My Two 'Go-To' Happy Hour Recipes While Being at Home

Staying at home for the last three months has taught us many things. One of the lighter lessons learned: happy hour can still happen! In the comfort of your home, sans face mask and all the joy sparking possible. My top two favorite happy hour experiences are at two different local restaurants, El Cholo and Ingos Tasty Diner. El Cholo’s happy hour offers the best margarita and chips and guac (guac not on HH but so worth it) and Ingo’s offers an equally perfect Old Fashioned and loaded baked potato. Two ‘post-work’ happy hour experiences that often sparked major joy after a long day of work (and the hours leading up to it!) Here’s how we’ve recreated it at home.

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Let’s talk Margs and Guac. My original attempt at a guacamole recipe was with 4 avocados and with just two people. I can tell you now, that is far too many avocados! We were so full from chips and guac, we decided to forego dinner entirely! Here’s what we loved:

GUACAMOLE RECIPE

  • 2 ripe avocados

  • 2 small cloves of garlic

  • 1 quarter small white onion

  • 1-2 roma tomatoes

  • 1 jalepeño (Deseeded and chopped)

  • Salt to taste (recommended 1 tsp)

Mash avocados in medium sized bowl (fork works great if they’re ripe enough) Chop/dice the rest of the ingredients, mix all together and voila! We love the tortilla chips from Trader Joes to dip with.

MARGARITA RECIPE

  • In shaker, add ice and shake vigorously with these ingredients:

    • 2 ounces Tequila

    • 1 juice of a lime

    • 2 ounces Orange Liqueur

  • Drain into glass (Rocks and salt optional!)

With a little side salad to feel a little healthier about ourselves, of course!

With a little side salad to feel a little healthier about ourselves, of course!

Now let’s talk Old Fashioned and baked potato/french fries! I tend to lean toward the Guac/Marg combo in warmer weather. Nothing like a warm baked potato and an fashioned to warm you up on a colder day! We all probably know how to make a baked potato but below you’ll find our favorite way of making them. If you have a panini press, after the baked potato is fully cooked, press the potato in the panini press. It creates an even crisper skin.

BAKED POTATO RECIPE

Baked Potato

  • Preheat Oven to 450 degrees

  • Scrub potato under hot water to clean

  • Brush with olive oil and generously coat outside with salt

  • Cook for 30 minutes, flip potato over, cook for another 20 minutes

Toppings

  • Bacon (Baked in 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Burns easily so keep an eye on them!)

  • Green onions or chives

  • 2 tsp of chili powder sprinkled over potato

  • Butter

  • Sour cream

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Old Fashioned

  • In mixing glass muddle 1 sugar cube and 3-4 dashes of Angostura bitters

  • 2 oz of whiskey (for an inexpensive option, Evan Williams works great)

  • add ice and stir vigorously to chill

  • serve over large rock ice in old fashioned glass

  • garnish with orange peel



Amanda BrookeComment