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The Travel Nurse Foodie–Conway, AR

In 2010 I traveled to Conway, Arkansas and worked at Conway Regional Hospital ICU. I had never been to Arkansas and noticed from the moment of entering the state line to get fuel, that the people there were extremely KIND. Obviously I didn’t have a southern accent but the people were so nice that at first it made me a bit uncomfortable. I’m not rude by any means, but I wasn’t accustomed to that type of kindness!

My apartment was fabulous, I had a housekeeper who came in every 3 days to clean my place, take out the trash, do any dishes I had if any, wash the laundry, mop and vacuum the floors, it was a type of corporate housing I had never seen before. I was told by AMN, don’t get too comfortable this won’t happen for you every day in the future. This was a ‘special’ circumstance, and I loved it.

My first trip to the grocery store after I arrived was to buy steak,  salad and a bottle of wine. I took my grocery cart up and down aisles looking for the perfect bottle of wine, zipping up and down searching everywhere and I got to the check out and asked “Can you tell me where the wine is? I can’t find it”. I was told “You won’t find any here, this is a Dry county”.  I didn’t even know what that meant but I looked at my husband and thought, you better take me home. In the county of Conway they don’t sell alcohol and I soon learned about “T-totalers” a phrase I had never heard of (if you don’t know what that is, look it up). It didn’t matter so “Sweet Tea” it was for dinner that night.

I became very good friends with a nurse there, will call her Chris H. (she knew where the liquor store was towards Little Rock, AR) HA! She also refuses to have Facebook and I admire her for that! We email ‘old school’ and I love keeping in touch with her that way. I miss her terribly but she made my time there so much fun. I really got into the Arkansas Vibe thanks to her, she showed me around to many places, introduced me to her fabulous friends (fall on the ground hysterical friends) MUST SEE VIDEO,  invited me to her incredible Farmhouse, and I hope to blog about several more places there because one area has so much more to offer than just one restaurant. I am Looking forward to blogging about Toad Suck Bucks in the future as well.

But for this blog, Chris took me to a restaurant called The Oak Street Bistro. SAD to say it has since closed, but the lunch we had there was fabulous. According to this article they may consider a cookbook to provide recipes of some of the local favorites at their restaurant. They DID publish this recipe in a later newspaper article and was given to me by my dear friend Chris! Here it is!

Cheddar Dill Soup

  • 1/4 cup Knorr Roasted Chicken Stock Base
  • 2 lbs. White American Cheese (cut into 1 inch cubes)
  • 1/2 c. FRESH chopped Dill
  • 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
  • Salt to taste

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Follow directions on the chicken stock base and bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer.

Add the cheese, stirring constantly to avoid scorching, and cook until cheese is completely melted.

Stir in Dill

Season with Cayenne Pepper and Salt.

If the soup is too thick or cheesy, thin with additional stock

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LuxTravelNurseAvatarEnjoy!!

 

The Travel Nurse Foodie–Conway, AR2020-04-30T03:34:34+00:00

The Travel Nurse Foodie–Las Vegas

Last year  I attended  The Traveler’s Conference  at the Flamingo Hotel which is a short walk to Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen Bar in downtown Las Vegas. It had only been open just a few months, and I was very excited to see what was on the menu! From beginning to end this meal was Outrageous! I loved watching all the different menu items come out of the kitchen, it was a Vegas Show of it’s own and they should probably consider selling tickets just to ‘watch’. I had the BEST WhooHoo Time! (Housewives Fan, just jumps in there sometimes).

The atmosphere was super Laid back, Awesome music, and Incredible Décor inside and out. On the Veranda patio in the desert heat, water misters rained down to keep you “Kewl” while you dined and people watched on the Strip. The cooks were smashing burgers and bar staff were performing while you waited, you really couldn’t ask for more of a food experience than this.

We also had this AMAZING waitress who quite frankly was a Wild One after my own heart! She knew everything we needed to know about the menu and was very excited to explain it all, in-detail what to expect and even how it would taste. She was Fabulous and made our experience there over the top! But thanks to her, we Over-Indulged a tad bit to the tune of nearly 5,000 calories (maybe double that) and I don’t regret One single calorie at all!

We will be going back again that’s For Sure! But my theory has always been since I can’t be there all the time, I will just figure it out and make it myself at home!  The process to re-create the food we ate there for this blog has been #Redonkulous and So Much Fun! Not every experience has THIS much food, but this is a special situation 🙂

So here we GO! Taking my personal meal that evening and Re-creating what I ordered off the Menu!

  • Applewood Bacon Mac & Cheese Burger
  • Fresh Cut Fries and Homemade Ketchup
  • Lemon Drop
  • Guy’s Cheesecake Challenge

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First things First CHEESECAKE!

Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 5 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted butter

Combine all ingredients and press against sides and bottom of 9-inch springform pan. (I used a measuring cup to do this – works great!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Filling

  • 3 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together cream cheese, sugar, 4 egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla.

