Cooking While Writing With Abandonment - NaNoMealMo

**Photos to be added** Hopefully in focus

Well, here we are.  Halloween is upon us, which means that October is on its way out, and November is about to whip in and out of our lives in a flash!  That is, if you are participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  Thirty days of writing non-stop until you hit 50,000 words.  No editing, no rules, no outside world interfering with your inside world (if you're really lucky), and also, no good meals (if you are unlucky).

NaNoWriMo is officially one week away!  One week before the ordinary humdrum days fall away to the endless depths of your imagination.  One week before you write with complete abandonment.  One week before all established routines are shoved to the side.  One week before you start your new diet of coffee, candy, and nachos!  That is, if you remember to eat anything at all.

Now don't get me wrong, you will definitely need coffee and some chocolate to go on this quest and complete your journey, so stock up now.  But NaNoWriMo tends to be all consuming and it is a fantastic and rewarding experience!  However, in order to make it through, we really do have to remember to eat decently.  This time of year it is all too convenient for us to pick up giant bags of left-over candy at 11pm on Halloween because it is on super sale and a convenient snack.  And OMG so tasty and irresistible.  But you will burn out on NaNo quickly if you don't take care of yourself - at least a little bit.

I know, I know, you are thinking, "But when am I going to find time to cook?" and "It is so much easier to get something to go, or have pizza delivered."  Believe me, I know the feeling, and yes, sometimes it is easier, and those things are okay to do a few times next month.  But trust me, if you do that every day for 30 days, you are going to pay for it, I promise you.

"Okay, Jen, what can we cook that will be relatively quick and easy, last for several days, plus be better for us than 30 days of Gummy Bears and cheezy bread?"

Well, I'm glad you asked!  Look, I've done NaNoWriMo five times now, and I have decided to come up with some food stuffs that will get us through it without sacrificing our health.  (It's also flu season you know?  You have to keep your immune system up!)  Now, I'm not saying these are super healthy or diet kind of meals, I'm not a heath fanatic, (as you may have guessed by my cookbooks) but I know what good food is, and I know what keeps me feeling creative, alert, imaginative, and well.  I am merely sharing my plan of action for NaNoWriMo.  Feel free to come up with your own ideas and creations, but whatever you do, make sure you eat nice, full, and relatively good-for-you meals, okay?  Keep in mind that these recipes are intended to last for several days (or several meals).  That is why I chose them.  The less I have to cook during the month of November, the better.

Okay, the first thing you need to do is some grocery shopping in advance.  This is important, considering you may be overwhelmed the first week, or be looking for the perfect excuse as to why you can't write this week, "There's hunting and gathering to do," is not a valid excuse.  I'm buying a large beef roast and cutting it in half.  The first half will be used to make a roast beef meal with lots of veggies, and the other half can be frozen and used the 2nd or 3rd week for crock-pot beef n' noodles (see below).

*I purposely did not add exact measurements of the seasonings for these recipes, because most of it is to taste.  I have never measured these seasonings, I just sprinkle them on until they look and taste right.  Just do the same and you will be fine.  Remember, if you aren't sure, it is better to under season and add more as you taste and go, than to dump a bunch in right off the bat.  Hehe, I said bat.  It's almost Halloween.  Here, have a cat-bat.

Roast Beef with Veggies

1 Rump Roast, Chuck Roast, or any kind of beef cut you want to use (remember to buy large and cut it in half)
1- 32 oz. box of low-sodium beef broth
2 beef bullion cubes
2 ribs of celery (chopped)
1 small yellow onion (thinly sliced)
2 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
1 yam/sweet potato (peeled and cubed)
4 medium russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
2 large carrots (sliced - don't peel) - you can also substitute for a couple of handfuls of baby carrots
Yellow summer squash (sliced into discs- don't peel)
Seasoned Salt
Cracked Pepper
Dried Parsley
Celery Salt
2 or 3 Tbls. of cornstarch (optional)
Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the roast in the center of a large roasting pan.  Place the bullion cubes, one on each end of the roast.  Next, put in the yam, carrots, celery, garlic and onion.  Pour in the beef broth.  Season the roast with the seasoned salt, pepper, parsley, and celery salt to taste.  You can always add more before the next stage begins, so don't worry about under seasoning here too much, it's fine.  Put on the lid and bake for 4 hours - flipping the roast once every hour.

I know, you're thinking, "Four hours??  I thought you were supposed to be saving me time?"  I am, trust me.  Make this once and it will last you for days.  You can make this meal the day before, or wait until Saturday morning, and start it then.  While it's cooking, go write something, then come back for stage 2.

Ok, stage 2.  Just before the time is up, go ahead and prepare the potatoes and squash.  After the 4 hours are up, pull the pan out and remove the lid.  Smells good, doesn't it?  Ok, just add in the potatoes and squash.  Give the broth a little taste.  This is where you will add more seasoning if it needs it.  I also sometimes add some water here if the broth cooks down too much, but it depends on my mood, so go with whatever you feel.  Just make sure there's enough liquid to cover the new additions of veggies.  Put the cover back on and bake for another hour.  Want some rolls with that?  Cool, bake some after you pull the roast out, but you can also save yourself some time and get a fresh loaf from the grocery. Most larger grocery stores (with a bakery) bake hot, fresh loaves of French bread each day, so pick up one of those if you can.

