Name: Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 2 min
Yield: one serving
Ingredients: 1/2 cup sliced or quartered strawberries; 1/2 cup cubed rhubarb (be sure not to use the leaves - these should be removed before you buy them); 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, maple syrup, or honey; 2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca; 1/4 cup granola

Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (in a mug)

May 23, 2016

? Easy strawberry rhubarb crisp is made in a mug. In the microwave. The whole process takes less than ten minutes. What’s not to love? ?

If you have been on the Internet for more than ten minutes in the last six months there’s a pretty significant chance that you have seen a mug cake somewhere. Mug cakes are exactly what they sound like: a single serving cake, mixed up in a mug, usually microwaved instead of baked in the oven. Personally, a single serving cake sounds like a wonderful (yet dangerous) concept. Gemma Stafford, who writes Bigger Bolder Baking, is forever posting mug cakes (and mug muffins, and mug doughnuts, and mug meals) on her blog and YouTube channel. I got a little obsessed. I even bought a book about mug cakes.

So anyway, it’s strawberry season (the end of strawberry season, sorry to be tardy to the party), and I make it a goal to post at least one strawberry recipe every may. This year the one I had on my list was strawberry-rhubarb slab pie. When I thought about making and rolling out all that pie dough, I felt faint and had to lie down. It’s the end of the school year, y’all. I have to plan accordingly.

I started thinking…what if I made a strawberry rhubarb pie in the microwave? I tried it, hacking a recipe for peach pie from the aforementioned book. It did.not.work. According to the book the pie crust should have turned brown. My pie crust turned doughy and, since it was covering most of the filling, the filling spilled all over the sides of the mug and got sticky pink goo all over my microwave. My second attempt was a little better – I decided to the the strawberry rhubarb crisp route and make a crisp topping with oats, butter, sugar, and flour. It was good not great. Back to the drawing board.

Then I realized…if I wanted a truly easy strawberry rhubarb crisp, I needed to think truly simple. As in short cuts. Why not sprinkle some granola on top instead of making a homemade crisp topping? Turns out, it was perfect. The strawberry rhubarb filling softened up the granola just a bit, giving it an authentic crisp topping texture. It took me less than ten minutes to make two of crisps.

Strawberry season is almost over, so what are you waiting for? Make this easy strawberry rhubarb crisp today!

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Mary

Yield: one serving

Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

5 minPrep Time:

2 minCook Time:

7 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

1/2 cup sliced or quartered strawberries
1/2 cup cubed rhubarb (be sure not to use the leaves - these should be removed before you buy them)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, maple syrup, or honey
2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca
1/4 cup granola

Instructions

In a large mug or small bowl (about 16 ounces is ideal), combine the strawberries, rhubarb, sweetener (I used maple syrup) and tapioca.
Place the mug in the microwave and cook for one minute. Stir and return to the microwave until thickened, about one more minute.
Allow the strawberry-rhubarb mixture to cool until warm or room temperature. Top with granola and serve.

https://chattavore.com/easy-strawberry-rhubarb-crisp/

Easy strawberry rhubarb crisp is made in a mug. In the microwave. The whole process takes less than ten minutes. What's not to love? | recipe from chattavore.com

Black Bean Sliders with Cilantro-Lime Cream

May 20, 2016

Sure, black bean sliders don’t taste anything like beef sliders, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t delicious! They’re also easy and healthy.

I went through a phase-a pretty lengthy one-where I only ate meat a few times a week. I thought of myself as a “flexitarian” (someone who is mostly vegetarian but eats meat from time to time), though I didn’t really tell other people that. Because flexitarian seems a little less, I don’t know, credible than a vegetarian. Almost like it isn’t really a “thing”.

My reasons for eating this way were two-fold. Number one, my LDL cholesterol (that’s the bad kind) tended toward the slightly high end and I wondered if eating less meat might make my numbers drop (it did). Number two, I spent a lot of time watching food documentaries where I learned about the horrors of the commercial meat industry and eating mostly vegetarian was much cheaper than eating pastured meat all the time. That stuff is good but it isn’t cheap. Paying to eat with your conscience is a worthy cause but if you can’t afford it, well, you can’t afford it.
This totally sounds like I’m headed down a downer hole. I’m really not trying to. The thing is, I’ve realized that lately I’ve been eating more meat again. I don’t even know how it crept back up on me. And guess what? My cholesterol is back up (if anyone feels the need to point out the amount of dairy and eggs that I consume, don’t bother. I never stopped eating that stuff.). Oh, and another thing? I’m spending more money on groceries again. Even conventional meats are expensive.

