Chattanooga Is Home

I have raved about My Family Dinners all over the internet. From the first time I went there, I knew it would change my life. Our family eats better and I have so much less stress in my life.

One of my favorite things about My Family Dinners is it is a home grown, local business. It isn’t a chain, but a place that came from Bevelle’s heart to give to the Chattanooga area.

Well, My Family Dinners turns 3 this month, so they are having an open house to celebrate and give back.

My Family Dinners is Celebrating our 3rd Anniversary! We want to feed your family and help the hungry families in Chattanooga.

Join Us Wednesday & Thursday, November 7 & 8 from 9am-9pm for an OPEN HOUSE. Bring 10 items for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and receive one free My Family Dinner. (Limit 1 per customer.)

I can’t make it, because I will be enroute to Las Vegas, but I encourage you to check them out. And if nothing else, you get a free meal for 10 cans of food!

Also, they have a Holiday Take Out Menu where you can just pop over to their location, go in and get anything from appetizers to desserts. It really will take some stress out of your Holidays.

[tags]Chattanooga freezer meal prep, freezer meal prep[/tags]

A while back I visited Niedlov’s new space on Main Street. It was a great experience, wonderful bread, and a great atmosphere. And this afternoon my email box let me know that there is even more than bread and atmosphere at Niedlov’s the next time I visit. They have sandwiches!

From their press release:

Niedlov’s Sandwiches Invite Chattanoogans to Love Their Lunch
Niedlov’s Breadworks, Chattanooga’s favorite artisan bakery, announces the launch of lunch.

A sandwich should be more than what is squeezed between the pieces of bread, just like lunch should be more than a quick fix squeezed into your day.

Expanding the in-store offerings at its new location, Niedlov’s has added sandwiches to its menu of breakfast pastries, barista eggs, coffee and espresso - and the naturally leavened, organic, whole grain breads upon which the bakery has built its reputation.

Like every loaf that comes out of the bakery, Niedlov’s sandwiches are healthy and delicious. The sandwiches use only the highest quality clean lunch meats, free of hormones, antibiotics, and preservatives. Adding cheese, vegetables, and spreads made in house, the bakery’s owner John Sweet pairs each combination with the perfect bread.
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My husband tells me that I am a better cook than his mother. There is a small joke in there- his mother doesn’t cook. Damon grew up eating take out, TV dinners, and enjoying restaurant fare.

I grew up in a family that rarely ate out, but had a variety of good, home cooked meals almost every night.

When we got married, blending our eating habits was interesting. My husband liked home cooked meals, but wanted them to look and taste like he got them from one of the many restaurants found in Chattanooga.

I would say that I am an ok cook. Put a recipe in front of me and I can usually cook it up right. Sometimes I experiment with ingredients and have fun, but I can’t say that I love cooking. I get stressed out when thinking about what to make for dinner. The prep, the nutrition, the time- it all aggravates me to no end.

To help end the frustration, this Friday I took some time to myself and went to My Family Dinners to prepare 12 meals for my family.

My Family Dinners
541 Signal Mountain Rd., Suite #225
Chattanooga, TN 37405
myfamilydinners.com
423-902-7642

I first learned about My Family Dinners a few years ago when owner Bevelle Puffer appeared on the early morning show, Eyewitness News Today on WRCB. At the time, she was running the business from her home and using a community center on Signal Mountain for the meal prep sessions.

Now, a few years later, Bevelle has opened My Family Dinners in a space at the bottom of Signal Mountain, near the Wal-Mart.
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When I was growing up, it seemed that Mother’s Day would culminate around where to eat. The idea was to give mom a “day off” from that thankless task of cooking a big Sunday meal.

Now that I am a mom, I get to be the center of attention on that special day (after I give my own mother her present and phone call, of course). I told my husband he doesn’t have to get me a gift because I already bought it for myself. But that doesn’t let him off the hook for making the day special. In fact, he better be thinking about this right now!

Well, he might not be thinking about it right this very second, but I am happy to help give him a few directions to take to make Mother’s Day special.

