Using up unwanted beer...

Most people don't have the issue of unwanted beer in their fridge...either you are a beer drinker or you are not. I definitely fall under the latter. When I was six years old, my dad gave me a sip of his beer...that was enough to turn me against beer for life. The taste is not for me.

Over the last couple of years, I would hear my husband turn down beer telling his buddies that his wife did not like the smell of beer on his breath. Even though I would insist that he could have a beer with his Army buddies,  he always declined. I did not want to be that wife...the one that would not let her husband be 'one of the guys.' So, I decided to be the cool wife and surprise my husband with a variety pack of beers. It turned out that I was just a convenient excuse...he does not like beer any better than I do.

I watched the 6-pack of beers slowly dwindle over the past two years. However, at some point the dwindling plateaued and that one final beer sat lonely in the refrigerator. If I said that it sat in one spot, then I would be lying...it sat dead center in the front of the fridge; it made its way to the side of the fridge; it gradually was pushed to the back of the fridge; then, at some point it was found and placed on the door of the fridge in hopes that it would finally be consumed.

That last lonely beer finally found its purpose today. I am trying to be good about using up the rest of the food before we move rather than have anything go to waste. So, how can people that do not drink beer productively use it up? Easy-- use it in beer bread. It is seriously the simplest homemade bread recipe that I have ever baked.

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine together 3 cups of self rising flour with 1/4 cup sugar. 
• Mix in 1 bottle of beer...whichever beer of your choice.
• Pour into a greased bread pan.
• Bake for about 50 minutes...give or take...I am of the school that all ovens vary; so, you really need to learn your own oven's personality when cooking and baking.
• Let cool completely before removing from the pan.

The bread itself turned out good. The truth is that it still tasted a little bit too much like beer for me. This could be just that the bottle of beer that was left was a strong, dark beer. For the best results, have a beer that you think you will like or if the bread will be eaten by non-beer drinkers then choose a lighter tasting beer. If you do find yourself stuck with a dark beer (like I was), then I suggest adding molasses to give the final product more of a "Boston Brown Bread" taste.

A great meal pairing for this bread is homemade chili and a fresh salad. 

The Greene Turtle

This restaurant review is going out for anyone in the Del-Mar-Va area of the Mid-Atlantic region. Yesterday, we found a fabulous local chain restaurant-- The Greene Turtle. I saw commercials for it before and I have to admit that they looked a little cheesey. They were enough to peek my curiosity, but it was not until I saw that they had a "kids eat free" deal that I was willing to commit to trying it. Truth be told, we have not found that many restaurants here on the East Coast that we have liked.

The Greene Turtle advertises itself as a family friendly sports bar. Sports bar paired with family friendly would normally be an oxymoron, but this restaurant has found a way to pair them perfectly. Half of the restaurant does boast sports bar with smaller bar tables which make it easier for mingling and televisions displaying more sports games than I could easily count. However, on the other side of the chest high divider wall was a more family friendly area that included booths with individual televisions. The televisions in the booths were able to be changed to whatever the individual visitors would like to watch...including Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. The room has the perfect set up so that little ones (or ladies not into sports) can watch whatever television show they care to watch while the guys can still keep up on a wide variety of sporting events.

On to the main attraction-- the food. While the kids menu had a limited variety (only 5 options), they had all of the classic kids choices: turtle tenders (chicken), cheese pizza, grilled cheese, mac'n'cheese, and mini cheeseburgers. All choices, except the cheese pizza, come with both french fries and a bag of apple wedges. The children's menu goes up to age 12; so, our 11 year old (who normally flounders between the adult menu and the kids menu) chose the meal that came with 3 nice size "Turtle Tenders." My tween made the tenders a little more gourmet by getting the sweet chili dipping sauce. The sauce was so good that I snagged a few of my toddler's french fries for trying it myself. It tastes like a freshly made sweet and sour sauce with a kick of spice.

My toddler went for the mini cheeseburgers which was 2 cheeseburger sliders. Many restaurants skimp on kids meals, but The Greene Turtle gave full flair by serving the same sliders that they serve to adults on the appetizer menu. The restaurant also did not skimp on portions. My girls could have gotten away with sharing a meal as neither one actually finished all of their food.

