Dinner - Grilled salmon, Kraft chicken and steamed artichokes

Made a delicious supper the other night.

Quick side note.....What is supper?  I have been asked before. Well, supper is the evening meal. I tend to use it interchangeably with dinner.  I lived in the South for about 9 years - hence supper.  Supper/dinner, tag/license plate, put things up/put things away.....I love the different words used between regions.

Anyways....made a yummy supper the other night.  I grilled salmon and made chicken breasts using the Kraft Fresh Take product.  I have made both of these before, so I won't repeat it.  If you want to see more about these, you can search each dish using the search bar on the right of my blog page.

But artichokes.....'tis the season.  They are SOOOO delicious and all our kids like them.  Our oldest daughter even had a friend over (Hi Emily!) who ate them for the first time and said they were weird, but ok, as she pulled and scraped off a few more leafs.  I'll take that.  I love introducing kids to new foods!!!

Easy to make....you want to buy artichokes whose leafs are compact (not spread out).  Use a serrated knife to cut it.  Cut off the stem and the bottom few leaves with it.  Then cut off about the top 1 inch of the globe (round part).  In a steamer pan (you know....that insert with all the holes in it that came in the pot you just bought) - put about 3 inches of water in the pan, and the artichokes in the steamer pan. Cover and boil/steam. Watch the water to make sure it doesn't all boil off and burn the bottom of the pan and ruining your artichokes with the burned smoke.  Gross.....

You know when your artichokes are ready when the leaves can pull off easily and a knife goes through the stem (heart) part easily. Just pull of the leave, scrape it between your teeth and yum.  Then the gold at the end of the rainbow....the heart.  When the leaves get too thin, pull them off the heart and use a spoon to pull off the thistley/hairy part.  Then (the lights are shining and angels are singing) the heart is ready to eat.

The kids like to dip the leaves and heart into melted butter....I like it with nothing.  Just pure artichoke.....pure pleasure with no guilt.

Worth it all....absolutely!!!  Even our kids agree.....

Dinner - Quinoa Patties

Quinoa is my new favorite ingredient.  I have learned quite a lot about this grain.

"Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is considered to be a “whole grain” but it is actually the seed of a plant that is a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is an energy-rich food that delivers heaps of fibre and protein but very little fat and no gluten. The protein quinoa supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa's amino acid profile well balanced, making it a good choice for vegans concerned about adequate protein intake. And because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous, this grain may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis." From Wikipedia

Here is a recipe that I have modified.  I am not sure where I got the recipe from, but I changed the original quite a bit.


2 rounded cp cooked quinoa  - cooled down from cooking (see the box/bag of your quinoa for instructions how to make it)
3/4 cp shredded cheddar cheese (or any other cheese you prefer)
1/2 cp fat free cottage cheese
1/2 cp shredded carrot (I got it from the salad bar)
1/2 cp shredded zucchini - squeeze out the water once you have grated it
3 eggs
3 T flour
1/4 cp grated onion
1/2 t sugar (I used agave)
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t ground cumin
1/8 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder


Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl


In a non-stick pan with a thin layer of olive oil - medium heat.  To keep it into a patty, cooking it on medium is better than hotter.  This allows for the patty to set up before flipping it.  When I put the thicker patty into the pan - I flattened it out with my hand - to about 1/2-1/4" thick.


This makes about 10 patties.


I served it with greek plain, nonfat yogurt.  Even the kids loved these.  I put the extra ones in the fridge and they were great cold the next day. Easy, healthy snack.

 This was everything mixed together - and the pieces of cheese and cottage cheese were great left alone and not "mushed" into this mixture.

 Then form the patties and put them into the pan.

 Flatten them with your hand.  Do it quickly so they don't get too hot and not able to be touched easily.  I found if I tried a spatula to flatten it, the patty stuck to it and got pulled apart.

 Look how golden they getting...nice and crispy!!

These are such a great dinner, snack, and just plain great, delicious food.

Dinner - Chipotle Cornmeal Green Bean Fries

I made a new recipe - Chipotle Cornmeal Green Bean Fries from O magazine. Here is what it looked like in the magazine - the middle "fry" there.

Here's what my finished product looked like -

And I followed the recipe perfectly.  Not sure where I went wrong - or if I did.