After the last hour is up, pull out the pan.  Now, you certainly don't have to do this next part.  Your meal is ready to eat now, but I really like this.  Lift the roast out and put it on a plate.  Then get a large bowl and a slotted spoon and scoop out all the veggies into the bowl.  Turn the stove burner on high and sit the roaster pan directly on the burner.  Let the broth that is left boil.  Get a cup and put a couple of tablespoons of corn starch in it, and add some cold water.  Stir the corn starch and water together until blended (no lumps).  When the broth is boiling, stir in the cornstarch mixture.  The broth should thicken up into a nice broth gravy.  Add more corn starch and water if you want it thicker.

I put a ladle of veggies on my plate, shred some roast beef on it, then top it off with some of the gravy. But feel free to load your plate how you want.  Now, this is a dish that really doesn't require much supervision, so you can really just throw it all together and go write.  Don't forget to set a timer each hour though so you don't forget to flip it.  This meal will feed a family of 4 a couple of times, maybe, but if it's just you or one other person, it can last for about 3, 4 or even 5 suppers and lunches.  It reheats well in the microwave and you are getting your veggies and protein.  No more cooking or worrying about what you are going to eat for a few days, so you can concentrate on writing.

I don't know about you, but after I eat beef for that many days in a row, I want something completely different, like chicken or fish.  This also might be the time you decide to order that pizza and maybe eat some PB&J sandwiches for a couple of days.  And don't forget about these guys -

              

Seriously, if you want something to snack on, try reaching for some of these treats instead of what you got for trick-or-treat.  An apple with peanut butter is very tasty, filling and can pep up your brain function.

Up next, one of my fav staples - Chicken Quesadillas.  I've posted recipes for this before, but it has undergone several transformations since the first time, and I've made it simpler to flip because instead of sandwiching everything between 2 tortillas and trying to flip it, I just stuff it all into one tortilla and fold it ;)

Chicken Quesadillas

3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into chunks)
Olive oil
1 can of Rotel or Red Gold tomatoes and green chilies
1/2 of a red bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 of a green bell pepper (chopped)
Fejita seasoning
Juice of 1 lime
Taco seasoning
Paprika
Black pepper
Fresh Cilantro
Flour tortillas
Olive oil cooking spray
Colby jack cheese (shredded)
Pepper jack cheese (shredded or thinly sliced for quick melting)
Cheddar (or cheddar jack) cheese (shredded)

Heat about a Tbls. or two of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add in the chicken, then lime juice, black pepper, paprika, a dusting of taco seasoning, and then sprinkle with a generous amount of fejita seasoning.  Flip chicken a couple of times and cook until golden on the outside and no longer pink in the middle.  Remove the chicken and set to the side.

In the same skillet, add a little more oil and saute the bell peppers until tender.  Add in the tomatoes and green chilies, cilantro, and a little taco seasoning (adjust this depending on how much heat you want).  If you have any lime juice left, feel free to add it in here.  If you don't, no biggie.  Stir until ingredients are well blended.  Add the chicken back into the pan.  Mix everything together and cook until heated through.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Get out a separate skillet, (the larger, the better) and set it on the burner you were just using - same temp.  Let the skillet warm up for a bit, then give the bottom of the skillet a nice dose of olive oil cooking spray.  Coat one side of a flour tortilla with the cooking spray, and lay (oiled side down) in the pan.  On half of the tortilla, layer the following: pepper jack, cheddar (or cheddar jack), chicken/pepper filling, Colby jack.  Using a metal or wooden spatula, flip the empty side of the tortilla onto the filling side to make a half circle shaped quesadilla.  Check the bottom of the quesadilla when the cheese starts to melt.  When the tortilla is golden in color, simply flip the quesadilla over and cook the other side.  When the tortilla is a bit crispy and cheeses are all melted, remove the quesadilla from the skillet onto a plate.  Cut into halves (or fourths depending on the size of tortilla you used).

Now I can usually fit 2 quesadillas in the large skillet at a time, but put however many in at a time that you are comfortable with (or that will fit).  This amount of ingredients will make several quesadillas.  What I do, is make about 3 or 4 then save whatever filling is left over to make more at a later time, or to make some fantastic nachos!  (Yes, I said nachos.  They aren't all bad, all the time.)  The filling can be refrigerated for about 4-5 days.  If you don't plan on using it by then, freeze it for later.  The quesadillas can be refrigerated, and reheated in the microwave, but they start getting a little too soggy for me after about 2 or 3 days, so figure out how many you can eat within that time period before you start cooking. Hmm, I probably should have mentioned that before the recipe :/

**You can slice up the other halves of the red and green peppers and save those to snack on.

Butternut Squash with Cheese Ravioli

This recipe was born from one of my Better Homes And Gardens cookbooks, with a few slight modifications.  It is a fantastic soup for the Autumn season.

2 lbs. of butternut squash
3 cups of vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes (or 1/8 tsp. of ground red pepper)
1 Tbls. of butter
Dash of celery salt
9 oz. pkg. of 3-cheese ravioli

Peel the squash and half it lengthwise.  Remove and discard the seeds and pulp.  Cut the squash into 3/4" pieces.  In a large saucepan, combine half a cup of water, squash, veggie broth, celery salt, and red pepper.  Cover and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until the squash is tender.