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I took Fuller to the Chattanooga Market today so we could experience the fun. There were many Chattanooga area social agencies available for the Hispanic community. From Tenncare to the Office of Multicultural Affairs, from realtors to law offices, if they wanted to reach out the Hispanic community they were there. And they had swag!

EPB was there giving out compact fluorescent light bulbs. They had literature available, but it was all in Spanish. When I asked if they had the brochure in English, they said no, but the light bulb would work in English or Spanish. Mayfield milk Mom Squad was giving out half pints of their new Nuture Milk. I gave it to Fuller and he liked it!

The big sponsor of the day was La Paz de Dios. They are Chattanooga’s leading resource between Latinos and the city’s resources. La Paz de Dios is working toward the inclusion of Hispanics into our community while celebrating their cultural heritage. As part of their support for the market, they held a salsa competition for area restaurants and a silent auction.
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When the St. Elmo community was building their playground, food was provided by several merchants. One morning, several trays of banana nut muffins arrived and were quickly consumed by busy workers. The muffins were from Neidlov’s Bakery, a local artisan bakery, and they were really, really good.

Today, Neidlov’s opened their new shop located at 215 East Main Street, across from the fire station. I decided to take Fuller there for a muffin and some coffee (for me) and to see the new shop in action. It was easy to find, and there was plenty of free parking along the curbside.

There were several people in the shop, enjoying their coffee, scones, and muffins. I ordered a cup of coffee, a lemon currant scone, and a blueberry muffin, for a total of $5. The young lady at the counter was very helpful, and didn’t cringe at the two year old sitting in his stroller shouting “Hi” to anyone in his line of sight. She was so helpful that she let me go with an IOU when I admitted that I didn’t have any cash, which was all Niedlov’s was prepared to take. (I usually pay credit or debit. I was very embarrassed. She was very, very nice.)

I was able to relax at a table, sipping my coffee (they proudly serve Greyfriar’s) while Fuller hogged both the scone and muffin. There was plenty of floor space in the shop, with five or six tables to sit for a while.
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This pretty lady is Heidi Chapin. She is a St. Elmo resident and the champion behind getting our playground built. She is the one who has dealt with the city, rallied the neighbors, and been point person with Learning Structures. I know that there are many others who have been working to get to today’s build, but when I think about the St. Elmo Playground, I think Heidi Chapin.

I spoke to Heidi today and told her she didn’t seem too stressed. She said that things were going well and there wasn’t much to be stressed about.

The first day of the build went well. Lots of holes were dug, plenty of concrete was poured, and many posts were raised. I went to the site about five times and each time I came back home, I checked the concept drawings to see if I could match up the different structures to the proposed finished products. The progress that the builders/ neighbors are making is amazing. And I can’t wait until Saturday when I get to actually help on the site. (Today I did home child care for one little boy who’s dad was helping on the site for a few hours.)

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I was very surprised to get an informational email this week about organic produce in Chattanooga. I had no idea that we had a community garden and urban farm just minutes from my house.

Crabtree Farms is just that, and more. They are a community garden, an urban farm, an educational outlet, and an interesting place to visit here in Chattanooga.

Tomorrow they are holding an informational meeting about their food box program. For about $30 a week, Chattanoogans can get fresh, organic produce delivered to their door. Here is an example of what you could expect:
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If I wasn’t leaving town on Thursday, I would probably try to make it out of the house for this bit of fun:

Join Big River’s brewmaster to learn more about the art of brewing beer on March 8 at 6 p.m. at the Hunter Museum. Reservations are required for the tasting. This event is Free with museum admission. Contact mbradley@huntermuseum.org to reserve a space. Visit www.huntermuseum.org for more information.

[tags]Chattanooga, Big River Beer, beer, Hunter Museum[/tags]

My mom leaves tomorrow so we took her out to dinner this evening as a small thank you. She didn’t really care where we ate and I had a need for pasta.

Since we were running errands out at Lee Highway, I figured dinner at Macaroni Grill wouldn’t be too far out of the way. (more…)