Nakita Grinie: Ode

Showing posts with label Ode. Show all posts

Monday, July 10, 2017

An Ode to Cracker Barrel

I remember the first time I ever went to Cracker Barrel.

It was 1996 and we went on a family vacation to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
It was the first time this California girl had been to the South.
Our first meal we had on that trip was at this place called Cracker Barrel.
It was love at first sight. And, love at first bite.
We were in the South for a week & I think we went to Cracker Barrel for at least once a day.
When my family finds something we like, we stick to it!
Overkill? I think not. It's just how we roll.

We do not have restaurants/stores like it in California.
So, every time I travel to the South, my #1 priority is to make sure I get to go to Cracker Barrel.
I am not kidding.
When I was playing college soccer my sophomore year we had games at University of Alabama and so before the trip, I told my coach that we had to have one of our meals at Cracker Barrel, and we did!

When I went to New Orleans/Mississippi in 2006 for Hurricane Katrina relief, you better believe we drove out of our way for dinner one night for Cracker Barrel.

When Kevin and I went to a wedding in Florida 3 years ago, I made Kevin go there for at least 1 meal every day we were there.

When we went on the Disney Cruise & Disney World last year, I made sure our hotel was within walking distance of a Cracker Barrel (since we didn't have a rental car, I needed to make sure I could have Cracker Barrel while I was in the South!)

Told you, I am obsessed with Cracker Barrel!

The first thing you notice it all the rocking chairs on the porch surrounding it.
Then, you go inside and before you go to the restaurant, there is an adorable country store with fun nick-knacks, candies & fun vintage-y finds.
Each Cracker Barrel has the exact same layout!!!

(These pictures are from my last visit to Cracker Barrel, which was a year ago, the day we arrived in Florida for our Disney Cruise)

Love the vintage feel to the store:

Vintage Soda:

Love all the old fashioned candy.

Such cute things!

Gumballs in Mason Jars? Love it.

And, you can buy some pre-packaged Cracker Barrel goodies!

The dining room/restaurant area has eclectic decorations:

While you wait for your food, you can play this peg game. (I bought one years ago)

Also while you wait, you can snack on warm biscuits that they bring to your table.
My favorite breakfast to order at Cracker Barrel is the French Toast or the blueberry pancakes:

If I go during lunch/dinner, I always order the grilled chicken tenderloin sandwich on sourdough. With their hashbrown casserole as a side.
Cracker Barrel also has amazing desserts, like fudge brownie sundaes & cobblers.

I am passing on the love of Cracker Barrel to my girls. There was a Cracker Barrel commercial on Nick Jr the other day & Kate got so excited and said, "This is making me miss Cracker Barrel. I just can't stop thinking about it now." Me too Kate, me too. Ha!
And, I think it is mean they had a commerical about Cracker Barrel when the nearest one is over 1000 miles away! Boo.

My other favorite thing about Cracker Barrel is the Sweet Tea. We don't have Sweet Tea here in California at restaruants. Boo. But, I did find a Sweet Tea that is now sold in stores & it is SO good:

A few months ago, I saw a few Cracker Barrel recipes on Pinterest that I pinned right away. But, because I was battling major morning sickness, I didn't make them, until this week!
And, they didn't dissapoint!
Here is what I pinned & made:
Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

1 bag of frozen Shredded Hash Browns
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup butter, melted
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, setting aside 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.
After all ingredients are mixed, spread in a greased 9x13 pan.
Use remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on the top.

Bake at 350 (uncovered) for 45 minutes.

Yum, yum, yum. Total comfort food.

I also pinned & made:
Cracker Barrel Biscuits

2 1/4 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup Buttermilk
1 t sugar
1 T melted butter (plus additional melted butter for brushing on the tops)
Mix bisquick, buttermilk, sugar & melted butter in a bowl.
Stir until a soft dough forms.
On a well floured surface, knead the dough.
Once dough is kneaded, roll out 1/2 inch thick.
Use a biscuit cutter (or drinking glass) to cut out your biscuits.

Place on a cookie sheet & brush melted butter on the tops.

Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes.

When you take them out of the oven, you can brush more melted butter on the tops if you want!
My favorite way to eat them is warm out of the oven with my Homemade Strawberry Jam.

I also love Honey on biscuits!
This recipe makes 8 biscuits & they were delicious & easy to make!

The final recipe I tested out was:
Cracker Barrel Peach Cobbler with Almond Crumble

For the bottom:
1 cup Cracker Barrel Pancake Mix (which I didn't have so I used Bisquick)
1 cup milk
1 stick melted butter
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Whisk together in a bowl & then spread in an 8x8 baking dish:

Then, drain your 29 oz can of sliced peaches into a bowl, reserve 1-2 T of the heavy syrup & add that to the bowl also. Add 1/4 c sugar to the peaches, stir & then pour over the batter:

You are going to bake that at 375 for 45 minutes.
While it is baking, make the crumble topping.
For the topping you mix:
1/2 c brown sugar
1/8 c flour
1/2 t cinammon
1 T softened butter
1/4 c sliced almonds (or if you don't like almonds, leave them out!)
Mix in a bowl with a fork.

After the cobbler has finished baking for 45 minutes, add the crumble & bake for an additional 10 minutes.

I let it cool for about 10-15 minutes & then I serve it warm with vanilla bean ice cream.

It was SO good. The almond crumble was delicious! The sliced almonds really add a fun flavor to the cobbler.
When I make this again, I am going to use more peaches, because I wish it had more peaches! Instead of one 29 oz can of peaches, I am going use that, plus an additional 15 oz can of peaches (drained).