Follow the boiling instructions on the ravioli.

Transfer 1/4 of the squash mixture to a blender.  Cover and blend/process until smooth.  Repeat with the remaining chunked portions, one at a time until all the mixture is blended and smooth. Return mixture to the pan and bring just to boiling.  Reduce heat.  Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.  Add the butter and stir until melted. When ravioli is cooked and drained, put some into a bowl then ladle the butternut squash soup over the top.  You can sprinkle a bit of red pepper flakes on top for extra kick, if you'd like.

This is warm, tasty, and very filling.  Simply refrigerate the leftovers and reheat in the microwave when hungry.


EZ Crock-pot BBQ Pork Ribs with Cornbread & Green beans

This recipe is so simple, you are going to love it!  I like to use boneless pork ribs, but if you want to leave the bone in, that's super tasty too.

Pork Ribs (However much will fit nicely in your crock-pot --Don't overstuff it though, you want them to cook evenly)
18 oz. bottle of the BBQ sauce of your choice (or bigger if you have a lot of ribs)
Cornbread mix
Green beans

Boneless Ribs shown -
Plus my craptastic awesome plates!

Okay, seriously, this is easy peasy.  Open the ribs package and place them in a crock-pot.  Pour about 1/2 of the bottle of BBQ sauce over them.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high for 4-5 hrs.).  Stir occasionally (once or twice).

During the last 15-20 minutes or so of the ribs being done, add the rest of the BBQ sauce.  Bake the cornbread according to package instructions.  I like frozen green beans because they have a very fresh flavor and a nice crisp texture after they are cooked/steamed, but if you prefer canned, that'll work too (or any veggie you would like). Cook the green beans while the cornbread is baking.  When everything is done, turn off the crock-pot, and load up your plate!

This next recipe is the only one that will most likely not yield left-overs.  If it's just for one person then you can probably get at least 2 meals out of it though.  I thought it was a good fit for this post because it is cheap and quick.  This entire meal can be prepped and cooked in about 20-25 minutes.  Make sure you prep the potatoes and start them to boiling first, so that your fish and sides will be done at the same time.

Herb Crusted Flounder with Cheese Potatoes

The fish dish

Flounder fillets
Juice of 1 lemon (optional)
Cracked pepper
Fresh dill (chopped)
Fresh basil (chopped)
Dried parsley
Dried thyme
Paprika
Seasoned salt

I really need new plates :/

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil cooking spray.  Lay the fish fillets in a single layer in the baking dish.  Dowse the fillets in the lemon juice.  Sprinkle on the rest of the ingredients.  Bake for 16 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

*For variation, consider coating the fish first in melted butter, then putting a coating of panko crumbs mixed with parmesan cheese on top.  Layer on the rest of the ingredients and bake the same way, for the same time, or until the panko crumbs are golden.  This gives the fish a more crunchy texture.(Shown in pic)

The potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes (peeled and cut into large cubes)
Celery salt
2 Tbls. of butter
Seasoned salt
Cracked pepper
Onion powder
Dried parsley
2 slices of American cheese
A few thin slices of pepper jack cheese
Shredded Colby jack
A couple of TBLS. of milk

Boil the potatoes in water seasoned with celery salt until done.  Turn down the burner to low - to medium low heat.  Drain the potatoes and add butter to the pan.  Return the potatoes to the pan and add the rest of the ingredients.  Cover and allow to the cheeses to melt.  Stir gently as to not mash them too much, but make sure it all gets mixed together well.

Don't forget your choice of veggie - this is VERY important and the most forgotten.

Crock-pot Beef n' Noodles

Okay, remember the roast, cut in half, that we started with?  This is what you do with the other half that you were saving.

The other half of the raw roast meat from before (cut into 1" chunks)
1/4 cup of quick-cooking tapioca
16 oz. pkg. of wide egg noodles
1-2 cups of frozen green beans (depending on how much room you have in your crock-pot)
32 oz. box of beef broth
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 beef bullion cubes
Seasoned salt
Cracked pepper
Onion powder

Put all the ingredients, except the noodles and green beans, into the crock-pot.  Cover and cook for 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).  Add in the noodles and green beans the last 30-45 minutes.  After you add the noodles and green beans, make some mashed potatoes to ladle it over.  Yum!

<---(Hey LooK!  A picture!)



Okay, that should give you some options to feed your body and mind while you are creating new characters and amazing worlds!  I am going to post pictures on here - retroactively.  Also, I plan on adding snack ideas and casseroles for the next post, so keep checking back!

Good Luck!

Prepping for NaNoWriMo and A Review of Grammarly

** I use Grammerly for proofreading because it's better to be a woman eating chicken, than a woman-eating chicken.**  <--- Fact.

I know that this is a food blog, but I will be talking quite a bit about NaNoWriMo for the next few posts because NaNoWriMo is the reason I even have a food blog in the first place.  It is how I came to know and fall in love with writing.  Thanks to NaNoWriMo I decided to get a degree in Professional Writing and was fortunate enough to get 2 cookbooks published.  So yeah, NaNoWriMo is gonna get some face time here for a bit.  Don't worry, there are some awesome recipe ideas and other too-busy-to-cook tips to come ;)

To all writers/would-be writers:

Today is the first of a very important month.  Yes, Halloween, but October is also known by Wrimos as "Prep Month."  Prep for what?  For the craziest 30 days of the year, also known as NaNoWriMo.  To find out all the ins and outs of Pre-Nano Prep, go to this link, you will thank me.

