The Greenback Diner For Lunch With Kathy

For the second meal as part of Kathy’s Christmas present, we decided to go to the local Greenback Diner where we had not been in many years.  After we retired, we ate two to three times per week at the locally famous Greenback Drug Store which at one time was a drugstore with a pharmacist and they served meals as well.  It was where the local farmers gathered early every morning for coffee and solving the world's problems and they occasionally brought their instruments and played a little music and politicians would come by stumping for votes.  After the original owners sold, it changed hands several times, the food quality and service went down hill and we gradually quit going.  Even though it’s only a 10 minute drive, we haven’t been in more than 10 years so when Kathy suggested it, we decided to give it a try.

Soup-A-Thon For A Very Cold Week And Snow

I rarely eat soup in warm weather but with highs in the 30’s (cold for here) predicted for 10 days, we decided to have a soup-a-thon beginning with chili on Friday before the predicted winter storm.  We used our normal Anson Peckham’s Chili Con Carne recipe and once again we thought it was delicious.  This is Bev's topped with cheese and onion.

A Couple Of Very Good Meals From Leftover Chili And Meatballs And A Little Snow

We had some sauce and several meatballs left from our recent meal and in thinking about something other than the same meal, I decided to make a casserole dish by cooking additional spaghetti.

The Best Italian Meatballs And Winter Storm

We sure dodged the bullet with the winter storm impact here especially compared to Nashville.  We had a trace of snow on Saturday then rain which continued thru Sunday (while we made the meal below) then about a quarter inch of snow on ice fell overnight Sunday which made our road too dangerous to drive on so our Monday plans were cancelled.  And most importantly, we didn't lose power which I feel very fortunate about since I need it to keep the RV warm.

You know you are a serious Italian cook when you name your blog La Belle Vita Cucina (My Beautiful Life Kitchen), go to Italy to visit and cook with family members, and you attend the famous Mama Agata Cooking Class on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.  And so it is with Roz who takes us on her cooking journey via her blog and who recently published a post titled “Secrets For The Best Italian Meatballs.”  Since Bev and I had just discussed wanting spaghetti and meatballs, Roz’s recipe immediately moved to the top of the list.

Yet Another Tuscan Dish - Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts And Cindy Update

When I saw the recipe for Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs on the “Café Delights” blog, I knew I had to make it.  But since my ladies prefer breasts to thighs, I made that substitution and I cooked six of them (three for this meal and three for leftovers).

Tuscan White Beans

When Pam posted the recipe for Tuscan Gigante Beans on her “For The Love Of Cooking” blog I new I wanted to make it, but I also know that Bev doesn’t like lima beans in any form – it’s the texture and also applies to chickpeas.  However, she does like white beans so I decided to just make the dish with Great Northern Beans.  Since I was sure we would like the beans, I made a double recipe as shown below.  Click on the link above to check out Pam's site for the original recipe and some great pics.

Lunch At Las Margarita’s 411 Mexican Grill With Kathy And Bev

Once again this year, my Christmas gift to friend Kathy was five lunches at the restaurants of her choice and most of the time, she just has me pick one.  The adjoining towns of Maryille and Alcoa, TN (county population of 140,000) surprisingly have nine Mexican restaurants and one combination store and restaurant.  And for this meal, we picked one of them we had never been to as it was conveniently located for all of us.  Las Margarita’s 411 Mexican Grill is located in a building that had been the go-to mom and pop 411 Restaurant since before I came to the area in 1969.