So I generally dislike sandwiches. I would just rather eat something more tasty. However, with this unbearably hot weather I have been craving sandwiches that don't seem to exist in my previous food knowledge. What I mean is I want a to eat a mouth watering meal between two pieces of bread that requires very minimal prep or better yet does not require me to cook at all. But to this point my knowledge based on childhood experiences covers the following choices...turkey or ham...I need more than that if I am going to survive summer. Therefore after a long absents from cooking I am returning with a mission to find delicious sandwich recipes. My goal is to add five new recipes to my cookbook. Feel free to share your thoughts...let the mission begin! 
Are you looking for a good chinese resturant? Well I know where the very best chinese resturant is! It's called Peking in Lebanon, TN. Over the years, I have literally eaten at hundreds of chiense resturants. Truthfully, none of them can even begin to compare to Peking's flavorful dishes. Let me paint you a picture! Upon arriving, begin your tasty adventure with the
crab wontons also known as rangoons. Theses delicious appetizers are wontons filled with crab, cream cheese, and scallions then deep fried to perfection. Next, try a classic cup of egg drop soup made with a slow brewed chicken broth and strings of egg. For the main course you really can't go wrong. If you are looking for a rice dish, go for the Almond Chicken. It combines chicken and chucks of fresh veggies with a flavorful sauce finished with a nice nutty crunch. If you perfer noodles, the Lo Main has an amazing but simple flavor. Your choice of meat tossed with crisp veggies and noodles. But my very favorite part is their egg rolls. Freshly made by hand with chopped cabbage, carrots, and pork then fried. It makes a perfect pairing with any dish or by itself! I am hungry just writing about it!
One of Ted's favorite desserts is Banana Pudding. One day I was flipping through Southern Home Living when I came across this delicious new twist on banana pudding. So I decided to try it out. In Ted's words, "Fabulous...it's now tied with your strawberry cake as my favorite dessert." Being a new mom, I took a few short cuts. But if you are looking to be a true Betty you can find the original recipe in Southern Home Living's Recipe Box.
Season the pork chops with the roasted garlic and herb mix. Crack eggs in a shallow dish. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dip each chop in egg then coat in bread crumbs. Place in well greases baking dish. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until well done.
"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of year. I love walking down the street on a brisk night looking at all of the lights and watching families enjoy spending time celebrating what they have. No matter how difficult times have been, Christmas seems to bring people together with warm thought and holiday cheer. As most families do we have always had certain traditions that we carry out each year to remember the good old days as well as creating new memories. One of my most cherish memories in walking into my Grandma’s house, which always seemed to smell like sugar cookies, to see that her house decorated form one end to the other with candy dishes and tins of party mix. Grandma Boston would bake all sorts of goodies to share with her family, friends, and neighbors. My parents continued this tradition at our house making sweet bread or stew to pass out to our neighbors during the holidays. Now, many years later my mom and I continue the tradition by pulling out our special holiday cookbook with all sorts of best loved recipes that have been saved and passed down from one generation to the next. This weekend my mom and I shared this family tradition with the Krodel’s who over the years have become a dear part of our family. We truly enjoyed sharing some of our favorite holiday treats with them. In the spirit of Christmas, here is one of my very favorite recipes from Christmas pasts.
Everyone seems to have something that triggers that feeling that the holidays have really arrived. For example, my friend Jesse is struck with Christmas joy upon hearing "Love" by the Dave Matthews Band. It isn't something be looks for but rather waits for that first random occurrence to happen. For me, it's Starbucks' red holiday cups with cheerful Christmas Music blasting throughout the air and holiday decor hanging from the walls. I know it seems a little odd from a girl who prides herself in eating at local restaurants. But it's true. That is just my thing. It brings back fond memories of meeting up with old friends and sharing the ways God has blessed our lives. I can't even begin to count the number of incredible conversations I have had while sipping on a peppermint white mocha or a gingerbread latte. This year though I have found a new favorite that was so fabulous and unique that I had to put in on my food blog despite the fact it comes from a chain. Now let me give you a warning...don't knock it until you have tried it! I know some of your taste buds are quivering at the thought of what I could possibly be about to tell you try but trust me I would not lead you astray. So here it is...a few weeks ago Starbucks introduced there new Signature Hot Chocolates. To be honest my first thought in a very sarcastic tone was"Whoopee hot chocolate." It is not something I would normally pay someone to make because I have never truly had a fabulous cup other than my Grandma Lankford's old fashion cocoa. Upon reading the flavors, Salted Carmel and Hazelnut Hot Chocolate, I further judged this new creation to be intriguing but a little too weird for my own taste buds. I mean really who pores salt in their hot chocolate? 
However, one of the long time bristas at our local Starbucks convinced me to try a cup on the house. As disgusting as I thought it sounded, I was not about to turn down a free cup of anything. So bottoms up! Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised at how the flavors blended together to create one yummy cup of goodness. I am now officially addicted to the Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate. The cocoa is a perfect blend of caramel and chocolate topped off with fresh whip cream drizzled in toffee syrup and sprinkled with sea salt. It is amazing! So this holiday season grab your nearest and dearest for a sweet unique treat at your local Starbucks.