NaNoWriMo is a collective novel-writing challenge where participants write 50,000 words of fiction in 30 days.  Which 30 days?  All the ones in November.  Why November?  Because NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which happens to be November.  It's scary, exhausting, crazy, gratifying, exhilarating, and it's challenging.

NaNoWriMo is about quantity over quality.  Don't worry about grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc., you can fix it all later using Grammerly.  In order to reach your word goal, you need to do what the pros do - write every day.  I cannot stress this enough.  You need to write at least 1,666 words per day to get to 50,000 of them in 30 days.  If you miss a day though, don't panic, you'll just have to write twice as much the next day.

I'm going to say this again:  Do Not Edit As You Go!  If you edit, you will NOT make it, period. Maybe if you are a seasoned professional writer and/or have decades of writing experience, but for anyone else, forget about it.  This is especially hard to do for those of us who are perfectionists and/or O.C.D., but you have to get the concept of perfection out of your head before you start.  Why?  Because it will be crap, accept that now and it will be easier when you are writing.

Veteran Wrimo Tip:  Whatever you write for NaNoWriMo will most certainly be the worst thing you've ever written (unless you participated in previous years of NaNoWriMo, then maybe this year's will be slightly better).  Accept it and move on or your sanity will be in serious jeopardy.  Don't worry, the month of December is NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) and that is when you will take important steps to make your crap into something less crappy.  How?  With lots of revision, several drafts, tenacity, and with the help of writing tools like Grammerly.  You can give it a try here.

Now, I was offered a 2-week free trial from Grammerly and I was really excited to give it a go.  I had heard about the program, but I didn't really know how it worked, if it would be too complicated, or if I would even like it.  After using it, I have to admit that it was the most helpful automated proofreading program I had ever used.  It's simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate.  You can copy-paste an entire document into the Grammery editor, or simply upload it, your choice.  It combs the document faster than anything I've ever used, (less than a minute) and found every issue accurately, then broke each issue down to tell me why it was flagged for review.

Here is why I found it so very useful:

1) Not only does it tell you what the problem is (i.e., which grammar rule was broken), but it also explains the sometimes confusing rules of English grammar in simple ways - with examples.  Depending on the issue, the Grammerly editor may provide several incorrect examples so that you can step back from your mistake and look at it in a different way, so that you can better understand how your word, phrase, punctuation, etc., was misused.

2) You can choose to see the long or short explanation of a flagged issue.

3) The editor usually suggests a correction.  Not just a general correction, but one specific to your document, using your exact words and context from your document.  You can choose to change it to the suggested correction, or to ignore it (if you did it on purpose) and go on to the next issue.

4) It lets you know what exceptions to the grammar rules are that you may be breaking, and how they may be exceptions.  If you are still confused as to why an issue was flagged, you can click on "Ask The Community" at the bottom of each explanation box.  This takes you to an email-formatted text platform where you can fill out the subject line, then ask your question in the "Add Details" box.  You can choose to also automatically include the issue in question.  When you click "Post Question" it goes to a community-driven public forum called "Grammerly Answers."

5) It can be used to check the document for plagiarism.

6)  There is a "Synonyms" button for suggested replacement words.

7)  After you have edited your document in the Grammerly editor, you can just click "Copy" or "Download" to get the corrected version back to your computer.

Ok, and these are the parts that I thought were really cool!

• Right on the editor page, it shows how many issues were found and gives you a score based on issues versus how many words are in the document.
• There is also a summary list which separates found issues into categories and tells you how many of these issues can be found in each category, then breaks them down for you in detail.  You have the option of saving or printing this report.  It will be saved in PDF format which can be opened with the free downloadable PDF reader - Adobe Acrobat Reader.  This report provides the summary as well as the document with all issues highlighted so that you can easily find them and make any necessary corrections when offline.
• The "Dashboard" is very helpful for understanding where you need improvement with your grammar by pinpointing what kinds of issues you are having the most, and even links to articles that may help you understand how you can avoid breaking the specific rules of grammar that you are having the most issues with.  
• The Dashboard page helps you track your progress by taking your average Grammerly scores from all of the documents that you have uploaded into the editor.  The more documents you upload to the Grammerly editor, the more accurate the data.  This data can be viewed and compared by week, month, or year.  It compares your scores from the current document with previous ones so that you can see how your writing has improved or declined.  I find this aspect of Grammerly extremely helpful because I can see whether I'm still making the same grammatical mistakes, correcting them, or whether I've developed some new bad habits.
• This service can be used for any genre of writing - for fiction and non-fiction authors, students, teachers, bloggers, professionals, technical writers, job applicants, etc.  

Alright, so now I know you are asking, "How much is this awesome service gonna cost me?"  Here's a breakdown:

If you are having trouble reading the details, go here.  Although Grammerly can be used for all sorts of documents by all kinds of people from different walks of life, if you are a writer, or are planning to become one after your epic triumph over NaNoWriMo, you should just go ahead and get the yearly subscription for $139.95, which breaks down to only $11.66 per month.  Come on, you know you spend more than that each week at an unnamed coffee house.  Multiply that by 52 weeks, which would equal something like $600 bucks a year!  So, do yourself a favor - make your coffee at home, (I'll show you how next post) and pay for a subscription to Grammerly.  See, I'm saving you money, and helping your career.  You're welcome.

