Jeff's Brochette Recipe!

Well, it's not exactly Jeff's (of Fathairybastard fame), but it's as close as you can get.  I think most Brochette Shrimp recipes involved similar ingredients and steps.  

So, don't attribute this recipe too much to Jeff.  Suffice it to say, the boy drove over 960 miles (just my part...he also visited another friend that's a smart piece out of the way), keeping it all iced down,  just to bring my wife and I a taste of the Texas good life!

The Internet roughly describes the process he completed, in an attempt to duplicate some restaurant's dish, as:

Ingredients

• 2 pounds large shrimp - peeled, deveined and butterflied
• 1 (8 ounce) package Monterey Jack cheese, sliced
• 3 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and julienned
• 1 pound bacon, cut into thirds
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, or to taste
• skewers

Jeff's dish as it came out of the oven!

Directions

1. Preheat a grill for high heat. Soak skewers in water.
2. Place a strip of jalapeno into the opening of butterflied shrimp. Wrap with a piece of the bacon, and thread onto skewers so that the shrimp is pierced once through the head, and once through the tail, and bacon is secure. You can usually fit about 6 shrimp on a skewer. Make sure there is a little space between the shrimp, this will help the bacon cook better. Season both sides of the shrimp generously with Cajun seasoning.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place shrimp skewers on the grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on one side. Turn, and place slices of cheese over the shrimp. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until bacon is browned, and cheese is melted.

Like I said, this isn't his recipe, but it approximates it!

Jeff's take is similar to Pappasito's Cantina, and it goes like this: Just one skewer through the head of the shrimp. Slice the shrimp and put a small chunk of cheese and a slice of pepper in there and wrap it with bacon. Then slide the bacon on the skewer. I whip up a mixture of white wine and butter, with fajita seasoning, onion powder and a few other things whipped into the butter. Pour that over the shrimp before you grill them, and then whip up some more to dip the shrimp in. At Pappasito's, where I (Jeff) got the whole idea, they do a MUCH better job.

Just look at the finished product and the eagerness my wife is exhibiting!  Jeff is just like me, never eats without a camera nearby!

That's our traveling chef at the end of the table, enjoying his Fat Tire!  I want to thank him for this "guest post"...maybe he'll share more with us.

So, here is his finished product!  He whipped up the Mexican rice once he reached my kitchen, but the rest was just heated up!  It was well worth the wait!

TALK ABOUT QUICK AND EASY

Well, all except the pinto beans!  Judy soaked them over night and cooked them most of the day, and man, was it worth the wait!

The trick is finding something to go with them that's quick and easy and just as yummy!

We settled on a Food City rotisserie chicken, a can of white/yellow hominy, mac'n cheese, and a big pone of cornbread!

Now, I don't care who you are, that's good eatin'! 

Yeah, it's mostly starch, well, maybe all starch, but who's countin'!?  Besides, there's protein in the beans!

QUICK CHICKEN SOUP

Life is pretty easy around the old homestead these days.  We're retired...just watching grandchildren grow up!  So, we don't put a lot of effort into big meals anymore, except for special occasions.

That's what brought about this quick-n-easy chicken soup.

Okay, so the photo isn't up to my usual standards!

Judy was tired of everything, so soup was the only thing she thought she could stomach last week.  She found some canned chicken chunks, a can of mixed vegetables, a can of hominy, some kidney beans, an onion, and a big container of chicken broth.  That's about it...except for some additional seasoning to taste!

Throw it all together in a big deep pan and let'er simmer for a couple of hours. 

Serve it with your favorite cracker, or like we did, some tasty cornbread!  Yummy!

It's no fuss, one pan, and lots of comfort food!

A TAKE ON YATSOBI!

Yep, Yatosbi, Yakisobi, or some call it Yakasobi!  What ever!

We didn't know it was called either until I wanted to make sure of the ingredients on the Internet and discovered the recipe.

Well, ours came out of a local Baptist church recipe book, and it was simply called "Beef and Cabbage"!

Yatosbi has a couple more ingredients that didn't make it into ours, and, I'm tellin' you, it's still delicious.  Don't sound delicious at first glance, but, try it, you'll like it, and want more!

Here's the traditional Yatosbi dish ingredients that we left out:

6 slices bacon, cooked and torn into bite size pieces (reserve 2 tbls bacon fat)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cup)
2-4 tablespoons light soy sauce
light soy sauce, to taste
crushed red pepper flakes (about 1/2 to 1 tsp) (optional)

It sounds good too, so you might won't to try it, especially since it has BACON...I probably will soon!