Here is the recipe -
8oz fresh green beans - trimmed
1 cup buttermilk
1t ground chipotle chili powder
2t kosher salt
1/2t sugar
1/2 cp cornmeal

Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add green beans to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to ice water for 2 mintues. Transfer beans to kitchen towel and blot dry.

Place the rack in the middle third of the oven and a second one in the center. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Set wire racks on rimmed baking sheets. and grease the racks.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients and set aside for 10 minutes.  Toss the beans in there to coat. Place coated beans on the racks in a single layer - not crowding.  Bake until coating is golden brown and crisp - about 8-9 minutes.

Serves 4

Here are the beans once coated on the wire rack waiting to go in the oven.

Needless to say....no one liked these.  I won't be making these again.  It really bothers me when the picture greatly differs from the actual product.  That is just wrong and wasted my time and money.

Road Trip - Memphis, TN to Springfield, IL

Our family was looking for a trip to take  - and we came up with Memphis, Tennessee.  I am going to share a few of our highlights of our trip from Memphis leading our way back up Illinois, stopping in Springfield, IL for the night.

We went to Graceland.  This was one of the things on my "bucket list".  It was AMAZING!!!!  Here is his living room with the custom stained glass.  Can you imagine what people thought when they walked into his house and say these windows?  Really impressive.  There were all kinds of costumes and awards. His tuxedo from his wedding, Pricella's wedding dress - and that black leather outfit he wore in that televised concert.  You know the outfit - he was SO handsome.  And did you know he was an avid reader? That he had a twin brother that died at birth? That he sold billion records - and never toured out of the US?

The Memphis Zoo was incredible.  Here is one of the twin hippos they have there.  I like to call this picture "Inspiration". The animals were so active and close to you.  They had some pandas also.  They look fake - they are just SO cute.

 This was a sculpture in the entrance to the Civil Rights Museum. See the people carved into these dark blocks. It was an amazing museum.  I learned as much from the people around me at the museum than from the exhibits.  Listening to people talk as they walked through the museum reminiscing about times they remember.  An older lady talking about the garbage strike in Memphis that made the city so smelly and dirty. A mother saying to her young son "This is how your grandma lived.  See how lucky you are to be born now.  Don't forget that."

We took the kids to St. Jude's.  Before we did, we went to Target and bought stuff to donate - books, dvds, art supplies, action figurines.....each family member had things in particular they wanted to give.  Though we weren't allowed into the hospital (you have to be over the age of 16 to get a tour), we were allowed up to the front desk, where we dropped of our bags.  Just seeing the people in the waiting room there - the kids walking in, the families leaving.  You knew you were at a special place.

On our way from Memphis to Springfield, IL, we stopped in St. Louis just to pick up concretes at Ted Drews.  Worth the extra driving and very worth the calories.

In Springfield, Illinois - we drove past the capital (the kids really weren't into getting out of the car and going inside).  They were "done".  But we were able to get them out of the car for one more touristy thing...New Salem, Illinois.  This is were Abraham Lincoln lived for about 6 years - his early twenties.

It was a village of log cabins - different styles.  Each cabin was a short, written explanation of what lived there and what they did in the village.  Lincoln lived in a bunch of different homes, working to pay his way.  He eventually owned and ran the local shop.  Some interesting facts - none of the cabins are original to the village.  In fact, when people left, they took their homes with them.  Taking apart the cabins and loading them onto their wagon and off they went.  They learned where to recreate the log homes by maps original settlers drew and archaeological diggings.  Pretty cool -

Restaurant review - Brother Juniper Memphis, TN

This may be my favorite breakfast place ever....in fact the whole family's favorite breakfast place.  I found it on Yelp (one of my favorite apps for finding great places to eat).  They were featured on one of Rachel Ray's show - $40 a day.  She liked the San Diego open faced omelet.

The service here was AMAZING - so friendly and never needing more coffee or water.  Very cool, comfortable surroundings.

 Here are their "home fries" and biscuit.  I think these were the best potatoes EVER.  Soft and light inside, SO crispy outside, with seasoning salt and parmesan cheese. Good thing I don't live near here or I would have a plate of these at least once a week.  And the biscuit was so fresh and tasty.

Here is the special of the day - chocolate waffle.  There was supposed to be mandarin oranges and stawberries on top (our daughter asked for the fruit on the side). It had a great chocolate flavor to the waffle that wasn't too overwhelming. And see the grits back there...I'll tell you about that later.....