For adults, The Green Turtle has gourmet burgers, salads, sandwiches, and full entrees like Maryland crab cakes or ribs. The menu is like the best parts of Red Robin mixed with Applebee's but fresher and more tasty. I had a hard time choosing between their "Chesapeake Burger" topped with crab dip or their "Crabby Melt," which was the same crab dip with melted cheddar cheese, bacon and tomato on toasted sourdough. I went with the "Crabby Melt" and it was the right choice as I woke up this morning craving more of the warm gooey cheesy mixture of the crab dip. The only thing that would have made this sandwich more delicious is if instead of it coming on toasted sourdough bread if it came on a toasty, crusty sandwich roll like the seafood sandwich at The Ram in Washington State.

The two food aspects that we did not have the opportunity to try were appetizers and dessert. The appetizers looked totally delicious. The Greene Turtle had the normal range of sports bar style appetizers as well as fresh baked soft pretzels served with a variety of dips. There is even an appetizer sampler (2 cheeseburger sliders, wings, cheese sticks, and those soft pretzels with dip) that I am tempted to order sometime instead of a meal. We did plan on splitting a dessert as their lava cake sounded scrumptious, but they ran out of it while we were there. Going back for dessert is definitely on our "to do" list.

Not only was the food good, but so was the service. At the Arundel Mills location, we had an awesome server named Thomas. People who really know me know that I dislike the habit of tipping just because it is expected. Do not take that the wrong way...I always tip unless my service is absolutely horrible (in which case I actually leave a little note on the extra copy of the receipt telling them why I did not tip so that they do not just think that I stiffed them). My belief though is that tipping should be a gratuity for a job well done as it was originally meant to be. Thomas earned his tip...nope, I did not make him do any extra work...he did awesome at his job and earned a really nice tip. When Thomas learned that it was our first visit, he offered us advice on the menu items that were the most popular as well as offered to give us a little extra time to view the menu since we weren't familiar with it...rather than rushing us to decide an order. After we ordered, we were surprised when Thomas appeared after what seemed like only a few minutes to apologize that our food wasn't done yet. We told him that we were fine and that our food would not be out that fast at any other restaurant either. Moments later, he did show up with our food. Throughout the meal, he cheerfully checked in on us and chatted about the restaurant. He even offered to bring our older daughter an adult size Pepsi when she finished her child size one...although he first very respectfully checked with us to make sure that it was okay if she have more caffeine/soda. For those who want to request this awesome waiter by name, Thomas said that he works most Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Finally, let's talk price. We may have been lured in by the offer of buy any adult meal get free child's meal, but the reality is that the prices are worth it even without that offer. The prices for burgers and sandwiches (with big portions) average between $8-10 with the cost of entrees being slightly more. Children's meals and desserts are normally around $5. The prices actually average just below the amount of other casual sit down restaurants. For this family of four, the free children's meals are an added bonus. It put the price of our dinner to be less than we normally spend at a fast food restaurant.

All in all, The Greene Turtle has the right elements for us to return any time we are looking for an easy bite out...great food at a great price.

**The Greene Turtle Logo at the top of the blog is the creative property of The Greene Turtle restaurant chain.

My Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe

Note- this is a re-post as I switch articles over from my website: OurArmyFamily.com. Original post date was December 23, 2010. 

Every year when it came time to make Christmas cookies, I would search through recipes and try to remember which of the bazillion sugar cookie recipes was the one I made the time before and whether or not I liked it. I have to admit that when it comes to sugar cookies, I am very particular…it has to be soft, but not too soft, and it has to taste just right. When I came across this recipes a couple of years ago, I knew that it was a keeper. It was enough of a keeper that I have noted it so that I am no longer searching each time for the right recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

As far as the directions go, I like to mix in a little different order than you will hear in most recipes as I don’t like to dirty extra bowls. Even with mixing in my order, this recipe comes out perfect and is easy enough for a beginner.  I will also note that I have prepared this recipe both by hand and electric mixer– both work well.

First, mix the wet ingredients in the order given. Mix well after each ingredient.

Add the baking powder and salt. Mix so that all of the ingredients are evenly combined prior to adding the flour.

Add the flour one cup at a time.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees so that it heats up while you are cutting out the shapes in the cookie dough.

My hint for rolling out the dough and and cutting the shapes is to sprinkle powdered sugar (otherwise known as confectioner’s sugar) onto some waxed paper (makes for easy clean up) and on top of the dough so that the dough does not stick while being rolled out. Also, lightly powder the rolling pin with the sugar. Using powdered sugar instead of flour allows for a nice sweet taste rather than over floured cookies.  Roll the dough to about a 1/4 inch thick.

