Homecoming Queen

A few weeks ago my little sister, Sara called me with the fantastic news that she was nominated for ECU’s Homecoming Court.  Not wanting to miss this chance we made plans to go to Greenville for the weekend regardless if she made the top 5 or not.  We knew it would be a fun weekend of tailgating and a great football game anyways.  

Being that Ben is a student at ECU in their distance program he was able to vote for Sara.  His vote definitely counted since she made it to the top 5.  After a panel of interviews and a week full of parties and appearances she rode in the Homecoming Parade and was introduced during half-time on the field.  We all held our breath as Sara was announced ECU’s 2009 Homecoming Queen representing Kappa Delta.  I think everyone had a few tears in their eyes. 

After half-time we ran down to meet her for pictures, and watched by the end zone where she and Tremaine , the Homecoming King, raised the No Quarter flag at the beginning on 4th Quarter.  What a wonderful weekend full of good food, friends, family and wonderful memories!  Congratulations Sara…Ben and I are so proud of you!

Fall Chicken and Cider

The chilly weekend got both Ben and I in the mood for fall.  Our menu for the week has already included Taco Soup, which was perfect for a lazy Sunday.  I knew we would have chicken tonight, but I was in the mood for something quick, easy with a fall flavor…I stumbled upon Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce and it was perfect with 5 ingredients! 

By cooking the chicken in the bacon renderings, it gave it wonderful flavor.  The bacon and cider complemented one another too.  Our sides included wild rice and maple roasted brussel sprouts.  This will definitely become one of our favorite week night meals. 

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce (Cooking Light)

• 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  bacon slices, chopped
• 1/4  cup  minced fresh onion
• 3/4  cup  unsweetened apple cider
• 1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Add chicken to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add onion to pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring constantly. Add cider and broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in cooked bacon; serve sauce over chicken.

Hops & Hillbillies

Saturday five us loaded up the car and headed all across the Piedmont of NC for beer and food!  Chris, Sam, Shane, Ben and me started our day off at Natty Greene’s for lunch in downtown Greensboro.  It was our first time as Chris, Sam and Shane went to UNC-G and discovered Natty Greene’s several years ago.  I am always amazed at the local breweries we have in our state – so many fun places to eat and try new craft beer. 

Natty Greene’s has so many beers on tap we could not decide, so we opted for the sampler tray of 6 different beers to start with.  After sampling the Old Town Brown, Hessian Hefe-weizen, Elm Street IPA, Autumnfest Vienna Lager, Full Moon IPA and New Garden Milk Stout, Ben decided on a pint of the Elm Street IPA.  I was enjoying taking sips from each, so I kept the sampler for myself!

The food was just as good and we all got something different.   The portions are enormous and I got the Smokin’ Turkey Wrap: oven-roasted turkey with crisp applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, provolone cheese and chipotle raspberry mayo wrapped a sun-dried tomato tortilla.  They have several sides, but I highly recommend the pesto pasta salad.  Ben got the Chipotle BBQ sandwich with fries.  After lunch we headed west to Foothills Brewery in Winston-Salem for Beer School and City Beverage for a beer shopping spree.  They have a class complete with power-point presentation, quiz, beer-tasting, brewery tour and graduate certificates they developed for their employees and are now offering to the public.  We all thought it was well taught, but being pretty knowledgeable about beer already most of it was a refresher, especially for Chris who recently completed real Beer School!  For $10 to taste all of their beers on tap, it was a good deal and pretty fun.  We wrapped up the night with dinner at the Hillybilly Hideaway in Walnut Cove, NC.  This amazing homestyle, all-you-can-eat restaurant located in the middle of no where is about 20 minutes north east of Winston-Salem.  It is only open Fri-Sun. and was completely packed, but the wait was worth it.  We stuffed ourselves to the point of being miserable with fried chicken, bbq spare ribs, cream corn, green beans, pinto beans, creamed potatoes, slaw, cinnamon apples, country ham, biscuits, cornbread and the sweetest tea imaginable. 

The Best of Both World’s Pizza

Friday night we could not decide between pizza or Mexican…so Ben made us taco pizza after we had it a few weeks ago when we actually went out for pizza!He used a whole wheat crust and used our newest favorite salsa, Pomegranate Chipotle as the “sauce”.  The added ground beef cooked in taco seasoning, tomatoes and Mexican cheese.   Once it was cooked he topped it with shredded lettuce and extra cheese.  This was better than what we had in a restaurant and has been deemed as one of his best specialty pizzas!We also had fun doing a mini-beer tasting to compare our top Oktoberfest beers and some pumpkin beers.  Bells Octoberbfest won out over Otter Creek Oktoberfest and Ben and I had different opinions on the Dogfish Head Punkin’ Ale, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin and Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale, but all three are delicious and some of our favs!