In another bowl, beat 4 egg whites until stiff and creamy. Fold egg whites into cream cheese mixture and pour mixture into crust.

Bake for 35 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour with the door closed.

Freeze several hours before serving. Remove from freezer and remove from pan before allowing the cheesecake to thaw.

Drizzle with Chocolate Syrup and top cake with Salty Ruffles Potato Chips. The Challenge: To Eat the Entire Cake. No way!

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 The Best Homemade Ketchup
  • 1 28 oz can peeled ground tomatoes
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 1/4 c. distilled white vinegar
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
  • dash of celery salt

Put all ingredients in a Nutribullet or Blender and mix thoroughly, keeping refrigerated for up to 1 week. Looks thin here but it was actually Very Thick! Delicious!

Mouthwatering, Melty Macaroni and Cheese

  • 6 cups cooked macaroni (equivalent to 3 cups uncooked)
  • 2 cans evaporated milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 3 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • dash of dry mustard
  • 6 cups of cheese (2 c. cheddar, 2 c. mozzarella, 2 c. Monterey jack cheese)

Combine all ingredients (except for approx. 1cup cheese) into crock pot and cook on low heat all day. About 20-30 minutes before serving, stir, put last cup of cheese on top, and turn on high until you are ready to eat!

Crispy Cut Fries Seasoning (USE for meat, potatoes or vegetables and sauces)

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine thoroughly, use portion to toss potato slices in Ziploc bag. Fry potatoes in single layer in Olive oil over medium-high heat until Crispy, flipping once. AMAZING!

Seasoned Hamburger

Use above ingredients to taste, mix into lean ground beef and roll into balls until Ready for the grill

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Place on hot grill, smash once, flip once.

Applewood bacon:

  • Place on baking sheet
  • Place in oven at 375 degree
  • flip once after 15 minutes
  • cook another 15 minutes
  • dry on paper towels

Less Mess!

(Never fry bacon in a pan again)

Place Burger on toasted Kaiser roll, top with bacon, macaroni and cheese,  and your choice of toppings!

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Lemon Drop

  • 2 cups frozen vodka
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup superfine sugar
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced for garnish
  • Ice
  • frozen cocktail glass

Pour all into cocktail shaker and mix with ice, pour into cocktail glass.

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This drink ended up tasting horrible. But once you got past the booze and chest burn I guess it didn’t really matter. When it says use SUPERFINE SUGAR, you should probably use superfine sugar. It wouldn’t mix for me very well with the granulated sugar that I had on hand. Obviously the picture looks like I may have taken a sip and tried to re-apply the sugar with my finger. And it’s  possible that happened, but the meal was Out of this World! I will do better next time!

Savory comfort food to indulge in, dip everything in ketchup, wash it down with the Lemon drop (getting past the burn), then top it off with some sweet and salty cheesecake. Worry about the guilt another day!!

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The Travel Nurse Foodie–Las Vegas2020-04-30T03:34:34+00:00

Lux Travel Nurse Introduction by Candy Treft aka “The Gypsy Nurse”

Check out the Introduction for Lux Travel Nurse by Candy Treft aka “The Gypsy Nurse” who is an Expert in her field of Travel Nursing. All of Candy’s social media and blogs are leading resources for the traveling nurse and traveling healthcare professional seeking comprehensive and trusted information about travel employment opportunities.  I’m appreciative and grateful for her assistance in helping to get the word out about Lux Travel Nurse Inc.

Check it out:  Lux Introduction!

Lux Travel Nurse Introduction by Candy Treft aka “The Gypsy Nurse”2020-04-30T03:34:34+00:00

The Travel Nurse Foodie

blog1I’m a Huge Foodie and I Love to try new restaurants and re-create those recipes. I’m sort of “Known” for it around my house and this Blog is going take those favorite meals I’ve experienced while on the road and re-create them with my own recipes for you to try at home.

One thing we all know as travelers is the first thing you do when you arrive in a new town is “Go out to Eat”. We get settled into our apartment, sort of take a quick look at things then head out the door either to find a grocery store or a restaurant. Food is the First thing that’s on your mind after you arrive at your destination. Whether you want it or not, those cupboards and that fridge are bare!

I’ve been to small towns, large cities, to the North, to the South, East and West Coast and Food has defined each destination in some form. Ahhhh…Memphis. I Worked in Conway Arkansas not far Memphis and I loved the people I worked with. Nicest People On Earth! (Can’t hang around them too long, I do enjoy a crabby day every once in awhile). But what I remembered most was the trip to Memphis to eat at Rendezvous on my day off! I will certainly blog and re-create the food from that visit!

I never forget a great meal and I’m Super excited to Re-live all of those amazing places again through this blog. You can expect a Photographic Food Journal on the First Monday of every month with links to the restaurants, and my recipes cooked and photographed.
The First Official Blog will be Monday April 6th!

I hope you all Enjoy!!!!

Juli
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The Travel Nurse Foodie2020-04-30T03:34:34+00:00