As for the quantity, I laugh when I see the number of cookies that sugar cookie recipes say…the truthful answer is that it will fully depend on what size of cookie cutter you use. I average about 2 dozen cookies; however, if you use small cookie cutters you can get a larger quantity.

Bake for 7-10 minutes depending on your oven. Remove when the edges start to slightly turn brown in color.

Let cool for one to two minutes on the pan until the cookies are cooled/firm enough to be moved without crumbling. Do not leave on the actual baking sheet for too long as the cookies will continue to cook from the heat of the pan. I recommend moving to a wire cooling rack for cooling the rest of the way. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting or icing.

Rice Krispies Treat Pumpkins

This recipe is a re-post as I move things over from my website: OurArmyFamily.com. Original publish date was October 12, 2010. 

Prepare Kelloggs Rice Krispies Treats according to Kellogg’s directions, EXCEPT once your marshmallows have melted add orange food coloring. (The recipe is listed below as a courtesy.)

Once the Rice Krispies treats are completely combined, leave them to cool for about a half hour.

While the Rice Krispies treats are cooling, you can form your stem and vines. I used 3 flavored tootsie rolls (one green, one yellow, and one vanilla) to create the color of the stem. Soften each set of 3 in the microwave for 15 seconds. It is best to work with one set at a time in order to have the tootsie rolls the right consistency for shaping. Mix the 3 together to blend the colors. Once the tootsie roll has the blended look that you like, split the ball in half.

• Form half into the shape of a stem…to add more texture, I used a knife to make ridges on the sides.
• Use the other half of the tootsie rolls to make the vines.  (1)Use your fingertips to work the “vine” half into a snake. (2) Coil the vine around a chopstick to make it curl (this can also be done by hand). Let the vine stay on the chopsticks for a couple of minutes to re-harden so that it keeps its shape when you take it off. (3) Carefully take the vine off of the chopstick and cut into two halves.

After about a half hour, the Rice Krispies treats should be at a stage where they are able to be formed into a ball. Create a ball about the size of your fist. It does not need to be perfectly round as pumpkins are not completely round. Use your finger to make an indentation at the top for placing your stem into.  Place the stem in the top and the ends to the two vine halves at the base of the stem. Reform the Rice Krispies around the stem area to help keep the stem and vines in place.

**Recommendation- cover your workspace with waxed paper for a non-stick surface.

**Note- these treats fall under my “tried and true” for sending overseas.

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats:

3 Tablespoons butter

1- 10 oz. package of regular marshmallows or 4  cups miniature marshmellows

6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

• Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat
• Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted
• Add Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal and stir until well coated.

Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

This recipe is a re-post as I switch things over from my website: OurArmyFamily.com. Original date of publication was October 8, 2010. 

This cookie falls into my tried and true category for deployment. It has passed the deployment test…I have personally made this recipes and these cookies have been eaten by soldiers serving overseas.

Ingrediants:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup regular sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups flour

Combine the ingredients in order…mix after the egg…mix again both before and after the flour. Once your dough is combined, chill in the refrigerator long enough for the dough to firm up.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Shape cookie dough into balls that are about 1 inch across. As you place the cookies onto the cookie sheet, remember that they will flatten out…so, leave space between the cookies. Flatten each cookie with a fork- once up & down and once side to side- to make a criss cross pattern.

The cookies take about 10 minutes to bake…I start checking at 8 minutes as every oven is different. The cookies will still look slightly moist on top when done.

A Sugary Distraction: Our Review of Georgetown Cupcakes

Note- this is a re-post as I am moving choice items from my website: OurArmyFamily.com. The original publish date was March 6, 2011. 

Today, I reveal the little known fact that my husband is currently deployed. My girls and I were excited because there was a *chance* that he was coming home this weekend. As typical with military life, those plans changed. Instead of spending the day moping around the house, sad that he was not coming home, we decided to grab my deployment battle buddy and head on a mini road trip to take advantage of Georgetown Cupcake’s free military offer. 

When my battle buddy and I get together, she ends up being the driver as her truck is the only vehicle that can hold both of our children including carseats for little ones. My battle buddy did not want to take her truck into actual  Washington DC; so, we headed to the Georgetown Cupcake in Bethesda. The drive was not bad (we were each even happily surprised with phone calls from our husbands on the way over) and we lucked into finding a private parking lot that only charged about $1 per hour…which is a really low price for being in a city area.