 Here is my dish.  Here's the "official" description -

The Desperado

Sauteed Tomatoes, Green Onions, with Black Beans and Salsa

on a Bed of Avocado Spread topped w/ Mozzarella Cheese and Sour Cream

I asked for it with no green onions.  This was so good, but the avocado was not noticeable and it was swimming in the salsa - losing all the other flavors.  Still tasty....once I pushed aside all the salsa.














OK....let's talk grits.  These are cheese grits and they are the best I have ever had. Creamy, with the corn meal bite.  There is a taste of garlic and black pepper in there....I took them home with me and kept eating them even cold in the car.  And it was just as good.  Now every cheese grits I try from now on I will compare to these.  The sign of perfection -

Brother Junipers - so great that I am glad it is not near my house....one of the highest compliments I can give.

Restaurant review - Neely's Insterstate BBQ Memphis, TN

Memphis = BBQ....or so we were told.  So off we went to find the best bbq in Memphis.  Every person from Memphis we asked said a different place.  Every review site I looked at had different rankings.  There appeared to be to no clear champion, so we just picked what was near us....and we nailed it.

Neely's Insterstate BBQ.  Yes - the same Neely's as the Food Netword show.  It is his parent's place.  In fact, his mom was behind the counter and we talked with her a bit.  SO nice.... unfortunately, she was the only nice person that worked there.  We went here twice in our short 2 day visit to Memphis (if it ain't broke, don't fix it) and both times we had nasty servers.  We don't get it....we are polite at the table....thank you, no thanks....etc.  But both times our servers were not friendly and disappeared to the degree that I went up to the counter to ask for what more we needed (water, more sauce).

With that being said - the food was SOOOOOOO great that we would still go back again.  To start with, we ordered the onion rings.  These were AMAZING!!  Crunchy and with sweet, soft onion inside. Wow!! My husband and I ordered the bbq sampler.  That was the way to go.... a bit of everything - shredded pork, beef, beef and pork ribs and a hot link.  SO much yummy food.  And it came with bbq spaghetti, beans and slaw.  Both of our kids ordered shredded pork sandwiches with fries.

 Look at these wondrous onion rings.  Heaven in a bowl......

 All the sides - slaw, beans and bbq spaghetti.  Strange, I know, but everyone really liked it.  It was just broken spaghetti noodle tossed in bbq sauce.

 Here's the huge sample - farthest to closest.....shredded pork, pork ribs, beef ribs, shredded beef (or brisket) with a hot link on top.  It all just melted in my mouth.  I liked that the ribs still had some pull in them.  I'm not a fan of "fall off the bone" ribs.

Here's what our table looked like when we were done....funny you see on the empty plates on the table with the word STOP in the center of it all!! Yeah right......

Restaurant review - Wild Egg Louisville, KY

We went to Louisville in Kentucky for part of our spring break.  I love Louisville....it so just SO pretty there.  Hills, flowers, nice people....all kinds of good stuff.  The only problem I see is the public schools...not so good.

We met my father-in-law at Wild Eggs for breakfast before we left town.  The place was packed!   
 If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know my kids, especially our middle daughter, is a hot chocolate conniseur.  Here is what the hot chocolate looked like here at Wild Eggs.  Our daughter didn't like it, but our son loved it.  For her, too many marshmallows....for him (and myself) never too much marshmallows!  When they all float on the hot chocolate, you get all melty, creamy, sweet layer of love.

 This is the stuffed french toast our daughter got.  It was very tasty.  It was supposed to come with fruit, but she didn't want that.  This was delicious, but very rich!  One bite was plenty for me!

This was my dish...it was really good.  And that balsamic drizzle is just right. And the mushrooms, and tomato hollandaise sauce was a great combo....with the runny egg....really good breakfast! I had the choice of sides.  I chose grits of the day...they were Greek grits....grits with feta cheese, artichoke hearts and spinach.  It was quite salty...I didn't really care for it.

Bennies Gone Wild

Wild mushrooms, toasted English muffin, grilled tomato, poached eggs, roasted tomato hollandaise, balsamic reduction and smoked paprika

The service was SUPER slow....and not southern paced, laid-back slow....really SLOW.  And then once our food came to our table, two (out of 6) dishes came out wrong.  They fixed them quickly. But the management handled it right and comped us two of our dish. Good business.....