Yogurt Biscuits & NASCAR

My dad is a huge NASCAR fan.

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Don’t judge.

When I moved to Charlotte, I made my dad a promise:  if he (hater of all things urban) made the trek down to the Queen City, I (the darling bribing daughter) would take him to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the NASCAR racing experience.  Honestly, the thought of my dear dad whipping around the racetrack at speeds of over 150 miles per hour was borderline gut-wrenching, but I figured if seeing his daughter wasn’t incentive enough to come to Charlotte, surely NASCAR would get him here.

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Easy Tomato Basil Bruschetta Recipe

In my family, it’s customary to tell embarrassing stories about your friends and loved ones when celebrating a big life moment.  Weddings, graduations, birthdays–whatever the case may be, nothing shows you care like a little rib jabbin.  Given this, I feel obligated to tell an embarrassing story about my fellow Charlotte Food Blogger, Brooke, who is expecting TWINS!

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When I first met Brooke, the brains of Baking with Basil, she was just a few months pregnant (and nowhere near the size she is in this photo).  We crammed into a car with Vanessa and Jamie and headed west for the Food Blog Forum in Nashville.

On the trip we shared some close sleeping quarters, so I was sure to warn the gals about my peculiar sleeping habits.  You know, the sleep talking, sporadic sleep walking, and the occasional mid-night fisticuffs I engage in.  I shared a bed with Brooke, so I had purposeful intentions of being on my best sleep behavior so as not to disturb the wee ones.  In the middle of the night I went in for one of my trademark flip-and-rolls and accidentally booty bumped Brooke right in the belly.  I remember the instant horror that washed over me as I bolted upright in the bed trying to determine if I had in any way injured the mama or the cargo.  I held my breath waiting for a sign, or a sound, or a grunt of some sort, but Brooke didn’t budge.  After a few terrifying minutes, I laid back down as straight and stiff as possible all the while clinging to the edge of the bed so as not to stray back into baby territory.  I don’t think I slept the rest of the night.

Crap… wasn’t I supposed to be embarrassing Brooke here?!

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Chicken Pesto Paninis

It’s Thursday–the day I spend approximately two to three hours scouring the internet, flipping through cookbooks, and rifling through my big black book in search of amazing recipes and/or inspiration for things to cook this weekend.  It’s a ritual that borders somewhere between dedication and obsession.

Nothing cheeses me off more than spending all those hours (HOURS!) researching on top of shelling out my hard earned moo-lah on ingredients, taking the time to cook the darned thing, and having it turn out to be a flop.  After trying one-too-many frown-evoking recipes, I adopted a new blog bylaw in 2012:  only post recipes that I would recommend (without hesitation) to a friend.  Even though I painstakingly snap photos of everything I cook, if it ain’t delicious, it ain’t going on the blog.  Jarrod knows exactly what I mean when I ask if a dish is “blog worthy,” and he’s pretty truthful about so-so meals (in a I’m-just-glad-you-cooked-please-don’t-make-me-do-this sort of way).

When he REALLY likes something, he doesn’t hesitate to let me know.  Like this Chicken Pesto Panini, for instance, which he declared the BEST SANDWICH OF HIS LIFE.

If those aren’t fighting words, I don’t know what are.

Chicken Pesto Panini (8 of 10)

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Brown Dump Chili

I love to cook, but sometimes all I want is to dump a bunch of ingredients in a pot and come back an hour later to a piping hot bowl of flavorful comfort.  I need my unproductive internet perusing and phantom shopping time, which means I can’t spend every ounce of my free time in the kitchen.  That’s what I love about this chili.  You simply brown the turkey then dump everything in the pot.

Dump Turkey Black Bean Chili (4 of 9)

Perhaps, at first glance, the name Brown Dump Chili is unappealing to some.  Given the two-step process behind the chili, I’m sure you wholeheartedly agree the name is appropriate (or, at the very least, foretelling).

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Amaze(meat)balls.

I shamelessly consider myself a meatball connoisseur.  If meatballs are on the menu, you can bet your last breadstick I’m gonna order one.  Just one solitary meatball is all I need for my analysis.  Texture, taste, accouterments.  More often than not, I’m disappointed.  I’m not a fan of mushy ones and I need them to be thoroughly seasoned, preferably bobbing along in a vat of marina sauce (though I’m flexible on that stipulation).  Every once in a while, about 1 in 5 tries, I will sink my teeth into an amazing meatball and for that brief moment this crazy messed up world is right again.

Healthy Meatballs (1 of 6)

I have been trying to create a delicious healthified meatball recipe for YEARS, and have been wholeheartedly devoted to the cause.  I’ve tried dozens of impromptu turkey meatball concoctions, but they always left something to be desired.  Too dry, too poultry-ee, not meatbally enough, etc.  I kept crawling back to my favorite, albeit it no-so-healthy, meatball recipe:  Meatball Nirvana on Allrecipes.com.  I LOVE this recipe because it results in meatballs that are juicy, flavorful, and that have the coveted sink-your-teeth-in meaty texture.

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