However, here's one I found on the net similar to ours, AFTER having made it from the church recipe:

Beef & Cabbage

1 lb ground beef

1 head shredded cabbage*

2 packages ramen noodles, beef flavor=crushed

3 shredded carrots

4 c. water

Brown beef and drain grease. Add remaining ingredients, including seasoning packets from soup. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Season to taste. *I {original net recipe maker} used 1/2 head. You can also use slaw mix, rather than shredding the cabbage yourself.

Leave the lid off a few minutes for excess liquid to evaporate.

Judy did it exactly like that, except she did add on chopped onion, and I think it made a difference!

The picture does nothing to make you want to try it, but the taste is wonderful!  

So, it's a another quick meal that even I could have made, and it does satisfy the palate!

A Vegetarian Supper For Ellen

You won't see that word, vegetarian, on my cooking blog very often, but this is one of the few that even Ellen DeGeneres might eat!

We were sitting around watching a little late afternoon TV, around about news time, when hunger pangs/pains hit us at about the same time.  We had been eating a lot of animal flesh over the previous days, so we wondered out loud what in the world we could have for supper (that's dinner to you northern folks) that didn't involve another meat sacrifice!

Luckily, Judy had been cooking greens beans since about mid-day, so one thing was ready, so, what to go with it!?

We decided on  cornbread, which  was the obvious thing to have if just beans were on the table, but something more was needed.  

She remembered buying some fresh vegetables the day before and mentioned that to me.  A vegetable meal sounded good to me, but I didn't want anything breaded and fried, at least that day!

So, while she finished up the green beans, mixed up the cornbread, put it in the oven, and cleaned up the corn-on-the cob, I busied myself washing and cutting up the other vegetables.

We had bought okra and squash for the purpose of frying up our annual "fried garden meal", but with frying out of the question, I cut the items up, mixed them in a bowl with vegetable oil, sea salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, pepper, and creole seasoning.  

Along the way, I also found one red and one orange bell pepper and a big fat onion, which also fell to my knife and all got mixed into the bowl!

I then spread them on a sheet of aluminum foil over a cookie sheet and waited my turn for the oven.

Judy wrapped the corn in paper towel and placed them in the microwave.  When the time came, a press of a button for about 6 minutes, that would bring everything to the table hot!

The oven dinger went off and out came the cornbread, and in went the vegetables; turned down to 400.  In about 10 minutes the corn was nuking, and in another 10 the broiler came on at 500 (for a little browning), and when I judged them to be fit for consumption, out they came.  They were sizzling and smelling so good!

I think we may have had another meal of leftovers, but as I write this I'm so hungry I think I could have eaten it all!  The cornbread made it all that much better...and especially with an ice cold glass of Mayfield's 1% Nuture milk!  

I sure hope Ellen at least drinks her milk!  If not...so sorry for her!

HOW TO COOK FORK-TENDER PORK CHOPS

So, there I was shuffling through Food City, just needing a gallon of milk and some bread, when I spotted a package of the most beautiful pork chops I've ever seen!  There, beckoning to me, were two, about 1" thick chops with the bone in; center cut or pork loin chop include a large T-shaped bone.

Almost instantly I visualized how they needed to be cooked.  I knew that if I let my wife cook them, mine would wind up dry and tough.  She loves to kill her meat dead...no hint of pink in her steak; her chicken and chops cooked white and flavorless...so I had to save these from total destruction!

I quickly stuffed a large sweet potato under my arm and headed for the check out with the chops, milk, and bread.

One the way home I went over and over my cooking scenario, and just the right language to use to show Judy just how important it was for me, and me alone, to cook these chops!

Fortunately, she was in just the right mood to let me cook.  Huh, who am I kidding, she's always in the mood for letting me cook!

I got out an iron skillet, and turned the stove eye up as high as it would go.  While it was heating to nearly a red glow, I washed the chops off.  There are always little bones on steaks and chops that can ruin a great eating experience.

I salted, peppered, and added some garlic powder to one side of the chops, and plopped them, seasoned side down, in the hot skillet.  As the down side was getting properly browned, some parts blackened, I seasoned the up side, and then turned them over.

On a cookie sheet, I spread out one layer of aluminum foil and then placed 2 smaller sheets on it for the chops.  I took the seared chops out of the skillet and placed each one on its own sheet of foil.  I then wrapped them up carefully, making sure they were completely enclosed.

