Naptown BarBAYq Festival

Yes, I realize that's an awful picture. I forgot my camera and had to resort to my cell phone. Boooo.

Buppy, the kids and I headed down to Naptown (Annapolis) yesterday afternoon for their annual barBAYq festival. Any festival known for it's food seems like a good idea to this gal! So . . . it was alright. It's a huge festival and is only $5 per adult at the entrance. Kids 10 and under are free, and they have tons of bouncy things the kids can play on for free - winner!

The food was alright. I mean the BBQ, like that pictured above, was pretty good stuff. But I had 2 issues with things in general:

1.) Of all the food vendors in attendance, only 5 or so were actually selling BBQ to the public. It was a competition, and there were quite a few competitors cooking. Sadly, the majority were there to simply compete, not sell to the public. A BBQ festival where one can only sample from such a small number of vendors was disappointing.

2.) Sampling. I really wish they'd offered 2 bite samples for $2, or something along those lines. I wanted to nibble on all sorts of BBQ, not be full after a sandwich because I couldn't purchase anything smaller. C'est va lie.

We spent several hours there and got some nice sun; it was a beautiful day to spend outside. When the kids weren't bouncing around, I sat on a hill, watched them run around and listened to several of the 32 bands that played throughout the day.

Overall, it was good time. I just needed more BBQ to sample and smaller, bite sized portions of it. Hopefully everyone else had a great weekend, too!

Caesar Salad Dressing

Click here for the recipe.

The other day I decided to try my hand at homemade Caesar salad dressing. It was the first time I'd ever purchased anchovies, too. Buppy was worried he'd taste them in the dressing, but I assured him he wouldn't. Secretly, I was panicked I'd taste them too, but he couldn't know that. He couldn't see me sweat. Nope. Not cool-handed Bugaboo. Luckily, the anchovies cannot be tasted and the dressing was a success. How could it not be when I used The Pioneer Woman's recipe? Thanks Ree - it's really tasty. I love that a little in a salad, if then tossed in a large bowl, goes a long way. Less calories consumed is a good thing, at least around here! Above, I tossed about 2 tablespoons with a salad composed of green leaf lettuce, radishes, mushrooms, grilled chicken and a sprinkle of Romano cheese. It was a light, healthy dinner. 

Photo Courtesy of SodaHead

Turkey Mushroom Stroganoff

No pictures for this recipe folks - it wasn't quite pretty enough. That, and I was lazy by the time I got home at 8pm.

The original recipe came from a recent Taste of Home magazine I received in the mail. There are always so many recipes I want to try in each issue, but then they get tossed into a pile and lost. I forget. Time moves on. But . . . this time I was determined to try one out, and that's just what this gal did.

Turkey Mushroom Stroganoff
Adapted from Taste of Home's Chicken Portobello Stroganoff

20 oz. ground turkey (Why? Because my grocery store didn't package it in 16 oz. sizes, which I found uber strange. A pound would be just fine too as that's what the original recipe used.)
12 oz. button mushrooms, cut into large chunks
1 medium onion
1 tsp. jarred garlic (the equivalent of 2 cloves)
1 c. chicken broth (I made mine with warm water & chicken bouillon)
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. light sour cream
Hot cooked egg noodles or pasta

In a large skillet, cook the turkey, mushrooms and onions over medium-high heat until the meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic and cook a minute or so longer.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Because of the moisture from the veggies, I had quite a bit of liquid in my pan. Cook until that's mostly evaporated. Add the broth, cream, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook until the liquid in the pan is reduced to half or so. This took longer that I thought it would, but I forgot to time it. Just eyeball it!

Reduce the heat and stir in the sour cream. You want it to heat through once the sour cream is added, but not boil so the sour cream curdles. On my stove, I had to turn the heat completely off because it wanted to continue to boil. Work with it and see what happens - if it continues to want to bubble, just take it off the burner. Serve with the noodles or pasta, or eat as is if you're low-carbing life as I am right now. I didn't miss them at all, but I'm not a pasta/rice/noodle kind o' person. Yes, I just admitted that. Please don't throw things at me.