What am I getting at? No, I’m not going vegetarian. I am, however, trying to be a little more conscious about how many times I eat meat every week. There are so many other great sources of protein that are less expensive. This is what works for me, so I’m going to see if I can get those numbers back down again.
That, my friends, is where black bean sliders come in. Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that I have a problem with fake meat. Anything posing as a burger that anyone tries to say actually tastes like a burger…probably doesn’t taste like a burger. I remember someone telling me once in a grocery store freezer section that Boca Burgers tasted just like regular burgers. They don’t. Learn from my mistake.

Black bean burgers have never had that problem, though. No one ever claimed that black bean burgers actually tasted like beef burgers. That’s just why I like them. What do they taste like? Black beans. But I love black beans, so I’m totally fine with that. I love them in slider form…since they’re smaller, they cook up more quickly and get a nice crust on the outside. Paired with an easy cilantro-lime crema and topped with mozzarella cheese and avocado, they’re positively marvelous. Black bean sliders are perfect for lunch, dinner, or even as an appetizer for a party. And they’re super-quick and easy, too!

Try my black bean sliders with cilantro-lime cream for a quick, delicious dinner or appetizer!

Mary

Yield: 8 sliders

Black Bean Sliders with Cilantro-Lime Crema

The recipe for the black bean patties was adapted from My Recipes .

15 minPrep Time:

15 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the burgers

2 ounces bread, torn into pieces (2-3 slices bread or 1 hamburger bun)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
4 slices mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
1 avocado, thinly sliced
8 slider rolls or dinner rolls

For the cilantro-lime cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise
zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup cilantro, lightly packed
salt, to taste

Instructions

Make the cilantro-lime cream: combine the mayonnaise, lime juice and zest, and cilantro in a food processor until smooth. Salt to taste and briefly reprocess. Cover and refrigerate.
Wash the food processor. Pulse the bread until coarse crumbs form. Add one tablespoon of olive oil, the garlic, and the black beans and process until a paste begins to form. Add the spices, the egg, and the egg white and process until well-combined.
Preheat the remaining olive oil in a 10-inch skillet (I used cast iron) set over medium-high heat. Form the black bean mixture into eight patties. Cook (in batches if necessary, but I cooked all of mine at once) in the oil until a crust forms, about 3 minutes per side.
Top each slider with half of a slice of mozzarella. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for another minute to melt the cheese. Serve immediately on the slider rolls topped with avocado and cilantro-lime cream.

https://chattavore.com/black-bean-sliders/

Sure, black bean sliders don't taste anything like beef sliders, but that doesn't mean that they aren't delicious! They're also easy and healthy. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Stir Chattanooga at the Choo Choo

May 18, 2016

STIR Chattanooga is a fairly new restaurant located at the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo, specializing in unique cocktails (and ice!).

Last Saturday was my first official Chattavore dining experience since ending my restaurant fast a couple of weeks ago. I’m planning to start in the month of June alternating between blogging about new restaurants and doing return reviews of restaurants I’ve already written about. I also decided to get more reader input about what restaurants I try.

This past weekend I posed the question to my Facebook followers: should I try STIR Chattanooga, Two Ten Jack, or Café on the Corner? Two Ten Jack got several votes but STIR was the clear winner. We headed down for a late lunch, parking on the street on Rossville Avenue and walking around (they were offering free valet parking at the Choo Choo but we like to park and walk when possible). We were seated quickly, initially choosing a seat outside for better lighting. The weather was fantastic. However, we quickly discovered that it was way too windy to sit outside and we moved inside to a hightop table.

Our server, Taylor, brought us water and glasses and took our drink orders. Philip was pretty disappointed with their beer list – only six beers on draft and a handful of canned and bottled beers. He tried a sample of the Tennessee Brew Works and ultimately decided to stick with water. I don’t often order drinks out, especially when they are over $10 (!), which I’m seeing more often. However, since cocktails are their specialty, I decided to order the CoCo Choo Choo, with rum, gin, grapefruit juice, orange juice, coconut cream, and cumin ($12). It was served over crushed ice (ice is a big deal – they have an ice chef who designs the ice and checks in on the processes regularly, and they have seven – that’s right, seven – varieties of ice). It tasted very tropical and did not have a strong alcohol flavor (I kept stirring it to keep the alcohol well mixed in).