I washed the sweet potato and placed it, unwrapped, on the cookie sheet and slid it all into a 400 degree oven for 1 hour!

After one hour, I unwrapped both chops, poured off the juices, and re-wrapped mine.  I left Judy's uncovered in order to properly brown and kill it!

I put it all back in the oven for just 15 minutes more.

I plated the supper, slathered the potato with some butter, sprinkled on some brown sugar, and sat down to see if I had accomplished what I wanted...a fork-tender chop.  

Success!  I was indeed fork-tender, and the whole meal was properly cooked in 75 minutes!

JUDY'S POTATO SOUP

My wife is laid up recuperating from dental implant surgery, so cooking has been up to me the last few days.  She gave me her recipe for potato soup prior to the drugs, so it should be fairly accurate and turn out great!

First, and worse part of the process, is peeling the Yukon Gold's!  She prefers this potato for soup...probably what her mother used...truth be known!  Once peeled, wash, and cut into cubes, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in size, and put into a quart size boiling/sauce pan.  We laughed last night over remembering how old folks used to refer to this size pot as a "stewer", but it came out more like "stuer", especially in the South.

I cut up about 10 medium size (just right to hold in the palm of your hand), and dumped the cubes into the pan.  I fill the pan up, just over the potatoes, with chicken broth, saving some to make up later for what evaporated.

There is no need for extra salt, the broth is plenty salty, but I added a little garlic powder and pepper.  I also grated a Valida onion, until I had enough to cover the palm of my hand, and started the pot heating.  I turned the element on high until I got a good boil going, and then turned it down to medium and set the timer for 45 minutes.

When the timer alerted me, I refilled my glass with Fat Tire, seems I have to have a Fat Tire in my other hand when I cook, and cut off some pieces of Velveeta Cheese, and poured in about a cup of Half & Half.  I turned the heat to SIM and let it be for about an hour.

It's not necessary to cook that long, especially since the potatoes were soft in 45 minutes, but I was posting this, so it took me about an hour to take the photos, check Facebook, and re-size the shots!  I also had to make some cornbread.

You ain't Southern if you eat a meal without cornbread!

I've posted this before, but here it is again for you late comers!

Put a small size iron skillet in the oven at 425 degrees, with about a 1/4 cup of oil in it...I used vegetable oil, but my Granny Mashburn would have put in about a table spoon chunk of lard!  This heats the skillet and the oil, and will be just right after you do the following...

Put 5 to 6 tablespoons of self-rising cornmeal in a mixing bowl (small), then put in a teaspoon spoon of sugar, sprinkle in a little salt (I like sea-salt now) and pepper.  Then add a heaping tablespoon of self-rising flour, and one large egg.  Mix these ingredients and then add enough milk or buttermilk to make the mixture very soupy!

Open the oven, and take out the skillet, pour the hot oil into the mixture, and mix!

Then pour the mixture back into the hot skillet and and close the door.  Set the timer for 20 minutes.

That's it!  You have just made the best cornbread your mouth has ever tasted.  Oh, you can add diced jalapenos, cheese, if you want, but for this meal you don't need it.  Save that for chili!

 

I then turned the soup on low, and continued surfing!

When the 20 minutes are up, take the bread out, flip the "pone" upside down, that browns the top better, and let it sit on the stove top until you are ready to eat.

I'm dying to eat, but she is still napping off the lunch round of pain medication, so the soup will be fine, on low, until she wakes up in about 30 minutes.

When we do eat, we'll add a teaspoon of sour-cream to our bowls, I'll butter my bread, and we'll chow down! 

Okay...refill time!  See ya!

MESSING WITH "FLAVOR BOOST"

My wife was feeling poorly this afternoon, and we know now that she probably has strep throat!  Anyway, someone had to cook, and it was obviously going to be me!

We usually keep frozen chicken tenderloins in the freezer, so the protein was a given.  We had also been snacking on carrot, squash, and turnip slices for the last week, so the vegetables were also chosen for me!

I fried the chicken in olive oil, letting one side heat up and then flipping it so the thawed and oiled side would hold the  sprinkles of cayenne pepper, sea-salt, and black pepper seasonings.  I then rolled each over and season the opposite side and continue frying.

When the chicken is tender enough to break into bite size pieces using the spatula, pour in the vegetables you've already chopped into stripes and pieces, and add a teaspoon of minced garlic.

When the vegetables are done to your liking (I like mine crisp) add in the Swanson's Chicken Flavor Boost.  I only used one for this recipe, but I may add two the next time.

