Italian Sausage Soup

There are a number of reasons why I have been trying to cook more:

1. To prepare for being a good wife in 8 months
2. To learn in general (or re-emerge my skills from high school culinary arts class hehe)
3. To be healthier
4. To save money

So I have been looking at Pinterest for recipes, and I couldn't be happier with what I've found. This soup is my favorite thing I've found so far. Its simple, easy, quick, healthy, and delicious. Add some crusty bread for dipping and a pint of craft beer, and JMC and I are in food heaven.

 Italian Sausage Soup

8 oz hot or sweet turkey sausage (or chicken sausage or pork sausage if you don't mind losing some of the healthiness)
2 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1/2 cup uncooked small shell pasta
2 cups bagged baby spinach leaves
2 tbsp grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove casings from sausage (or buy ground Italian sausage). Add sausage to pan, and cook about 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain; return to pan.

Add broth, tomatoes, and pasta to pan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done. Remove from heat; stir in spinach until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with cheese and basil.

Seriously, this is one of the easiest and fastest meals I have ever made. I made it once with pork sausage and once with chicken sausage. The pork sausage was more delicious, but adds calories. I plan on trying it with turkey sausage soon to see if that will be better than the chicken sausage and just as healthy!

Our Nation's Capital

I hope you read that like Forrest Gump.

Anyway, our DC trip this weekend turned out to be quite a success. I can't believe it has taken me this long to post about it.

A bunch of us at Old Glory

We stayed in Arlington because it was a million times cheaper than staying in the city. We drove up Friday afternoon after JMC got out of class and ended up arriving to our hotel just in time to freshen up and meet some people at a bar in Georgetown called Old Glory.

I love Georgetown. Its definitely one of my favorite parts of DC. I wanted to go there during the day to get some shopping in, but it would have been more trouble than it was worth toting three boys around. Old Glory was definitely my kind of bar. There was a rooftop level that we stayed on the whole time and it was very laid back. We even met some people from UNC there!

Saturday we ate at the Taylor Gourmet on K Street for lunch, where KPB and I had eaten the last time I was in DC to visit her. This may be my favorite sandwich place of all time. They have risotto balls that are completely to die for and every time I've been, I've gotten the most delicious sandwich called the "South Street." It has chicken (grilled or breaded) with pesto, tomatoes, and goat cheese. And those happen to be four of my favorite foods. Period.

Luckily Taylor Gourmet was pretty close to the Spy Museum, because that was our next stop. The spy museum was really cool. I wish it would have been a little less crowded so that we could have looked around for longer, but none of us were really the kind of people who want to spend hours trudging through crowds of randos.

After the spy museum we wanted to grab a drink before we headed back out to Arlington to get ready for dinner and stuff, so we walked around for a little bit and found District of Pi. I had seen this restaurant on some food channel show, so that made me even more excited to check it out. They had a GREAT beer list, and I honestly wish we would have been there for dinner because their food looked delicious. 

But nonetheless, we made our way back to our hotel, got ready quickly, and headed to a sports bar in the Clarendon area called Hard Times Cafe to watch the South Carolina/ECU game (one of JMC's friends went to USC for undergrad and we were meeting some of his friends there). After that, we went to Rhino Bar in Georgetown and had a great night! I wish I would have taken more pictures of this night, but we were too busy having fun I guess.

Sunday, we got up to have brunch, but in the frustration of trying to get into the city, ended up eating at Shake Shack (which just opened in DC near Dupont Circle). Although I had been looking forward to a nice mimosa to start off the day, Shake Shack was so delicious and I'm glad we got to go there. I had been to one location in NYC near the American Museum of Natural History, but none of the boys had ever been before.

After we were finally fueled, we walked around downtown for a while, checking out the White House and the Washington Memorial, etc. Our last stop was the American History Museum, which I had been wanting to go to FOREVER. It was really awesome to see everything and my favorite part was the inauguration dresses of all the First Ladies. I was disappointed that we didn't have much time to REALLY look around, and when we got to the 9/11 exhibit it was 3:30 and the exhibit closed down at 3. But otherwise, the museum was really cool and I can't wait to go back to get the FULL experience.

Since our weekend had been so busy, we were all pretty tired and Sunday night became sort of a chill night. We went to dinner at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Arlington that was right around the corner from our hotel, which just about made JMC jump out of his pants. Their food was DELICIOUS and their beer was obviously amazing. If you have access to it, you MUST try the Punkin Ale. They only release so much of it every year and JMC and I couldn't find it within 100 miles of Chapel Hill or Charlotte. But its totally worth the hunt.

For a 4 day weekend, we got A LOT accomplished. 

Things I would do over and over again:

1. Georgetown. Everything about it.

2. Taylor Gourmet

3. Dogfish Head Alehouse

4. Nightlife

Things I wish I wouldn't have missed:

1. Close-up Washington Memorial & Lincoln Memorial

2. Arlington National Cemetery

3. Air & Space Museum

4. Newseum

5. More time at the American History Museum & 9/11 Memorial Exhibit

6. Food Trucks

Guess this means I have to go back soon!!