I am so happy to have found these Cracker Barrel recipes, it will help tide me over until my next trip to the South. Who knows when that will be!
I wish they would build one here in California.
If you haven't been to Cracker Barrel, you are missing out!!!
Anyone else obsessed with Cracker Barrel or am I the only crazy one?

Linking up with:

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Ode to Bedrest

Well I survived a whole day on 'bedrest' and honestly, it went by really fast somehow. Definitely an eye-opening experience thus far, some of which begs to be shared on the blog:

-that GIANT jug meant to hold 24 hours worth of pee? I totally owned it. In fact, I topped it off three hours before my time was up so I was hoping I could just be done with it. I called the Lab and they informed me that they do, in fact, need every drop for a full 24 hours. Which meant I had to send Nate out to our recycling bin to hunt down an additional pee container. That's true love right there, folks. Not to mention he got the honor of delivering my pee package to the lab, including one giant jug and one extra water bottle fulla pee. His exact quote was, 'Holy cow! I'm going to need a mountain climbing backpack to carry all of your pee!' Not many times you hear that in a day right? Do those lab folks not understand a pregnant bladder or what? :)

-It's pretty fun to read comments on my blog throughout the day instead of cramming them all in after work. I quite liked it. And honestly, all of the kind words and support mean SO much right now. Thank you guys, every one of them helped immensely.

-Henry is a great napping/lazy slob partner in crime...even if he's on the floor and I'm on the couch. He can totally tell something is up and has been very well-behaved and extra cute just for added effect. Also, our couch is pretty darn comfy when stacked with multiple pillows and surrounded by the necessities: laptop, water, books, candle, phone, remote control, and blood pressure cuff:)

-Oh, speaking of my BP: it's been MUCH better ever since I came home yesterday. All the readings were below my OB's goal of 140/90 and today they even dropped into the 'normal' range with a few 120s/80s! I suppose that could mean that 1. It was a total fluke yesterday, or 2. Bedrest worked to stop whatever is going on with me. We shall see what the boss lady says tomorrow morning at my appointment...I'm hoping she'll let me go back to work at least part time and I'm willing to fight for that chance, at least. I'll update this post later tomorrow as I can.

-Marathons of ANTM rule. Tyra still bugs me, but I love that show.

-Daytime TV totally blows, otherwise. I am not a TV person anyway, but come on! You can only watch so many Baby Story and Birth Day episodes, you know.

-Taking your own blood pressure with a standard cuff and scope is WAY harder than it seems. Seriously.

-Having a loving and supportive husband is one of the best things in the world right now. He's the bomb and I'll leave it at that. :)

-Showering, shaving, thoroughly lotioning and then actually blow drying my hair was the highlight of my entire day. I feel like a new woman and perhaps I should do all of those items more often...if only there were time:) Also, who needs to schedule eyebrow waxing sessions when you can just pluck away those bad boys for hours on end? And manicures? Pish posh. Did that myself today, too. My self-grooming skills increase exponentially while on bedrest, apparently:)

-Baby Carlos likes bedrest more than his mommy. He's been doing a little jig inside my belly a lot more often lately...maybe with all that extra blood flow and added rest, huh? Or maybe I've just stopped to notice it lately....since I'm taking this whole situation as a sign to slow the heck down.

I've decided that even though I haven't FELT abnormally stressed or overworked, my body definitely has a lot of demands on it any given day and perhaps it has just given me a giant smoke signal. Even if my doc does release me back to work tomorrow, I promise to take it easy and stop trying to be superwoman in every aspect of life. I mean, something has to give and it's not going to be the health of my baby boy. As my freak out mode has diminished I've realized that this could be substantially worse than what it is. I'm far enough along in my pregnancy, otherwise healthy, and have a fabulous support system around me to make the best of whatever happens. I'm still hoping to make it until the end, thus having the luxury of complaining about being uncomfortable and overdue:) Plus, if I thought I cherished this pregnancy before I was wrong---I value it even more right now.

So that's that....deep thoughts from the confines of a couch. Check this post tomorrow for updates, or if there is a LOT to say maybe I'll get wild and create a whole new one. Three new posts in three days? Definitely a sign that I have a lot more time on my hands, huh? :)

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UPDATE: 2/4/10 at 1:47

The appointment went well this morning! My blood and urine were both clean, no protein or anything scary to make them think this is pre-eclampsia. My BP was 118/76 for them which earned me huge brownie points, I'm sure:) So basically, the doc thinks it could have just been a fluke high BP on Tuesday or possibly the start of something that was cured by the bedrest. As I increase my activity and begin working again, only time will tell if it's too much for my body or if I can handle it just fine. Or as my doctor says, 'Get really lazy, walk slower, sit more, and take care of your little nest of eggs in there.' She wants me to use the pregnancy pass more often and stop trying to be 'crazy type-A do-it-all'. How does she know me so well? :)

So I headed over to work after the appointment, saw a few patients at a leisurely pace, and checked my pressure. It was 134/86 which is still under the goal of 140/90 but inching up there. I used my common sense and decided that was enough for the day and headed home for some more rest. After all, I have two baby showers to attend tomorrow and I work full days on both Saturday and Sunday. I'll have plenty of tests in the upcoming days, that's for sure!

I go back to my OB on Monday and she reiterated again that she was very close to admitting me on Tuesday but she knew she could trust me to follow her directions and not be stupid. I'm taking that to mean she wants me to continue down that 'smart' path and listen to my body and I fully plan on embracing a new low-key mindset.

So overall, great appointment! We'll see how the next few days go but I'm hoping it was a one time thing that we can put behind us and move forward in the next 5 weeks without any more scares! We shall see, I suppose.