Grammerly can also help with your emails and social media.  And this part is FREE, so go get it!

Still want more reasons to try Grammerly?  Go here for more info.

Ok guys and gals, that should take care of NaNoWriMo and NaNoEdMo introductions as well as my two cents about some great editing assistance.  Join me next time for more Pre-NaNo Prep suggestions and how to stock up on food stuffs/meal planning for the upcoming challenge of "writing with abandon!"

Red Gold Product Review & Giveaway

Hey guys!  Guess what?  It's football season!  That means cooler weather (well, not yet), team pride, and tailgating parties/cookouts!  We all have our favorite representative colors and no matter the rivalries, we also share a love of Gameday treats.

Now, I have a confession to make.  Before last month, I didn't know there were nacho-making alternatives out there, so I have just been advocating Rotel brand Tomatoes and Green Chilies for any and all Tex-Mex type recipes.  I know, sounds crazy right?  However, Red Gold asked if they could send me a variety pack of their products to try out, and I said that I would try them and review them in an honest post.

*Disclosure: Now mind you, although Red Gold provided me with some of their products for free, my opinions here about those products are my own.  I was not asked to write a favorable review.  I always give honest and straight-forward opinions about all products, services, and restaurants on OMG, Have You Tasted This? and will not sacrifice the integrity of this blog for any reason - ever.

That being said, I have now tried several of Red Gold's products and I want to share my opinion with you about them.

First off,  I like to make chicken quesadillas a few times a month (this recipe has been revised again, I'll update it soon).  They have become a staple in my house.  I have always just grabbed and used Rotel for this recipe, but the last time I made them, I used Red Gold's "Queso Ready" Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies instead, and there was definitely a difference in quality.  When I open a can of Rotel, I usually pick out about 10-20% of the under-ripe tomatoes before adding them to my dish.  Still, the tomatoes I use that are left are rather pale, but I use them anyway, because I didn't realize there were options.  When I opened the Red Gold can, I immediately noticed the vibrancy in the color of the produce, and I didn't find but maybe one or two not-quite-ripe tomato cubes, as opposed to the large quantity in Rotel.  This already told me that the attention to quality detail was better from the Red Gold company, and that is a huge deal for me.  The Red Gold brand also contained much less sodium (380 mg vs. Rotel's 520 mg), more calcium and iron (4% vs. Rotel's 2%), and more Vitamin A (15% vs. Rotel's 8%) per serving.  The flavor of the Red Gold Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies was good, and the heat from the chilies was nicely balanced.  Based on my experience, I will be buying the Red Gold product over Rotel from now on.

Another product that I tried from Red Gold was the Petite Diced Tomatoes with Lime Juice & Cilantro.  Remember the blog post I did about the fish tacos?  Well I decided to try them at home.  I had never blackened fish, (or anything else for that matter) and I wasn't sure what to do to make a spicy/sweet pineapple salsa.  But hey, I'm all about winging it, so I read up on how to "blacken" fish and went to the store and bought a can of diced pineapple, still unsure of what I was going to do with it exactly.  I dipped the tilapia in melted butter because I am all about eating healthy that's what I thought sounded good in some of the recipes I found.  I dipped it in the creole seasoning, and fried it for about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Yay!  The fish looked right, now what about the salsa?  I looked in the cabinet and saw the Red Gold tomatoes and thought that the lime juice and cilantro might go well with the fish seasonings. So I opened the can of pineapple and dumped it in a bowl with the drained Petite Diced Tomatoes with Lime Juice & Cilantro and mixed it all up.  It tasted great!  The citrus lime flavor mixed well with the pineapple, and the tomatoes and cilantro blended out the different tones and made a great tasting pineapple salsa for my fish tacos.  I got out the flour tortillas, placed the fish on them, followed by cabbage, the pineapple salsa, shredded Monterrey jack cheese, and topped it all with sliced fresh avocado.  D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!  This would also be good in the chicken quesadilla recipe, just FYI.

Ok, one more product that stood out to me from the Red Gold family, was Mama Selita's Jalapeno Ketchup.  Yes, you read that right.  Jalapeno ketchup!  I was like, holy cow, why haven't I ever thought of this?  Genius!  Ok, so the first thing I thought that it would go well on was meatloaf.  I haven't tried it on meatloaf yet, but I surely will the next time I make it.  What I DID have it on though, was cheeseburgers.  YUM!  Seriously, this is the best thing to happen to ketchup...well, almost.   I had one problem with it - it is made with high fructose corn syrup, which is a bit of a letdown for me.  I never buy ketchup made with HFCS, or anything else if I can help it.  But, if you don't have an issue with HFCS, then by all means, try this because it does taste wonderful!  I liked it because it was different.  In my opinion, Mama Selita's Jalapeno Ketchup is very well balanced between tangy, sweet, and spicy and I really loved dipping my homemade fries in it as well.  So if you want to add kick to your eggs, beef, chicken (oh, I tried this on some fried chicken fingers too, and it was better than the bbq sauce that came with them), potatoes, or whatever else you can think of, get some of this ketchup.