The Flavor Boost packets are a great way to quickly add flavor to a dish where a lot of liquid is not needed.  It's basically chicken bullion with special seasons, so it works perfectly when you're in a hurry.

If you wanted, you could add a side of rice, but we enjoyed it just right out of the skillet with a cold glass of milk!

See ya next time!

CHRISTMAS RUM CAKE

I thought this would motivate everyone to start on their Christmas baking sooner than later! Enjoy! 

 

Once again this year, I've had requests for my Christmas Rum Cake recipe so here goes:

(Please keep in your files for use in years to come!)

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 cup Water
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 cup Brown Sugar and Lemon Juice
• 4 Large Eggs
• Nuts (the kind you like)
• 1 Bottle Rum (Sample the Rum to check quality.)
• 2 cups Dried Fruit

Take a large bowl; check the Rum again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Repeat. 

 

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. 

 

At this point, it is best to make sure the Rum is still OK. Try another cup just in case. 

 

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eegs and add to the bowl and chuck iin the cup of dried fruit. Pick the fruit up off the floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit getas stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a drewscriver. 

 

Sample the Rum to test for tonsisticity. 

 

Next, sift 2 cups of salt, or something. Check the Rum.

 

Now shift the lemon ice strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 s and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner.

 

Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the Rum and wipe the counter with the cat. 

 

Cherry Mristmas

A LITTLE JAMBALAYA SOUP

I made a little quick mix jambalaya soup this evening for Judy.  She's not feeling her best, so supper was up to me.  I don't mind, 'cause it gives me an excuse to sample a little of my giant bottle of Glenmorangie! 

I bought the soup mix at the Fresh Market in Knoxville, and immediately thought, "this would be perfect for kielbasa"...forget the shrimp! 

The mix is intended to be a delicious take on the traditional southern dish! With the addition of shrimp (substituted kielbasa) this jambalaya soup mix makes a tantalizing meal.

Cooking Time:

30 minutes

Jambalaya Soup Mix Ingredients:

Saffron, basmati rice, carrots, red and green peppers, onions, freeze-dried black olives, scallions, rosemary, cayenne pepper and turmeric. No added salt, preservatives or MSG.

Recipe Additions:

6 cups chicken broth (or part clam juice)
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (with garlic if available) or Rotel canned tomatoes (I added red pepper instead of the Rotel heat!  However, I learned after the first bite that's the mix includes the HEAT!)

Optional: 1 cup cubed ham, 1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and de-veined (or crab, clams, scallops or crayfish)

Jambalaya Recipe Directions:

Bring broth to a boil and add jambalaya soup mix. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes including juice and ham, if desired. Bring back to a simmer and add shrimp, if desired. Cook 5 minutes longer and serve.

Inventive Recipe Variations:

I added a can of shoe-peg corn, and one of diced potatoes!

Jambalaya Recipe:

For a jambalaya rice dish instead of soup, do the following:

Prepare as above but use only 4 cups chicken broth. Leave out the shrimp and serve as a side dish to grilled fish.

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION!

Okay, so I'm promoting another of my websites here...PAUL MASHBURN - FINE ART, but if I don't who will?!

I have been accumulating photos for years, and have finally got to the place in my life where I have the time to spend outside at different times of the day and night to capture the images I see in my mind's eye, and the money for the kind of equipment one needs to do the job right. 

Photography has always been a passion of mine, or at least from the time, back in 1964, when a friend, Frank Boyce, gave me an old "Mamiya rangefinder" 35mm.  I used that little wonder all through the Air Force, including documenting my tour in Vietnam, and up until the time I started working for the Roane County NEWS as advertising manager.

Man, did I have fun working in advertising.  Naturally, it involved great accounts with the boutiques in our little county, and pretty high school girls (who weren't that much younger than me then), and beautiful clothes!  What more could a creative mind and a love for photography ask for?!

Of course, I spent my time on the sidelines, nearly getting creamed by running backs, just to get that one great shot for the sports page!  I think the anticipation of the darkroom experience after the game was almost as exciting as the game itself.  I loved the smell and feel of the darkroom, but most of all what you could do with a negative.  All the while, looking forward to surprising my owner/editor with a great shot!

Today my darkroom consist or software called Photoshop!  No smell, no feel, just greater control.  However, I miss the isolation and the yellow light glowing up in the dusty corner of a musty little curtained off room.

