Christmas Dinner

       Every cook in the family is assigned with a dish to make for Christmas. I was not assigned with anything because I chose what I am going to cook. I am going to make a maple glazed stuffed roast pork. I found the recipe in a Kraft magazine about three years ago; I have wanted to cook that recipe since then. I told my family during Thanksgiving about the recipe, and they cannot wait to try it. Next Christmas, I have decided to cook a very traditional Christmas goose! Below, I have given you the recipe, but remember this recipe is from a Kraft magazine! 

Maple Glazed Stuffed Roast Pork 

What you need:

• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups hot water
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for chicken
• 1 pork loin (2 lb.), butterflied
• 2 Tbsp. maple-flavored or pancake syrup
• 2 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Heart Spicy Brown Mustard
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary 

Make it:

• HEAT oven to 350ºF
• MELT butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add apples; cook and stir 3 min. or until crisp-tender. Add water and stuffing mix; cover. Let stand 5 min.; mix lightly. 
• SPOON stuffing mixture onto cut-side of meat to within 1/2 inch of edge. Roll up, jelly-roll fashion, starting at one short end. Place seam-side down, in roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray.
• BAKE 1 hour. Mix syrup, mustard and rosemary; spread over meat. Bake 20 min. or until meat is done (160°F). Let stand 15 min. before slicing to serve.

To learn more about this recipe or nutritional info, please click here.

New Changes

       As you can see I have changed the title and url of my blog. I did that because I need new changes in my life, but don't worry, I will still be blogging about healthy foods and ways here and there. I know I have not been posting weekly or monthly because I have been busy with school, and a lot of times it just slips my mind. I am apologizing for that and I hope you will love my future posts! 

P.S. I will be posting about what I am making for Christmas and after New Years I will be posting what I did for Christmas and New Years. The holiday post will come with pictures! 

Halloween Treats

Partying with your friends and family? Here are some good ideas for treats at the Halloween party! 

These are fun and festive treats everyone will love! I have seen these at parties before. Unique ideas for parties are great conversation starters! You will have fun making them and eating them while you party! 

1. Cookies                                           

2. Cupcakes              

  3. Pumpkin Pie 

           4. Halloween Candy                      

 5. Jello Shots                                      

6. Pretzel Spiders                           

 7. Meringue Ghosts 

*Photos were found on google. 

Olde Hikory Tap Room

Click here 

The Olde Hickory Tap Room has been in Union Square in downtown Hickory, North Carolina for probably  over 20 years. They make their own beer and all the food is from their own recipes. People who come to the tap room a lot have their own beer mugs that hang at the bar.

The food is extremely fresh. It's pretty much a pub. I just went there for the second time in my life (I know pretty bad because I live in Hickory and don't eat out much) and had ordered a portabella mushroom burger with their pub fries. Everything on my plate was extremely fresh and flavorful! The best non-meat burger I have ever had.

The two reasons I don't go there much is because they are always packed and I don't eat out much. If you are ever near Hickory, NC go check out the tap room because you will enjoy the history of downtown and the great food. You might even spot me somewhere downtown. There are great stores to visit as well.

Click on the link underneath the picture at the top to learn more about their great food, history, beer, and entertainment! 

Top Three Places To Get Fresh Food

There are many places near you to get fresh food. This post is about the top three places. The three places are farmers markets, produce stands, and your own garden! Buying food that has grown near by is more fresh and better tasting. Now, growing your own fruits and vegetables is different. When you grow your own you appreciate it more and it is the freshest you can get. You can find produce stands on the sides of roads every where!

Farmers markets are pretty much in every town and city. If you don't know where to find you local farmers market just ask around. You will get a great bargain on fruits and vegetables. Most of the time farmers markets are downtown.

Produce stands are piratically everywhere. You will see them on the sides of main roads, parking lots, and even back roads. There are normally signs before you actually see the produce stand and those signs will say a specific fruit or vegetable on them.






Having your own garden is the best I think. I actually have tomatoes and different peppers growing in the back yard. Next year I want to grow some purple Cherokee heirloom tomatoes. It is cheap, tastes better, you appreciate it more, all natural, and organic! One problem is if you are busy and does not ever have much time to water plants and feed plant then having your own garden would not be a good idea.

Planning for Holidays

I'm planning out things to cook and bake for the holidays early. It's good to plan early so you will not be frantic when it is closer.

