Tag: St. Louis

Food

Mom’s Deli

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It was one of those kind of days when that special craving came on. In fact, it was Mother’s Day and I knew I wanted a Mom’s Special from Mom’s Deli for lunch. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. Little did I know the line would be out the door and down the street. Every time I go on the weekends there is a line (which is always a good sign), but never has it been so long. I guess the craving on Mother’s Day wasn’t well thought out, but I waited. As always, it was so good and satisfying. It’s one of those places that brings me back in time since I grew up in the neighborhood. As a native south city girl, this place is a favorite.

Mom’s Deli is a staple in the city. I grew up right down the street from the owners, the Vago family. In fact, I went to grade school and high school with Denise Vago who is now the current owner and sole proprietor who took it over after her Mom passed. Founded back in 1977 by Denise’s parents, Mom’s Deli is your traditional deli with good ole fashioned sandwiches made to order with fresh bread from The Hill. There’s also pasta, sides, and chips available. You can even pick up some beer or drinks to go as well. And, they’re always slammed with catering orders for all your party needs. All of the sandwiches at Mom’s are great, but they are famous for their Mom’s Special. You can get it hot or cold, but I highly recommend hot with gravy. What makes the Mom’s Special famous and different is the home made 1000 Island dressing and the munchee cheese. Let me warn you it’s messy so you will need a lot of napkins, but it’s so worth it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Although, I don’t live in the city anymore I’m not far so when that craving hits, it’s a quick and easy drive. No matter where you are in St. Louis, it’s worth the drive to get a famous Mom’s Special or any one of their sandwiches.

Mom’s Special

Mom’s Deli – 4412 Jamieson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63109

314-644-1198

Food

Uncle Leo’s

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Mariann’s Margherita

Most Fridays we order out for dinner. 85% of the time we order pizza. Uncle Leo’s in South County has quickly become our favorite take out pizza. They’re located right in the heart of South County on Lin Ferry Road in between Tesson Ferry and Lindbergh Blvd. I knew the pizza had to be good when I found out the pizza recipe came from Failoni’s located in Dogtown. I spent many Thursday and Fridays at Failoni’s, but I don’t think I ever had the pizza. Wow, it’s so good. No, it’s great!

How awesome is it that they decided to bring their famous pizza recipe to South County. You can tell this pizza dough is made from scratch and the specialty pizzas that are offered are some of the best. Our top two favorites that we order are Mariann’s Margherita pizza and Joey’s Fav. Hand’s down, the Margherita pizza is the best I’ve had anywhere. Heck, even my kids love the Margherita pizza and they are meat lovers. If you like it a little spicy, you will love Joey’s Fav with jalapeno’s on it. Last time we ordered from Uncle Leo’s. we decided to try something new. We tried their Chicken Delight. It’s officially my new favorite. I will warn you on Fridays that the phone lines can get tied up and busy. Yes, that’s always a good sign. Keep calling back and you’ll get through. You might have a longer wait time for pick up on Friday along with a line out the door, but it’s well worth the wait. For those of you who have tried Uncle Leo’s you know what I’m talking about. For those who haven’t tried it, you’re missing out.

Chicken Delight
Joey’s Fav

Uncle Leo’s Pizza – 9975 Lin Ferry Drive, St. Louis MO 63123

314-842-7155

Food

Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake

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This Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake has become a favorite in this house and it’s healthy. Everyone’s looking for that quick and healthy chicken dish. This is it! I’ve done a few different variations with the tomatoes. Originally I was using Rotel tomatoes, but recently I tried sundried tomatoes. Both give it a little different flavor. One reason I love this Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake is because you can change it up each time to meet the needs of what you have at home. You don’t have to use mozzarella cheese each time. I’ve used shredded Mexican style cheese because I always have that in bulk in my fridge. This is a great recipe with a lot of flexibility and it tastes so good.

Chicken Spinach Tomato Bake

  • Servings: 5-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 Large Chicken Breasts
  • 16-24 ounces of Fresh Spinach
  • 1 and 1/4th cup of Chicken Broth
  • 1 can of Rotel or a jar of Sundried Tomatoes
  • Creole or Spicy seasoning
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Shredded Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese to your liking
  • 4-5 Green Onions chopped (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 9 by 13 dish and any other dishes being used. For 5-6 large chicken breasts I use two a 9 by 13 and 11 by 14 dish.
  2. Next, place the chicken breasts on a cutting board between sheets of plastic wrap and pound the chicken with a flat mullet until all meat is even. This is a key step.
  3. Sprinkle the chicken with Creole seasoning, salt, and pepper.
  4. Put the fresh spinach is prepared dishes. Salt and pepper the spinach.
  5. Add the chicken broth evenly to each dish.
  6. Arrange the chicken over the spinach and add tomatoes on top along with green onions.
  7. Cover the baking dishes with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  8. Uncover and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165.
  9. Top the chicken with cheese and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with your favorite sides.
Food

Breve Coffee

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Good Friends and Good Coffee! Two of life’s greatest perks taking place right here in St. Louis! Yes, that’s right my dear friends at Breve Coffee are still roasting amazing coffee. With over 23 years of coffee experience, Breve Coffee is doing something right.

