(Casket) Cheesy Grit and Ale Soup

This recipe I got from Cooking Light magazine which Mama Hart so graciously subscribed for me. I love this magazine! The recipes are clear and concise, their Facebook videos are fun to watch and the articles are informative. I made this recipe on Saturday for dinner before Nate and I went off to watch a Halloween movie double-feature at a local park and it was the perfect fix for a chilly fall day.

(Casket) Cheesy Grit and Ale Soup

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 C 2% milk
12 oz brown ale
1 1/2 C vegetable broth
1 1/2 Tsp salt
*3/4 C grits (the original recipe calls for stone-ground)
3 C shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tsp cornstarch
1/2 Tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
Popcorn, for serving

In a large stock pot over medium heat, saute onion, celery and garlic until softened. Stir in milk, beer, broth and season with salt. Using an immersion blender, liquefy the onion and celery (you'll thank me later). I did not liquefy my soup and had large chunks of onion and celery in my otherwise smooth and creamy soup. It wasn't the most ideal.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and whisk in grits and stir occasionally until thickened.

In a bowl, toss together cheese, cornstarch and cayenne pepper. A 1/2 C at a time, stir in cheese making sure to allow the first batch to completely melt before adding more. After all the cheese is added in and melted, mix in mustard and Worcestershire sauce adjusting seasoning accordingly.

I choose to top my soup with popcorn because there is an adorable tavern-style restaurant Nate's grandma frequents that tops their beer-cheese soup with popcorn and it just adds the perfect little crunchy bite to the soup.

We were able to get about 8-10 C of soup out of this recipe and the flavors of the soup keep getting better as they sit in the fridge marinating.

Ghostly Guinness and White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

Here we are, post 3 of 5! Chugging right along here and watching Donnie Darko a great film if you've never seen it. It's on Netflix, watch it immediately or we're no longer friends. I'll wait.

Ghostly Guinness and White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb macaroni or other shaped pasta
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2/3 C Guinness stout
1 1/2 C 2% milk
1/2 C half and half
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 oz jalapeno cream cheese (or plain if you're not of the spicy persuasion)
3 1/2 C shredded white cheddar cheese
Crunchy topping (recipe to follow)

Prepare pasta according package instruction. 

In a 6 qt dutch oven over medium-low heat, melt butter and add in flour. Whisk together and allow to achieve a delicious golden color. Add in beer, milk, half and half, seasonings and mustard. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow to thicken for several minutes.

Add in cream cheese and 2 1/2 C of the shredded cheddar cheese. Whisk until smooth. Toss the pasta into the cheese sauce and stir to combine.

Top the macaroni and cheese with the remaining shredded cheddar and the crunchy topping. Stick under the broiler for 3 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Crunchy Topping for Ghostly Guinness and White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

1 Tbsp butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 C panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl.

This macaroni and cheese was rich, delicious and yielded about 8 cups of macaroni and cheese for Nate and I to enjoy! We ate it Friday night and this evening for dinner and still have about a cup and a half serving leftover in our fridge for Nate to enjoy for lunch this week.

Garland Raleigh

Hello again, readers! We gotta stop meeting like this, it seems like you were just here and now you're back again! Well, since I know you're at the edge of your seat just waiting to hear what's next I'll clue you in!

At the beginning of the school year, Nate and I decided to get together and make a weekly lunch date due to the fact his schedule would not allow us to eat dinner together on a nightly basis. Friday we decided to go to Garland Raleigh. You may or may not recall my post about the Moroccan-Inspired Chickpea Bowls I made back in early September, don't worry, I put in a hyperlink so you can refresh your memory! Anyway, these bowls were inspired by a single bite of Garland's Moroccan "Hummus". Since I had the single fateful bite I've thought about going to the restaurant for a heaping plate of my own and I finally did it!

Truthfully, prior to learning Garland was a restaurant, I would walk by it on my lunch hour and assume it was a nightclub. Garland is only open for lunch Wednesday through Friday and the exterior of the building is covered in mirrored glass. I think you can understand my confusion. Fun fact: their upstairs neighbor "Kings" is actually a live music venue. Garland is located at 14 W Martin St, Raleigh, NC 27601.

