Tuesday, February 28, 2012

{Make this}: Mini Oven S'mores.

This past weekend I had an information session for the camp I'm the director of, Camp Gailor-Maxon. At our camp, like most, we have one night where we have a bonfire and make s'mores. However, because we are cautious people who have the motto "Safety Safety Safety", our s'mores are made in the oven in the dining hall. This is how I grew up eating s'mores and couldn't imagine it any other way.

For this particular party, I made a mini version of our oven s'mores. This would be a great dessert for kids or a way to serve s'mores at a camping themed party without the open flame (sidenote: Memphis people, go to Kooky Canuck and get their s'mores dessert - you get your own little flame to roast your marshmallows).

So to make these mini oven s'mores, you'll need:
- muffin tins
- cupcake holders
- graham crackers
- chocolate bars
- marshmallows
 *Preheat oven to 275


1) You'll put your cupcake wrappers in your tins (mine were disposable because I was not at home). Then take your graham cracker. It will break in half along a perforated line. You'll break once more - essentially getting 1/4th of a cracker. This will be the base of your mini s'more.


2) Then you'll tear your giant 'mallow in half.You want to put the sticky side down so it congeals to the cracker (strategy, people). Put half a 'mallow on each cracker. Then put a bar on top. I like the bar on top of the mallow because as it melts it melts over the mallow.


3) Put another 1/4th of a graham cracker on top. Put in oven and cook at 275. Watch until chocolate has melted and mallow seems melted. Once out of the oven, smush each s'more.


4) Serve! We let ours cool enough to where the chocolate had sort of hardened again, this time on the marshmallow. They were delicious.



In marshmallows and chocolate,
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Monday, February 27, 2012

{Life}: Picture update.

 This has just been a crazy busy set of weeks for me. I love being busy but feel like a train going at 100mph most days. With that being said, I'd say a picture update in called for:

Two Sundays ago, we took the dogs to the dog park over by the Board of Education. You can't tell here, but Beamer couldn't contain his excitement. They got to play with their puppy pals Luna and Boston. 

Here's Harley hanging out the window. She still hasn't figured out the method quite yet:


Later in the week I spent some time doing work on the laptop while watching the week's Glee episode. Harley and Ty were very interested in Glee.


This was the same night - Harley gets very sweet when she's tired. You can see her cherry eye well in this picture:


On Friday of last week we had a "fire drill" (aka someone wanted out of a test and pulled the alarm). Luckily it was a gorgeous day. We assemble on the football field so I snapped this picture while I was out there:


On Friday I joined the Tory Burch fan club with my new pair of Revas. I'm in love -


Sunday I went to the grocery store and ended up meal planning on the fly. I loaded 'er up and ended up buying stuff for our lunches + 4 dinners:


Our meals I've planned for the week (with posts forthcoming..):
- Mexican Flatbread Pizzas with rice
- Chicken with a Spinach Mushroom Cream Sauce over Spaghetti with a salad
- Breakfast for Dinner (egg and rotel scrambled eggs, sausage, and biscuits)
- Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with an Alfredo sauce with a salad

Also at the grocery store I decided to treat myself to one of my favorite flowers, which I learned are called Yellow Button Poms. They remind me of a Billy Button Flower. I got them at Kroger and trimmed them to put on the entry table:


I'm also still thinking about uses for this cute little white dish I scored at an estate sale a few weeks ago. I'm thinking I'll put it in the bathroom to hold my rings and necklace:


I also changed out our Valentine's Button Wreath for my St. Patrick's Day sign. I'm all about a little seasonal decor around here:


On that note, I think those are all the pictures to share. I'll leave you with a few precious pictures of some of our animals (Robyn.. I know I left out Sebastian again! He'll get his own post dedicated to you!). The top is Beamer in the bath post dog park, then Harley and her Grizz growl towel, then Ty in our UT snuggie. 





So that is what has been going on in my life lately.


In pictures and pretties,

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

{Go there}: Revival Food Truck.

A few days after Jake's run-in with the Fuel food truck, I finally got my opportunity to try out food truck living. We had conferences at school so I was able to act like an adult and escape for lunch. The stars aligned and the Revival Food Truck just happened to be parked outside of the med school.


I was very much pumped to be able to try out the Revival food truck. The selection changes day to day and they post on their twitter site their menu for the day. This particular day featured duck, pastor, and vegetarian tacos, as well as buffalo chicken and cuban sliders. They had several sides and desserts as well:


We rendezvoused at the truck for lunch:


After ordering our food (we both got pastor tacos with fries - Jake got his "dirty", which adds a gravy sauce atop), we went across to the Med School lounge to eat. How romantic. Several of Jake's friends ate with us and one was so kind to share her Revival dessert with us. It was a Krispy Kreme bread pudding and it was divine.


the dirty fries up close -


After eating, we picked up more for my dad, who was up working in his office just a block away. It was pretty cool to be able to take him lunch and let him experience a food truck too!