For Halloween I am baking cupcakes. For thanks giving I will help my mom with the turkey and I will probably do a pecan pie. For Christmas I will be cooking a maple glazed stuffed roast pork and a peppermint and chocolate torte.

Try to find great recipes to cook for the holidays. If there is ever an ingredient that you do not Luke in a recipe you can always substitute it with something else or just take it out.

The Martha Washington Cook Book

Click Here

Yesterday I received a cook book in the mail that I bought a week ago. It is the Martha Washington Cook Book! 

This book has be out of print for a long time and the last time it was printed was in 2004. The company had a contract say that after the specific number of copies had been printed they could no longer print it. The author Marie Kimball was allowed to study Marth Washington's cook book that was donated by her descendants in the mid to late 1800's to a museum. Marie Kimball used 200 recipes from Martha's cook book and shared information that was new to the world in 1940. 

This cook book shares information that was unknown for a long time about Martha. Martha actually supervised everything that was cooked in Mount Vernon and the "White Houses" in New York and Philadelphia. Every dish she supervised came from her cook book that was given to her from a relative when she was married to her first husband Daniel Parke Custis. After her first husband died later she married Gen. George Washington. When she grew older she passed down the cook book to her daughter and then so on until it was donated to a museum. 

If you want to learn more or buy the book please click on the link below the picture above. (There is a limited amount of books) 

Paula Deen's Weight loss

I was amazed when I read about Paula Deen's weight loss in people magazine! I am proud of her after many years of watching her cook and eat very unhealthy food she has finally changed her life around. I started watching her sons cooking shows (Jamie and Bobby Deen) and they were using her recipes but making them healthier. Her sons have changed the way they eat and now she has changed the way she eats!

Paula and her sons have inspired me and motivated me on changing my eating and workout habits. For years I have collected her recipes but I have never actually cooked them because I was so afraid of eating something that unhealthy. Now her sons have changed her recipes and I am definitely going to use them. I do workout and eat better than I did before a year ago but it is not good enough and I am going to do 100% better!

She was in denial about her type two diabetes but now she has done something to increase her health. Some people say that 30 lbs. isn't good enough but what they don't know is that is EXTREMELY well! She went from a size 18 to a size 10 and she is still working on her weight loss.  It is great after so many years to see she is finally getting healthy. I have always felt like her family was my family because they are so humble!

Anyone who has had a problem with weight and loves to cook and eat (me) should read about her weight loss and try some of her new healthier recipes. She inspired and motivated me and if you read about it you will definitely feel the same way!

Ashe County Cheese Factory

Cow Tanks

When I was at my aunt's cabin in North Wilkesboro for a week my mom, my friend Shannon, and I went to West Jefferson to watch people make cheese and us eat the cheese! The factory makes butter, lots of cheese, and ice cream. They also sale wine from the local vineyards. 

The Factory from the viewing room.

When we went into the viewing room to watch them make cheese the workers turned around and it looked like they haven't seen real people in a long time! It was kind of awkward really... 

They had these tanks outside the factory that looked like cow and this big mouse that served cheese inside the store which kind of scared me. YIKES! 

Scary Mouse

I have to say they make some pretty darn good cheese! I got some spreadable port wine cheese from there. 

If you want to visit their website click here.

Canyons of the Blue Ridge

This restaurant Canyons is a great place to eat at in Blowing Rock, NC!  I ordered a burger from their special menu and the burger is a duck burger. It is made from ground duck and Bacon and comes with coleslaw and chipolte-cherry ketchup on a kaiser bun with a side of chips or fries.
This burger was the first burger I've ever eaten without having to put anything else on it! It is my favorite burger!

The employees are very nice and there is history on the building. There is an amazing view of the blue ridge mountains that is jaw dropping!

Please visit their website www.canyonsbr.com

Graduation Day

Today I am graduating from high school. Some people said high school would be the time of your life but no it was not. College will be the time of my life! Can't wait to learn about nutrition!

For the cook out I am having tomorrow will be very lean! There will be turkey burgers, turkey dogs, turkey wings, and sweet potato fries. YUM!

A lot of people have heard of all of those things except turkey wings. I had just found out about turkey wings earlier this week. Some people call them pterodactyl wings  because they are so big. When I said not knowing about turkey wings I meant not thinking of eating them like chicken wings. I am glad that I like to try different things. You should always try different things instead of saying you don't like it when you have not tried it.

