i like eating

Their once was a Princess who fell in love with an Indian, but still wasn’t happy because he had accomplished nothing in his life. One day while surfing the Internet, the princess read about an herbal tea drinking contest. Suprisingly the Indian was very good at drinking tea and she convinced him to enter. The contest began and soon it was down to the Indian and another man, they both drank 33 gallons of tea. Finally after the Indian drank his 34th gallon the other man dropped out. He just couldn’t out-drink the Indian. After celebrating, the Indian went to sleep with the trophy in his hands and very proud. That night he drowned in his teapee!

(Food joke and Tea Time in one post… You’re welcome!)

Sundays are great days for pulling out the slow cooker, tossing in a whole bunch of ingredients and doing whatever else you want to do (yard work, Sunday shopping, watching football, or my favorite, lay on the couch and “watch” a movie as you nap) while the slow cooker does all the work.  This recipe is super easy and tastes great.  I can say that because my wife enjoyed it as well.

Ingredients

4- Thick cut, boneless chicken breasts (cut in half or thirds)

1- Onion chopped

2- Tablespoons of butter

2- 10.75 oz. Cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1- 14.5 oz. Can of chicken broth

2- 7 to 10 oz. packages (tubes) of refrigerated biscuit dough

Freshly ground pepper

Step 1-  Cut chicken in to large pieces (in half or in thirds) to keep it from drying out in the slow cooker.  Chop the onion and gather other ingredients.

Step 2-  Set slow cooker to HIGH and place chicken, onion and butter in the slow cooker.

Step 3-  Add a pinch of fresh ground pepper.

Step 4-  Cover with the cream of chicken soup and then pour in the chicken broth.  Cover slow cooker and set timer for 4.5 HOURS.

Step 5- After 4.5 hours, take your biscuit dough out of their packages, separate and place on top of the creamy chicken liquid.  As you place them, push them down a bit to soak up more chicken flavor.  Cover the whole meal, just shove all the biscuits into the slow cooker.  Set timer for 30 MINUTES and keep an eye on it. I leave mine cooking for 45 more minute to make sure the biscuits become perfect dumplings.

NOTE- Next time I’ll try to add some chopped up celery and/or carrots to it, but it is perfect without.  ENJOY!

I drank this amazing 22oz at Logan’s Roadhouse in Lafayette, IN.

Dragonfly IPA- Bloomington, IN

This was one of my favorites.  Found it at The Ripple Inn in Broad Ripple Village, IN and at the Four Point Sheraton in Carmel, IN.

The Gumball Head Wheat Beer- Munster, IN

My second beer at The Ripple Inn.  Wheat beers (Hefeweizens to be more specific) are my favorite these days, although IPAs are quickly wooing me.

Upland Wheat Ale- Bloomington, IN

I know what I just said about wheat beers, but Upland’s wheat left a bit to be desired.  This was brewed with way too much lemon, giving it a sickly citrus-y flavor.  It was also too sweet… kind of like a flu medicine. 

Dirty Helen- Nobelsville, IN

Similar to a Honey Brown, this dark (or bock) beer was great.  If would have had the opportunity to choose my beer for the night again, I’d have started with a Dirty Helen.

Goose Island 312 Wheat Beer- Chicago, IL

I picked up this beauty at Harry & Izzy’s while waiting for my plane.  This hefeweizen was exactly what they should be.  Light, summery, slight hints of lemon and very refreshing.

  This 85 year old couple, having been married almost 60 years, had
 died in a car crash. They had been in good health the last ten years
 mainly due to her interest in health food, and exercise.

  When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter took them to their
 mansion which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen and master
 bath suite and Jacuzzi.

  As they “oohed and aahed” the old man asked Peter how much all
 this was going to cost.
 ”It’s free,” Peter replied, “this is Heaven.”

  Next they went out back to survey the championship golf course
 that the home backed up to. They would have golfing privileges
 everyday and each week the course changed to a new one representing
 the great golf courses on earth.

  The old man asked, “What are the green fees?”.
 Peter’s reply, “This is heaven, you play for free.”

  Next they went to the club house and saw the lavish buffet lunch
 with the cuisines of the world laid out.
  “How much to eat?” asked the old man.
 ”Don’t you understand yet? This is heaven, it is free!” Peter replied
 with some exasperation.
  “Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?” the old
 man asked timidly.