Revival's food truck was fun, delicious, and overall a great experience. If you can catch them on the street one day (hint: check their twitter), check them out. They take cards and cash.


In food and fun,
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Friday, February 24, 2012

{Go there}: Slider Inn.

One of Jake and my favorite places as of late is the hot new place in town, Slider Inn. Located at the corner of Peabody and Cooper, it fulfills several of our requirements - it is in Midtown, they serve beer, and their food is well priced. I first blogged about Slider Inn during their "soft opening" last August and since then we've grown to love this place even more than our first visit. 

Our most recent trip was a hot Valentine's date with my parental units. We double-dated to the Slider Inn and it was a lot of fun. Jake has talked about getting the lobster roll (something they are known for) ever since the first time we visited and finally was able to try it this time:


Jake reports that the lobster roll is sort of a lobster salad so expect that it will be served cold. He liked it but missed his typical slider order. Speaking of, I stayed the course and got my typical order of 3 original sliders.


Since they opened, Slider Inn has adjusted a few things and the best adjustment has been the bread for the sliders. Before, the bread was out of proportion to the meat but now the bread works perfectly.

One of my favorite things about Slider Inn, though, is their fries. These fries were picked to be some of the best fries in Memphis by one of my Memphis blogger idols, Stacey. I'm told their secret is that they use sugar and salt on them. In addition, the fries are served with bourbon mayo, a Slider Inn special. This may sound odd but it is the best little concoction for your fries. I'm salivating thinking about it...

So with that, I say go there - Slider Inn. They have a huge patio that has just gotten retrofitted for winter. During the spring time, I can imagine that it will be the place to be in Midtown on sunny afternoons.

In french fries,
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Thursday, February 23, 2012

{Blog Stuff}: Updated Recipe Page

Check out my updated page that features all the recipes I've blogged about over the years. You can follow the tabs at the top of the blog to the recipe list, which is broken into "entrees", "sides", and "desserts". I've only got one dessert - gotta get on that!


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{Go there}: Trolley Stop Breakfast.

I've blogged before of my love for Trolley Stop. Particularly I love their pizza and their incredibly cute little market of goods and foods.

I have a group of girls that I'm friends with through our young adults group at church. We go to breakfast almost every Saturday and call ourselves the Girly Breakfast Club. We've hopped around to a few different places. We've tried Cafe Eclectic (love their breakfast, went for a long time and was just in the mood for something new), Barksdale's (not that great), and Brother Junipers (way to long to wait for a table). We've been on the quest to find the perfect spot - not busy, good menu, able to have mimosas. Well we may have just found that place....

One of my breakfast gals, Robyn, suggested Trolley Stop for breakfast a few weeks ago. I called and found out that not only did they serve breakfast on Saturdays but they would allow us to bring our own champagne so we could have mimosas! With this knowledge in hand, an email was sent and we met up on Saturday.

They've got a great breakfast menu - this was one side of a two sided menu. I would like to try a breakfast pizza one day but didn't think I wanted to handle it by myself.


One great thing about Trolley Stop is the amount of space they have. We didn't have any trouble getting a table for the five of us and didn't feel bad hogging the table for an hour and a half. In this picture you can see how long the restaurant is and also check out their little market on the side.


Our waitress was fabulous. She was so fun and nice. She brought us a pitcher of OJ and wine glasses for our mimosas. She even told us she was pretty jealous.



Sidenote: my nails are almost never painted so I had to share this picture of them. So proud!


I decided on the biscuit and gravy plate for my breakfast. It came with biscuits, a sausage gravy made with local sausage, hash browns, and cheese grits. I loved this. The gravy was so savory and I could eat my weight in those cheese grits. Other girls got breakfast burritos and such. All reported they loved their meal.


All in all, we may have found our next location for Girly Breakfast Club. If you're looking for a new breakfast spot, check out the Trolley Stop Market (on Madison at Orleans between the Medical Center District and Downtown - parking in the back). They are open Monday through Saturday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

In mimosas and memories,
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

{Go there}: Fuel Food Truck.

I've got yet another awesome food place for you to check out. Only catch is this time you have to find it first. Food trucks are all the rage right now - they are so hot. Jake and I have been stalking them for a few months, with the real quest beginning in earnest this past month. The three main ones we've been stalking are the Fuel food truck, Revival, and Memphis Dawgs hot dog cart.