Macadamia Nuts and Mahi-Mahi

Fish is always an easy dinner for us since it cooks quick.  So when I ran across this recipe which actually called for Tilapia, I was excited to try it.  Mahi-Mahi was on sale and I thought I’d spice up some plain couscous with the leftover coconut milk. 

I loved the heartiness the nuts gave the fish and the coconut added just a little natural sweetness.  For the couscous I used 1/2 cup of coconut milk and 1 1/2 cups water, then added salt and pepper to taste.  I tossed in some extra chopped macadamia nuts for extra crunch.   My only complaint was the lack of presentation..I should have added some colorful veggies! 

Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi-Mahi

• 5 ounces (about 1 1/4 cups) coarsely ground, roasted macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for brushing foil
• 4 (6 to 8-ounce) mahi mahi fillets
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together the nuts, panko, flour, and butter. Set aside.

Place a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and brush it liberally with vegetable oil. Place the mahi mahi on the foil and sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper on both sides. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush each fillet with the coconut milk. Divide the nut mixture among the tops of the 4 fillets, patting the mixture to spread and adhere to the fillets. Return to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Happy 21st Birthday Sara!

We recently celebrated my little sister, Sara’s 21st Birthday.  Being it was a Sunday night we opted for a sophisticated Cocktail Party, dinner at McCormick & Schmicks and cake instead of a  late night out on the town!I was in charge of the Cocktail party and the menu included Blue Cheese Pecan Dip with celery, Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Hummus with veggies and pita chips, and a cheese platter.  No cocktail party would be complete without cocktails!  I mixed up Raspberry and Cranberry Cosmos plus wine and champagne.  Before dinner we gave Sara our gifts…she loved the wine and champagne glasses, wine tags, napkins and other fun wine things we gave her.  Her BIG 21st birthday gift was an amethyst David Yurman ring.  It was beautiful and one of those might be going on my gift list very soon!At McCormick & Schmick’s we had a fun surprise.  When I called to make the reservation and let them know we were celebrating Sara’s birthday, they informed me a birthday message would be on the menu!  For dinner most of us ordered the Salmon stuffed with Brie, Shrimp and Lump Crab meat or the Halibut with sautéed leeks, Gnocchi and lump Crab.  After dinner we enjoyed a family favorite cake, Pineapple Cake…and we were thoroughly stuffed, but it was all so delicious.  Happy Birthday Sara!

It’s All Greek To Me

The past few weeks we have been eating a little lighter to balance out all the amazing food we ate on vacation.  While I browsing the Complete Weight Watchers Cookbook a recipe for Turkey with Feta topping caught my eye (or taste-buds) since I have been craving Greek food with lots of Mediterranean flavors.  I decided to adapt the recipe using chicken and added a Greek vinaigrette that we used as dressing on our salad.  Also on the menu was couscous, which cooks in less than 5 minutes and is a Greek staple.  This recipe was really quick and easy, which was perfect for an evening where we both went on a run.

Greek Chicken

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup greek vinaigrette
• 6-8 sundried tomato halves (not oil-packed)
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1.3 cup crumbles low fat feta cheese
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Marinate the chicken breasts in the vinaigrette for at least 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350*.  Bake chicken in oven proof glass dish for 20-25 minutes until juices are clear.

In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes and boiling water; let stand 2 minutes.  Drain and finely chop; return tomatoes to bowl.  Stir in the cheese,  shallot, garlic, basil and oregano.

Top the chicken with tomato and cheese mixture; broil 4-5 minutes until cheese is soft and slightly melted.

Wilmington Day Trips

While we were vacationing in Topsail we took two separate trips to Wilmington.  One day the entire family went for a little stroll through downtown Wilmington on the Riverfront, shopping at the Cotton Exchange and lunch at Dockside in Wrightsville.  Before lunch we strolled along the riverfront and saw the Battleship as well as the Coastguard docked.  We were intrigued with the “stickers” on the side of the ship and asked one of the crew getting on the ship and he confirmed the marijuana stickers were the number of drug busts that had done and the six round ones above that were for cocaine.   All the others are other awards.  It was really cool to see how proud they all were.    For lunch we headed over to Wrightsville Beach to Dockside for lunch.  It was hot, so we ate inside on the 2nd floor with a perfect view of the Inter-coastal Waterway.  They even had a decent selection of beer, which I definitely enjoyed with my crab cake sandwich.   While walking from the Cotton Exchange towards the Riverfront we came across Front Street Brewery.  We actually had intentions of coming back, but made solid plans once we saw the place and their menu. 