Garland Raleigh

Decor: the inside of the eatery was beautiful and rustic. A lot of dark woods and unfinished fixtures, two large windows provide natural light and the walls are adorned with large murals and paintings. It's the perfect combination of eclectic and chic. Walking into Garland you'd think you were in Chicago or New York - not Raleigh. We were seated toward the front of the restaurant but it definitely appeared to be larger than you'd think. I may be wrong, but it appeared there was another room off the main dining room. The bar was also beautiful and I plan to go back there for a drink very, very soon.

Food appearance: food looked good but I wouldn't necessarily say it was groundbreaking presentation or anything.

Food taste: I ordered the Moroccan "Hummus" and Chili Peanut Cucumber Salad lunch combo for a whopping $11 and was frankly shocked at 1) how much food I was given and 2) why I've never eaten here before! The hummus was served warm with the chickpeas whole and tasted utterly magnificent! I can't even identify the spices used other than they were spicy and there was definitely clove. Everything was tied together with house-made crema and fresh cilantro! The "hummus" is served alongside crisp tortilla strips but I just scooped mine up with a fork and eat the tortilla strips by themselves with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. The salad was a mix of lettuce, cilantro and mint tossed in a chili-lime vinaigrette and topped with crushed peanuts. I've never had a salad that left me salivating before, but this one certainly did. I'd order this massive amount of food again at first chance!

Nate ordered the Garland Pork Tacos which were the marriage of Korean BBQ meets Mexican street food. He was shocked that 3 small tacos filled him up so much.

Service: our server was a little less attentive toward the end of our visit but I will attribute that to it being the end of service and her trying to leave after her shift on time. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

Cleanliness: again, it was the end of service so there were a number of dirty tables and place-settings at the bar, but I attribute that to it being the end of the lunch hour.

I would love to return to Garland for lunch and again for dinner, drinks and a Sunday brunch. Their menus are diverse and sound scrumptious.

Beasley's Chicken and Honey

So I've been doing plenty of cooking, but not a whole lot of blogging, which I'm sure you've undoubtedly noticed - so prepare yourself for a slew of posts tonight! You're welcome! I hope you had no plans for this evening because I'm about to take around 20 or so of them! YAY ME! So let's get crackin'!

As you are my loyal fans, I'm sure you popped over to this post because you just read all about my Poltergeist Green Chile Posole (in a Crock Pot) and heard about my lunch trip to Beasley's Chicken and Honey. Now I'm sure your first thought is "Lindsey, as a pescatarian why are you going somewhere that has chicken in the name?" Well, I'll tell you: veggie sandwich. It may sound odd that a restaurant that's famous for it's fried chicken has a truly phenomenal vegetable sandwich but Beasley's delivers.

I've been to Beasley's four times now - twice as a meat-eater and twice as a pescatarian and all times were sublime! Beasley's Chicken and Honey is located in the heart of downtown Raleigh at 237 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601.

Beasley's Chicken and Honey

Decor: Beasley's is a very small restaurant. Comfortably, I would be surprised if it sat more than 30 or so guests. There is a large L-shaped bar, a long communal table in the center of the restaurant and smaller tables surrounding. The menu is written on chalkboard on the walls and everything is a mix of industrial and rustic-farmouse style.

Food appearance: Ashley Christensen's name is on it so you know the food looks as delectable as it tastes. Food is served on silver platters, plain white plates and drinks are in mason jars.

Food taste: Tuesday's lunch was the Veggie Sandwich (served a la carte) and a side salad. This vegetable sandwich is so good even my non-vegetarian boss ordered it instead of the chicken! The sandwich is stuffed with alfalfa sprouts, ripe avocado, Hoop cheddar cheese, and thick slices of tomato on two slices of buttery toasted bread slathered with horseradish mayo. Now if you're not salivating there's something seriously wrong with you. The vegetables were fresh, the bread crisp and buttery and the horseradish mayo tied everything together like a big bow!

The salad was a mix of lettuces, cucumbers and juicy pieces of tomatoes tossed in a red wine vinaigrette! A cool thing about Beasley's (besides everything) is that all the sides available minus the gravy on the mashed potatoes are vegetarian! I've never been to a more vegetarian-friendly chicken joint in my life!

