Lisa Jeffries Nobling – Raleigh, NC

Tag: Food

  • Manfriend Meals: Stuffed Flank Steak

    Although I’m a vegetarian, I do still cook meat dishes for others from time to time.

    A few weeks ago, I treated my manfriend and Little Sister’s manfriend to a home cooked dinner featuring these Stuffed Flank Steaks:
    Stuffed Flank Steak

    The grocery store I stopped at on the way home from work (Carlie C’s) didn’t have any “flank steaks” specifically, so I purchased two different types of steak in the thinnest cuts I could get. Here’s where the vegetarian in me strikes: I don’t remember what they were. Sorry!

    The guys loved them, especially with the spinach and blue cheese stuffing.

    Feel free to check out my latest Pinterest board, Manfriend Meals, for more ideas that are sure to please any hungry man.

    Images and recipe via FamilyCircle.com

  • Roasted Cabbage

    My mom presented a new item at Sunday Family Dinner a few weekends ago:

    Roasted cabbage.
    It was amazing! And she swears it was as simple as: slice cabbage, drizzle with infused olive oil (your savory flavor of choice), sprinkle with salt and papper, and roast in the over until light caramelization.
    Little Sister and I were head over heels for it. That simple side will become a staple in the Jeffries household.
    Enjoy!
    (Image via http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/roasted-cabbage-wedges/ on Pinterest.)

  • And Tonight’s Super Bowl Menu Includes….

    The manfriend and I have been hard at work in the kitchen this morning. Here’s what we’ll be taking to tonight’s ITB Super Bowl gathering. Drumroll please…

    Four mildly healthy, but certainly better for you than the norm, appetizer-sized items, including:
    Deviled Eggs
    Mexican Roll-Ups
    Spinach Balls
    Dry Rub Grilled Wings

    I’ll be cheering for the advertisers tonight – the Super Bowl ads are my favorite part of one of America’s most-watched sports programs all year. This pre-released spot already has my heart: #BestBuds – with nearly 33 million views in just four days, I’d say it has also captured the hearts of many, many others, as well.

    What are you serving at or bringing to your Super Bowl gathering?

  • I’m Still Here…

    …just doing a lot of working (and I do mean A LOT), social events and weddings, tailgating, and the like. It is that time of year, again. I’ve also been DVRing a lot of 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson on Food Network. (I promise I’ll explain next why that’s related.)

    Back to the tailgating!
    I served up these two recipes, courtesy of Claire, for the NCSU vs. S. Alabama tailgate last weekend:
    Brie and Onion Puff
    Memphis Banana Bites

    They went so quickly, I didn’t even get pics. One suggestion? On the Memphis Banana Bites, I cut down on time in a big way by spreading the banana chips out on wax paper in the bottom of a 9×13 glass pan and poured the chocolate and peanut butter melt all over the top. I let it cool and then let my fellow tailgaters break off pieces (like a bark) to enjoy at their own pace. Perfection!

    I think I’m going to take these next week fr the NCSU vs. GT tailgate (before I leave early for Brandon and Tiffany’s wedding!): Spicy Baked Chickpeas.

    What are your meatless tailgate favorites?

  • Put the Boys to Work… at Hardly Working

    I realize Thanksgiving has just come and gone, but Christmas dinner is right around the corner. I love Andrea Weigl’s suggestion of putting the boys to work!

    Thursday when I serve Thanksgiving dinner to a small group of friends, everyone will contribute. I will bake a pecan pie and a pumpkin cheesecake. My husband will cook leg of lamb on the smoker. (One tip for holiday sanity is cooking the meat outside on the grill, in the smoker or in the deep-fryer. Luckily, many men who like to cook don’t mind spending the day outside, drinking a beer and minding the meat.) A friend will make stuffed acorn squash and the homemade noodles that are his family’s tradition. A third will clear the table.

    She’s right – it’s not at all an up-hill battle to suggest that the man (and his buddies) hang around outside with beer, a fried turkey, and perhaps even a fire pit.

