o!
This past Friday, Ethan and I met Todd, Shellie & Teagan at Pancho's after the first spring scrimmage for Tiger Football. This place has been around for years. It is one of those local places that you either love or hate but everyone loves their cheese dip, which is always a staple at any party! They used to have several locations in Memphis but now they are down to two in Memphis (one restaurant and one Pancho Taco, their fast food joint) and one restaurant in West Memphis. Ethan usually isn't a fan of Pancho's and always orders "American" style food when we go there but on Friday I guess he was being adventurous and he ordered some of their Mexican food and actually enjoyed it! Like I said in a previous post, I like variety so I usually vary the items I order but I always order a chicken tostada! They are just that good! We also enjoyed some delicious frozen margarita's! It was a great way to end a gorgerous day! Eat Up! Bon Appetit!
Sekisui on Friday night, some yummy Chinese, Japanese and Mexican food at a couples shower on Saturday night and on Sunday we had been in Jackson, TN visiting Ethan's grandmother so we decided to try out this Mexican restaurant in Jackson called Don Pancho. So I am the type of person who loves variety when it comes to food so at Don Pancho, since we had never been there, I ordered the Bontana Grande which came 
with a quesadilla, nachos, and taquitoes and it was only $9.29. Well I should have paid more attention to the Grande part because when it came out all I could do was laugh at how much food had just been placed in front of me! I had never seen so much Mexican food on one plate in my life. I was only able to eat about a 1/4th of the food and the rest I took home, which I am sure I will be eating on for days to come! 
So the next time you are in Jackson, TN or just passing through try out Don Pancho. It is right of the interstate and Vann Dr. and you get a lot of food for a good price! Ole! Eat Up! Bon Appetit!
After 2 weeks of neglecting to go to the grocery store we finally made it this past Sunday! Over the past couple of months we have been buying our grocery's from a local grocery store, SuperLo Foods. We like SuperLo because we always find local and often unique items every time we shop. Also, there store brand items are really good and cheap. By shopping there we estimate that we save at least $20 a week on grocery's compared to where we used to shop! Also, SuperLo's website features a "recipe of the day" as well as a "tip of the day" and provides their shoppers with "weekly meal solutions." Very helpful! Before heading to the store, Ethan and I always make a list and a menu for the week. Here is our menu for this week:
Also, since the Tigers made the NIT Basketball Tournament and they are playing the 1st round at the FedEx Forum this Wednesday, St. Patty's Day, we probably won't be having tacos; rather, we will be heading downtown to watch the Tigers and celebrate St. Patty's Day with a green beer! Go Tigers! EAT UP! Bon Appetit!
After a fun filled Friday night at a family wedding, Saturday was a day to lay around, watch basketball and EAT! For lunch we headed to the Chinese Sub Shop. This place has been around for what seems like forever. Driving by, the place does not look appealing on the outside and it doesn't look appealing on the inside either but the subs are pretty good and cheap! I had always heard about this place but never got up the courage to go EAT there til Ethan convinced me one day when we first started dating. Here is what we ordered on our first visit together and we still order the same thing to this day: 
For dinner, we headed out east to the TPC Southwind Country Club. The special of the day was prime rib with a baked potato and salad. Of course this is what we both ordered! While savoring every bite of our prime rib, baked potato and salad, we overheard the head chef talking to another patron about the desserts of the evening. One dessert that caught our attention was the chocolate bouchon. The chef described it is a rich and velvety cake topped with a creamy praline caramel sauce. We weren't planning on having dessert but after hearing the description we couldn't resist! And the chocolate bouchon was everything the chef described! So delicious! Eat Up! Bon Appetit!
They were so juicy and flavorful! To complement our bison burgers we had VooDoo Gumbo Chips by Zapps.These were introduced to us by a friend and are some of the best chips you have ever put in your mouth! EAT up! Bon Appetit!
Unlike other Mellow Mushrooms we have visited, this one lacked the character that makes Mellow Mushroom "mellow." Though the atompshere was nothing to be desired the food wasn't bad. 
So it actually did turn out to be a gorgeous day this past Saturday. We went to watch the Tiger's play their last home game of the season and we destroyed Tulsa as if we were a "golden hurricane." Haha! Great way to end a good season! Yeah, Go Tigers! Now on to the C-USA tournament! After the game we came home to start practicing our ribs for the Smoke on the Water BBQ contest we are competing in next weekend. Below is the menu & pictures of items we cooked/ prepared on a fun filled day of "Smokin in the Backyard." 
The Smoker
Chicken Legs, Ribs and Sausage
Ribs that have been rubbed (top ribs with "Dirty Boar Rub Down" & bottom ribs with "XXX Rub")
Placing the ribs on the smoker. The ribs will be smoked
This is what the ribs and pork tenderloins look like after a couple of hours of being smoked. The pork tenderloins do not take as long to smoke as the ribs so we took the tenderloins off the smoker about 30 minutes after this was taken.