The verdict? Well, I don't post recipes I don't like. My thought though - it was a little bland. Buppy liked it and said that it's what stroganoff is supposed to taste like, so I guess I aced that. To be honest, I've never had stroganoff before so I had no idea what to expect. I guess I just like a little more spice in my life! Buppy liked the fact that it used ground meat; he said that if you order it at a restaurant, they often use tough cuts of meat, so this was much easier to eat. If you like stroganoff, give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Oh, and I had the leftovers for lunch today at work. I'm happy to say it reheats well. Enjoy!

Linked to Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday, 4/5/12.

Beer & Bacon Tasting

Photo courtesy of Eleven Courses website

I'm a big fan of Groupon, I must say. One of the deals I've snagged recently is for a beer and bacon tasting. Hello!? Does it get any better than that? Well, when you kick in 3 friends for the ride it does! Here's their description of what's in store:

"In a 90-minute class, guides lead students through chef-curated tasting menus pairing five craft beers with bacon-based dishes. Bacon samples are determined by the chef, but they may include hickory-smoked bacon, candied stone-ground white grit cake, and chocolate-drizzle bacon."

The only date they're hosting in April is the 21st, and they just changed their status from sold out to limited availability. I'm in the process of trying to make reservations right now, but if that doesn't work out, I'm sure May or June will work. 

The best part? The 5-course tasting generally sells for $97 per person, therefore our total would be $388 for 4 of us. I purchased the Groupon for 4 for $79. Love, love, love!

Something To Be Thankful For

Photo courtesy of this website
Not having insurance hasn't really been an issue for me as an adult. Sure - I've had it at past jobs and not had it at others. I realized just how much it affects me last Friday though when I had a doctor's appointment. I paid out of pocket for the visit itself what wasn't too expensive. I found this doctor through a friend, and she's the only one I could find who'd see me without insurance. She was completely awesome and reasonable - double winner! However, they then sent me off to a diagnostic lab for tests . . . can you say sticker shock?! I can't tell you what exactly these tests were for; all I know is she ordered 5 for my thyroid. At the first diagnostic lab I visited, here's the breakdown of cost:

$145.35
$115
$59.59
$215 (for one test!?!?!)
$138.48
$18.14 (the 'we stick you with a needle fee')

If my handy-dandy calculator is correct, that's a total of $691.56. Eeeekk! But . . . the nurse who priced this out for me sat back, looked left, looked right and leaned in. She then whispered, "If you go across the street to the lab in the hospital, they charge about half of what we do. But . . . you didn't hear it from me." My jaw almost dropped. There are still good people in this world!! She kindly gave me directions, so I took my sticky note with the prices along with my test request paperwork and headed across the street. Their jaws dropped when I told them that the 4th test alone (something to do with vitamin D, I think) was $215 at the diagnostic lab I'd come from. Here's the breakdown at the hospital, in the same order:

$45.50
$34.10
$17.70
$30.30
$60.70
$8 - $9 (their 'we stick you with a needle fee' was estimated to be this)

You don't need a calculator for this folks. A quick glance shows that I paid a little less than $200 as opposed to almost $700. Whew. I feel like I need to get the nurse who directed me across the street some type of thank you as I hadn't even thought about going to the hospital. I'm very thankful for people like her, and for my friend who hooked me up with a doctor. Thank you!

Six Flags for Free

Photo courtesy of Amtrak California

Today, after Buppy gets home from Tiny Tot #1's first lacrosse game, we'll be heading south for a visit to our local Six Flags . . . for free! One of Buppy's previous coworkers (now retired) still works security for the park, so generally when we go, our visit is free. Today happens to be one of those days. Apparently it's vendor appreciation day, so we wound up with tickets. We have 10 or so, and Buppy's coworker who wanted 5 never got back to him about when/where he'd pick them up. It's just Buppy and I going today - what a waste of free tickets! Oh well. Today also marks the first day the park is open for Spring Break, but I'm hoping it won't be overly crowded. After the park, we plan to stop by Red Robin for dinner. I still have a free burger waiting for me since my birthday was this month. Hate to waste that! And Buppy can then have his favorite buffalo chicken tenders (which I admit are pretty tasty!). All in all, today should be a pretty great day. Now . . . off to shower. Have a great weekend everyone!