foodie – The Great Kaysby

Well…Considering How The Great Kaysby Started…

Daily writing prompt

What are your favorite types of foods?

When I started this blog in 2018, my idea was to make a blog about travel and food. I like to fancy myself a “foodie” and “travel lover” with big hopes that someone will pay me to eat and travel in exchange for my opinions. That hasn’t happened yet! Cruise lines, I’m looking at you!!! LOL Though the direction of my blog has changed over the years, my love of food has not!

So what are my favorite types of foods? Let me break it down!

Comfort Foods – Pizza, French Fries, Bread Products with Butter
Cold Weather – Chili, French Onion Soup, Tomato Soup with croutons and parmesan cheese
Craving Salty – Chips – especially sour cream and onion or ones that I can dip in ranch
Condiments – Ranch and mayo
Italian – Pasta with olive oil and parmesan cheese, breadsticks, pizza
Chinese – Egg drop soup, fried rice, various chicken dishes
Hibachi – rice, sushi
Fast Food – Zaxby’s (because they are consistent no matter where we go)
Carryout Pizza – Casey’s Taco Pizza and Cheesesticks, Domino’s

Now do you see why I originally started a food blog? Now I’m hungry!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Today’s Excitement

As part of a leadership class I am taking, I’m starting a 30 day challenge of Daily Journal Prompts. This is outside of my usual realm, but I’m excited for the challenge!

Prompt 1 – What are you most excited about for today?

As you may have realized over the years, I am an easily excitable person, so it is hard to pinpoint one thing that I am most excited about today. Currently, I’m excited that I’ve been able to make posts in my VIP Client and team groups while watching Aqua Pups with LilKsby. Now he’s sitting in my lap, and snuggles are always exciting! Another thing I’m excited about? Nachos! LilKsby has been asking to go to O’Charley’s, and it just happens to be $5 Nacho Day during lunch hours. So today I get to go have it with him and Mr Kisby – double bonus! I also get excited about the library, and we have to go there today too! Bonus? Tonight is our weekly leadership class, and I’m excited about that too! I’m excited that I’ve stuck with it for five weeks especially with the last week not being my best. Mary Kay Ash used to say if you’ve had a bad week you need the meeting, and if you’ve had a great week the meeting needs you! Plus, fireworks! So much excitement all day long!!!

What are you excited about today?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Me + Food = ?

If you’ve read my blog for a long time, then you know that I used to write a lot about food. I would discuss my favorite foods along with where to get them. I thought of myself as a foodie and being a paid food critic sounded like a dream job! Paid to eat? Sign me up! However, as I got older and my priorities changed, I started realizing that my relationship with food was not a relationship I wanted LilKsby to grow up copying.

I grew up in what I would like to call the “clean your plate era.” I distinctly remember going to restaurants as a child and the restaurants having rewards (usually more food) for children who would eat everything. I’ll never forget that at Captain D’s a free piece of chocolate cake was the reward. As a kid, I thought this was great even though I don’t even like chocolate! It was just the idea of “winning” a prize. As an adult, I find myself appalled that the reward for overeating was to eat more. Because of these reward systems, for a long time I found myself feeling required to clean my plate. I’m not saying this “clean your plate mentality” is the sole reason for my obesity – a lot of bad habits went into that – but it took a long time for me to become okay with having leftovers!

Some of my other bad habits with food have also attributed to my up and down relationship with the scale. One of the worst of these is eating out of habit instead of hunger. For my entire school career, health classes pushed the concept of three meals a day: breakfast when you woke up, lunch around noon, and dinner in the early evening. There was also usually a rousing chorus of “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Since this is what was taught, eating became routine whether I was hungry or not. Lately, I’m really working to ask myself “Am I hungry?” before having a meal or snack. Another bad habit for me is emotional eating. This is a big one! Just this evening, I was feeling a little moody and found myself thinking “I need a cookie to feel better!” I looked at the tub of cookies, then I thought to myself, “You don’t need a cookie! You’re not hungry!” Guess what? I’m really glad that I didn’t eat that cookie!

Acknowledging the bad qualities of my relationship with food has been an interesting journey. When you love something so much, it can be hard to want to make a change. I’m still working on making better choices a lot of which comes down to planning and sticking to the plan. I’ve also been striving to educate myself on better healthy eating habits from credible sources and avoiding “crash diets.” It’s a work in progress, and I know that there are going to be occasions where I over indulge. However, I’m not going to give up!

