Good Eatin

After being down here for over a month I think it's time to post about some restaurants that I've fallen in love with. These are not necessarily native to North Carolina but this is the place I've found them for myself for the first time.

One:

This restaurant has held my taste buds since first experiencing it last Summer. It's hard to make it here when I want (which is at least once a week) because of all the other places to eat here but I wish I could. It is our go-to restaurant when company comes to town!

Two: 

I had frozen yogurt once before coming to NC and boy did I love it. So to find out this place was only 5 minutes away - I was thrilled! We've gone here every date night so far but my husband still has not become a fan of it. Next date night we'll switch it up and get ice cream. But I did get a "points" card to this place because I will eventually spend $50 here just to get a $5 gift card!

Three:

Speaking of ice cream this place is the best of both worlds - ice cream AND coffee! I will report back on their ice cream when we try it but I do have to say they make a mean caramel latte!

Four:

Looking for more home-cooking type food? The Kettle Diner is fabulous! We went there for a recent date night and had burgers and fries. Prices are great and atmosphere is friendly! 

Five: The Marina Cafe

Of course when your on the coast it's important to find a good seafood joint - this by far is the place! When going here I must echo all reviews and say "ignore the outside, just go in and eat". This place from the outside looks less then attractive. It's faded teal paint and tin roof make it look run down but honestly just. go. in. We went here for dinner last summer and ate on the back patio looking out at the water and marina. Their crab melt sandwich is pure heaven on bread. Their chocolate cheesecake is a chocolate induced sugar rush. You cannot beat the atmosphere - it's a mix between sports bar and family cook out. Seriously - go here when the weather is nice and you will see it's amazing!

It's safe to say it's impossible to starve down here. I look forward to trying out the following restaurants and reporting back!

Night time Reflections

It's here at 9:26 pm. My husband is fast asleep and I sit on the couch wondering what to do next. The first time he's fallen asleep without me by his side but he went to be at 8:30 pm. I'm not a grandma yet - so I didn't go to bed. But now my kitchen is clean and the living room is picked up. There is no laundry to wash and the bathrooms I cleaned earlier today so now I sit here wondering what I can do until I'm tired enough for bed. Some may say reading is a good way to calm your mind and fall asleep but I read ten chapters in my latest book today and quite frankly I'm all "read" out.

So I guess the only thing left to reflect on is how horrible dinner went. I never dreamed that something I love to do so much could cause such strife. I ventured out to make this meal - Overnight French Toast Casserole. Since this was the first time I would make something like this I scoured Pinterest and Google and all my cookbooks to find a simple recipe to follow and this was the simplest one I could find. I had all the ingredients besides the whole milk - we drink 2% in our home and from other cooking times when I've used 2% instead of whole I knew it would work out fine. And from watching plenty of cooking shows I know that whole milk simply increases calories and taste.

I started out with half of a french baguette. Mind you we don't buy french baguettes ever so my husband looked at me funny when I put it in the cart. All I could tell him was I was planning a special meal with it - I was so excited because I had been planning this meal for a week!

So the recipe calls to make a large portion which we would never finish so I halved it. We aren't big eaters so I usually halve all my recipes - I am very comfortable with it. For the recipe I followed the directions one by one - here is how each one went down:


1   In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. I forgot to halve this but even if I didn't it made a thick paste and definitely not something "pourable". I figured it would just melt up into the bread and make it super yummy - no worries here

2   Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary. I cut the french loaf in 1 1/2 inch slices (yes I used a measuring tape) and I put them in a bread pan - it took 6 slices.

3   Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices. Did all of this besides the ginger because it turns my stomach. I mixed it and poured it over and in between the layers of bread. This really smelled amazing and I was already hungry for it/

4  Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices. The husband doesn't like pecans so I skipped this step - instead I sprinkled a cinnamon/sugar mix on top and dotted it with butter. Yay calories!

