Ramblings, Travel

Things I’ve learned over a week in Charlotte

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  1. The people in Charlotte are nice.  Like SUPER nice.  Like almost weirdly nice.  I love them.
  2. Carwashes in Charlotte are a whole heck of a lot cheaper than in Ohio… 30% cheaper, to be exact.  Though, they will look at you funny when you ask to stay in the car as you go through the carwash.  Apparently, that’s not how they do it here in Charlotte.
  3. Everyone is really nicely dressed.  Not in a I’m-better-than-thou sort of way, but in a I’m-putting-my-best-foot-forward-today (and every day for that matter) sort of way.  I’m a fan.
  4. Chicken paws are not the same thing as chicken breasts!
  5. Speaking of chicken, why is the chicken breast at the butcher counter at Harris Teeter only $1.99 a pound???  That’s cheaper than the stuff they have on the shelves.  Mystery.
  6. Either u-turns are legal here or we’ve broken the law 7 times in the past week.  I’m hoping for the former.
  7. North Carolina is part of the South.   People actually have accents here.
  8. A Charlotte native can spot an Ohio accent a mile away… I didn’t think there was such a thing as an Ohio accent.  I was wrong.
  9. Public transportation is awesome.
  10. People are young here.  Like a city chock full of Doogie Howsers. 
  11. I’m pretty sure it’s possible to eat at a different delicious Charlotte restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for a whole year without having any repeats.  I may have to try that sometime.  Charlotte knows a thang or two about food. (Stay tuned for more on that topic!)

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Ramblings

A Foodie Gift {cookie-mix-in-a-jar}

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In my opinion, nothing is better than the gift of food!  For Christmas this year, I decided to make some cookie jars using one of my favorite cookie recipes – the Nestle Tollhouse Recipe for Oatmeal Scotchies (oh-so-conveniently located on the back of the butterscotch chips bag).

These gifts are so easy, and with a little elbow grease and creative flair they really turn out beautifully!

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First step is to mix the following in a bowl:

  • .5 cup + 2 tbsp Flour
  • .5 tsp Baking Soda
  • .25 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • .25 tsp Salt

Dump this into a 1 quart jar, then layer on:

  • 1.5 cups quick oats
  • half a bag of butterscotch chips

In another bowl mix together:

  • .25 cup + 2 tbsp White Sugar
  • .25 cup + 2 tbsp Brown Sugar

Toss the sugar mix into a ziploc baggie and tuck inside the glass jar (on top of the chips).

Next up, write out a note with the following instructions:

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Then it’s time get your creative flair on!

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Last but not least, I baked up a batch of the Oatmeal Scotchies and included a half dozen wrapped in a cellophane bag along with each gift jar.

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YUM!

Cookies.. the gift that keeps on giving Winking smile

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Ramblings

First Impressions

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First impressions are EVERYTHING.  How often have you heard that expression in life?  Work?  Relationships?  First impressions.  They either make ya or break ya.

When I first got the Betty Crocker 300 calorie cookbook, I was beyond excited. 

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I was SO excited, that I spent my lunch break thumbing through the pages and flagging all the recipes that sounded delicious. 

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(Overzealous, much?)

Could it be true?  300 calories of home cooked goodness?  Sounded like it was right up my alley!

Shortly after, I tried out my first recipe in the book:  Chicken and Spinach Skillet.  I picked the recipe because it used two of my favorite ingredients (chicken and spinach, obviously) and it was an extremely simple recipe.  How can you go wrong with that?

It seemed as though the stars were aligning.  Hundreds and hundreds of healthified recipes at my fingertips.  All hinging on this first recipe.  This first recipe that was, well, a big fat flop.  It was blah.  So blah, in fact, that I threw the leftovers away… and that is simply UNHEARD of in the Fervent Foodie household.

And so the book sat.  Poor little Betty Crocker and her 300 calorie recipes sandwiched between a bright green cover with fun yellow letters… dozens of pages flagged with anticipation…

Months passed.  FINALLY, this week I pulled the cookbook down from the bookshelf and my heart churned over the little yellow flags peeking out of the book.  And I decided to give it another go.  I decided to give Better Crocker a second chance.