You find out where they will be parked for the day via twitter and set out from there. The problem for me usually is they don't do weekends mostly and I work through lunch.

So, with that in mind, you can imagine my jealousy when I got a text from Jake with this picture - the text said "guess who showed up in front of the med school today?":


((pangs of jealousy ensued))... the Fuel Food truck had parked by their school. Naturally, I gave my blessing for Jake to go ahead without me to try out his first food truck fare (I'm so generous). We had eaten recently at Fuel Cafe with my parents (go there - it was delicious, especially the fries) and had been wanting to try out their tacos at the truck.

Jake got the bison tacos and reports that they were out of this world:


I'll be stalking Fuel Food Truck's twitter to find them in the near future. In the meantime, you should make me jealous too and find them on the streets of Memphis.

In tacos and trucks,
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

{Life}: Orpheum Night with the Parentals.

I love my parents for a variety of reasons. They fed and clothed me for 18+ years, they instilled their beliefs and values in me, and they love me (mostly) unconditionally. But another reason I love my parents is that they take us to do fun things. This past weekend we went to see Million Dollar Quartet with my parents at the Orpheum.

We started the night with a dinner at Dino's (Midtown: McLean by North Parkway). We then ventured downtown and parked at our free parking (it's a secret - can't tell where it is) before walking up to Main Street and hitting up Maggie Moo's Ice Cream.


I consider myself to be an ice cream connesoure and so it is with great validity that I say that Maggie Moo's ice cream is one of the most delicious brands of ice cream that you can get. First of all, the ice cream is very creamy in consistency. Secondly, they do mix ins on the counter a'la Marble Slab/Coldstone Creamery. Lastly, who can resist their pink containers? I love pink!

Bellies full of ice cream deliciousness, we walked down to the Orpheum for our show. I love this theater and its role in the arts of Memphis. The Orpheum is gorgeous and makes me feel very fancy.


The show itself was unbelievable.  Million Dollar Quartet is about one night in the history of Sun Studios in Memphis where Johnny Cash, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins came together to jam and have an impromptu recording session. It made me very proud of Memphis history. The show was fun and lively - I would definitely recommend it if the tour comes to a town near you.


So there you have it - a fun double date with the parental units. I sure do appreciate them!

In music and mint ice cream,
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Monday, February 20, 2012

{Go there}: RP Tracks.

There's a pretty short list of places that Jake and I frequent when we want to eat out.  RP Tracks is definitely on that list - for its food selection, drink prices, and atmosphere. RP Tracks is located by the U of M on Walker at Highland and is your typical favorite college hang out. They've got pool tables, a jukebox, a bar, and lots of room to hang out and talk.

The other night Jake and I were craving nachos and so we hit up RP Tracks:
 We got a pitcher to share while we browsed the menu. Their beer selection on draft is pretty decent - they have Ghost River, New Belgium (seasonals + Fat Tire), Yuengling, and more.

We ended up ordering nachos (jerk chicken with vegetarian chili) and an order of fried cheese. We got a random chicken tender because they were out of fried cheese except those last 5 so they gave us some chicken tenders, which was nice of them.


Chicken tender story beside, the real belle of the ball at this dinner was the nachos. These things are amazing. Our waiter told us next time to ask for the chips on the side, which was a smart suggestion because my only downside is that they are difficult to eat.


So next time you're feeling like pub grub, make the trek to RP Tracks and check out their menu. Whether you're getting the nachos or one of their other stars of the menu (the burger is outstanding), you can't go wrong.

In cheese and chips,
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Friday, February 17, 2012

{Life}: Date Nights at Garabaldis.

There are a few things to know about me:
1) I love pizza.
2) Once I find something I love, I will eat it/order it over and over. I don't grow tired of things.
3) I am a pretty casual person
4) I enjoy spending time with my hubs, Jake

With these things in mind, I'll let you in on a little tradition Jake and I started up about a year ago. Once a week, usually a Sunday night, we go to our favorite pizza place in Memphis - Garabaldi's on Walker at Highland. We like it for a lot of reasons. First, we can get a 16inch pizza and a pitcher of beer for $22. Second, there are TVs so Jake can watch sports. Third, it is never crowded and the staff is very nice. Lastly, it is just freaking delicious pizza.


With Jake in school, we don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like. So this is our chance to carve out a little dedicated time to talk and hang out with each other. It is a little tradition that I love and hope to continue doing. 

So there are our date nights. I'm pretty easy to please - just take me to get some pizza.

In pepperoni pizza,
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