Other menu items of note are the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich (delish), the Chicken Biscuit topped with sweet honey and the Pimento Macaroni and Cheese Custard which is every bit as decadent as it sounds. My other boss ordered the Chicken Pot Pie, which looked more like a chicken soup featuring a flaky thin crust but she said it was good.

Service: Despite the chaos that was ensuing from the filming of the Travel Channel episode in the center of the restaurant, service was excellent! No glasses were empty, dirty plates were not left long and our server even bosed up my leftovers himself! I've never been disappointed with any of the service I've received at any of the AC brand restaurants and Beasley's is no exception.

Cleanliness: Every time I've visited the restaurant, everything's been neat and tidy so I can't attribute their exceptional cleanliness to the fact they were filming there but I'm sure it helped!

I would recommend anyone a trip to Beasley's to absolutely anyone in the Raleigh area or anyone anywhere even close to the Raleigh area! Really, it's that good! Look for the back of my head coming to a television tuned to the Travel Channel near you!

Poltergeist Green Chile Posole (IN A CROCK POT)

Hello readers! I hope you're having as phenomenal a day as I am! Why is it so excellent you may ask? Well, today is my 1 year anniversary at my company! I brought doughnuts to share with a select 12 people, my lovely bosses took me out to lunch at Beasley's Chicken and Honey (look for a review coming your way soon!) and I will maybe possibly be featured in a Travel Channel episode of Food Paradise! On top of all this greatness, I got flowers delivered to me today as a thank you from a client for working overtime. What a day!


Anyway, last night after a particularly difficult cycling and core sesh (by the way, I'm getting abs for the first time in my life thanks to these bi-weekly sessions), Nate and I rushed home to devour dinner before heading off for a night of trivia (we didn't actually go to trivia, but that was the plan). Have I praised the Crock Pot enough lately? No, I haven't. THE CONVIENENCE PEOPLE! Buy yourselves one, heck, buy yourselves a fleet of them! I came home, stirred the stew and BAM! Dinner in less time than it takes to say "gee my abs and hips hurt from cycling." Wanna know my secrets? I'll tell you! But first - a brief lesson in posole because I'm sure few people out of the Southwestern part of the United States have any idea what it is.


Posole is a delicious New Mexican stew made with hominy, garlic, pork or chicken and green or red chile. It's perfect for chilly fall nights, hearty holiday dinners or curing any sort of ailment.*


*These claims have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration.


Poltergeist Green Chile Posole (In a Crock Pot)

2 10 oz cans hominy, drained
1 garlic clove, minced (or a few dashes of garlic powder if you're lazy)
1 C roasted and chopped Hatch green chile
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 C vegetable stock
1/4 C water
1/2 C sour cream


In a 6 qt greased Crock Pot, stir together hominy, garlic, chile, and cheese. I did this the night before I wanted to cook so I stuck my crock in the fridge overnight.


When you're ready to turn your Crock Pot on, stir in the vegetable stock and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. If you are not of the vegetarian persuasion, you can also add in 2 whole chicken breasts. The low and slow method is great for making sure your hominy obtain the perfect chewy texture, and if you're a meat-eater, will make sure the chicken gets the perfect juicy and fall-apart consistency.


10 minutes before serving, add in the remaining 1/4 C of water and sour cream.


I served our posole with tortilla chips but fresh flour tortillas are the more traditional accompaniment. This recipe yielded about 4 2-cup servings of hearty stew. I had one bowl and was stuffed! This stew is perfect for chilly fall nights to be spent in your cozy pajamas watching scary movies with your significant other...or your cat. Totally up to you, I won't judge.


Stay tuned for a restaurant review and a casserole recipe! Happy eating!

Goulish Balsamic Onion and Pear Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I am horrible, yes I am fully aware! But I have a great excuse - my life has been chaos. Work has been hectic, I'm trying to lose another 6 pounds and I'm pretty sure I'm functioning on about 4 hours' sleep per night. It's not been great, as you can probably tell. But I won't let that bring me down! It's the beginning of the holiday season (just think about that a moment, do you already feel behind?), it's my favorite month and Raleigh finally got the fall weather memo so all-in-all things are looking up!


