What the Beck?

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

What the Beck???

As of today I have posted 837 times. WOW!
I had no idea that I was even in the 800's.
To all of my followers: thank you!

Best of 2017

Background: I was reading The Kentucky Standard, our local newspaper, and they had a section called The Best of Nelson County 2017. This section listed 100 categories for the Readers' Choice Awards. This is the tenth installation of my visits to these winning business locations.

#5 Best Mexican Food:

The winner was Cinco de Mayo Mexican Bar and Grill

Cinco de Mayo is located at:

225 Parkway Drive, Bardstown, KY

502 – 350 – 1145

I absolutely loved this restaurant. I have been craving taco salad for weeks. I was thrilled to discover that a Mexican Restaurant was on the Best of 2017 list. The service was excellent, and the food great. I will definitely be visiting this restaurant again in the near future.

Cinco de Mayo

While you wait for your meal,

they serve you chips and salsa.

The decor is quite average, but

the food is worth the trip.

My taco salad was fantastic.

#33 Best Pawn Shop
The winner was: Kwik Kash Pawn & Gun

1426 E. John Rowen Blvd. Bardstown KY
502-348-6718
Hrs. 8:30 - 6:00

I have never been to a pawn shop in my life.
My only exposure was in the movies where
they are found in the inner cities. They were
seedy and had questionable customers selling
stolen goods. I was pleasantly surprised with
Kwik Kash. It was just like a normal resale shop.

In the parking lot they had everything from
ladders to a western saddle.

The first glass case I encountered had rings.
The top two had appraisal declarations on the diamonds.
I guess you take a chance when you purchase one with no documentation.

The word gun was in the name, so I wasn't surprised
to see an amazing amount of different kind of guns. This
case had many different types and brands of handguns.

This one was my favorite. Of course, that is because it
was pink. It looked like a toy until he handed it to me.
It was very heavy, and I felt powerful, but knew that I
would probably blow off my own foot if it were loaded.

Then, there were the racks of shotguns and rifles of every type.

I continued to walk around and found speakers and
large gas heaters. The heaters reminded me of the one we
had in St. Charles that heated our screened in
porch in the winter months.

I really liked this Craftsman tool box. My tools are
everywhere in the garage. I think I want this.
My van was full of lighting for the remodel, so
I will have to think about this for a later purchase
if it is still in there when I return.

OOPS! Sideways photo.
It was on sale for $99.00 but he told me he would
sell it to me for $75.00. It was in great shape.
I will go online and find out how much
it would be to purchase it new first.

There were a lot of musical instruments such as these guitars.

Another area had computers.

There were a lot more guitars for sale here.

Power tools covered several shelves.

These sets of tools were in glass cases.

I was happy that I visited this store. It was clean and the staff was very friendly and helpful. I am glad that I changed my

generalization of what a pawn shop is like. I think I may actually visit the rest of the ones in town to see if they are all this nice.

Monday, November 27, 2017

What the Beck???

Herb-Roasted Prime Rib

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location: Herb-Roasted Prime Rib

Found in: The Pioneer Woman blog

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/herb-roasted-prime-rib-2507086

Calories vary depending on serving size.

This rub was absolutely fabulous. I bought the boneless rib roast at the local butcher called Boone’s Butcher Shop. I didn’t buy the most expensive cut, but selected the prime cut which was still expensive. I bought an 8.27 lb. roast and it cost me $79.31. It seems like a lot, but I got 13 dinner servings out of it. That means each serving was about $6.00, and that is pretty good for a filling dinner portion.

I began by going to the grocery store to buy the rosemary,
sage, and thyme. I chopped them up to go into the rub.

In a blender I add the herbs, spices, and some olive oil.
Then, I added in salt,

pepper, and

and garlic.

This is what the rub looks like after blending.

I coated both sides of the roast and put it in the oven.
I had to flip the roast over after I took this photo,
because it should be put in the pan with the fat side up.

I cooked it pretty rare, because I was freezing the
portions. If I cook it this rare, it turns out medium
rare after microwaving it.

I have already eaten some of this roast and it was
marvelous. I find that eating beef for dinner fills me
up for the entire evening.

Here are the portions ready to go into

the freezer for another day. I can't wait

to chow down on this wonderful meat.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

What the Beck???

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location: No-Churn Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Found in: The Pioneer Woman blog

http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-ice-cream/?printable_recipe=88396

I figured out that there are 748 calories, if 6 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

I followed the recipe, but my ice cream turned out more like caramel. I hate it when I follow the recipe and it doesn’t turn out right at all. My brilliant neighbor, Denise, thought it might be good on ice cream as a topping. She had her family try a spoonful of it, and they liked the taste. It did taste good, but I was looking for ice cream. The photo in the recipe looks just like ice cream. Where did I go wrong???
I would definitely try making this again.

In a pot, I mixed the cream, sugar,

peanut butter,

vanilla,

and kosher salt. I cooked it until
the sugar had melted.

I added the jar mixture into the sauce pan,

and stirred until it was totally blended.

I used a mason jar to mix together the
coconut milk and corn starch. I just
shook the jar until it was combined.

I added the cornstarch mixture into the sauce pan.

I transferred the mixture into a bowl to cool.
Once it cooled, I added in the chocolate chips and froze
the entire thing in an ice cream container.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

What the Beck???

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
I am so grateful for all of my new Kentucky friends as well as those in Illinois.
I am grateful for my wonderful family
who I truly miss so much.

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location: Orange Bars

Found in: The Pioneer Woman blog

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/orange-bars-3885373

I figured out that there are 207 calories, if 16 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

If you love lemon bars, then this may be something you might want to try. Orange bars, like lemon, are refreshing and a sweet surprise. I thought these bars were great. I took some to Barnetts, and the others went to the library for the knitting group as well as the library staff. I had a very positive response for these bars. Way to go, Ree!