Want to join me on my wellness journey?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

“I Meant To”

I meant to wake up for Zumba this morning. “I meant to” is one of the worst phrases in the English language because it always has something behind it that didn’t happen. It can be trivial: “I meant to put the toilet seat down.” It can be inconvenient: “I meant to pack your toothbrush, but I forgot.” (I still haven’t lived that one down, and it has been 11 years.) It can also be serious: “I meant to pay the electric bill.” Luckily, just missing Zumba simply means I overslept and missed out on exercise.

Do you ever find yourself thinking about things you meant to do? Do you ever find yourself kicking yourself because you didn’t do them? I think this pandemic is a perfect time for thinking about things you meant to do and planning to do some of them. For example, you could plan a vacation you’ve been meaning to take! You could read that book that you’ve been meaning to read! You could clean out the closet you’ve been meaning to organize! There are all kinds of things you could do that fall in the “I meant to” category.

Need an example?

I’m finally learning guitar, blogging more, reading more, taking time for movies (usually in the background while doing something else), spending time outside more, and improving my baking skills. All of these had fallen in the “I meant to” category for a long time! None of these are serious, but they are all things I’ve enjoyed which is important!

What are you finally doing that you used to always say “I meant to”?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Super Mom Secret To Success

Yesterday was a sensational Sunday! It was one of those days when I felt like Super Mom! I managed to do laundry for LilKsby, hold a Mary Kay consultation, and prep for the week. Days like this make me feel like I can conquer the world as long as I have eye cream to assist with the bags and dark circles from lack of sleep (this is where being a Mary Kay consultant comes in really handy)! Here’s my secret to feeling this way as often as possible: meal prep!

Seriously, to me there is no question more exhausting – other than one about budgeting – than, “What do you want for dinner?” In our house, this has been a conversation more than once:

“What do you want for dinner?”

“I don’t know. What do you want?”

“I don’t care. What do you want?”

This can go on for rounds, and more often than not it leads to it being an hour later with no decision made and feeling hangry.

Thus, my secret to feeling like Super Mom? Meal prep!

For me – as a working mom – breakfast and lunch prep is key. To keep from being bored, I like some variety. Some weeks my meal prep for breakfast is putting cereal in one container and to go portions of milk in another. Sometimes breakfast meal prep is buying sausage biscuits for the week. My favorite breakfast meal prep is breakfast casserole!

My Breakfast Casserole

Eggs (however many you feel like – yesterday there were 7 left in the carton, so 7 it was!)
Shredded Cheese
Meat (usually bacon or sausage for me)
Rotel (optional)
Scramble the eggs in a bowl, assemble casserole as desired, cook in the oven on 350 for 35-40 minutes.

My lunch prep is similarly simple. There are weeks when my lunch prep is buy 5 frozen dinners or 5 single serving soups and crackers. I do have other favorites though including chili, tuna salad, and chicken salad.

My Chili

Ground Beef
Ground Pork
Canned Chili – No Beans
Canned Diced Tomatoes
Canned Rotel
Portions are however much you want, or in my case however much can fit in my crockpot.
Cook meat
Dump everything together in crockpot
Mix it all up
Leave in crockpot for several hours

My Tuna or Chicken Salad

Cannes Tuna or Chicken
Mayo
Pickle Relish

Put however much you want of everything in a bowl, and stir the daylights out of it so to speak.

Put in fridge, serve chilled

Dinner meal prep for me is more tricky, this is where Mr Kisby is a great help. He came up with a list of several simple to cook or prep options that we rotate through. Some of our favorites include: pork tenderloin, buffalo chicken bites, low carb pizza, frozen pizza, chicken nuggets and fries, bunless burgers, grilled chicken Caesar salad, pork chops, and spaghetti (or any other pasta). Typically, we will plan a week of dinners and have them ready to easily cook or cook them in advance. This keeps the “What do you want for dinner?” issue at a minimum!

So now you know my Super Mom secret: meal prep! What are your favorite meal prep tips?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Baby Eats Every 3 Hours…When Do I Eat?

I knew when LilKsby came along that he would have to eat every three hours. They taught us that in Baby Care Class. What they didn’t teach us is that sometimes feedings can take 90 minutes to 2 hours each time when you’re having to breastfeed, supplement, and pump every feeding. This isn’t always the case for people, but LilKsby wasn’t big on eating when he was first born. Can you imagine not liking to eat? I never thought that was possible!

So what do you do when you basically have 60 to 90 minutes for a meal between feedings?

1) People who say what can I do to help can bring you food! Seriously! Take them up on the offer whether it is for a home cooked meal or something from a drive thru. You will enjoy that few minutes you get to sit in a chair with your eyes closed instead of cooking.