Another chance meeting that spurred my interest and knowledge in photography was working with Bill Hall, who was a renowned, yet mischievous, photographer, and the paper's chief camera man.  He used a Hasselblad, a "Hackeyblad" as he called it, which in my mind elevated him to great photographic stature!  I was almost ashamed to stand by him with my little Minolta 35mm!

I learned a lot about the art of photography, and the darkroom from Bill.  I owe him for pushing me on to be the best I could be with what I had.

In this old newspaper clipping (above), you can see that I did all the work (a day teaching), while Bill flirted with the college gals and got the photo credit at the bottom. 

However, I soon began getting my own "credit line", as the clipping above shows.  I was just Paul then...the "J" came later!

I even spent my time sweating, literally, over a 39, plus 1 double exposure, wedding shoot so I could thrill some newly wed with a cheap (cost wise) wedding album.  Thirty-nine 8X10 photos in a tufted and monogrammed album all for $200!  No one could beat it...except maybe with a little more quality that multiple lights offered, but hey, I couldn't afford all the extras at the time.  I was just trying to supplement my $150 a week income, and possibly save enough for a better camera, or another Mustang!

I ended up with a 2 1/4X2 3/4 format camera called a Rapid Omega 200.  It was really nice and gave me some of the finest color negatives I ever got from a film camera.  I still have it...if anyone's interested!

So, back to today...I decided to offer my best photos (solely judged by me) for sale.  I get request all the time from my Flickr site from people wanting this or that, but never had a way of really selling to the public.  After getting request for my night shot from Buzzard's Bluff recently, I started researching in earnest.

I found Fine Art America while Googling and comparing companies, and I think I like what they offer.  There is no commission to be paid...I just list base price I want out of a sale, and they add on shipping, handling, tax, framing, and take credit card payment from the buyers.  I simply get a check for what they've sold for me every two weeks.

Well, don't get excited, I haven't made any money yet, and I probably will never get rich, but at least when someone asks how they can get a copy of a photo of mine I have somewhere to send them, and I just stay out of the negotiation.  They can take it or leave it...I just want to take pictures!

Oh, did I ever give you the website?  JUST CLICK HERE, and check it out!

RELAXING AT THE PEI WEI ASIAN DINER

My wife had a doctor's appointment in Knoxville today, so we took off early this morning.  I had left my truck at Jerry Duncan Ford last evening so the oil could be changed and a set of new shoes could be put on today while we were gone.

After the appointment, Judy and I did some shopping at a couple of different stores, but ended up doing most of the buying at Khol's.  I always warn her that if I have to go shopping I'm going to buy something!  So, true to my word, I bought a new pair of jeans and walking shorts...both in size 38 I may add!  Yes, I'm bragging...it feels good to be able to wear decent size clothes again.

I also went into Blue Ridge Sports and bought a Timex sport watch...with a big digital face on it.  I'm getting tired of not being about to read the time on my old expensive analog watch!  This one I can even wear in the shower, if I want, or never even take it off again!  Best part...it was only $19.95! 

We went from there to the Pei Wei Asian Diner, a place I had never been.  The first thing I notice is that there is no bar, but they do have beer and they simply display a single bottle of each type they have, and on the wall behind the cash register are single bottle displays of the wine you can order.  Different from what I expected, but at least they have a decent bottle selection!

Judy didn't want to be disturbed!

We ordered a single dinner, as we are in the habit of doing these days since we seem to fill up faster in our old age, and two pork rolls.

The Mandarin Kung Pao  (spicy) comes with chile seared soy sauce, scallions, garlic, snap peas, carrots, peanuts, and was plenty for the two of us.

Their hot sauce is wonderful too.  It is already mixed, unlike P. F. Chang's, and is a delightful mix of hot and sweet, but really adds plenty of punch, so go easy until you taste it.

This is just half the order!

The pork rolls were crunchy, yet tender, and made a good "pusher" for the chicken and brown rice we ordered.

I brought along two packages of Crystal Light Lemonade to turn our water into a delicious beverage for our meal.  No, I didn't get a beer, and that too is becoming more and more common for me these days. 

Had I gotten one though, it would have been a Kirin Ichiban!

We left, more than satisfied, and all I can say is...I'll be back!  I love the cool dark ambiance of the place, which makes a quick food place seem more expensive than it really is.  I also like serving myself my drinks, napkins, condiments, and while yet eating on "real" plates, with "real" knives and forks!  'Course you can eat with chopsticks if you like, but I can't get the food in my mouth fast enough like that!  I'm a true westerner!

