Knoxville & Maryville Errand Day And Scrambled Jakes For Breakfast

I’ve long hated going to Knoxville and fighting the traffic and I’m beginning to feel the same about Maryville as in gets more crowded.  So, when I go to either one, I try to accomplish as many tasks as possible and for this trip I had a stop in Lenoir City to drop off some too-big clothes, five stops in Knoxville, and three in Maryville.  We left home at 8:30am and the first stop was at the Good Neighbor Shoppe where they sell donated clothes and furniture then give the money to The Good Samaritan Center which helps the less fortunate in our county.

Next on the list was a visit to the doctor and after that, we headed over to Scrambled Jakes Breakfast Company as a place I’ve been wanting to try.  

Since they usually drop my blood sugar, I rarely eat carbs with syrup on it, but I decided to celebrate my new weight loss number (down 75 lbs) by celebrating with my favorite pancake meal.

Without a doubt, the biggest pancake I’ve ever had and I ate about a third of it and one piece of sausage.

Bev ordered the “PORK MILANESE AND EGGS - Panko breaded boneless pork chop topped with sautéed spinach, pico de gallo and two eggs.  Served with choice of breakfast potato casserole or creamy grits. 16.95

Like my pancake, her meal was huge with two big pieces of pork.  They use Aretha Frankenstein Pancake Mix and it was maybe the best pancake I’ve eaten and I’ll get some when I want pancakes at home – since my blood sugar wasn’t impacted this time.  Bev thought her meal was good but not great and wouldn’t go back, so I guess we won’t make a return trip.

After the meal, we continued our journey to Whole Foods, where I’d never been, to pick up some things (Rao’s Frozen Meatballs, Ortiz White Tuna, Bobs Red Mill Corn Meal) not available at our local stores.  I was surprised at the layout and stocking differences between it and a normal grocery store and if it were closer, I would shop there – reminded me of a big Fresh Market.

Next up was a stop at Chicken City as the only place we know of that sells split chicken breasts from broilers rather than the giant ones found in our supermarkets.  When I first visited, it was a much bigger operation located downtown where they started with truckloads of live chickens.

From there, it was a quick stop at the UPS store to return some packages and the bank to deposit a check then on home where we didn’t arrive until after 3pm, so it was a full day - I'm rarely gone for more than a couple of hours - but we got a lot accomplished.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/27/26 event date

Tuna Omelet From Leftovers And The Local Bite

While Madison was here, we went to Lakeside Tavern where we have eaten a few times and I had the Ahi Tuna Salad which was greens topped with rare tuna slices and I had most of the salad and three pieces of tuna leftover.  I didn’t get around to eating the salad before it went bad but the tuna was still in fine shape so I decided to have it in a breakfast omelet along with some Tillamook Cheddar.

It was very good but I added the tuna to the eggs too soon which allowed it to cook too much and toughen a little.

Madison Visits And We Made Chorizo Breakfast Burrito with Potatoes and Eggs And Posole

Madison was camping in the Smokies with her new puppy Clover (a Samoyed breed – Spitz family) so she swung by here from Gatlinburg to visit with us for a couple of days and as always it was great to see her.  Hard to believe she will be 29 in December – our oldest grandchild.  Here are a couple of shots of her with her Meme, Aunt Pat, and Grandpop.

When Chef Lea Ann posted her recipe Chorizo Breakfast Burrito with Potatoes and Eggs I knew I had to make it for my favorite meal of the day.  The chorizo I had in the freezer was too old so rather than make a store trip I decided to make my own (pics here and recipe below),  I left out the spicy items, used the recently made fresh tomato salsa in lieu of the red chile sauce and doubled the recipe.  Rather than reproduce Lea Ann's recipe here, you can get it by clicking on the first link above.  It made four well stuffed burritos.

