and movies, lighting the Christmas tree and playing records – no family drama, how sweet is that? But we didn’t want to have just your ordinary, everyday Christmas dinner. We decided to do it the KFC way, the way so many people celebrate in Japan.

Well, we can’t get to a KFC and we don’t know all the recipes, so we just had to find a recipe for corn salad and sort of wing it then buy the chicken and cake at Hy-Vee – here’s how it’s supposed to look:

And here’s what our make-shift Christmas dinner looked like:

Pretty close, huh? Okay, not exactly – but it was fun and tasty!

I can’t stand Hunt’s canned pasta sauce, there’s just something too bitter about it. So I cooked up some spaghetti, browned some ground beef and added the pasta sauce + about 2 T of honey to round out the flavor. Worked like a charm – I do so love spaghetti!

Long time no see! I’ve been snapping pics of everything, but I haven’t had time to come on and post for a bit – sorry about that! I may yet still be a bit shaky getting back into it, but I’m giving it my best!

We made a couple of hand-tossed crust pizzas the other day, this pic is of the pizza with olives and mushrooms (both canned – which tasted surprisingly great on the pizza). The first pizza has cheese, the second has velveeta because we didn’t realize that Hubby had used up all the cheese in at breakfast – was still good!

I’ve never been a big fan of Ryan’s, partially because I just don’t like buffet style food, but this last year I’ve been there a few times and it’s always been really good. This time was no exception!

I nabbed two big platefuls ( Mashed potatoes and gravy, fried chicken, potato wedges, BBQ ribs, carrots, rolls and macaroni and cheese ) and a little ice cream. I would’ve had more but one of our party got sick (as usual) and decided to be a downer the rest of the time, including freaking out because we were still enjoying the buffet after she had already had her fill and gone to the car. Women!

Ryan’s gets 3 stars out of a possible 5, the food was good but not necessarily great and the atmosphere always leaves something to be desired. Plus our service woman was rude (not just to us, to everyone).

4302 North Belt Highway
St. Joseph, MO 64506
(816) 390-9855

Buffet was 50/50 – all the greens except for the iceberg salad (blargh!) had frigging bacon in them (including the green beans!), but the mashed potatoes and fried chicken were pretty good. The best part of the meal was the nachos I got with my second plate – I forgot to take a pic of the ice cream, but I did get a pic of one of the awesome signs on the wall!

The first thing you notice about Dos Chiquitas is the great lighting in the building. Unlike China King, and some other small but great chow stops, Dos Chiquitas has softer, warmer lighting instead of florescent bulbs buzzing two inches from your eyeball for the entire meal. The next thing you notice? The super friendly, even more super attentive staff who make you feel at home from the moment you walk through the doors.

Then comes the food. Your started off with a basket of light, crispy tortilla chips and a little cup of the best salsa you can imagine. And they keep it coming while you wait for your order.

The menu is full of combos and drinks, and even a burger or two, but what Laota and I got were shredded chicken soft taco combination plates that come with heaping helpings of rice and beans. We couldn’t finish it there, we had to take it home!

The food is fragrant, and packed full of flavor. Like our server (awesome guy, very friendly!) said about other Mexican restaurants in the area, “There’s no flavor, it’s just food.” and I agree with him. The difference between Dos Chiquitas and other places serving Mexican-style or TexMex food is that Dos Chiquitas food is infused with flavors. The chicken was delicious, the tortillas were delicious, the rice is to die for and the beans were a great balance to it all. There was a mild fruity note to the meat, as if it had been cooked with peppers or tomatoes, and the order was on our table in no time.

I can’t gush enough about this place, and I can’t wait to go back! Four out of five stars, would have been five if FoxNews hadn’t been on the televisions lol.

DOS Chiquita’s
(660) 425-4639
Bethany
3507 Bulldog Ave
Bethany, MO 64424

I have to admit that I haven’t had a great experience there in the past, due to the food being over priced and not that great, plus the service was a bit lacking. But tonight they get a good review from me, because it’s hard to screw up a soft taco (lol!) and our waitress was exceedingly nice and friendly.

I got the all you can eat soft tacos and an iced tea, the tacos were good (not great, but good) but the tea was bland and more like water. I like a good, strong iced tea but I wasn’t specific so I can’t imagine why they would know that and can’t dock them points for it.

The tacos came four at a time in a burger basket with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a little cup of salsa. No sour cream and no self service, which was odd, but it didn’t detour the night. Laota got a big chicken baked potato thing, but she started scarfing it before I could get a picture! (BAD Laota!)

The biggest plus was our waitress was the sweetest thing. She was too nice for words and I’m so glad we got her, she made my night! Overall, if I had to rate it tonight it would be 3 out of 5 stars, which isn’t too shabby. All of the other times it would have been two stars max.

Poppa’s Family Restaurant
1204 W US Highway 136
Albany, MO 64402-9100
(660) 726-5577