This time around, I went with the Chicken Enchilada Pie:

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Annnnnddddd it was…..  meh. 

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Better than the Turkey Spinach Skillet, but not good enough to even bother posting the recipe on the blog.  I mean, I’m not throwing away the leftovers or anything, but let’s just say the tour de Chicken Enchilada Pie won’t be coming round my house again.

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Hmmmm… well….  crap.

So, do I give Betty a THIRD shot, or what? 

Pondery.

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Recipes

Turkey Time

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I swear every time I make meatballs I forget to write down what I threw into them.  Ohhhh, the elusive turkey meatball recipe… changes every time.  Yet, always tastes delicious.

I bring you spaghetti squash with turkey meatballs and garlic mushroom marinara:

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Easier than it looks, I promise!

(Check out this post  for some tips on cooking up your spaghetti squash)

While my spaghetti squash was doing its thang in the oven, I got to work on the meatballs.  Here’s what went into them:

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Your guess is as good as mine. Winking smile

Alriiiiiiiiight, here’s approximately what went into the meatballs:

  • 10 ounces 99% fat free ground turkey breast
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp bread crumbs
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp marjoram
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp dried oregano

This mix gave me 10 2-bite meatballs:

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I sprinkled each meatball with a little olive oil (about 1 tbsp for all 10 meatballs).  I cooked these in a 400 degree for 15 minutes, flipped them over and cooked for another 10.

Meanwhile, I sautéed 2 cloves minced garlic and a couple handfuls of sliced baby bella mushrooms in a sauce pan:

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Then added 1.5 cups of Prego sauce to the pan along with some garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and dried oregano.  I popped a lid on the pan and let it simmer away on low heat until the meatballs and spaghetti squash were done cooking:

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I promise you–this dish will totally satisfy your pasta cravings.  Look how tasty:

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As an added bonus, I was able to get 3 servings out of this batch.  Hello tomorrow’s lunch and the day after tomorrow’s dinner!

Stats on 2 cups Spaghetti Squash with 3 Turkey Meatballs and 1/2 cup sauce:  320 calories, 37g carbs, 10g fat, 27g protein, 7g fiber.  Molto bene!

Since the ground turkey comes in a 20 ounce package, I decided to use the remaining 10 ounces to make up some of my beloved Turkey Meat Muffins Open-mouthed smile 

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Only thing I did different this time was to omit the oil.  I didn’t notice much of a difference, so I think I’ll stick with the oil-free version in the future. 

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I LOVE these guys for several reasons.

  1. They are pre-portioned and super cute.
  2. They satisfy my belly in a healthful way.
  3. Leftover meatloaf sandwiches rock my socks off.
  4. Saying “meat muffin” brings an unavoidable smile to my face 😀

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Nom.

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Recipes

Szechwan Shrimp

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Whelp, I haven’t been doing much blogging lately BUT I have been doing a decent amount of cooking!  Time to play catch up!

Three things that I look for in any good recipe:

  1. Easy.
  2. Healthy.
  3. Onions.

ok… The recipe just has to be friggin delicious (usually that comes with the addition of some onions, but not always).

This recipe for Szechwan Shrimp has been a favorite of mine for a couple years now, simply because it meets my three criteria (even the onions!).  Even though it has lots of ingredients, most of them are things I always have on hand.  Can’t complain about that!

First up, I mix up the sauce ingredients in a small bowl:

  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp ketchup
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp honey
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/8 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp olive oil

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Then I sprayed down a skillet, heated it over medium heat, and added 1 large sliced green onion and one clove minced garlic.  I let these sauté for a bit, then added 3 large raw shrimp:

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Once the shrimp was cooked through I added the sauce and used a rubber spatula to combine. 

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I let the mixture heat up until it started to bubble and thicken and then tossed on top of 1 serving of brown rice.  I also added some steamed oriental veggies and a Chung’s veggie spring roll:

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So pretty!

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So delicious…

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