I made this meal on Wednesday of last week and I am still drooling about the flavors! It was elevated comfort food, which is really the best type of food. So let's get to it, shall we? I adapted this recipe from The Happy Cook cookbook by Daphne Oz and I must say I was impressed by the ease of the recipe and just how delicious everything was!


Goulish Balsamic Onion and Pear Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

1 Tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced into rings
1/4 Tsp salt
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
4 slices whole wheat or multi-grain bread (I used Fit&Active 45 Calorie Multi-Grain)
2 Tbsp mayonnaise, room temperature
1 C cheese, grated (I used a Transylvania Cave Cheese soaked in red wine)
1 semi-ripe pear, peeled, cored and thinly sliced


Melt the glorious butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and allow to soften for 8-10 minutes. I personally like when onions are slightly burnt so I let mine go a little longer.


Season with salt and stir in the vinegar and sugar. The idea is to let the vinegar get syrup-y and coat the onions (I'd eat this by itself if we're being honest here). Remove from the pan and set aside. Wipe out the skillet with a moist paper towel and replace on the burner over medium heat.


Spread 1 side of each slice of bread with the mayonnaise (not sure why...but this creates a better crust than the typical buttering method of grilled cheese-making). Place the mayo-side down in the pan and top with 1/4 C of the grated cheese, half of the onions, half of the pear slices, top with 1/4 C of cheese and top with another slice of bread mayo-side up. Repeat with remaining ingredients.


Cover the skillet with a lid and allow the cheese to melt and bread to crisp for 5 minutes. Flip and repeat.


The onions were succulent and acidic, the pears added a meaty-bite and the cheese was phenomenal! The Transylvania Cave Cheese was salty like a parmesan with the perfect richness from the wine ah! It was great and I should've bought more than one block. And the crust on the bread was the perfect combination of greasy and crunchy (in all the best ways).


I enjoyed this sandwich with a bowl of Well Yes! Cambell's Tomato Carrot Bisque (of course topped with more cave cheese). Nothing like a grown-up classic of a childhood favorite meal to lift your spirits, eh?


Tonight I'm making Posole in the Crock Pot so I'll report back on how that goes. Happy Monday, readers!

Creepy Linguini with Clam Sauce

Happy Monday, readers! We're at the beginning of another week and are once again chugging along to the weekend - GO US! Yesterday was spent purging our spare closet of stuff we haven't looked at in 2 years, football watching, bourbon drinking and exercising. After a quick gym sesh, I came home and made Ree Drummond's Linguini with Clam Sauce from her original The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook and the only thing "creepy" about it was how simple the recipe was! I've said it before, and I'll say it 100 times more, I love Ree Drummond, but not in a creepy stalker way. Her recipes are short, sweet and to the point. She's just an everyday woman feeding her family and I love that. So Ree, if you ever see this blog, thank you for being so awesome and if I ever go through wherever it is in Oklahoma you reside, I'm going to stop at the Merc and thank you personally.


Linguini with Clam Sauce

1 lb linguini
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 10 oz cans clams, juice reserved
3/4 C dry white wine
1/2 lemon, juiced
3/4 C heavy cream
2 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Shredded parmesan cheese, for garnish


Cook pasta according to package instruction and set aside.


In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the garlic and clams for 3 minutes in the olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add in the wine and allow to reduce for 2-3 minutes. Add in the remaining Tbsp of butter and allow to melt.


Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir in the heavy cream. Allow the sauce to boil and thicken, using any reserved clam juice to thin it out if necessary. I didn't use any of my reserved juice at all.


Remove from heat, toss in the fresh parsley (which will smell amazing), season and stir in the parmesan cheese. Pour the sauce over the cooked noodles and toss to combine. I highly suggest adding in more parmesan cheese because why not?


I have always been a little skeptical about canned meats and seafood (they smell like cat food and no one can deny it) but this dish was delicious! The sauce was luscious and citrusy, the clams had that amazing flavor only seafood has (you know the one) and the linguini was the perfect vessel for all the goodness.


I paired this dish with some leftover Boo Bread from one of last week's dinners and a glass of red wine (yeah, I know red wine is a weird pairing for seafood, let me live my life) and settled in for a night on the couch with my main men (Nate and the cats).


Stay tuned for some more tasty Halloween-themed meals coming up!