2) Stock up on easy to cook frozen meals before baby comes. For some people this means cooking healthy meals, freezing them, and being ready to reheat. For me and Mr Kisby this meant stocking up on frozen pizzas and other frozen meals that bake in the oven. As an example, frozen lasagnas that take 70 to 80 minutes have been great! You put them in right before the feeding starts and then the lasagna is done right before you’re done!

3) Be okay with ordering pizza! This has the benefit of someone delivering it to your home, and it will taste delicious! If you’re a good techie, then download your favorite pizza place’s app and you may start to accrue points for freebies! The Papa John’s app has a great rewards system! Also, sign up for email rewards. Pizza Hut frequently sends out free breadsticks!

4) Drive Thrus – this option is not healthy, but it has one major advantage: babies have a tendency to fall asleep on car rides. So utilize the drive thru so that you can get something to eat, and baby will get a nap allowing you to eat! This option can get expensive, but most drive thrus have a value menu.

5) Hoard leftovers like it is 1999 and people are afraid of Y2K! Leftovers come in very handy as you can zap them in the microwave and be eating in two minutes or less! Plus, it’s a good excuse to have pizza for breakfast.

6) Be like a farm animal and graze whenever you can! Seriously! Become a pro snacker. Baby might not allow time for full meals. Therefore, stock up on peanut butter crackers, granola bars, or whatever else you like to snack on.

For the last 8 weeks this is pretty much how we’ve gotten through when it comes to food. It isn’t the greatest advice, but it will help you establish a routine. I also recommend having someone as fantastic as Mr Kisby to assist. It makes a world of difference!

In the mean time, LilKsby has fallen asleep after a feeding. That means snack time for me!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

B is for Baking

Cooking doesn’t excite me. I’ve always felt like it is a lot of work that leads to a lot of dishes, and more often than not it seems that the cooking takes more time than the eating. I suppose that is why I’ve always enjoyed eating at restaurants so much. One, someone else cooks the food, and two, someone else does the dishes. Plus, I like the socialization of being at a restaurant!

Despite not enjoying cooking, there is one thing I love to do in the kitchen: bake! I suppose it goes back to baking “scratch” biscuits when I would spend the night with my grandma (see my grandma blog). Those experiences were always fun! Now, I just enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with baking! Throughout the year, I get my baking fill with cookies mainly and perhaps the occasional bread, muffin, or brownie. (Sidebar: I love cupcakes, but with so many cupcake stores popping up it is easier just to go buy them.) The holidays are my time to really go hog wild!

My desire to bake during the holidays can be pinpointed to November 2008. This was the year that I had my gall bladder removed, and I had to take two weeks off of work to recover. I quickly became bored, and I decided I wanted to learn how to make pumpkin bread. So, I did! Once I started baking the pumpkin bread, I realized that I enjoyed baking it more than I liked eating it. This led to me baking it for other people and the realization that I enjoy making other people happy with food.

Making others happy with food has always been a challenge in my family due to the number of diabetics, but I’ve found that with a little creativity and ingredient substitutions I can make No Sugar Added (I don’t like to say sugar free because ingredients like fruit make it so natural sugars are present, and Splenda For Baking actually has some real sugar in it). One of my favorite diabetic friendly recipes is my no sugar added peanut butter pie. My aunt gave me the initial recipe, but I tweaked it to not involve cream cheese (YUCK!). Are you ready? This is the most simple peanut butter pie ever: graham cracker pie crust, sugar-free chocolate pudding cups, natural peanut butter, and light whip cream. I use the light whip cream instead of the sugar free whip cream because of the immense fat content in the sugar free. The light is low enough in sugar that many diabetics can have a tiny bit of it. All you do is mix the pudding, peanut butter, and whip cream together and put it in the pie crust. Ta da…no sugar added peanut butter pie! This pie made my Thanksgiving table this year!

This past Christmas I had the brilliant idea of making everyone their favorite desserts as part of their Christmas presents. The first dessert was one that I’ve made for several years for my dad. It is a sugar free pecan pie. To get the recipe, I just Googled “sugar free pecan pie recipe” and found a great one on http://www.tablespoon.com. I’ve made it several times now, and while the ingredients can be costly depending on the current nut prices, the end product is worth it!

My mom’s favorite has always been Black Forest cake. I’ve looked at several Black Forest cake recipes over the years, attempted one that was a TOTAL disaster, and finally came up with a compromise to her favorite desert that I was okay with presenting to her. This past Christmas, I took a Sugar Free Pilsbury Cake Mix and baked it per the instructions on the box. I’m not sure if I used the Sugar Free Chocolate or Sugar Free Devils’s Food off the top of my head. Once it had cooled, I took the corer that I’d never used before and punched a bunch of holes in the cake. Each hole was then filled with a canned cherry (no sugar added!) or two and just before serving, I covered it in whipped topping. My mom was satisfied with it, but I’m still open to an actual EASY Black Forest cake recipe if one exists!