5   Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours. Yep did this but since we were having it for dinner it was refrigerated from 9am to 5:30pm. Ample enough time for it to soak up all the goodness

6   In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Took it out at 5:30pm and let it warm up as the oven preheated

7   Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don't dry it out completely. I took heed to this warning and put the tin foil on top in the beginning so I could brown the top at the end. 10 minutes with the foil on top then 10 minutes with it off. I cooked it longer then half of the time recommended because I had a feeling it needed it..and boy did it.

8 Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup. I removed it from the oven, set it on the table, called the husband to eat. We prayed and he began to dig into the delicious looking and smelling french toast dish. He pulled the first slice up and what is dripping from it?? RAW egg. I about cried. The saint that he is said it would eat it anyway but I shot down that idea fast. Instead I put my thinking cap on and took the slices out and laid them flat in a bigger baking dish. They definitely soaked up the egg and milk bath but there was still a lot left in the pan. I then baked side A at 350, then a low broil then 375 for a total of 10 minutes. Then I turned the pieces over and baked the same way. After this I figured any egg that was left in the pan or on the bread was fully cooked so it would be safe to eat. And despite being a step away from bread pudding we ate it anyway. I made a raspberry sauce which definitely made it taste better!

All in all I still have no idea what went wrong but I did find a way to fix it. Next time I make a french toast bake/casserole I will be chopping the bread up in pieces and using much less milk/egg bath then it calls for - just to be safe. I would rather have dry bread then soggy raw egg bread. 

Such is life. Looks like I'm about tired enough to go join my husband in a silent slumber.

P.S. The coffee in my mug is french roast and will be french roast for a while yet. I received a 5lb bag as a bridal shower gift and I'm working my way through! 

Slacker is back

I don't even remember when I posted last but I know that when I did I was not married and I was still in Ohio. Well I can finally say that has ALL changed! Here is a run down of my life.

December 29, 2012 - married the man of my dreams!

The day of the wedding it snowed almost all day! We finished setting up in the morning, headed to our hair appointments at noon - which is when I officially got nervous. Such nervousness that my lower abdomen - ok my lady parts if you must know hurt so bad I thought I would be sick. But my dearest bridesmaid Leah was such a gem to me all day said to me in the salon, "you haven't eaten since breakfast? what do you want- I will go get you food". Oddly the only thing that sounded good was some greasy chicken fingers and fries and that is what she got me. It worked wonders.

The wedding was beautiful and simple and short and sweet. Here is a known fact - receiving lines are exhausting!! About halfway through I was SO tired of saying "thank you, thank you so much, thanks for coming, aw thank you" upon hearing "congratulations, you look beautiful, what a wonderful wedding, thank you for inviting us" etc or any mix of those. I was exhausted after the receiving line but I had my husband next to me saying how gorgeous I looked and that just made me float!

After the wedding we headed off to our two day, yes two DAY honeymoon. Seeing as we had limited time to be away before packing up our belongings to move to NC we could only spare two days to get away and relax. So we headed to Cleveland (on roads covered in ice) to the J. Palen House and stayed in the Miller Suite - it was incredible and I highly recommend it to anyone!

 

After our two day stay we came home and packed our lives away. Surrounded by cardboard boxes, tape, stuff, and sharpie markers we worked our butts off to pack everything and throw other things out.

Fast forward to a few days later at the beginning of January when we left Ohio at 7am with two cars packed with all the important and fragile items. We stopped in VA to visit our youth pastor friend for two nights and then headed down to NC.

After staying in a hotel for three days and living off of take out food we were finally blessed to find a townhouse. 2 bedrooms, 2 and a half baths, wood flooring in the living room it's gorgeous and we couldn't be happier!

Now married life is beginning to flow smoothly. Jonathan goes to work every day and our weekends are filled with miscellaneous tasks such as grocery shopping, car shopping, thrift store runs, or playing COD with his brother. We are trying to find a church and I'm trying to find a job as well.

All in all it's proving to be a great journey that we've only scratched the surface of and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Is it Wednesday?