Wish me luck and lets hope I don't fall on my face!

Summertime

It feels like we have been hibernating like bears. Now, everyone is blooming like a flower in spring because of the warm weather! We all move around more during the summer which is great for our health. Most of us grew up playing in the ocean till the sun went down without even thinking of having something to eat. When we do eat during the summer we mostly have grilled food. Grilling is a wonderful thing because you are not cooking your food mostly in fat.

We all feel like exercising a lot more and eating a lot healthier during this time and I know I feel exactly that way! I am joining planet fitness and I will be eating a lot healthier! It is alright to pig out once in a while but you have to remember your health and go back to eating healthy. I do admit that I pig out more than I am supposed to but I have changed my ways! You can also treat yourself to a little dessert after doing so much physical activity during a summer's day.

Remember whenever you want a dessert you can always find a great healthy dessert recipe! When you grill it doesn't always have to be hot dogs and hamburgers or chicken. There are loads of different recipes for grilling that would mix up your meals! Just go out there and look!

The best website I have found for grilling would probably be www.cookingchanneltv.com

I found some healthy summer dessert recipes, please click here.

The Beginning of The Nutrition Journey

I wrote in my first post that I would be sharing my journey on becoming a Dietitian and Nutritionist. So, I am now going to tell you what I have done already and what I am about to do. 

I have decided I am going to do a 1 year or 2 year transfer at Catawba Valley Community College then transferring to Western Carolina University. I have taken my placement test for CVCC and now I am going to see an adviser to talk about my classes at CVCC sometime this week or next week. During the summer I will sign up for my classes.

  

When I sign up for my classes I am just going to be doing the regular classes to get them out of the way and when I go to WCU I will take all of my classes based on Dietitian and Nutrition. I will take the harder classes inside a real classroom and I will take the easier classes on the computer so I won't have to be going back and forth. 

Well, wish me luck and I will write more posts about this journey that I am a little nervous about...     

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Pancakes

 I watched the cooking channel all memorial weekend and Monday night I watched an episode of Unique Eats. On that episode of Unique Eats there was this food truck called the Buttermilk Truck in L.A. and they were talking about their red velvet pancakes which I thought was very unique. My mind was blown when I watched that. I never thought of red velvet pancakes! I found someone who blogged about them and they found a copy cat recipe of the red velvet chocolate chip pancakes. The link for the recipe is below the picture of the pancakes. 

What I found neat about their red velvet pancakes is that they put just 2 chocolate chips in every pancake, which shows the uniqueness of the relationship between them. They use cream cheese and powdered sugar to top the pancakes and you can drizzle on some syrup if you like. 

The Buttermilk Truck

Romantic Dinner

Everyone has been bitten by the love bug at least once in their life! You have always wanted to cook something special and romantic for that one person you love right? Well here is a perfect dinner for a very romantic night!

First you start off with roasted asparagus with hollandaise sauce for the appetizer. Yum! For the main course you can make Speghettini with mushrooms, garlic and oil. Finally for dessert, you can make a Chocolate Lava Cake! Make sure you make the setting very romantic! You could also watch a romantic movie as well.

Guys, I believe that your girlfriend, lady friend, fiancé, or your wife will love this dinner! Ladies, sometimes you might be with a guy that doesn't really have a romantic side but step up and do this dinner you can teach him  how to be romantic! Ladies that have a romantic guy, you should be excited because he will love it!

I have the recipes linked below the pictures. If you have any questions please leave a comment in the comment box below this post.

Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise

Chocolate Lava Cake

Speghettini w/mushrooms, garlic, & oil

Substitutes for French Fries

People eat french fries at least 4 times a week! Eating french fries for that many times a week is very unhealthy. I am confessing that I do the same like everyone else! There are 3 substitutions for french fries that would be the best: sweet potato fries, roasted asparagus, and sauteed zucchini. I'm not really a sweet potato person but I know it is better than regular potatoes but I am an asparagus and zucchini person!

Sweet Potato Fries

You can find frozen sweet potato fries at your local grocery store or you can make them your self. Roasting asparagus is easy to do! All you have to do to the asparagus is put them on a pan, drizzle a little oil on them and season them, then put them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes. Sauteing zucchini is simple as well! Just saute them in some oil with Greek seasoning.