Finally, we get back to Harriman and I pick up my truck with her new shoes!  I'm $1K poorer (including the oil change and alignment), but she sure looks nice in those Michelin's!

My only compliant is that they did not wash my truck after spending that kind of money!  If my old buddy Carl had been there, he would have!

So, I went down the street and had it washed, asking them to pay particular attention to my new tires!

JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOUR CUPBOARD IS BARE

Haven't posted much lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been eating!  Both of us, my wife and I, have been out lots of times and have fixed some great things to eat at home, but tonight was a little scary.

Yep, we thought we didn't have anything good in the house to eat, but, man, were we surprised!

Judy had put some pintos in a pot last night to soak overnight, but she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do with them...chili or just with cornbread?  Since we didn't have any ground beef, chili was out, so cornbread was a definite!

However, after she picked around in the freeze she found that we had some chicken tenders, so that with some BBQ sauce seemed to be calling her name...and mine!

I mixed up the cornbread while the chicken cooked in BBQ sauce in the oven, and I occasionally stirred the beans that had been cooking most of the day Saturday.

Judy discovered some potatoes in a plastic bag beneath a banana, an apple, and a couple of onions in a wooden bowl we keep on the counter next to the coffee pot.  

Eureka!  We had the makings of quite a supper!

She pealed and sliced up the small potatoes and fried them to a golden brown, while I cut up the onion, and finished the cornbread mixture by adding an egg and some milk.  Some where a long the way, might have been after I poured some scotch over ice...I don't know, I added some shredded cheddar cheese and some diced jalapenos!

I poured the bread into a hot iron skillet just after the cooking oil began to smoke and, walla, we were off!

Judy finished the potatoes and reheating the pintos just as the timer signaled the bread was ready.

Man, I'm tellin' ya...this all came together wonderfully, and I'd much rather have been at my table tonight than in any restaurant in the country!  It was delicious and I hated it when my plate was clean...so good I can still taste it! 

So, the morel of  this story is...keep looking, there's more in your cupboard than you might think!

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE WEEKS WHEN YOU GET TO EAT OUT MORE THAN ONCE?!

Ever since I got my appetite back, sometime in February, I have looked forward to going out to eat.  I'm not content to cook up something like I used to, although I love anything Judy does.  I guess it's a matter of whether I had to cook it or not!

Anyway, this has been one of those weeks, and it ain't over yet, that I've gotten to eat out 4 times!  Strangely though, every time I weigh at the doctor's office I still come in at 217 fully dressed.  That's 30 pounds less than this time last year!  I'm sure if this appetite keeps up that it will change, but thus far I've maintained that weight for about 4 or 5 months.

Judy and made a run to Knoxville Wednesday, after her dental appointment, and ate at my favorite place; P. F. Chang's!  I love that place and their KUNG PAO SHRIMP OR SCALLOPS (I get both) which has peanuts, chili peppers and scallions.  Judy tried their new SESAME CHICKEN lunch bowl which is stir-fried with broccoli, red peppers, onions and ginger in a sesame sauce.

 

Of course I always have to have a draft of KIRIN ICHIBAN!  

After filling our bellies, she wanted to stop by Markman's Jewelry, supposed just to look, but naturally she ended up trading up on her wedding bands!  I should have known better!

Thursday evening, I went downtown to the kick off rally for Chris Mason's second run at the Harriman mayor's job, and ate free BBQ.  It was really good, and I need to find out who catered that affair, 'cause I want some more soon!

Friday evening we were invited to meet Jerry and Gene Eblen at RedBone's in Kingston for supper.  They are good company for dinner and kept us laughing.  I had eaten almost half of my half of the GULF SHRIMP AND GRITS we ordered before I thought of taking a photo.  Besides, the tables are relatively close in there, so I didn't want to blind someone next to us and cause them to miss their mouth and put out an eye!  However, trust me, the dish was good...along with the fried green tomatoes on the side!

I'll have to say, the margaritas were a touch shy on the hard stuff!

Then there was tonight, Saturday, and we met the other Dragons and Knights at Carrabba's.

Everyone was in rare form, but Neena and Ron seemed anxious to leave on their western trip in their camper.  However, they sat still long enough to enjoy their meal.

I had a hankering for their brick-oven pizza, and ordered one with pepperoni, onions, and olives.  Man was it tasty! 

I've found that beer really fills me up quickly, so I ordered my next favorite - scotch/rocks!  It was good, but man the markup is almost as painful as gas these days!

Then there's tomorrow...wonder what I can sink my teeth into before Monday!?