So yesterday was my lazy, bump-on-a-log day. All I did yesterday was make breakfast, lunch and shower. Yesterday evening I did have human contact as I went to my parents to have dinner and play with the nephew and niece. I think you need to have a boring day when unemployed to get it out of your system. Have a day you do nothing because there is nothing to do. I truly couldn't drive anywhere (I'm seeing how many days I can keep that "you need gas" light on before filling up) and I didn't have any money for shopping and I had no one to visit. My apartment didn't really need cleaned and I couldn't pack or decorate for Christmas. So...I was a bump on a log..er my couch. Although right now since the wedding has been postponed I could decorate for Christmas...but it's not fun anymore doing it by myself. You have to take it all out, put it all up and in a month I'll have to take it all down and pack it back up. "Ain't no one got time for that!".

So today was 100% more productive then yesterday. Given, I didn't get up until later but I made myself go to the local college and walk the track. My goal was to do one mile walking which on their small track is 10 laps. That was my goal but somewhere between leaving home and lap 4 I was inspired to run. Mostly inspired by my fiance whose become quite the runner lately (6.5miles in one shot..really??) Anyway, by the time I left the college it was 2 miles later and 7 laps of that was running. I'm going to pay for it tomorrow when I go to pee and my thighs burn like fire. I credit my jumping jacks addiction for the increased endurance I've received. 200 jumping jacks a night - get on it! Also, dinner tonight is highly caloric so it's good that I ran some.

BBQ chicken (in the crock pot), fried potatoes (in the cast iron) and homemade bread (in my antique Glasbake dishes). Ok, the BBQ chicken is in a BBQ/honey mustard/brown sugar sauce. It smells like Chick-fil-a and my stomach has been growling for an hour. The fried potatoes are some potatoes that I froze a few weeks ago. I really pray I froze them correctly (cut,boil,blanch,drain,freeze) because I need the practice for when I'm married to 1. save money 2. make potatoes last longer 3. keep from peeling potatoes everytime he wants them fried up. He's a real meat and potatoes - southern food lover of a man.

Speaking of saving money I'm making homemade bread using this recipe. It sounded so easy and makes  two loaves. So I will eat some tonight and tomorrow for toast but I will freeze the rest. Do you have any idea how much bread I waste because I simply don't eat it all? Yeah it's ridiculous. Yes it's only $1 a loaf but still.

So there is my day and my evening. I think I'll put on White Christmas while I make dinner. "Snooooow!"

Black Friday Baking

Black Friday. A day where - as the pin says - "days after giving thanks for things we're grateful for do we rush out to stores and trample people for the best deal" or something like that. I've done the black Friday thing twice in my life. The first time it was sleeting rain/snow and I wasn't wearing proper gear. The second time went better but we waited in line for an hour just to check out a few items. My parents are die hard black Friday fans but not me... I'd rather stay in my warm bed at 4am then get up and face crowds of anxious, cranky people.

This black Friday I decided to stay home all day and relax. After a fun, full day yesterday of food and family I wanted to just relax today. I decided yesterday that I was not to eat turkey leftovers but instead I'd make crock pot chicken enchilada soup. This is also called chicken tortilla soup. This recipe is similar but not the one I used. I luckily found mine on google but did not save it. So mine was thrown together without measurements. The measurements below are a rough guess as to what I did.

Chicken Tortilla Soup - for one
Ingredients
1 boneless skinless chicken breast (frozen)
1 cup of black beans rinsed and drained *omitted*
1 cup of frozen corn *omitted*
1 cup of mild salsa
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp curry powder

Toppings
Tortilla chips (the ones with the hint of lime are the best!)
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese or mozzarella
Fresh Cilantro
White Rice

Throw all the ingredients in a small 4qt crock pot and set it on low for 5 hours. When the chicken is cooked pull it out and shred it. I use the "two forks" method. Before you add the chicken back in I added some freshly shredded mozzarella. Mixed it until it melted and I also added a hint of sour cream to get it creamier. I also at this point fished through to take out the chunks of tomatoes. Then let it cook for another hour or less as you feel fit. 

I made some rice in the microwave to add to it and give it some oomph. Most recipes don't call for this but all enchiladas I have had have rice in them. Scoop it all in a bowl and enjoy!