For my aunt, I baked brownies. Since it was Christmas, I went with the good stuff! Well…the good stuff if you like brownies. Have I mentioned that I don’t really like chocolate? In fact, I don’t eat a lot of things I bake…I just like to bake! So what is the good stuff? Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix! Find it in a Wal-Mart near you! Sorry, but this one is not No Sugar Added.

The best thing from this last Christmas was that I finally learned how to make Mr. Kisby’s favorite: buttery spritz cookies. For years I’ve ate the spritz cookies that his mom made, and I never wanted to try them because I was sure that it would be complicated. Determined to give it a try due to my pregnancy and wanting to be able to make LilKsby spritz cookies one day, I finally broke down and learned how to make them. Once again, I turned to Google to find the recipe and then Mr. Kisby’s mom to verify that the recipe I found seemed accurate. This time I used a Taste of Home recipe that was easy and delicious (not No Sugar Added)! My only negative part of this baking experience was the cheap cookie press. Somethings you really should spend more than a $1.50 on.

With the arrival of LilKsby, my baking time is kind of limited. I hope by the holidays I’ll be back to a point where I can bake for everyone again. Until then, I’m a Nestle Toll House gal! You know…those fancy cookies made by Phoebe Buffay’s French relatives!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Birthday Freebies

Who likes free stuff? 🙋‍♀️ If you said no to that, then I do believe that either (a) you’re a liar or not fully paying attention to the question or (b) you’ve got way more money than I do! And if that is the case, then feel free to share the wealth with those of us you may deem to be peasants!

One of my favorite things about my second favorite holiday aka my birthday (first favorite is Christmas) is all of the birthday coupons that places send you just for signing up for their email lists! Now you’ve got to understand my brain for a second. If somewhere I really like has an email list for discounts, then I’m on it! However, this doesn’t mean I always read the emails all year. Typically I only open them all at birthday time or if they are from Chili’s because let’s face the truth that Chili’s has some of the best chips and salsa on the planet!

Here are some of my favorite birthday discounts in no particular order:

1) Mark’s Feed Store 🥩 – Buy 1 Entree, Get 1 Free! I also like to call this the only time me and Mr Kisby can eat there for less than $20! He treats himself to a combo with pork, chicken, and brisket while I enjoy whatever way I can get the most sides for free. My favorite things at Mark’s are the sides since I’m not a big meat eater. I love their pasta salad and potato salad!

2) Chili’s 🌶 – What they’re on the list? Shocking! Not! 😂 So check out the dilemma we had when going to Chili’s for my birthday which is also the same week as teacher appreciation week. We had to decide which one coupon to use (since Chili’s is like 45 minutes from our house – come on Elizabethtown build one!) from free dessert, 20% off the bill, or free guacamole and chips. So Chili’s has this great deal all the time where you can get 3 things for $10 (non-alcoholic drink, appetizer, and entree). The 20% off couldn’t be applied to the discounted special so we ruled that out. Then we realized that for a $2 up charge we could get guacamole as the appetizer for the 3 for $10 special. So we opted to get the $8 cookie dessert for free! This time we ate for $23! I’ll let you decide if we made the right choice based on the picture!

3) Olive Garden – Free Dessert! 🍝 If you really want to make the most of this coupon, then go at lunch time! You can get a lunch duo (I chose the gnocchi soup and pizza bowl) and your free dessert for less than $10! Tiramisu is delicious all the time, but it is even better when it is free!

4) Fazoli’s – Free cookie with purchase of an entree! 🍪

5) Texas Roadhouse – Free appetizer or side kick of ribs with purchase! We learned the hard way this year that this discount cannot be used with the Early Bird Dining.

6) At Home – 25% Off Your Purchase

7) Victoria Secret – Free Panties

8) IKEA – 15% Off In Store Purchase and Free Food

9) Kirkland’s – Free Gift With Purchase and 25% Off

10) Bojangles – Free Boberry Biscuit – You can’t go wrong with a biscuit that has blueberries baked into it and is covered in frosting!

11) Pizza Hut – Free breadsticks!

These are just the ones that I remember getting from scrolling through my emails! I haven’t been able to use them all, but next year I’ll plan better! 😂

There are a lot more birthday freebies out there if you Google them! Some places even allow you to sign up your kids so that they get birthday freebies too! So you can bet that LilKsby will be getting signed up for freebies!