Like I said before, I wanted to give an honest review about some of the products that were given to me by Red Gold.  And I can honestly say, that they have definitely made me into a buyer of their products, at least some of them, over other brands.  Their website has a really interesting family history flip book that I recommend checking out.  You can find it here, along with other information about Red Gold.  

Now through October, Red Gold is hosting the Red Gold Run To Crush Hunger Competitive 5k & Family Walk.  Click on the link to find out how you can help/participate.  Following the run, there will be a chili cook-off as well, with a cash prize for the winner! 

Want to try grilling with these products?  Here are a couple of recipes provided by Red Gold.  Give them a go - enjoy!

Spicy Tomato Burger

1 lb ground beef

1 14.5 oz can of Red Gold Tomato w/Green Chilies

Salt and Pepper

Option: Pepper Jack Cheese

Combine beef & tomatoes (drained). Form into patties. Season. Add cheese to center of each patty for an added kick. Grill.

As desired, serve on toasted bun. use Jalapeño Ketchup or Chipotle Mayo. Layer spicy peppers.

Caribbean Chicken Burger

1 lb. ground chicken

1 14.5 oz can of Red Gold Lime Juice & Cilantro

Salt & Pepper

Combine ground chicken and Red Gold tomatoes (drained). Form into patties. Season. Grill

As desired, served on Toasted bun or lettuce. Layer guacamole or avocado or roasted pineapple slice. Top with a mango chutney or fruit salsa.

Those of you who follow me on FaceBook and Twitter, heard about Red Gold's summer grill/smoker giveaway last month, right?  They also gave away 1000 aprons for their Summer Grillin' Party Sweepstakes.  That was an awesome giveaway and I hope you participated.  If you missed out on the prizes, you have another chance right now.

**The Giveaway**

I have one Red Gold grilling apron that I will gladly give away to anyone who posts the best (most embarrassing) tailgating or grilling story in the comments below.  You have until September 30th, so if you can't think of any stories to tell, get out there and make some!

Fish Tacos & Rubber Chickens

First off, I am so amazed and inspired at the support that my sister and I received from Ohio State fans last week!  Even though the Easton Barnes & Noble gig got cancelled due to ordering issues (on B&N's part), you all managed to make our very limited book tour into a great success!  Thank you so very much!

Julie and me at the Amos Memorial Library signing.  More pics to come under the "Event Pics" tab.

Today I would like to review one of Norman, Oklahoma's local restaurants - the Interurban.  I know, it seems like forever since I did an eatery review.  Aren't you excited?  I am!  I actually feel like I have a lot to say about this one.  So here it goes...

Taken from the Interurban website here

Once upon a time, I had a hankering for a great, restaurant quality fish dish.  I'm not talking Red Lobster chain food, I'm talking about something different.  Now, I know where to get the best batter dipped Pub fish n' chips in Norman (McNellie's Abner Ale House), but I wanted something baked, or at least not breaded, and not world wide chain produced.  Someone suggested checking out the Interurban, and it occurred to me then, that I haven't ever been there!  For anything!  I checked out their menu online and just knew that now was the time to try it out.

We were greeted with a friendly and professional smile at the door and shown to our seats.  Our waiter was Brian, and he was also very friendly and professional, so already, I'm happy with my service - especially since it was at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon on a weekend.  In my experience, I hardly ever get the best service during off-times (meaning times that are not normal meal times), which gives me a good gauge for seeing the way a restaurant and all its cogs function at their worst.  I always take this into consideration when doing a review when I go, for good or bad.  In this case, it was definitely for the good!

I asked Brian a lot of questions and explained that it was my first time there.  He was very patient and extremely knowledgeable about the menu and the kitchen practices.  I decided to go with Brett's Fish Tacos.  Now, I have to explain that I never in a million years thought I would order anyone's fish tacos. The thought of fish in place of beef or chicken in a taco has brought out such disdain in me, that I could always feel my face actually involuntarily contort at the mere mention of fish tacos.  And yet, this sounded like the very thing I was in the mood for - non-battered fish, and something different.  I was not disappointed with my selection.

From the OK Gazette article titled "All Aboard!"
(This is a fantastic article about the Interurban in OKC. Check it out!)

This dish lived up to the description as well as my expectations, no...exceeded my expectations.  It is described as:

Blackened tilapia in 2 flour tortillas, fresh avocado, shredded cabbage, Monterey jack cheese, pineapple salsa, and bistro sauce.  Served with borracho beans. ~$10.49

I had never heard of borracho beans before so I looked them up before I went.  They are also called "drunken beans" by some, because they are pinto beans cooked in beer, and other flavorings.  Brilliant idea!  Not only was this my first experience with beer beans, but I had never had blackened tilapia before either.  I had only ever had cabbage in its vinegared form, so plain ol' cabbage was also new to me.  I asked them to leave off the bistro sauce because I don't really like mustard-style dressings, and plus, this was already a plethora of new tries for me in one dish.

A-mazing!