Merritt's Store & Grill

If you like BLTs, Merritt's Store & Grill is probably the best place in the world (okay, I don't know about the world, but definitely in the state of North Carolina), to get one.

I had heard about Merritt's from a number of articles, most of them with a title to the effect of "Best 100 Restaurants in NC." So, naturally, I had always been meaning to go there, especially when I realized that it was a couple blocks from my office. Never in my four years at Carolina did I make it over there, though, which was a HUGE mistake.

It turned out to be the perfect opportunity to go for the first time last week when one of my good friends who is in dental school picked me up to have lunch and suggested we go there. And then I went again on Monday for lunch because it was that good. JMC is upset with me for going twice without him since he has never been before either, so I promised we would go on Saturday when his mom and grandma are in town to visit. So that will be three times for me in 8 days. Obsession.

Merritt's is a perfect Chapel Hill restaurant for a few reasons:
1. Their food is delicious (duh). Their ingredients are always fresh and the quality of their food takes precedence over everything else. And you can get a single, double, or triple BLT on a wide variety of breads. Perfection.
2. They are proud of their history and have kept things the way they were since they opened during the Great Depression. Except for they added a credit/debit card machine (which is awesome).
3. They have a parking lot. Even though it's small, its one of the biggest in Chapel Hill. If you know anything about parking in Chapel Hill, you know that it's the biggest pain in the you-know-what. If you don't know anything about parking in Chapel Hill, don't come here and try to park somewhere if you're not sure you're allowed to. You WILL get towed.
4. The people are ridiculously nice. Everyone is happy to be there and is always willing to give you a warm welcome when you walk in the door.

If you're ever in Chapel Hill, Merritt's is a place you shouldn't pass up. In fact, now I'm craving one of those BLTs... could I make it four times in eight days?

'whichburger

I had the most epic burger for dinner last night.

First of all, Sandwhich is a pretty well-established restaurant in Chapel Hill. For those of you who know the area, it used to be located in The Courtyard behind Penang, but it somewhat recently relocated to the small building right next to McDonalds on Franklin Street. Their gourmet sandwich selection is to die for!

Its funny, because usually when I go to Sandwhich, I get the Outrageous BLT (roasted jalapenos, avocado, bacon, L, T, etc), and I didn't actually know that the restaurant had burgers. I guess I should have paid more attention to the neon sign that says "hamburgers" in the window?

Boy was I missing out. Last night, I ordered Sandwhich to be delivered to my house by Tar Heel Takeout. I never ordered from Tar Heel Takeout ONCE when I was in college (mostly because there is a $5 delivery fee), but as I sat here on my couch watching Bones and not wanting to leave until I found out who at Dr. Brennan's class reunion murdered two girls from their graduating class, I finally decided that I was lazy busy enough to pay someone extra money to bring my food to me.

So I was looking at the menu and I didn't want to order the same old thing that I usually do... and then I saw they had burgers. AND THEN I saw they had an Outrageous Burger... AKA my favorite sandwich in BURGER form. I can only imagine the geniuses in their kitchen conspiring: "How can we make this delicious sandwich even better?" and the only logical answer was "add hand-formed, all-natural hormone & antibiotic free beef, cooked medium." On top of all that deliciousness, they add this stuff they call 'whichsauce... which I cannot even begin to describe (maybe because I ate the burger too fast).

Long story short, you should totally get a burger at Sandwhich. Even if you don't like jalapenos and avocado and all that stuff, they have other burgers too that have to be just as delicious.

Starting Off

I've been a huge fan of reading blogs for a while and have finally gotten around to starting one myself. Currently, I'm living and working in Chapel Hill after graduating from UNC in May. Much like many recent alums, I'm sure, I still have not quite figured out what I want to do with my life, so for right now I'm just trying to explore the things I really enjoy. In a basic sense, I want this blog to follow the adventures of my early-twenties while I explore "being a real person."

I plan on writing on many different subjects, mostly including two of my favorite things: shopping and food. Every once in a while I may throw in something out of the ordinary, it just depends on where life is taking me at that moment!

I like to think of myself as a pretty savvy shopper (although the b-friend will tell you differently, I'm sure). I don't particularly like to buy things that aren't on sale, unless they are staple items that aren't discounted very often (Jack Rogers are my weakness... I have 8 pairs of Navaho sandals). But anyway, there's not much I love more than a good sale, so I'll be sure to post when I find something worthwhile.

I love to cook and try out new recipes as much as possible. I'm currently working through a couple of cookbooks:


The New American Heart Association Cookbook, 7th Edition 








  


Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes 






 
 
  

The Big Book of Potluck 








When I'm too lazy or tired to go to the grocery store/throw something together, my boyfriend (from here on referred to as JMC) and I like to explore restaurants in the Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh area. We try to go to new places as much as possible (although a lot of the time we end up at the same few places... we're creatures of habit). I'll be sure to post recipes and meals that stand out.

Stay tuned for a few posts that are already in progress!