Put in the comments your favorite birthday freebies so that I can add to my list! And don’t forget to subscribe so that you always get the latest from The Great Kaysby!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby 🎂

Restaurant + Love = Egg Roll House

If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting The Great Kaysby in person, then I have no doubt that you have heard me talk about Egg Roll House. For those who’ve never heard of it, Egg Roll House is a family owned Chinese restaurant nestled in what used to be the heart of Radcliff when Fort Knox was still booming and Winn Dixie and K-Mart off of Knox Boulevard were the premiere business areas. Now Winn Dixie and K-Mart are long gone, but Egg Roll House has remained. It has seen a ton of other businesses come and go, but there it sits diagonally across the street from the Gold Vault Inn. You might be thinking, what makes Egg Roll House so good? It’s simple. When you’re at Egg Roll House, you feel loved like you’re at home.

One of the many reasons Egg Roll House feels like home to me is because my family has literally been eating there for 25 years (possibly more). Before Egg Roll House, there was another Chinese place we ate at, but I was so young that prior to eating at Egg Roll House I thought Chinese food was fried shrimp and fries. Thus Egg Roll House was the first place that I really tried and fell in love with Chinese food! The earliest things I remember eating there besides delicious chicken wings were the Triple Delight (chicken, shrimp, and beef that I wouldn’t eat because I’m not big on beef), fried rice, and egg drop soup. I would also eat Sweet and Sour Chicken without the sauce. This would lead to a lot of laughs when I was in high school because for years my best friend also ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken without the sauce because I had said I didn’t like it, and then she tried it from the buffet and was like “You liar, this is good!” In my defense, I never said it wasn’t good, I said I didn’t like it. LOL

Over the years there have been a lot of laughs like the Sweet and Sour Chicken incident at Egg Roll House. We’ve had many weekly family meals there, and more summer break lunches than I can count. We’ve shared the Egg Roll House with others too. For example, when Mr. Kisby and I got married, we took our out of town family who came in for the wedding there to eat. We’ve also taken friends there on countless occasions over the years. One of my favorite more recent memories of a friends trip there was when we met another couple and their son there after church one Saturday evening. All of the adults ordered various Chinese dishes, and the son ordered chicken nuggets and fries. When our food came out, he wanted ours because it looked so good. I’m so glad that Egg Roll House could be a part of introducing a new generation to the deliciousness of Chinese food like it did me so many years ago!

As you can see for us, going to Egg Roll House isn’t just about food. It’s about going to a restaurant where you feel loved just like you were eating in your own home. There is something nice about going into a restaurant and them knowing what you are going to order to drink when you walk in the door (sweet tea for Mr. Kisby and unsweet for me). Just as nice is the owner coming out and talk to you when you come for dinner. I find it to be extraordinarily nice when they’ll ask things like “Where are your parents?” when me and Mr. Kisby dine alone or “Just two?” when me and Dad eat there and Mr. Kisby and Mom have to work. Making us feel even more loved? When we mourned the loss of my grandmother and uncle (who were also frequent customers), they mourned right a long with us. Can you imagine feeling more at home without being at home? I can’t!

For more info check out: http://eggrollhouse.weebly.com/. I highly recommend anything mentioned previously or the Egg Drop Soup with an order of Spicy Wontons and Lucky Family or Gai Sue Chicken for the entree. I hope we see you there!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Fair Food Fun!

I’m back!

After a summer hiatus, The Great Kaysby has returned.

When last we met, I discussed some great stay-cation ideas for the state of Kentucky. Today, I thought I’d tackle another great Kentucky tradition: The State Fair. The are a variety of reasons to go to the State Fair. Some folks go for the animal exhibitions and the horse show. Others go to see the concerts (a lot of which are free by the way) while some go to ride the rides and play games on the midway. There’s also some people who go to see the arts and crafts, then browse the shops. Frankly, I go with the hope of winning the appliance of the day from GE. Still waiting to win that dishwasher…

Oh, and of course I go for the food!

There is something about the State Fair that makes the most conscientious eater think, “Man, I need a funnel cake” or “Dang…I might not survive without that deep fried Oreo.” So just in case you don’t know what you want to eat at the State Fair, here are my Top Three foods that you should try!

#1 – Pork Burger – Kentucky Pork Producers

See that logo? Look for it at the fair! Scratch that! Search for it, hunt it down, and find it at the fair! Why? Because the pork burgers are amazing! They are tender, juicy, melt in your mouth delicious, and good to the last bite! I like to drizzle just a little bit of mayo on mine for that extra bit of tastiness! Another reason to try the pork burger? They are always very reasonably priced; they are a way to support local pork producers! Seriously…get the pork burger. Get two…bring one of them to me in a to go box.