There were several appetizers on the menu that sounded delicious, including the seasonal dip trio (with hummus, pimento cheese, and smoked salmon spread), fried green tomatoes (I was already planning to make those Saturday night, so we took a pass), and fish tacos (which the couple next to us were eating, and they looked amazing). We didn’t want to fill up on an appetizer, so we decided to split an order of the crab bisque ($6.50), with crab, sherry, basil oil, crostini, celery leaves, and micro basil. Taylor had the kitchen split the bisque between two bowls for us to make it easier for us to eat. The bisque was fabulous – creamy with plenty of sweet crab meat and a deep flavor from the sherry. The basil oil finish was very nice and the crostini was the perfect dipper.

I considered getting a burger, but ultimately decided it wasn’t what I wanted. I was stuck between the fried chicken sandwich, with mayonnaise, turnip slaw, and house pickles on a Niedlov’s bun, and the fried shrimp, served with fries, turnip slaw, and Stir sauce. I asked Taylor for her recommendation and she told me that, while the shrimp was very popular, she would recommend the chicken sandwich ($10.95), which she described as kind of like a gourmet Krystal Chik. Um, SOLD. I don’t know if you guys know how much I love Krystal, but I love Krystal. She was not wrong…it was like a Krystal Chik in the very best way. It was gigantic (so not like a Chik in that respect) and the chicken had a wonderful, well-seasoned breading that was fried to golden brown perfection. I had never had turnip slaw – had never even heard of it – but it was fabulous…thin shreds of turnip in a creamy sauce. House pickle and mayo completed the sandwich. The fries were house cut, skin-on, and deliciously crispy. We told Taylor to recommend to the chef that they add fried chicken to their menu as a stand-alone entree. It was just that good.

Philip took one look at the menu and decided what he would order. I am sure that you guys can take a guess…yes, that’s correct: shrimp and grits ($12.95). The shrimp and grits were composed of stone ground white cheddar grits topped with shrimp, mushrooms, green onions, and a sauce made from shrimp stock. Now, Philip’s shrimp and grits preference is a cream-based sauce over fried grits cakes, but he is definitely a lover of all (well, most) types of shrimp and grits and these were no exception. Everything was cooked just right and the grits were creamy, tender but with a little bit of a bite, and well-seasoned. The more he ate, the spicier it got (I assume it was seasoned with a little cayenne, but I could be wrong about the source of the spice). He told Taylor that he would order them again.

Because of my $12 cocktail, our order was a little more pricey than usual at $46.95 pre-tip. It was worth it, though. Taylor was a great server (we got to talk to her quite a bit and she was so much fun!). the atmosphere is beautiful, and we really enjoyed the food.

We will definitely go back to STIR Chattanooga!

STIR Chattanooga is located at 1444 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN. They are open Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 12 a.m., Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 1 a.m., and Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. You can check out their website (stirchattanooga.com) and their menus (stirchattanooga.com/food). You can also like STIR Chattanooga on Facebook and follow them on Twitter (@STIRChattanooga) or Instagram (@stir_chattanooga).

BBQ Bowl with Pulled Pork and Potatoes

May 13, 2016

This BBQ bowl with pulled pork, potatoes, coleslaw, and cheese is a one-bowl meal that is great for using up your leftovers!

By now, you guys know my obsession with repurposing leftovers. I’ll gladly eat the same thing for an entire week if I can turn it into some new delicious dish every single night. Variety is key. I guess some people just don’t like the taste of leftovers, but in my opinion there are some many things that taste better a day or two after you cook them. It seems like a waste (well, it doesn’t seem like a waste, it is a waste) to let perfectly good leftovers sit in your fridge till they go bad, or to just trash them with no intention of eating them later. Leftovers save me so much money.

BBQ is kind of the ultimate leftover player. Well, really shredded meat of any kind, barbecue sauce aside. What CAN’T you do with shredded meat? When I have barbecue or any kind of shreddable meat in my house, it’s open season. Tacos! Soups! Sandwiches! Stuffed potatoes! Pizza! All bets are off. Whether it’s pork, beef, or chicken, if I’ve got shreddable meat in my house, it’s gonna get used. All of it.

Putting it in a BBQ bowl wasn’t really my idea, I’ll admit. I first saw it on the Facebook page of a friend who ordered something along those lines at a restaurant and shared a picture of it. I have no idea what was in that BBQ bowl, but I wrote it down and every time I have shredded meat in the house, I think about it. I even made it once, but I think I lost the will to take photos of it. That’s okay, because the BBQ bowl is back and better than ever. This version has breakfast potatoes, shredded pork (mine was leftover from my pressure cooker pork shoulder, but you can use whatever you’ve got), barbecue sauce, coleslaw, cheese, and chopped pickles. Pretty fantastic, if you ask me. Facebook is good for something!