As we arrived, we parked in the area where the GPS told us the store was located, but still had no clue where we were actually going. I stopped in a store near the parking area and asked where Georgetown Cupcake was located. A very nice saleslady told me that I was only a few stores off and to look for the line. Her comment scared me a little, but when we got to Georgetown Cupcake there were only about 5 people ahead of us outside of the door. The line actually moved rather quickly since they only have to grab your order rather than a restaurant that has to prepare the food. The weather was nice and the girls had fun watching people stroll by the storefronts with their dogs. Our wait really was not bad as I had a few friends who tried to go to the actual Georgetown location, but switched to Bethesda when they saw that the line was around the block. Even at Bethesda, a friend had a 20-30 minute wait later in the day.

Outside, the window is taken over by a large advertisement for their television show as well as a display of cute boxes. As funny as it is to say, we were excited about the boxes…my older daughter asked if she could keep the box to use for holding stuff in her room and my battle buddy commented on how the box would match her baby’s room.

Inside, we were faced with the reality that the display was exactly that…just a display…and that the boxes that we would be taking our cupcakes home in would be plain pink boxes that received one signature style sticker for closing the box.

We were greeted by a display case full of cupcake choices. My original intent was to get just the “free for military” cupcakes, but instead decided to get an extra half dozen of their specialty flavor cupcakes so that my girls and I could sample them to share our views with our readers on here…as well as one extra in hopes that my husband will return soon. The staff was friendly and quickly filled our order. My one critique on service would be that they were so quick to get take care of the line that customers were more like numbers to get through rather than people. On a personal aspect of that, when we have been to businesses before that offer specials for military as a “thank you,” they usually say something towards the effect of, “thank you for your (or your husband’s) service,” whereas at Georgetown Cupcake, I was expected to rattle off the cupcakes that I wanted, pay and then move quickly out of the way so that they could move on to the next customer. I don’t want to be too critical as it was a very generous thing that they were doing in giving away cupcakes to the military members (even though we did buy cupcakes as well)…I guess I was just hoping for a little more of the cheerfulness that is displayed on their television show DC Cupcakes.

The Bethesda location only has one table inside of the store…so, orders are automatically “to go.” Luckily, this weekend’s forcasted rain did not come. We found a concrete bench a little past the crowd and enjoyed our first three cupcakes.

The one catch to our 3-pack of cupcakes was that there is nothing in the box to hold the cupcakes into place. As a result, the cupcakes moved together and the frosting rubbed off between onto other cupcakes as well as the box. It was not too much of an issue when we just walked 100 yards…however, I am not so sure what condition the cupcakes in this box would have been in after a drive home.

Cupcake #1- Irish Cream:

Valrhona chocolate cupcake topped with a
non-alcoholic irish creme-infused vanilla frosting and a fondant shamrock

The chocolate cupcake itself had a good taste to it and was moist. While all three of us liked the cupcake, I would not necessarily say that this cupcake was worth the $2.75 as I could make just as good at home. As for the frosting, it lacked an Irish Cream taste and tasted more like regular butter cream frosting.

Cupcake #2-PB Fudge:

Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a fudge core topped with a peanut butter frosting and
fudge star drizzle

Unlike my hesitation on the first cupcake, I found the PB Fudge cupcake totally worth it. As I cut into the cake, to divide it amongst myself and the girls, it began to ooze a gooey chocolate fudge center that filled me with excitement the minute that I saw it. This chocolate lover was in love at first sight. The joy did not just end in the looks.  There was no disappointment in this cake as I tasted the peanut butter frosting which tasted like a helping of peanut butter pie. The best way to describe the overall taste of the cupcake, when you bite into it as a whole, would be to compare it to a real soft peanut butter cup that melts in your mouth.

Cupcake #3- Mint Cookies & Cream

Madagascar bourbon vanilla cupcake baked with oreo crumbles topped with a mint oreo crumble-infused buttercream frosting

The Mint Cookies & Cream cupcake was the cupcake that I was most looking forward to trying today. Unfortunately, it was also my biggest disappointment. Neither of my girls made it further than the first bite of overly sweet frosting. I tried to share the actual cupcake with my battle buddy, but we both found it to be extremely dry…my guess is that the cookie bits within the cupcake pulled the moisture from the actual cupcake batter.

Round 2- The 6 pack style box has holders that help keep the cupcakes in place; however, some of the frosting did slide. Overall, they were still looking pretty good when we arrived home.