Homemade Chorizo

I had planned to use the package of chorizo that had been in the freezer for a while, but after thawing, I discovered it was no longer useable.  Since I had a package of ground pork in the freezer and didn’t want to make a store trip, I decided to try making my own chorizo.  I went on line and found the recipe for Best Mexican Chorizo on “The Daring Gourmet” blog that looked good so I opted to give it a try.  I omitted the extra fat and anything with heat to get the recipe below and rather than mix the spice into the meat it a bowl, I just added them to it in the pan as it cooked.

Best Mexican Chorizo Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork

6 oz coarsely ground pork fat (ask your butcher)

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons ancho chile powder

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

Instructions:

I didn’t do the below.

Place the meat in a large bowl and all remaining ingredients. Use your hands to thoroughly combine the mixture. Place the it in a colander or sieve over a bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 days, daily squeezing out and discarding any liquid (this isn't absolutely necessary but it will more closely resemble the texture of store-bought chorizo). After 3 days, divide the meat up into 6 little 4 oz loaves, wrap each one in plastic wrap and place the loaves in a freezer bag or wrap again in aluminum foil. You can also use wax or freezer paper.

The chorizo will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months. Storing it longer doesn't really pose a safety concern, but the taste will suffer.

The Verdict:

The burritos were very good but a little salty so I’ll one use just one tsp. next time if I make my own chorizo.  Making the chorizo (sorta) worked well but without a few days for the meat to marry with the spices, I could pick out individual flavors, such as the cinnamon.  Since it’s hard to find no-heat chorizo in a store, making the meat this way worked well for Cindy and Bev.  I will definitely make this dish again but with purchased chorizo.

Easy Pork Pozole Verde Recipe

This recipe for Easy Pork Pozole Verde came from Capri on her “Good Food Baddie” blog and since I’ve used it before, I’ll just provide a link to my previous post rather than reproducing the recipe on here.  I used a 2½ lb. Iberico pork roast and pork broth from the freezer and could not get small cans of hominy at either Walmart or the Mexican store and we had to buy a 110oz one – sent the extra home with Madison. 

Look at all of the fat on the right.

The Verdict:

The posole turned out very good and Madison said it was one of the best soups she’s ever eaten – we sent the leftovers home with her.  It is frequently said that fat is flavor and so this pork should be the best meat on the planet - can't imagine why the Spanish want all of that fat.   After removing the fat before and after cooking it, I had about half the meat that the soup needed – this is a pic from a previous version.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/15/26 event date

Iberico Pork And Brussels Sprouts/Sweet Potato Hash

My success with the Iberico Pork so far has been disappointing and the problem may be the cook but I am trying it again today.  The cut for today is Pressa Steak - "a highly prized, richly marbled cut of pork—most famously from the Spanish Ibérico pig—taken from the shoulder area right where it meets the lower neck or collar" and I used the suggestions from Campo Grande to decide how to cook it.  I forgot to take pics before I started working on it but it looked like this one from the web but mine had more fat.

Rao's Meatballs And New Grass Planting

A few weeks ago, Bev made a semi version of Rao’s meatballs and we enjoyed them so she decided to make a batch following the recipe with two ingredient changes as shown in the doubled recipe below.  She used the recipe from Food Network and made 52 two-ounce balls rather than the six ounces ones called for in the recipe.

Mexican For Friday Cards - Salsa and Fajita Skillet

I had been wanting to make a Mexican dish and a one pan dish with some make ahead potential seemed perfect.  But before the Mexican meal, we had the required chips and salsa as a pre card game appetizer.

Two Restaurant Disappointments And New Mower

Real Mexican For Lunch

I didn’t ask why, but Bev has decided she wants to make some tamales which required buying the needed ingredients.  The closest real deal Hispanic store that we know of is La Lupita Mexican Store And Restaurant in Maryville.  I’d been thinking about eating there so after shopping for a new riding lawn mower, we headed to La Lupita for lunch and supplies – masa, lard, corn husks.

My old Kubota mini tractor was having too many issues so I bought this mower.