Today, I’m super excited because I received my box of Breve Coffee. I received two of their best sellers; House and Jamaican Me Crazy. Why am I so excited? Well, I can’t wait to try some cold brew recipes with the weather getting warmer. Also, I have an exclusive offer. You can get an additional 20% off your order when you use my promo code – Angie20 – and there’s always free shipping. Besides that excitement, Breve Coffee is special and unique. It’s high quality coffee. There’s no comparison. Breve Coffee is a small batch roaster which has many benefits. Let me give you a little basic coffee 101.

Breve Coffee only uses the top 1% of handpicked beans in the world. They are handpicked, handwashed, and hand sorted by people – not machines. The beans are then screened ensuring all beans are uniform. There are good beans and bad beans. The bad ones might be cracked, chipped or in pieces. This is very important. Breve only uses good beans that are all uniform, not cracked, or chipped. Some people might wonder why their coffee tastes bitter, it is probably because they are drinking bad beans. The good beans which Breve coffee uses are all uniform, therefore ensuring an even roast. In addition to the importance of bean selection, the roasting process is very important. Breve coffee handles the roasting in small batches. This allows the roaster to pay extra attention to sight, sounds, and smell so they can make adjustments accordingly. This ensures that Breve Coffee is roasted to perfection; not burned and not under-roasted. The other benefit of being a small batch roaster is that you are getting fresh coffee. It hasn’t been sitting on a shelf somewhere getting stale.

As the premier Midwest coffee supplier, their Roastery is located in Pevely, MO. Shipping is always free and you can find Breve Coffee sold in many locations in the St. Louis area such as Fresh Tyme, Freddies, Digregorios, Karsch’s and more. Please don’t forget when ordering to use this exclusive promo code – Angie20 – to get an additional 20% off. You can’t beat free shipping and an additional 20% off. Please visit http://www.brevecoffee.com.

Don’t worry if you haven’t experienced Breve Coffee yet, better latte then never!

The St. Louis Cooks love to support and promote small businesses.  I hope that you will too!

Cheers!

St. Louis Small Businesses

Erin King Photography

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Erin King PhotographyAs a Mom of three children, I love pictures especially of my kids.  Some of my all time favorites are when they were babies and toddlers.  I will never forget that day at Simon Says (my kids preschool/child care center) when I picked up the kids to be presented with these absolutely darling photos.  All of them taken by the one and only Erin King.

Let me introduce you to Lil’ Angels Photography and Erin King Photography with our second local business feature. Lil’ Angels Photography is a national franchise that works with child care centers and preschools to offer parents a little more than normal “school” photos. Lil’ Angels Photography offers a “fashion” program where the photographers bring in outfits and accessories.  Lil’ Angels Photographers dress the children up so when the parents pick them up, they have beautiful photos of their children in darling outfits, and parents don’t have to lift a finger!

When Erin King graduated from Maryville University in 2004 with a degree in Integrated Marketing Communications, she knew one thing for sure…She wanted to work for herself! A friend that Erin went to high school with had purchased a Lil’ Angels Photography franchise in St. Louis. She built the business for a couple of years, but was moving to Kansas City, so Erin bought it from her. Erin has owned that franchise for 10 years now, and 5 years ago, bought a second St. Louis area franchise with her husband, Rich King. At the child care centers, Erin King had a lot of requests for private sessions for siblings that didn’t attend the preschools or child care centers.  She started using her basement as a makeshift studio and met people in parks for outdoor sessions and family pictures.  These private sessions took place on Saturday and Sunday mornings for almost ten years until she explored other options.

It was then Erin King Photography was born! The studio is located in historic Cottleville, Missouri. It’s conveniently located 5 minutes from Erin King’s home!  The new studio is a historic home that was built in 1910 with the perfect setting to offer old world charm. Located on 3 acres, along with a cabin that was built in the 1800’s, a barn, and unlimited outdoor settings for spectacular photos. “Having a location that is great for a studio and outdoor photos is a photographer’s dream,” said Erin King of Erin King Photography.

Having both Lil’ Angels franchises and the Erin King Photography studio keeps Erin King very busy. Her five-year old son, Cole, loves to work with Erin at the studio and explore on the grounds. Recently, they welcomed a new addition to the family with a baby girl named Charley. Erin King could not be more excited about what the future holds for her family and their two photography businesses – Lil’ Angels Photography and Erin King Photography.  Below is contact information for Erin King at either Lil’ Angels Photography or Erin King Photography.

Check out her amazing work online!

Erin V. Veith-King
Lil’ Angels Photography & Erin King Photography
314-604-0800