Cupcake #4- Salted Caramel

Caramel cupcake with a salted caramel-infused buttercream frosting topped with a caramel drizzle

Once again, the white cake came out dry. According to the description, the actual cupcake was supposed to be caramel flavored; however, it did not taste like caramel to me, but more like a bland muffin. As for the frosting, I found it more enjoyable than the cake. It was at least flavorful in comparison to the Irish Cream that had tasted just like straight butter cream. The downside to the frosting was that it tasted as if there was either too much brown sugar in the caramel or as if the mixture was allowed to caramelize to the point that sugar was too granulated again. The majority of the taste was brown sugar rather than a smooth caramel taste. When you add the intended salt taste of the cupcake, it tasted more like a bad version of caramel popcorn. The Salted Caramel cupcake was a straight “no” with my girls. They both handed me their portions after one bite.

Cupcake #5- Chocolate Ganache

Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a thin layer of Callebaut chocolate ganache icing topped with a fondant flower

This cupcake has the same chocolate cupcake as the first one that we tried. However, this particular cupcake was drier than the first which makes me wonder if either it was over-cooked or if it is older than the firstcup cake. I’m not quite liking that second idea in my head…if I am paying $2.75 for a cupcake then I would hope that it is fresh. As for the frosting, while the taste is overall good and definitely welcome to the palate after the last cupcake, the chocolate used for the ganache does appear to be a more bitter chocolate which gives off an after-taste that is especially unappealing to children. My daughter, who is not normally a picky eater and usually enjoys more discerned tastes than other tweens, liked the frosting until the bitter after-taste hit her.

Cupcake #6- Coconut

Classic coconut cupcake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting capped with a cloud of
shredded coconut

I will start of by saying that I am not a huge fan of coconut, but I wanted to get this cupcake as I was trying almost all of the specialty flavors available today. I am so glad that I did. I love this cupcake. This moist coconut flavored cupcake had just the right amount of sweetness. It was then topped with a cream cheese frosting that had both sweet and sour tastes to it and was balanced with flaked coconut. My tween said that this was the cupcake that she was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. For me, it was an oasis after the last couple of cupcakes. Even not normally being a huge fan of coconut, I am sitting here wishing that I had a half dozen of just these cupcakes…they were that good!

Cupcake #7- Red Velvet

Georgetown Cupcake’s signature cupcake — classic red velvet cupcake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting topped with a red fondant heart

While this is Georgetown Cupcake’s signature cupcake, it falls a little flat in my book. It is what it is…a typical red velvet cake. I personally do not find this cake to be overly flavorful and once again feel that I can probably make just as good at home. With that said, I also do not really have complaints of it either. My daughter liked it, but is not a fan of the cream cheese frosting without something like the coconut, that was on the previous cupcake, to help dilute its potent flavor.

Cupcake #9- Key Lime

Fresh key lime cupcake with a key lime frosting topped with a candied lime

The key lime cupcake comes with mixed reviews. It has a mid-level moisture level. I can tell that Georgetown Cupcake attempted to make a flavorful cupcake as there are bits of lime within the cupcake; however, the lime did not actually add much flavor to the batter. The frosting definitely made up for the slight blandness of the cupcake. The key lime frosting had a burst of flavor that makes me dream of a sunny beach. The downside to the frosting is that it is a touch on the sweet side. One of my friends who also visited Georgetown Cupcake for their military special today said that the Key Lime cupcake was her family’s favorite.

Someone asked me if I thought that Georgetown Cupcakes is worth it or if they are over-hyped. While I think that $2.75 a cupcake is a bit steep for some of the average cupcakes, I feel that most of their specialty flavors  make a great once in a while treat. Personally, I am looking at trying out the Georgetown location of Georgetown Cupcake in April so that I can taste their Cherry Blossom flavored cupcake when I visit Washington DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival.  I turn the question around to those readers who either visited today or have visited in the past. Are the cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake worth the cost and waiting in line? What are your favorite flavors or what flavors were you not so keen on.

I do want to thank Georgetown Cupcake once again for their offer of free cupcakes this weekend to the military as well as for Operation Cupcake in which they sent 10,000 cupcakes to Iraq and Afghanistan. I do have friends who were able to enjoy those cupcakes overseas and it means a lot to see companies support our military families.

*Note- cupcake descriptions copied from the Georgetown Cupcakes website. Please click the link to get menu, directions, and hours.