Dinner while traveling

I know people (wife) laugh when I say this but, it is hard eating out all the time. When you eat out 3 meals a day it can be hard to keep from eating the same stuff all the time. So I like to branch out and tonight was a good choice.

I went to Whole Foods, which is not usually on my list of places to go but...
I wanted some sushi and my buddy Matt said it was pretty good there. I tried the brown rice tuna rolls and tuna Nigiri. It was a good choice. I also had a vegetable rice salad. Dessert was the best, as always. I went with the Pear Tart with ginger.

So next time you want to try a different place for a quick lunch or dinner, give this place a try.

I am a Polyeggamist

That's right, a person with multiple Big Green Eggs. Thanks to Mom and Dad I was able to pick up a medium BGE this week to go along with my large one. This will be the perfect setup to allow me to prepare some taste sides and deserts at the same time as whatever meat I am cooking. So now while I am smoking a boston butt for 8 hours or grilling up some steaks at 700 plus degrees I can grill up some veggies and even bake a loaf of bread for the meal. I can't wait for Spring for a cookout and some fire pit s'mores with our friends and family.

Thanks Mom and Dad!

This weekend in food

Here are a few highlights from out food preparation and eating this weekend.

Parker had an idea for some more interesting pancakes, ones that look like sunny side up eggs. I think he did a great job. He almost faked out Dallin who had slept in and wasn't fully awake when he sat down at the breakfast table.

Saturday night we tried out a new restaurant with the Neal and Sarah, Porta Via Italian Kitchen in Franklin. They have another location in Nashville that I have heard great things about and we were not disappointed! Stacey and Sarah went with pizza. Neal tried the Chicken Milanese and I ordered Cannelloni. Everything was great. The dough and sauces were spot on and everything tasted fresh and homemade. We all cleaned out plates but left room for fresh made daily Gelato. Perfect!

On Sunday we tried another crock pot recipe that we had been interested in, crock pot lasagna. It was another after church success. You can google the recipe or check out Pinterest, if you are a follower. For desert the kids made Whoopi Pies with sprinkles that were easy, fun and tasty.

Another good weekend of eating with the Hopfers.

What'll Ya Have? What'll Ya Have?

Gimme me 2 Chili Cheese Slaw Dogs all the way (with onions), strings (fries) and a Coke! I'll take it right here in the car. Oh yeah!
When you are in The Atl there are so many places to eat, how do you choose? Well 2 dogs sounded good and where else better than The Varsity downtown. This place is always great and always fast.
Couple fun facts:
They have room for 600 cars at the drive-in and another 800 people inside. They have served more Coca-Cola than any other single restaurant. In one year they serve 2,000,000 cups of it.

www.thevarsity.com

Crock Pot + Boston Butt =

Yummy Sunday afternoon goodness! Stacey tried a new crock pot recipe this weekend and it was great. Place the 3 1/2 lb butt in the pot along with you favorite rub,BBQ sauce and 1 soda. These are not our favs but what we had on hand. Cook for 6 hrs or so, and then shred. Gotta love the crock pot meals on Sunday.

Neal and Sarah added some homemade Mac n Cheese and some broccoli to round it out. Then we topped the meal of with some of Sarah's great cake balls for dessert.

Snow Day Pancakes

We had a snow day today so Parker and I decided to make some pancakes on a non weekend morning. Stacey had shown us a site with this guy that makes all kinds of crazy pancake designs for his kids and there are a few that we wanted to try.

One of the ideas was pancake cereal. You put the mix in squirt bottles and make lots of little dots on the griddle, but not too small. Here are a few pics. Parker and Gretchen loved them. Put the dots in a bowl and add some syrup and have at it!

We also did Parker's initials with some left over batter. The squirt bottle is the key to making fun shapes.

What to try next?