On our way home, we took the long detour and stopped at Front Street for a sample tasting and we loved the Scottish Ale so much we each had a pint.  Knowing we’d be getting home late, we decided to try two appetizers for lunch so we could eat local rather than fast food off 40.  The homemade salsa had just the right amount of heat, but the best was the Buffalo Blue Cheese sticks – Amazing!  We had plans to eat dinner at my mom’s since we were picking up Freddie since they doggie-sat for us, so we picked up a growler of the Scottish for everyone to enjoy!  It was the perfect ending to a perfect week at the beach.

Good Eats at the Beach!

As I have mentioned before, on our family vacations we are each in charge of a day for breakfast, a drink of the day, dinner and dessert.  Lunch is usually leftovers, sandwiches or one of the few salads we prepare in advance. 

A few months before our vacation we literally draw days of the week we will cook and in the next few months we gather recipes and set our menu.  Since we are a family who loves to cook…this is actually relaxing and enjoyable for us.  I love having the time to put together an entire meal from scratch!  Check the links for recipes…Paula Deen was a big hit for the week.  I do not think any recipes was rated less than 5 stars and I’m pretty sure we all gained a few extra pounds from all the good food we ate all week.

Our first full day, Sunday, was Laura and Lillie.  They chose Monkey Bread for breakfast and one of their favorite dinners of Sloppy Joe’s and fries!Monday was my dad’s day.  We had an American breakfast of eggs, grits, bacon and toast for breakfast and a seafood feast for dinner.  He picked up fresh shrimp, king crab legs and oysters from a local seafood market on the waterway.  As our appetizer we all enjoyed shucking steamed oysters, especially Lillie!  Our main course was a “low country boil” with the seafood, potatoes and corn.  We did have to get a little creative with cracking the crab legs, but it was well worth the time and effort…they were delicious.  Dinner was followed by Peach Cobbler and homemade vanilla ice cream. Ben was up next for Tuesday.  He had us all build our Breakfast In Bowls with hashbrowns, sausage, eggs and cheese.  He started dinner early by cooking his special ribs for several hours in the oven and Macaroni and Cheese on the crock pot.  Roasted Corn with Chili-Lime Butter and cornbread rounded our his meal with Sticky Toffee Pudding and homemade vanilla ice cream as his dessert.  The sticky toffee pudding was heavenly and we still have part of this frozen we brought back with the anticipation of making Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream very soon! By mid week we did not think we could be eating any better, but Sara impressed us with Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze and one of my absolute favorite Paula Deen recipes, Baked Garlic Chesse Grits for breakfast.  Our afternoon/evening cocktail was Bahama Mama’s…these were just like the ones I loved on our honeymoon!!  After our family Christmas card pictures on the dock at sunset we feasted on Shrimp Carbonara and warm spinach salads.  The dessert of the night was Cooking Light’s Berry Peach Cobbler and vanilla ice cream.Thursday was my day!  Since I like to prepare things in advance I made Orange Pecan French Toast, that sits overnight.  So all you need to do it pop it in the oven and I served it with fresh fruit and Spike Iced Cappuccino’s.  For dinner I had a mexican theme and started the meal off with Blue Margaritas and South of the Border Mason Dixon Dip.  The main meal was Chicken & Shrimp Fajitas and Corn and Black Bean Salad.  Keeping with the Mexican theme, I made Banana Quesadillas with vanilla ice cream for dessert while we enjoyed a few rounds of Sequence.Last, but not least…Adam started our day off with homemade donuts – both glazed and iced chocolate!  His drink of the day was Summertime Alligator and the Midori made this drink!  Dinner was fit for a king…the biggest steaks I have ever seen and grilled to perfection, twice baked potatoes and Caesar salad.  Ben was the only one who actually finished his steak and the rest of us took doggie bags home with at least two-thirds of our steak left.  A perfect steakhouse dinner was not complete without Cherry Cheesecake.  The little girl’s had their own special dessert of “Eat all you Can Chocolate Ice Cream” - what a perfect way to end the week!