  • Local Raves: The Produce Box

    Nick and I (and really mostly me in that equation) have a weekly CSA (community-sustained agriculture) service we can buy from and have delivered — The Produce Box. I totally forgot to login before 9pm tonight and pick out which Produce Box I wanted for this upcoming week. This girl certainly lucked out, however! Check out this week’s goodies:

    Box A (Double share of sweet potatoes)
    Lots of Sweet Potatoes
    1/2 # Salted “ready to eat”peanuts
    Tomatoes grape or cherry
    Assorted apples (6-8 depending on size)
    Cucumbers 4-5 (depending on size)

    SO excited. Those are probably my most favorite NC produce items! (Although I’d certainly take big tomatoes, too.) I case you were wondering, here are the other offerings I could have picked from:

    Box B (Fresh basil and cider!)
    Large Onion
    1.5 oz Fresh Basil leaves
    Local Muscadine Grape cider
    Tomatoes grape or cherry
    Butternut squash
    Sweet pototatoes
    Cucumber

    Box C (Oregano and Thyme)
    Sweet Potatoes
    One bunch Fresh Oregano
    One bunch Fresh Thyme
    Large Onion
    Peaches 4-6
    Cucumbers 4-5
    Tomatoes cherry or grape

    Add-ons
    1 case (12 jars) $56
    Tomato Salsa
    Jalepeno Pepper Jelly
    Spicy sweet dill pickles
    Pickled okra
    Pickled Habanero Pepper

    Shitake Mushrooms (larger portion this time: 1/2 #):$6.50
    John Toogood’s Chocolate Chip Bread: $6.75
    Garlic Ristra Wall Hanging: $11.00
    .50 donation to help with shipping all our donated shoes to Haiti: .50

    Mmmm… peaches would have been stellar, too. Wonder when the fall apple cider will show up?

  • A New Venture & BBQ Tonight!

    Brandon and I are no culinary experts, but we know our BBQ… so we’ve started a blog about it!

    Join us TONIGHT at The Pit in Downtown Raleigh for a fan viewing of their Throwdown with Bobby Flay from the Food Network!

    http://www.ncbbqtour.com/2009/05/our-first-event.html

  • You LIke to Eat, Right?

    Ok good… because here’s a cool event going on this weekend that supports our farmers!

    ‘Cuegrass Festival at The Pit
    Bring your lawn chairs for some outside BBQ, beer, and bluegrass!!


    (Click to enlarge)


    FREE STREET FESTIVAL – Saturday, April 4 Rain or Shine!

    11am – Filmore Valley Boys
    12:30pm – Town Mountain
    2pm – Old Habits

    **Bring your lawn chairs!**

    $5 beers & BBQ sandwiches on the street.
    Sponsored by Whole Foods, Coca-Cola, LoneRider Brewer and Aviator Brewery

    Proceeds benefit Feed the Farm, a non-profit organization helping to raise money to provide financial assistance for NC farmers.

    The Pit
    328 W. Davie Street
    Raleigh, NC
    (919) 890-4500

    Facebook event listing | DowntownRaleigh.com

  • Local Produce – YAY!

    Ok, it is terrible that I might need to rely on a delivery service to provide me with local, fresh produce when I pass the NC Farmers Market multiple times a day.

    That being said, this will still ensure I get to support local agriculture even with my “I don’t have time to grocery shop” schedule – The Produce Box.

    I would love to join any of the local CSAs, but I don’t have a few hundred bucks to shell out right for all of my seasonal produce in advance. This is a great pay-by-week alternative for me! I was so excited to find out via the Lineberry Alliance mailing list tonight that someone from our neighborhood is coordinating this for us.

    Image: The Produce Box

  • My Dear Boyfriend…

    …and I say this in the nicest way possible: SUCKS WHEN IT COMES TO DINNERTIME.

    Well, that’s as nice as I could make it. It’s downright frustrating. The man (boy in this situation, because it’s quite illustrative of the attitude of a 5 year old) is picky when it comes to food. I don’t even know if picky is quite the word, it’s not strong enough.

    He only eats meat (mostly red), potatoes, rice, bread, and sometimes fruit, but he’s not adventurous in the fruit category, either. NOTHIN’ green. Ever. (With the exception of his mom and aunt’s “Brocolli Casserole”, but that’s all cheese, really.)

    It’s is SO frustrating because I get very bored, very easily, and I like to get crafty in the kitchen. Not to mention the fact that I could live off of vegetables, fruit, and artisan breads.

    In discussing these frustrations yesterday, Lisa S. and I decided “Deceptively Delicious” is going to be my new tactic. I’m too busy (legimitately busy – although he’d tell you otherwise) to cater to his food whims and I refuse to have only a selection of 5 meals to choose from for 365 days out of the year.


    (Deceptively Delicious – by Jessica Seinfeld … also known as Mrs. Jerry Seinfeld, available on Amazon.com, etc.)    I’m pretty excited about it, actually… assuming he doesn’t decide to check up on my blog and foil this genius plan.

    Anyone done this before? Any well-favored recipes to share?