One of the first things I tried was the White Pizza from the California Pizza Kitchen. I had previously tried that pizza purchased frozen from the store, and didn't care for it. Getting it fresh from the restaurant and having bacon added to it made a critical difference. It consists variety of tasty cheeses, a little olive oil instead of pizza sauce, salty chunks of bacon, and enough spinach to keep you honest. I've found that I like the pizza best when I let it cool to just above room temperature. This makes the spinach less noticeable, and gives the Ricotta cheese clumps just the right texture.

I've also been trying out some items from Pick Up Stix, since they allow me to order items online and pick them up on my way home from work. I didn't care for the Orange Peel Chicken, but the House Special Chicken was delicious. Their Cream Cheese Wantons, which have some green onion mixed with the cream cheese, are quite possibly the best thing I've had out here so far.

I have had good experiences at Tortas Mexico as well. Their specialty is the Torta, which can be ordered with different meats. It consists of lettuce, tomato, beans, mayonnaise, avocado, and jalapeños, contained between a sandwich roll. I never thought it possible to put mayonnaise on a Mexican dish, but the Torta can pull it off seamlessly. The Chicken Sopes (pronounced "So-pays") are also delicious.

Their menu was a bit sparser than Lee's, with not as many sides advertised, and only chicken strips and chicken sandwiches available. I liked both of those items best out of the Lee's menu, though, so that was fine with me. The combos include fries, slaw, Texas toast, and a dipping sauce. I went with the 3 chicken strips combo. The chicken was about the same as Lee's, but perhaps a little tastier. The fries were top-notch, and tasted like Rally's fries (that is, seasoned). The slaw didn't have much taste to it. I have no basis for judging the merits of Texas toast, but it was palatable. The dipping sauce (the flavor I had was honey mustard — they have a nice array of other flavors as well) was quite good, and came in a container that made for easier dipping.

Overall, the meal at SkipBones was quite good, though I'd recommend asking for double fries instead of slaw. Since they do not have biscuits, mashed potatoes, or green beans (except in the Sunday buffet), the place does not quite fill the same niche as Lee's or KFC. Nonetheless, I could definitely see myself visiting there in the future.

Ingredients

• can of chili
• lettuce salad
• shredded cheese
• either ranch dressing or sour cream
• tortilla chips
• taco sauce or salsa (optional)

The lettuce salad should preferably not have any other vegetables in it, and should contain some Iceburg lettuce. The cheese should be either Cheddar or a Mexican blend.

Directions

1. Heat chili.
2. On plate, add 2 handfuls of lettuce.
3. Apply the desired amount of sour cream or dressing.
4. Add about 1 and 1/2 cup of chili.
5. Add taco sauce or salsa if desired.
6. Top with plenty of shredded cheese.
7. Garnish with tortilla chips.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

There are two varieties of rice milk available at the store that I go to: regular and vanilla. The vanilla flavor is good for making horchata¹ (which is the very reason that I started buying it). It's also decent for flavoring coffee.

Regular rice milk is good for almost anything else, which for me is just cereal and cooking. It tastes fine in cereal, but I'm still working out how to change the hamburger helper directions to accommodate it. The first batch of hamburger helper turned out too watery, so it might be necessary to decrease the amount of water used by about a 1/4 cup.

1. Horchata is a Mexican rice drink. To make it, start with rice milk, add a pre-bought Horchata mix, and garnish with cinnamon. I got hooked on it when I tried it at La Bamba.

One of my roommates has a coffeemaker this year, so I tried to compose something that, while not perhaps cloning the Frappuccino recipe exactly, comes close enough to satisfy my plebeian tastes.

Recipe metadata

Equipment

• coffeemaker
• 1-liter pitcher with lid

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coffee grounds
• enough water to fill the coffeemaker 2/3 of the way
• 1 bottle of French Vanilla Creamer
• 2% milk

Directions

1. Prepare pot of coffee in coffeemaker.
2. Wait about 10 minutes for it to cool down.
3. Put coffee in pitcher.
4. Add 1/3 of the bottle of creamer.
5. Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight.
6. When serving, fill a cup with 1/3 of the mixture, 2/3 of the remaining volume with milk, and garnish with creamer.

Recipe metadata

Ingredients

• 1 packet Lipton Chicken Fried Rice
• 3/4 lb of pre-prepared Asian Chicken and Vegetables
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions

1. Prepare Lipton Chicken Fried Rice according to directions on package.
2. Microwave the Asian Chicken and Vegetables for about 1 minute on high.
3. Serve rice alongside of the chicken on plate. Garnish with soy sauce.