Next time you have leftover meat to shred, make a BBQ bowl!

Mary

Yield: 4 servings

BBQ Bowl with Pulled Pork and Potatoes

15 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

35 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons bacon drippings, canola oil, or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 small potatoes, baked and cut into cubes
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded pork (or other meat) (you can use more meat if you want a more substantial dish)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce plus more for drizzling
1 cup coleslaw
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

Instructions

In a medium pan (I use a 10-inch cast iron pan), heat the bacon drippings or oil. Sauce the onions until they begin to soften. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring every few minutes, until browned and crispy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 4 bowls.
Heat the shredded pork with the barbecue sauce. Divide among the bowls, topping the potatoes. Top with coleslaw, shredded cheese, chopped pickles, and, if desired, a drizzle of barbecue sauce. Serve immediately.

https://chattavore.com/bbq-bowl-pulled-pork-potatoes/

For other great recipes, check out the Weekend Potluck Link-Up on Served Up With Love!

This BBQ bowl with pulled pork, potatoes, coleslaw, and cheese is a one-bowl meal that is great for using up your leftovers! | recipe from Chattavore.com

Eating In: Lessons from a Month-long Restaurant Fast

May 11, 2016

We spent the month of April eating in. I learned a few things, some surprising, others not so much. Here’s what I discovered during my restaurant fast.

We don’t go out to excessively, but since part of my work in this space is writing about restaurants, we do it on a regular basis-usually on Saturdays. Sometimes we’ll grab something quick on a weeknight when I just can’t bring myself to cook (it happens to the best of us). So, eating in is our usual M.O., but I decided that I wanted to see how long we could make it. A month seemed like a reasonable goal, so we went for it.

Overall, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Naturally, the first week was the most difficult. I didn’t do a very good job of planning my lunches and ran into several days when I didn’t have time to sit down somewhere and eat. I was tempted – very tempted – to run through the Wendy’s drive-thru to order off the value menu. I didn’t, though, and I did a better job after that of packing things that fit the schedule that I knew I was going to have for the week. No time to stop? Nothing that needs a fork.

Two weeks in, we had to make a choice. Philip ran over something on Hixson Pike and we ended up with a flat tire. We had been planning to get new tires soon anyway, so we took our car to Sear’s to get new tires. So…we were stuck at the mall for five hours. No joke. We had eaten before we got there, but we knew we were going to have to wait a while longer and we were feeling pretty hungry. So…we ended up eating out. Yep. I really only made it two weeks…and then another two weeks. I decided that I couldn’t be too obsessive. I would have cooked if we had been at home, but we weren’t. No big deal.

I learned that it’s a good idea to keep frozen pizzas and frozen taco meat around. On those nights that I just don’t feel like cooking, in the past we might have gone to Zaxby’s or El Metate, but during our month of eating in, those places weren’t options. A frozen pizza can be a life saver when you just can’t bring yourself to pull out a hundred ingredients to make a meal.

Eating in for a month is what encouraged me to jump in and start using my pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot <–affiliate link). With my pressure cooker, I can just throw some things into the pot, run downstairs to work out, and have dinner ready when I get done. Like I mentioned in my pressure cooker pork shoulder post, it’s like having dinner in the slow cooker…except I don’t have to think about it at 7:30 in the morning.

After the first week, it actually got way easier. For week two and week three, I really didn’t think about eating out (except during the tire incident). Since going out to eat wasn’t an option, I knew that we were going to have to make dinner at home and didn’t even let my mind drift there.

By week four of eating in, though, I think I was getting a little antsy. Even though I was perfectly happy with cooking, I think not having the option of going out to eat started getting a little old. I was thinking about chicken fingers and fries (I mentioned Zaxby’s earlier in the post, I know…I’d been craving Zaxby’s since before we started the challenge). It wasn’t too bad, though, and I made it.

Someone asked me if I lost weight during my month of eating in. I did…I lost five pounds. I have been working on “mindful eating” after reading the book How to Have Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too (<–affiliate link), so overall I’ve been eating quite a bit less. I never really thought I was eating that much, but it turns out that being a member of the Clean-Plate Club is the reason that I’ve gained weight. ? But anyway…I don’t think that my weight loss was a direct result of eating in, but it definitely didn’t hurt.

What’s your longest “eating in” record?

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click through a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!

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