Roasted Asparagus 

Sauteed Zucchini

Stove Top Grilling

Are you not sad when it is raining on the day you want to grill? Well, I am sad about that a lot! I have wanted to get a stove top grilling pan for a while now but my mother says that we cannot have one because we have a glass stove top. I have always thought there could be a procedure to pan grill on a glass stove and I have found the instructions on how to from eHow.

Link: How to Use a Grill Pan on a Flat Top Stove

The best kind of grill pan to use is a cast iron one. Why are they the best you ask?... Because grill pans do not require oil or cooking fat, making it healthier for you and your family! Using cast iron on a gas stove is not a problem but when you use them on a electric glass stove top you have a big problem! The problem with cast iron on a glass stove top is that it will scratch! Hopefully this post will help everyone with these kind of questions!  Happy indoor grilling!

Other links: 

• How to Care for an Aluminum Stove Top Grill Pan 
• How to Clean a Stove Top Grill Pan
• How to Cook on a Stove Top Grill

Kitchen Designs

The vintage aprons inspired me to search for retro kitchen appliances. Searching for the kitchen appliances inspired me to design a kitchen for my future home. I found the company that makes the retro appliances and their name is Big Chill. The appliances come in 8 different colors and I think that is amazing! One problem is the cost. The Big Chill kitchen appliances are pretty expensive but I am already saving money for them because I love them that much.

Below is a link to the Big Chill web site and also some pictures of the appliances and kitchens.

Big Chill Web Site

Big Chill Microwave

Big Chill Dishwasher 

Big Chill Stove in Jade 

Big Chill Studio Refrigerator in Jade 

Vintage Cooking Aprons

I have been looking for retro looking aprons for a while now. I finally just thought to make my own vintage apron or maybe a few... I do sew but I am not great at it. I really want to cook in retro vintage aprons! I have chosen about 5 to 8 aprons to make and I found all of the patterns online for free.I do have the links to these aprons. Click on the links below.

Here are some pictures of the aprons I plan to make: 

Vintage Heart Apron

Valentine Ruffles

Retro/Vintage Style 

Half Apron

Good Weekend

I have figured out a few Irish recipes that I am going to cook. I will have to cook them a while from now when I have time but I will write about it.

In my Microsoft class we are making magazine covers on publisher. I am making a magazine like Food Network Magazine. It is fun to make and I will show it on here soon!

Yesterday I baked some dog biscuits for my boyfriend's dog. His parents thought it was cool and not many people make dog treats. I am also thinking of making cat treats soon!

My boyfriend likes my cooking and I love to cook for him. He doesn't eat everything but I am glad he at least tries some of it. I am glad his parents eat a lot of different things because I love seeing people smile and enjoy my cooking.

Irish Inspired

Yesterday I received an Irish Claddagh ring and it has inspired me to cook a few Irish dishes soon. I have some recipes already picked out but I want someone to suggest some Irish recipes! :) When I think of Ireland I see green grass, fresh water and air, friendly people, and recipes that have been used for over 200 years.

I like to cook dishes from different countries but I only cook them if they are not too fattening! Most Nutritionists say that it is best to have a balanced macro-nutrient diet and I believe that it is true. A balanced diet is healthier than just cutting out calories or carbohydrates. You also need to watch your sodium intake to not raise your blood pressure. 

Ask me any questions on recipes and nutrition facts! 

First Blog

This is a blog about my interests in nutrition and cooking.  I will write about the progress of getting my degree in nutrition as well! 

Now, I will tell you about myself.  My name is Brooke and I am 18.  I fell in love with cooking 2 years ago and wanted to go into culinary school after high school but I can't afford the tuition. I finally decided to go into nutrition and attend a university in the Appalachian Mountains. It will take 5 years to get my degree. I am a nice person so if any of you readers have any questions or want to contact me don't be afraid to ask me. My favorite movie is Julie & Julia. After college I will start saving up for culinary school and after that I will hopefully open up my own restaurant while probably having my own Dietitian and Nutrition office or working at a hospital.

This weekend I am going to cook something healthy and flavorful from a new cookbook I just bought. I cook differently than my mother and she thinks that its strange and my father loves my cooking. My mother only cooks food from the freezer isle in the oven and I despise it. I like to cook fresh food. There will always be a war in the kitchen between my mother and I.

Me in a Clam at Ripley's Aquarium