After the ribs have been on the smoker for at least 3 hours, we take them out and wrap them in foil. We go by the 3-2-1 method. Meaning we smoke the ribs for 3 hours, wrap them in foil and place them back on the smoker for 2 hours then about 1 hour before the ribs are finished take them out of the foil and add the finishing glaze then place them back on the smoker until tender and ready to serve. Of course this method varies depending on the smoker you use and how steady the temperature remains throughout the cooking process. Also, wrapping them in foil keeps the ribs from drying out and allows us to add more flavor.
Adam making his BBQ sauce, which placed 3rd at the Tennessee Funfest this past June.
Adam's BBQ Sauce. Saucy!
Ethan making Armadilllo Eggs. Ingredients include hot sausage, fresh jalapeno's (hollowed out), cream cheese, velveeta & fajita spices. Basically you stuff the jalapeno's with a cheesey mixture of cream cheese, velveeta & fajita spices. Then wrap the jalapeno with the hot sausage and shape into an egg. Smoke for a couple of hours until sausage is cooked.
Yum.....Armadillo Eggs! These were actually pretty good. They were spicy, cheesy & sweet. We are not really sure where the sweetness came from but it was a nice surprise. Last night I actually chopped the leftover Armadillo Eggs up, placed them on some chips added some cheese and salsa to make nacho's! Ole!
Ethan injecting the chicken legs with creole cajun butter
Finished Chicken Legs. Scrumptious!
On Wednesday night, the Tigers played UAB at UAB. This is always an intense game because it is a huge rivalry. The past couple of years we have made the trek to Birmingham to cheer the Tigers on to victory; however, this year we decided not to subject ourselves to the hostile environment at Bartow Arena and cheer the Tigers on to victory from the comforts of our home. For the game we thought about having cheeseburgers, tater tots & beer because those are always good game watching staples but we decided to combine everything and make cheeseburger soup! The idea for cheeseburger soup came from watching another episode of Diners, Drive- Ins, & Dives. Guy visited this restaurant called Grover's Bar & Grill which used to be Pres. Grover Cleavland's summer cottage until it was turned into what is now known as Grover's Bar & Grill. Guy sampled a variety of items from the restaurant but what caught our eye was the cheeseburger soup! So on Wednesday we searched the internet for a recipe that looked similar to what was featured on the show and we found this one recipe from another blogger who had watched the same episode and was inspired to make the cheeseburger soup as well. We followed the recipe even down to the last ingredient, lettuce! We even added our own little touches like mustard and dill pickles because that is what you put on a cheeseburger so why not put it in the soup! Our version of cheeseburger soup turned out ok. I think it would work better as a dip or pour the cheeseburger soup over a toasted bun. But if you want to try it out for yourself here is the recipe: Cheeseburger Soup
Ingredients:
2 lb 96% lean ground beef
Spices & seasoning, salt & pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cavendar's, etc.
1 large onion, diced
butter
1 box (32 oz) Chicken Broth
1 jar of Ragu cheese sauce
1 lb of Velveeta Cheese (On the show, she used Cheese sauce from a can and the recipe we found she used 2 lbs of Velveeta, so we decided to use both cheese sauce and Velveeta)
1-1.5 pint heavy whipping cream
1 Tb flour
1 Tb cold water (may take a bit more)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
shredded lettuce
mustard (optional)
dill pickle relish (optional)
Directions:
In a skillet brown the ground beef. Season with your choice of seasonings. Drain and set aside.
In a large soup pot, add butter and diced onions. Allow the onion to sweat over medium heat. When the onions become translucent, you are ready to continue.
Add the chicken broth (on the show she used a chicken base–like bouillon + water), the cheese sauce, diced Velveeta and the heaving whipping cream. Allow the cheese sauce and Velveeta to melt into the mixture.
In a small bowl mix the flour and water to make a slurry. You may need a bit more of water–just add enough to make a smooth mixture, somewhat thin, but not watery (if that makes sense). Once mixed well, add to the cheesey mixture. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (the cheese likes to stick).
Add the ground beef to the soup pot, tur
n down to medium low heat.
Add tomatoes and shredded lettuce to the mixture and if you are adventurous mustard and pickles. Stir to combine and turn to low heat until ready to EAT.
Bon Appetit!
A couple of weeks back we discovered some of the best fried chicken you will ever put in your mouth, Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken! This fabulous eatery was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives and The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the food network. Although Uncle Lou's opened in 2001 neither of us have ever heard of it much less eaten there. After watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate we decided to give this place a try. On Valentine's weekend we drove out by the airport to Uncle Lou's. Like the show said "it is located in a strip mall near the airport" and they were right! Uncle Lou's is a hole in the wall but the fantastic food makes up for the lack of amenities. It is full of character and the staff there are really friendly! Uncle Lou was even there to greet us! In order to get our full experience we had to try out a variety of menu items. Here is what we ordered:
"corruption" because once you taste it you've been corrupted! We have used corruption in a lot of things we have cooked since we purchased it! So I guess you can say we were "corrupted!"
