FRIED GREEN TOMATO BLT

I feel like it’s my job to keep you well informed on the quickest meals around, and an occasional splurge at a great restaurant. So, here’s a quick plug for Puleo’s Grille, at Cedar Bluff in Knoxville – great food!

After browsing in several furniture stores yesterday with my wife and mother, we stopped in for a quick bite at Puleo’s. I have never gotten anything bad there and love the fact that they serve grits with their seafood and as a side item. Just like Charleston, SC!

Their slogan is Southern Roots - Italian Heritage and they have Killian on tap! My kind of place!

I ordered:

FRIED GREEN TOMATO BLT
Applewood smoked bacon, leaf lettuce, and our famous fried green tomatoes topped with Fontina cheese and honey mustard served on multigrain bread · $8.49

…with a side of GRITS! Wonderful my friends.

QUICK AND EASY CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES

In an effort to keep myself feed while my wife diets and eat healthy myself, I quickly prepared this tonight.

Chop up some fresh vegetables like, different colored bell peppers, a red onion, anything you find in the vegetable drawer in the fridge and set them aside.

As usual, heat up some olive oil, garlic, and some hot pepper sauce in a skillet. Throw in some frozen chicken strips; you do not even have to wait until the thaw! As the meat heats up turn them over, salt, and pepper them. Do the other side in about 5 minutes, and turn them often, letting them blacken on each side. Remove the meat from the skillet when cooked well and sit them aside.

Dump in the couple of Roma tomatoes sliced in half and cook them about 3 minutes on each side. They soak up the oil and garlic flavor left in the skillet. Then remove the tomatoes and dump in the chopped vegetables - salt and pepper to taste. Cook the vegetables about 8 to 10 minutes.

Arrange the chicken strips in a flower pattern on a plate, and put the tomato halves in between the chicken strips and finally dump on the cooked vegetables.

Hot, spicy, crunchy, and delicious and you did it all yourself – quick and easy.

Let her eat her bland stuff – you are eating well my friend!

SUMMER SALAD

Now come on, even you can make a salad, surprise someone tonight! It’s this easy.

Just purchase and layout these items:

- Precut and packaged salad fixings
- One red, green, and yellow bell pepper (you only need half of each, so plenty left for the next one)
- Precut and packaged carrots
- Tomatoes (your choice of the kind – and they don’t have to be red)
- Onions (I like the little green onions – but Vidalia or red onions will work)
- Some cottage cheese
- Some shredded cheese (use your favorite kind)
- Your favorite dressing (I used a fat free variety and this raspberry brand really has a great taste combo with the peppers going for it!)
- A handful of sunflower or even peanuts for flavor

If you want a little meat, either then use grilled wieners (all beef), left over hamburger – as I did, or diced cooked ham.

Always use the largest salad bowl you have, because once you get started with the ingredients, it will always over flow! Simply layer the ingredients in the bowl beginning with the lettuce.

Come on – you can do!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY – EARLY

We got a little head start on the Fourth last evening and it included birthday cake and homemade strawberry ice cream for my 7 year old niece.

The host boiled brats in beer (Miller Lite since it isn’t fit for drinking) and then brown them on the grill with the hotdogs, while I sautéed onions, portabella mushrooms, green/yellow/red peppers in garlic, a little butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

The available sides were chili, coleslaw, and crunchy Cheetos and plain chips! It was a wonderful taste sensation.

Following the food was a large display of re-loadable motor tube fireworks for us kids!

Happy Birthday Juliana Bug Bug and America!