#2 – Fried Rice

Now I know what you’re thinking. Fried rice at the State Fair? YES! In my defense, I love fried rice almost anywhere and have yet to find fried rice that made me wrinkle my nose in disgust. However, this fried rice – from one of the food vendors in the South Wing food court – is a great deal! For $3 you get a boat (one of those french fry or nacho boats, not a fishing boat) full of fried rice. Best part? It isn’t overly salty like some fried rice can be. Plus, it is a filling snack. If you’re worried about the carbs just remember that you’re going to walk a ton of steps just to get to the food court in the South Wing.

#3 Kizito Cookies

If you haven’t heard of Kizito cookies, then I’m afraid that either (a) you don’t live in the Louisville Metro Area or (b) you might live under a rock. If it is the second, then come on out from under the rock! Kizito cookies are made locally at Kizito bakery which is owned and operated by Elizabeth Kizito. The cookies – and now many other baked goods – are the product of Elizabeth’s hard work and imagination. Have you ever been at an event in Louisville and seen the lady selling cookies out of a basket on her head? That is Elizabeth! The cookies are AMAZING, and she is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met! In fact, I’m about to eat a Chocolate Chip Kizito cookie when I finish this blog. Check out her website here: https://kizito.com/.

Honorable Mentions

These things aren’t in my Top Three, but they are definitely worth a try!

Funnel Cake – plain old, powder sugar covered
Tater Twists – plain, maybe with ketchup
Pickle Samples from the pickle vendor in the South Wing (buy some too!)
Dip Samples from the vendors in the South Wing (buy some too!)
Flavored Coffee Samples from the vendors in the South Wing (buy some too!)
Anything from the Kentucky Cattleman’s Association
Fresh, squeezed lemonade!

#thegreatkaysby #foodie #kentuckystatefair #kentuckyporkproducers #kentuckycattlemansassociation #kizitocookies

“You Can Find Me In St. Louie…Where I’m Gonna Eat Cupcakes All Day…”

Yesterday, was supposed to be blog day; yesterday, I couldn’t think of what food place I wanted to write about. I racked my brain, and I racked my brain without any avail. The only solution I could come up with? Take a nap! And take a nap I did! It didn’t even dawn on me that I hadn’t written my blog until I was going to bed. In true Scarlett O’Hara fashion I thought: “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”

And I didn’t think about it today either…

Until 4th Block rolled around and at school I was sitting in the FACS classroom about to judge our school version of Cupcake Wars. My thought process all began when I spotted a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on one of the counters. My first thought was, “Man, I hope there’s a peanut butter cup cupcake entry!” Then I thought, “Oooo…Jilly’s has the best peanut butter cup cupcakes!” Which of course led naturally to, “Ooooo…do you think I could get Mr. Kisby to drive to St. Louis for a cupcake? Is there anyone I know in St. Louis that I can pay to bring me a cupcake? I should write a blog on Jilly’s Cupcakes!!!!”

If you know me outside of this blog, then I know that you are laughing because you know that is how my ADHD brain works. Also, you know that I LOVE CUPCAKES!!! Seriously, love me some cupcakes!

I can’t remember exactly when I found out about Jilly’s, but I know that it is my principal’s doing. I believe we were talking about food – maybe even judging school cupcake wars – and he mentioned that the best cupcakes in the world were at a place in St. Louis. I had to know where because I was going to be driving through St. Louis to go to my family reunion that summer. So he told me about this little place called Jilly’s that had been discovered during a trip he’d taken.

As soon as possible I was looking up Jilly’s. Much to my joy, it was only like five minutes off the road that we take to go to Kansas. Hooray! That meant a stop wouldn’t be overly out of the way. 🙂

When the day finally came to go to Jilly’s, I was over the moon. I had read that they were a two time winner of Food Networks Cupcake Wars and that got me even more excited! After all, Food Network isn’t going to give awards to places that blow. Upon arrival I immediately fell in love with the decor! There were neon colors everywhere (Queen Elizabeth would be pleased to know that Jilly’s color scheme totally matches the dress she wore to Harry and Meghan’s wedding!) and cool features that have this vintage diner feel. I was happy with the stop before I even got my cupcake!

Choosing a cupcake was very difficult! At Jilly’s they have various special cupcakes each month and their regular line: Simply Iced, Missylicious, Chocolate Thunder, Bee Sting, Twisted Pink Velvet, 24 Karat Carrot Cake, Reese’s Chunkage, and Turtle Cheesecake. I ended up going with the Reese’s Chunkage because Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of my most favorite things in the world so much so that as a teenager I got a cat and named him Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (Reese’s for short because that would’ve been a mouthful to yell every time he got in trouble)! This cupcake was amazing! It had a chocolate cake base with a little ganache surprise baked into the middle. Finding the ganache was a good bonus, kind of like at Mardis Gras when you chomp down on the plastic baby in the King’s Cake and win a prize!