  Peter lectured, “That’s the best part…you can eat as much as you
 like of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get
 sick. This is Heaven.”

  With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing down his
 hat and stomping on it, and shrieking wildly.

  Peter and his wife both tried to calm him down, asking him what was
 wrong. The old man looked at his wife and said, “This is all your fault.
 If it weren’t for your blasted bran muffins, I could have been
 here ten years ago!”

My trip to Indiana started at 3:30AM on a Friday morning as I waited for a car to pick me up. From there we picked up a colleague and headed to the airport. Being the first day of spring break and the second week of Delta’s newly expanded, 200 flights per day from LaGuardia, security was severly backed up. After waiting in 4 different lines for over an hour and a half, we made it through security and had a couple of minutes before boarding began. I needed caffiene. Badly.

Bar Brace is in the Delta terminal, so technically not in Indiana, but I started the trip here, so it counts. Their green tea is a loose leaf Dragon Well, a favorite of mine, and had a nice roasted flavor with a dry finish. It hit the spot and helped me wake up a bit.

While on the plane, the drink service does not have green tea as an option. I’m not complaining, at least they still have a drink service these days, but it is an observation I had made in the past, so I fly prepared. I had some Yogi Super Antioxidant green tea bags in my pocket. Cup #2 for the moring- Check!

My next cup of green tea came at Hoaglin To Go on Mass Ave. in Indianapolis on Sunday. I stopped in for a late breakfast and ordered up a green tea and some eggs benedict. They serve Numi teas and their green ws Monkey King Jasmine Green Tea. It was a very smooth cup of tea with a subtly sweet flavor and a light flowery finish. It was a refreshing drink and different from what one’ll find at Starbucks or other chain cafes that serve tea.

Speaking of Starbucks, what trip would be complete without a stop in my wife’s favorite place in the world! As I was walking the streets of Indianapolis on a Sunday, I was looking for my second cup of green tea and decided that a venti Zen tea from Tazo would have the caffiene, slightly bitter and lemony flavor I’d want while exploring a new city. They double bag the Ventis, so it did get quite strong, but I’ve always enjoyed Starbucks’ tea way more than their coffee.

My final cup of green tea in Indiana also came from Starbucks.  China Green Tips by Tazo at a Starbucks in Carmel.  All in all, a very satisfying tea experience in Indiana.  At some point, Tea Time will feature something other than green tea… I swear!

Just pulled into Lafayette, IN with a co-worker and we were looking for something to eat. Olive Garden? No thanks. Chili’s? Not today. Logan’s Roadhouse? Jackpot! Some good old Midwest BBQ to get the trip off on the right cowboy booted foot!*

We sat at the bar, ordered up a couple of Sam Adams and took a look at the menu. Logan’s Roadhouse is a Chili’s-esque, Ground Round-ish style restaurant in both atmosphere and menu. Lots of burgers, sandwhiches, entrees that include ribs and buckets of peanuts ready to be cracked open and enjoyed. Warning, if you have a peanut allergy, Patrick Swayze may kick your ass… Road House!

We both ordered rib combo meals, his was a 6oz. sirloin with 1/2 rack of BBQ ribs, a salad and baked potato and mine was fried shrimp with 1/2 rack of BBQ ribs, rice pilaf and onion petals that, according to our bar tender will “put onion rings to shame.” As we waited for our meals, the bartended brought out 2 baskets of “dinner” rolls. They were dripping in melted butter with whipped butter in the side. They were amazing, but I’m sure I clogged an artery or two.

Here’s the rundown on the food: The half rack of BBQ ribs were quite good (although if you know me, and you will if you keep reading this blog, you’ll know I’m not a big BBQ fan). The meat just fell off the bone and the BBQ sauce was sweet, smokey and sticky. The fried shrimp were good, but a bit on the small side. Then again, I ordered shrimp in Indiana, which is a land-locked state, so I can’t say too much. The rice pilaf left something to be desired. A bit undercooked and under flavored.

Then there was the onion petals. The bartender was right, they were awesome. Fried onion perfection. The right onion to breading ratio and served with “petal sauce.” The “petal sauce” is a spiced up horseradish (cayenne being the main spice) which had a very sharp flavor with a slight kick and tasted great. I used it on the onions as well as the shrimp. All in all, a decent dining experience at an affordable establishment just off route 65 in Lafayette, IN.

*I really wasn’t wearing cowboy boots, and they definitely were not red.