The spicy/salty blackened seasonings were quickly cooled by the chilled (and perfectly ripened) avocado and cabbage, and the pineapple salsa balanced the flavors out very nicely!  A pina colada or tropical rum runner drink on the beach would have made everything perfect, but in a land-locked state, I found this fish dish to be most satisfying indeed!  The borracho beans were too tangy for my personal taste, but I could see why they would be appealing to some, especially coupled with this dish.  The quality of Brett's Fish Tacos could not have been better, (and it wasn't even during peek dining hours).  I was truly impressed!

I solemnly swear that I will never again turn my nose up at the mention of fish tacos as long as I live.

That being said, I have a complaint about another time that I visited the Interurban and ordered the not-Brett's Fish Tacos.  Oddly enough, Brian was our waiter that time too, and he was just as fabulous!  I decided to try the Apricot Chicken because it sounded great!

Grilled chicken breast topped with our tasty apricot sauce and sliced almonds, served with wild rice and fresh steamed vegetables. ~$12.89

This was more expensive than I wanted to pay for lunch, but after the amazing fish tacos, I thought it would probably be worth it.  I was so very wrong.  The plate looked good when it was sat in front of me.  It smelled good too.  I tasted a bit of the sauce and it tasted good.  Excitedly, I cut into my chicken, scooped some of the almonds and rice onto the bite-filled fork and put it in my mouth.  This is close to what the chicken's texture felt like:

hiphound.com

Not playin'...not even a little bit.  It was so dense and rubbery and terrible that I could only picture the image of 3 frozen Tyson chicken breasts being pushed together with the force it would take to make a precious gemstone into one single nasty patty.  Seriously.  The quality of that chicken breast was so bad (and I don't mean the chicken was spoiled or anything, I mean that the actual quality was so bad) that I had to call poor Brian over to my table to have him take it back.  People, I don't remember ever sending back a meal because of the quality of meat.  I'm not really even the type to send things back at all, I'd rather just eat what I can and not make a fuss.  However, I've sent things back for toppings not being as I asked, or for something not being done enough, or for something tasting spoiled, but these things don't happen very often.  And I have NEVER had to send back a plate for the meat being such terrible quality with the garnish and sides being so incredibly high quality.  This did not seem possible to me.  I was very nice and apologized to Brian, but I just could not eat it, especially for that high of a price.  I refused to do that to myself.  

Brian was very nice and apologetic and he asked if he could get me something else.  I decided the fish tacos would be the best course of action at that point, because I liked the Interurban and I wanted to leave there feeling happy.  The manager came out and apologized a few minutes later.  He asked if it was the overall dish or something specific, and I told him.  He seemed to make a mental note and apologized again.  The fish tacos quickly made their way to my table and they were the same good quality as they were the first time I ordered them.  I'm not sure why the company would use such a low standard of chicken with such high-quality preparation and other ingredients, but I can tell you that I will not be ordering ANY of their chicken dishes in the near or distant future.

I am excited to try their pizzas though!  They have a Monday night special on their pizzas that I think would be a prime time to give them a go!  

So if you are around the OKC area, please don't let my review of the chicken deter you from trying the Interurban.  They have fantastic staff members, a nostalgic railroad depot ambiance, and the most amazing fish tacos!

Bringing The Stove To Buckeye Grove!

We are getting close to college football kickoff!  Are you excited?  I am too.  The season of tailgating is once again upon us!  Speaking of tailgating, remember last year when I had posted on my Facebook page that I was working on a new cookbook?  Well, the time has come to announce that the new tailgating book is...

The Ohio State University Cookbook!!

Co-written with my sister, this book is my second, and her first, in the line of university themed tailgating cookbooks from Gibbs Smith Publishing.  It is due out on August 1st.  We were super jazzed about getting to do this particular book, because my sister and I are Buckeyes at heart no matter where we live or what we do on our journey of life!  

Julie is an OSU alum with a master's degree in education from Ohio State.  She currently lives in Ohio with her husband and daughters.  I received my master's in professional writing from the University of Oklahoma, and authored Gibbs Smith's OU themed cookbook last year.  However, I was born and raised in Ohio and once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye!

Saw this on a shirt from Donkey Tees.  If you want the shirt, go here.

I will be flying back home for a short time to visit family as well as do a couple of signing events to help promote The Ohio State University Cookbook.  Here is a brief list of upcoming events, but keep checking back on the Upcoming Events Page for the most up to date info:

• Amos Memorial Public Library

          Tuesday, August 13th @ 6:30pm

          230 E. North St.

          Sidney, Ohio

          -In the Art Gallery

Both events will feature samples of some of the recipes from the cookbook, and Julie and I will both be there to sign.  So, stop on by and see us if you are in the area.  We look forward to seeing you!

Gooooo Bucks!

Independence Day With An Accidental Side Of Starfish

First off, I really want to thank those of you who participated in the OU Cookbook Tornado Relief Drive last month.  The money you raised has been sent to those who need it.  So thank you again for your generosity.  Your help is much appreciated!

www.epacha.org

I don't know about you, but the 4th of July has slowly become one of my favorite holidays in my adult years.  Oh, I loved it as a kid too, because there was always a cookout with my family, followed by the men in my family having a few beers then lighting explosives on fire.  So you know, good times.  However, after I grew up and moved away from home, Independence Day just lost it's luster for me.  Suddenly, I realized that I missed going to the fairgrounds, mom spreading out a blanket and setting a paper grocery bag full of popcorn in my lap, and the crowd "ooh" and "ahhhh-ing" in unison after each firework exploded across the night sky.  There was a time in my adulthood when I realized that there were no cookouts, no drunken uncles setting the yard on fire, and no real sense of tradition, which I learned was a very important ingredient in enjoying the holidays - any holiday.