What really brought this cupcake home was the frosting. Now to be fair, I’m a frosting-aholic! I’d typically rather eat the frosting than the cake, to the point that if somebody stuck a birthday candle in a tub of frosting I’d be as happy as a pig in mud. The frosting on the Reese’s Chunkage is a buttercream frosting made of little drops of heaven or as Jilly’s puts it chocolate and peanut butter with crumbled up Reese’s Cups all over it. I prefer little drops of heaven.

After this first experience, several more pilgrimages were made to Jilly’s as part of other trips. Two more family reunions found themselves paired with cupcakes. Went to St. Louis to see Phantom of the Opera for Mr. Kisby’s birthday present? He got theater tickets; I got cupcakes! On our last adventure to Jilly’s a little over a year ago, we not only got cupcakes, but we also tried Jilly’s Ice Cream Bar next door to the Cupcake Bar.

Now I must say that I’m not a big ice cream person because of how cold it is and how much the texture of real ice cream weird me out. However, I do love a good milkshake. With this in mind I was expecting that Mr. Kisby would really like Jilly’s Ice Cream Bar and I would think meh…it’s okay. WRONG! I will absolutely, 100% admit that I was wrong! I loved the Ice Cream Bar too!

When we went into the Ice Cream Bar we had no idea what to expect, but quickly found ourselves drawn to the Crazy Shakes! So what is a Crazy Shake? The best way I can describe it is you take a cup. You get the rim of the cup damp, and you swirl it around in a bunch of candy sprinkles so that they get stuck to the outside of the cup. Then you fill the cup with a delicious milkshake. Next you cover the top with whip cream. After that you cover the whip cream in wafer pearls, jam a piece of waffle cone down in the whip cream, and top it off with a miniature version of the cupcake providing the namesake for the Crazy Shake. Then just for fun you put in a few neon colored straws. Something this epic deserves more than one straw because a Crazy Shake likes to party!

For our first Crazy Shake soiree (and only one thus far in life) I chose the Missylicious Crazy Shake, and Mr. Kisby chose the Chocolate Thunder Crazy Shake. You see how good they look in the pictures above? Now imagine that as a taste and multiply it by like ten! Hands down this was the best milkshake I have ever had in my life! There really are not accurate words to describe their deliciousness!

If shakes aren’t your style, then Jilly’s Ice Cream Bar has other options as well. They have regular classic ice cream flavors, ice cream flavors inspired by the cupcakes, root beer floats, banana splits, and ice cream cupcakes. Oh yeah, and they have crepes! Literally, something for every sweet tooth out there!

You might be thinking what if I don’t like sweets? Guess what? Jilly’s also has a cafe in the Cupcake Bar part of the building. They have a variety of soups, salads, and sandwiches. I recommend the Famous Barr’s French Onion! Not into soup? Try the brisket!

Jilly’s has something for everybody whether their palette prefers salty and savory. Plus, they provide a fun atmosphere at very affordable prices. Personally, I think it is worth the trip to St. Louis to give them a shot!

Now who wants to bring me a cupcake? It’s just a 4 1/2 hour drive…

For more on Jilly’s Cupcake Bar visit http://jillyscupcakebar.com/.

#thegreatkaysby #mrkisby #foodie #jillyscupcakebar #jillysicecreambar #reeseschunkage #stlouis #cupcakes #foodnetwork #cupcakewars

Everybody In the Whole Cell Block…Let’s Eat Jailhouse Pizza!

So from our travels to Niagara Falls, there really aren’t any restaurant recommendations I can make. I’m sure there are great options, but (a) we ate at Planet Hollywood which is now closed and (b) we ate a Denny’s or somewhere similar. That said, I thought for my first foodie blog I’d discuss a place a little closer to home. In fact for me this place is about 30 minutes from home. My first foodie blog is about….drum roll…Jailhouse Pizza!

Jailhouse Pizza is located in Brandenburg, KY in the old Meade County Jail. The jail was built in 1906 and was in operation until 1976. It even survived the ’74 tornado that destroyed the courthouse right in front of it! But apparently not everyone that ever went in the jail survived, as it is rumored to be haunted! The haunting is well enough known that some paranormal investigation shows have filmed episodes at Jailhouse Pizza! And for the right price, you can do your own late night Scooby Doo-ing and you might meet Bigsby the ghost!