I was also craving chocolate chip cookies tonight but it's so hard to find a good recipe. My mother has passed her genes to me and neither of us has ever nailed a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. The common thing with each recipe is they make at least two dozen cookies. I didn't want two dozen I simply wanted something to nosh on and fulfill my craving. I came upon this recipe for Chocolate chip cookies for two and I was sold. The recipe said it would make one dozen but I got eight out of it. They were the perfect little cookie to satisfy my chocolate sweet tooth. This was also my first time baking with shortening and I must say - it's a whole lot easier then butter! 

Well folks that's two blogs in one day - I MUST be bored. Word on the street is snow is moving into the area - time to break out the warm and fuzzy recipes!

Bake on!

Baked up

Whew I officially stink at blogging. Here are some things I've been up to the past weeks.

I've been in a baking mood lately (or as always) and the other week I made a Swedish chocolate cake. The original recipe can be found here.

Butter your spring form pan really well

mixing it all up on the stove

 

Ahhmazing gooey chocolatey-ness

I recommend making this for a group and serving it warm with vanilla ice cream. I ate it plain and all by myself. After a day it was less gooey but still edible. Day two it was tossed because it was almost hard as a rock.

Also after my previous post about Grand Granola I found a recipe for Peanut Butter granola here.

 Her picture not mine. 

This granola was especially yummy on strawberry yogurt!

As for wedding news it ain't good. The wedding has been postponed due to his deployment being extended. I just pray he comes home safe and sound without a scratch upon him.

I'm going to add my newest baking adventures to the next post. Bake on my friends!

Grand Granola

Well today was my second day out of work. Yesterday was filled with all sorts of running around and spending money - today I'm staying home until going over the rents in the afternoon. Before which I will vote for the last time of being in Ohio. Women in the 1920's fought day and night for my right to vote and even though neither of the candidates are in my opinion, fit for the job I will still exercise my right to vote.

My bed wanted me to keep all day. I had a terrible night's sleep with a pounding headache (even though I took medicine before going to bed). It must of been expired because it didn't work. And I'm not a firm believer in taking the drugs if I don't have to but I figure I better take something so I don't get sick. Well this morning I woke up and it was still there. Like that song you have in your head and you think if I only sleep it won't be in my head anymore. Then when you wake up your first thought is "hey I just met you...and this is crazy..." you get the point - my headache as annoying as it was, did not disappear with sleep.







The only thing to get me outta bed was homemade granola. I've been craving it for a long long time but I had no idea how to go about doing it. I knew the first main ingredient you needed was oats of some sort. Good thing I bought a huge canister of quick oats last week - score. So (while still in bed) I Googled "easy homemade granola" and got a few good recipes. One of which I had all the ingredients and then some so I popped outta bed, threw back the curtains, started the coffee and went to work. Speaking of coffee I'm obsessed with this coffee I got from my bridal shower a few weeks back. Tiramisu coffee. Now, like any respectable coffee guru (which I am not) I am not a huge fan of flavored coffee but there are a few that are splendid and this is one.















Now lets move on the the reason we're all here...the granola. And let me just have a disclaimer I'm a "Racheal Ray" kind of cook. I use a dash here, a sprinkle here, a shake shake there etc. I don't like using measurements. This recipe is an approximate of what I did. 

Grandeur Granola
Servings: 6
Overall Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups Quick Oats
• 1/3 cup canola oil a little less
• 1/4 cup honey a little less
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• A sprinkle teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• optional: sliced almonds
• optional: coconut - I wish I had some

Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined. Spread mixture onto a greased jelly roll pan or large cookie sheet. It will look a little dry and will not hold any kind of shape. 
2. Bake at 300 for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and put back in for 7-8 minutes. 
3. Remove and stir. Let cool. Serve over yogurt or ice cream. 

Now this granola was so stinking scrumptious I had to have it two ways! Over yogurt and as cereal. If you have it as cereal I recommend very little milk or eating it quickly. These are still quick oats and were only cooked for a short amount of time so they can repel the milk for a little while but eventually they will soak it up and you end up with oatmeal. 

Over yogurt As cereal

Now...the sun is out and I have some towels to fold and some dishes to wash and someone to vote for. Happy Tuesday!