So my last batch of Carmel Apple cupcakes were fabulous enough to get some rave reviews and a few shout outs. My friend, Tracy had like three in one night which I think might be the biggest compliment I have ever received. But if not having someone request your recipe for a cook-off and winning is certainly a nice pat on the back. As if that wasn’t reward enough for all my hard work, another friend from work hired me to make cupcakes for a party set with autumn tones. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to create a new favorite. I took my famous pumpkin bread recipe and adapted it to a more cake like substance. Then I search for a maple cream cheese flavor icing. Thank goodness I did a trail run first because the original icing recipe I used was almost as big of a disaster as the cherry cupcakes at least in my book. Let’s just say if it looks to easy to be true it probably is! Anyway, on my second search I found a great recipe by David Leite at http://www.leitesculinaria.com. There are lots of great recipes for all sorts of flavors so check out the site it you have a moment. In the mean, time you have to try the icing. FABULOUS does not even begin to describe it.
Not long ago, I tried a local cupcake sweetry called Gigi’s. I ordered a have dozen cupcakes of a variety of flavors to spur on my own creative juices. Confession: I ate then all myself! So as I often do…I ate each cupcake thinking how I could make it better. My top candidate for a makeover was the Rocky Road. Now in all fairness, I am sure Gigi’s cupcake would have been perfect if it had been fresh. However, a few days later not so much. It was good after I heated it up and added ice cream. But as my avid readers know, I do not do good rather I create magic. So off to the drawing board I went. Now one thing you need to know is perfection does not always need to be made from scratch. There are cases such as this that magic comes from a box with a little tweaking. May I recommend if you ever need a delicious chocolate cake in a hurry try this easy mix with chocolate chips. The icing for these cupcakes involved chocolate gauche which I have never attempted before so I went completely by the book or in this case my new favorite blog…http://howtoeatacupcake.net/2008/03/rocky-road-cupcakes.html. 
The Tin Angel on Westend Avenue is one of those places that you have probably driven by a hundred times thinking someday you should check that place out. If you walk the block, Tin Angel is known as the local eatery around the corner where every one is greeted by a friendly face. The restaurant has a warm and cozy environment. The brick walls and tin ceiling are covered with unique works of art. The menu is as colorful 
and well decorated as the atmosphere featuring traditional American cuisine. The chefs are on a constant quest to seek out the most flavorful, inventive, seasonal dishes possible to display on their menu. As a result, the food is nothing short of amazing. If your in the area around the lunch hour, try some local favorites such as the Margarita Pizza, Parthenon Pita, In side Out Eggplant Parmigiana, or Chicken Basil Brie. For dinner, treat your taste buds with the unique flavors of Seared Pork Tenderloin, Tangerine Duck, Catfish Pomme de Terre, or Cha-Cha Chicken. Whether you walk through the doors at noon or at sunset, you must try their Fried Green Tomatoes with Horseradish sauce. 
Nashville Originals is a dedicated band of local restaurateurs; dedicated to the challenge of sustaining the independent restaurant as a feature and a fixture of local culture and community. What and where you eat, as Nashvillians, helps define the city. Their home grown restaurants reflect who we are and point the way in the future development of the city. From September 15th until the 21st, Nashville Originals are bringing the first annual restaurant week to town to give a happy time to diners. They will be featuring the finest cuisines at a very affordable price in an attempt to showcase the restaurants best elements. This is a win/win for all parties involved. Check out http://www.nashvilleoriginals.com/restaurantweek.php for a list of local eatterys that are aprt of this special offer. In the mean time....Gather, eat, enjoy life in the restaurants that are Nashville Originals.
For the past ten years, I have had the honor to be apart of one family as their Nani. Quite often people ask me what is a Nani...well in the girls' words a Nani is better than a baby sitter but not quite the mommy. A few weeks ago, I kept the girls for a few days while the boys were at camp and their parents escapes for a romantic getaway. During that time, we had more fun than possibly imaginable swimming, picking berries, and of course cooking. Eliza, 8, loves helping in the kitchen and Georgia, 5, is my little foodie. With this in mind, I came up with special kid friendly cupcakes great for a rainy day or a colorfully creative party. First we, mixed
up a regular box of yellow cake batter. Then we added a little vanilla flavoring to give the cake a richer taste, but you could add any flavoring you want. Next, we divided the batter equally into three bowls. After dividing the batter, add several drops of food coloring to each bowl and stir. I would recommend using colors that have a drastic contrast. Then scoop a large spoonful of each color in the cupcake tins until they are filled almost to the top. Bake as directed on the box. When the cupcakes are completely cooled, ice them and decorate them. We chose to ice ours in vanilla and roll them in colored sugar. Since these cupcakes were so bright and colorful we decided to call them Crayola Cupcakes. The girls loved making these cupcakes...even more than that they loved eating them! I hope that some day this recipe can help create a memorable afternoon with your favorite little ones too!