Personally, I don’t go to Jailhouse Pizza for ghost hunting; I go to Jailhouse Pizza for the experience and food! If you are wanting a typical restaurant experience, then this can be obtained in the main dining room which is actually an add-on to the original building or by sitting on the porch. Both of these areas offer a beautiful view of the Ohio river and Southern Indiana (which I’ve now learned is called SoIn). Often you’ll spot a barge or some recreational boater. This view makes for a very tranquil dinner.

Maybe…just maybe you want a unique dining experience instead. Well buddy, Jailhouse Pizza has that too! If you so desire, you can eat your dinner in an actual jail cell! This option is really cool for a couple of reasons. Obviously, the first reason is that you’re eating in a historical jail cell with the metal bed still attached to the wall, and the metal door still able to close! I know because I played with the door! The second reason that eating in the jail cell is cool is because it gives you a glimpse into how the prisoners lived. Their cells were incredibly small and sparse, and their cell doors had a slot through which meals could be passed. The walls are solid brick, so you can imagine that before central heat and air the temperature in the cells could be very miserable. There are windows, but they too are covered in metal bars. I can’t imagine surviving in one of these cells as a prisoner, but they sure make for a fun, unique dining experience!

So speaking of dining…Jailhouse Pizza also has great food! Seriously, we’ve been eating there for years and not once have we tried something and not liked it! On our most recent journey to Jailhouse me and the hubby – we’ll call him Mr. Kisby in blogs – took my parents with us. Our mission was simple: Try a variety of things for a more detailed review. Shout out to our waitress Madison for dealing with the eccentricities that this mission brought on!

We began by ordering the Jailer’s Bread appetizer. Basically, it is garlic bread covered with cheese, and it did not disappoint! Mr. Kisby particularly liked the savory flavor of the garlic butter and spices. For our main course we decided to share fettucini Alfredo, a grilled chicken salad, chicken bacon ranch pizza without onions, and a meatball sub with fries.

My parents mostly ate the Alfredo, but I made sure to sample a couple of bites. I really liked the creamy texture of the sauce! I didn’t try the salad my parents shared, but I really liked the presentation. They enjoyed the salad!

And now for the best parts I enjoyed! Now I must say I have always liked chicken bacon ranch pizza! Chicken? Good! Bacon? Good! Ranch? GREAT! Put all that together on a golden crust and you’re good to go!

The surprise sensation of the night was the meatball sub! Because Mr. Kisby likes cheese, I didn’t order the sub without the mozzarella cheese blend like I normally would. I was fully prepared to not like the sandwich because of the cheese as I am VERY PICKY about how I will eat cheese and like it. (As a reference, I order bacon cheeseburgers without cheese.) Much to my surprise and delight, I loved the meatball sub! It was the perfect combination of flavors and the meatballs were very juicy! Was it messy? Absolutely! It was messy to the point of needing a fork to eat runaway meatballs! To me this made it even better! And bonus…the sandwich came with a crisp dill pickle and fries! What more do you need?

If for some reason you need more food than what I described above, then you can try the Prisoner’s Pardon Pizza Challenge. All you have to do is find a buddy – preferably that Man Vs. Food guy or one of those food eating champs – and eat 12 pounds of pizza in 60 minutes. The challenge pizza is 30 inches in diameter…that’s not that big is it???

So, is your mouth watering? Are you thinking, “Pizza, meatballs, and pasta, oh my! Pizza, meatballs, and pasta, oh my!” as you read? I hope so! And I hope that the next time you want to throw a party in the county jail you’ll opt to do so at Jailhouse Pizza! http://www.jailhousepizza.com/index.html

The Adventures of the Great Kaysby

The Island – Pigeon Forge – October 2017

For as long as I can remember I have had an interest in writing. No matter the format – journals, short stories, poems, academic papers, etc – I’ve always taken joy from creating the written word. Since the digital age began, I’ve desired to add blog writing to the list. However, I could never think of what kind of blog would be fun to write for me and fun for others to read. Then, while on a cruise during Spring Break 2018, it dawned on me that I should write a blog about travel and food! What qualifies me to blog about travel and food? Well, that’s for you to decide!

But, before I begin talking about traveling and food, let me tell you about me. When I’m not traveling or indulging in my self diagnosed “foodie addiction”, I wear a lot of different hats. Some of my hats include wife, daughter, cat mom, friend, Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay, special education teacher, philanthropist, gamer, and arts/crafts creator (I’m a glue gun guru!). All of these hats in one way or another influence my travel and foodie decisions. For example, my role of wife is directly related to my trips to Niagara Falls, the Poconos, and the Bahamas. Additionally, somehow I find a way to tie all of my hats to my favorite social activity: going out to eat!

So am I qualified to blog about travel and food? I think so!

Tune in soon for my first travel blog about Niagara Falls!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

#thegreatkaysby #travel #foodie