So, I decided to create traditions - cookout, fireworks, fun.  And the only fire in the yard is the controlled one inside the fire pit on the patio.  Now, I host the cookout for lunch every year.  I don't do the grilling, but I do the hunting & gathering, side-dishes, and themed trays.

OMG!  DID I JUST SAY, "THEMED?"

Yes, yes I did.  And we all know how much I LOVE themed things!  I get tickled to death about making themed foods, so Independence Day is something I look forward to these days.  I get excited about seeing what I can come up with that differs from the year before.

This year I decided to sketch out some theoretical food tray ideas, back in June. Nothing too fancy, just themed and fun!

The one on the left is supposed to represent the American flag filled with cheese and veggies.  I took a large baking sheet and covered it in aluminum foil, then laid down a sheet of wax paper...  Wait, wait - time out...

IMPORTANT NOTE: First thing to do whenever you are making a fruit or veggie tray is to thoroughly wash all of your produce and set it aside until it is needed.  

Ok, now that I've covered my important safety announcement, let's continue.  To begin putting this tray together, I sliced up some provolone, pepper-jack, and Vermont sharp white cheddar.  You can use any kind of white cheeses - Havarti, mozzarella, Gouda, etc.  Then I sliced up 2 red bell peppers and picked out some cherry tomatoes.  I layered everything in the form of the flag's red and white stripes then as follows:

• Provolone
• Red peppers
• Pepper-Jack
• Tomatoes
• White Cheddar
• More red peppers

Then I got some blue corn chips and put a couple of handfuls of them in the square of the upper left-hand corner to finish off the American flag look, and ta-da!

The sketch on the right in the concept drawing above was an idea I had for fruit.  I wasn't sure if the fruit tray was going to work, and honestly, I was leaning toward really thinking that it wouldn't.  But, I gave it go.  The first thing I did was slice up some strawberries and laid them down in a border pattern on a round, plastic tray, in order to crate the outline of the star.  Then I put a small ramekin in the center, to hold the place where the dip was going to go.  I then carefully spread blueberries all around the ramekin, inside the strawberry star boarder until it was filled up.  Then, I cut a block of softened cream cheese in half and put one half of it in a small mixing bowl.  I added about a teaspoon of sugar and about a half of a teaspoon of vanilla...then maybe a little more vanilla ;)  Now I'm not talking about that imitation vanilla crap, I mean the real extract, just so we're clear.  Don't use the crap, you're just cheating yourself.  Ok, so then I mixed it all together and spooned the mixture into the ramekin.  Viola!

I had my doubts, but I think it turned out pretty good.  Ok, well, it looks more like a starfish than a star, but hey, I free-handed it so that's the best I could do.  Starfish are pretty too. (Even plastic ones like this one)

tapirback.com

Thanks for reading, and if you have any 4th of July themed dishes that you made this year, and would like to share, please put them in comments below.  Recipes and pictures are always welcome.

Oh, I almost forgot!  Every year I make a cherry pie too with a different pastry symbol in the middle.  This year I decided to stick with the starfish theme.  I haven't mastered (or even gotten close really) the weaving of the crust strips, but it's something I'd like to work on for the future.  Anyway, here's a pic of it:

I hope you had a wonderful 4th!

Oklahoma Tornado Relief Drive - Get Involved, Get A Book

Don't think that I forgot about the Geek Recipe Giveaway winner, ccmidget2003 for her Lightsaber pretzel recipe...because I didn't.  She will be receiving a free autographed copy of the University of Oklahoma Cookbook as her prize.  Congratulations!

It has been a busy and somber time in Oklahoma these past several weeks.  Record-setting tornadoes and severe weather have been raking over the state and there have been many losses, great and small.

Brennan Linsley - AP Photo

My heart goes out to the victims for the devastation they have experienced, and also to those who are doing anything they can to help.  The teams and individuals who have stepped up to assist family, friends, and strangers alike, have been crucial to the recovery process of those affected.

Brett Deering - Getty Images

I would also like to help in whatever small way that I can, so I am going to donate all profits from my University of Oklahoma Cookbook to the American Red Cross and local tornado animal rescue shelters.  If you would like to donate to this cause in this way, please visit my FaceBook page and send me a private message.  I will let you know where you can send a check.  I have a limited personal supply and this offer is only through me, not my publisher (Gibbs Smith) or Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any place else that sells my book.  I am selling them for $15 each (autographed and personalized if you would like) plus shipping.  Anyone is welcome to donate more than the asking price, and be assured that any amount over the $15 (plus shipping) will be fully donated to the above mentioned entities.  This fund-raising event will end by June 30th, or whenever I run out of books, whichever comes first.

Father's Day is coming up, so why not get Dad a great tailgating gift, plus help out those in need at the same time?  For more information about my personal experiences with the Oklahoma tornadoes, as well as why I choose to support the American Red Cross, see the Sidney Daily News article from my home town newspaper in Ohio under the "Articles" tab above.

Thank you for your continuous support!