[Woodchuck Pumpkin Private Reserve] & strawberry spinach salad

So last week my boyfriend and I finally broke down and picked up the Pumpkin Woodchuck we kept walking past at the grocery store.

Can you tell I like this backdrop?

Woodchuck Grannysmith was my gateway into the world of beers (see early black velvet post). While there are a few ciders I enjoy more than Woodchuck, I still love trying the seasonal flavors and enjoy a good Woodchuck Amber on tap now and then. My favorite Woodchuck is the seasonal Fall flavor, and I haven't seen it around this year. However the Pumpkin Private Reserve is literally everywhere and I succumbed to my curiosity quickly.

I have to admit, this flavor was weird. It had the strong taste of sharp apples with a heavy pumpkin aftertaste. I don't mean artificial pumpkin-y notes, I'm talking legit canned pumpkin aftertaste. I'm not saying the beer was awful, it was interesting but I couldn't drink two at a time. It's a good transitional beer at most. I am pretty forgiving to the weird flavors Woodchuck comes out with, and while this beer isn't awful I don't see myself buying it again. In this case, apples and pumpkin do not mix.

Rating: C

I'm waiting for my treadmill to be brought to Austin. Meanwhile I've been trying to make lighter meal choices to compensate for my lack of exercise. Tonight I made a seriously excellent salad, all thanks to FINALLY purchasing a George Foreman grill. If you're strapped for money like me, you can always find them at a Goodwill for $7-$10 in pretty good shape.

Recipe: 
Spinach strawberry avocado salad with blackened chicken & greek yogurt honey mustard dressing

Salad
1 1/2 - 2 handfuls of triple washed baby spinach
4-5 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 avocado
2 chicken tenderloin strips, prepped in marinade of your choice

Dressing: (Make enough for one serving of salad)
Two parts of your favorite honey greek yogurt
One part honey mustard
1/4 lemon

Add all salad ingredients together while you preheat the grill.

When grill is heated, spray with cooking spray and place marinated strips on the grill. Cover with lid and cook for 4-4 1/2 minutes.

I'm a gigantic sucker for blackened chicken and this grill makes the BEST. It's always perfectly crispy on the outside and so, so tender inside.

While the chicken is cooking, whip up your dressing. While at the store I found this brand on sale:

The Greek Gods honey flavored greek yogurt.

I'm usually wary of trying a new greek yogurt because they can be utterly bitter. My favorite brand is Fage but it's too expensive to buy in bulk. When I tried a spoonful of this my anxiety turned to delight- it's AMAZING! Go out and buy it immediately. You're welcome.

Back to the recipe, I didn't measure the ingredients because I wasn't working off a recipe I found. I just wanted a good honey mustard dressing without all the calories so I played it by ear. Don't be afraid to get creative!

Two parts yogurt, one part honey mustard, and squeeze the lemon juice on top. Mix well!

Cut up finished chicken, top lightly with dressing (pictured made enough for 2-3 small salads) and enjoy!

Even my EXTREMELY picky boyfriend who HATES spinach with a passion as well as mustard enjoyed this!

Tentatively chewing that first bite.

Shipyard sighting and chicken noodle soup recipe!

So something happened today.

I found Shipyard Pumpkinhead at my grocery store.

I was on the phone chatting with my mother in the beer aisle when I spotted it out of the corner of my eye, and proceeded to shriek and almost ran a guy over to grab it (I apologized and told him "Dude you don't even understand" and he just stared at me whoops) and no, I'm not embarrassed. Okay, there's probably tons of pumpkin beer out there that are far superior to Shipyard but this is my jam. For now, I am happy, but I'm still continuing on my pumpkin quest because I bought the ONLY TWO six packs at the store. Why.

Now that my overreaction is over (I'm still not sorry) let's proceed to the pretty awesome chicken noodle soup I made today.

What's up.

I'm doing swimmingly well being back on my diet and this is a nice little lunch to have. I could eat it without noodles all day long.

Recipe:
Chicken noodle soup

Large pot & medium pot
5 lb chicken
Carrots
Celery
Medium Onion
One package of No Yolks egg noodles
2-3 chicken bouillon cubes
Light salt (add to your taste)

Remove gizzards from thawed chicken and place into large pot. Cover chicken with water, add bouillon cubes and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn heat down to medium and loosely cover pot with lid. Boil for 40-45 minutes or until the meat is tender enough to come off the bone.

Gross.

Meanwhile, chop up carrots, celery and onion and put aside. You can add as much as you want, I like to go heavy on the veggies. Once the chicken has boiled for 45 minutes (I also check with a meat thermometer to make sure it has reached its peak temperature) remove it, add the vegetables and bring back to a boil.

Tear the chicken apart to bite sized pieces and add the meat back in the pot.

Allow the pot to boil covered for 15 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender to your liking.

Meanwhile, bring medium pot to a boil and add egg noodles. I cook the noodles separately from the soup to prevent the noodles from getting mushy.

When everything is done, add noodles to bowl and cover with soup. Voila!

I'm back! - [Shipyard Pumpkinhead & blueberry beers mentioned]

Summer has come and gone and I'm back in Texas. During my summer in Massachusetts my laptop all but died on me so blogging became impossible on the slowest device on earth, and using my phone to update wasn't an option. But now I'm back and I'm residing in a brand new amazing city with a fantastic desktop (hello, Sims 3!). Austin has been greater than expected, but that update will come later!

During my summer trip, I lost over 30 pounds, got my eating habits straightened out, and drank a whole lot of beer (you know, to even out all the veggies). I tried a good amount of new beers and even learned to appreciate Bud Lite. The dive bars I sampled in Mass never had a big selection and Bud Light was always the cheap savior that did the job ;)

The big beer flavor of the summer seemed to be blueberry beer, I saw it literally everywhere in Florida and in Massachusetts. I only took brief notes of the bottles I tried, forgive me!

 

• Sweet Water Blue: Light, citrusy wheat ale with defined blueberry taste (C+)
• Wild Blue Lager: The blueberry smell immediately hits you, extremely sweet like blueberry syrup (D+)
• Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale: Easy to drink, light and crisp with a blueberry flavor that isn't overwhelming! (A-)

*winner!

If I was lucky enough to get a bartender in a good mood they would float blueberries in my blueberry beer!
Pictured: Sea Dog.

But let's talk about Fall. Fall is my absolute favorite season (Autumn is conveniently my middle name ;) ) This means pumpkin is EVERYWHERE. During my stay in Massachusetts I was fortunate enough to indulge in the amazing beer known only as Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale.

Stock photo of the amazingness.

Let me just start off by saying how devastated I am that there are no distributors that are in Texas. This is by far the best pumpkin beer I've ever had. The taste of pumpkin is light, and the level of spice is perfect without being overwhelming. When it comes to fall beers, the spice is the most important factor to me and this beer really hits the nail on the head.

Rating: A

 O, how I love thee.

This fall I plan to take on the challenge of trying as many pumpkin beers as I can (and review them of course!) to see if I can find Shipyard's match. I'll TRY to keep an open mind.

BONUS FUN

If you have Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale near you or a pumpkin beer you like, you should definitely try it in a glass with rimmed cinnamon sugar. A bar I went to in Mass served Shipyard to me this way and it was fantastic! When I looked it up later I noticed it was such a popular thing to do. Why didn't I think of this sooner??

Here's a little tutorial. The common way to rim glasses is with fruit, I decided to just use water and it worked exactly the same. I bet using an orange to do this would be great.

Start with a pint glass and your favorite pumpkin beer.

Fill two shallow bowls, one with water (or omit if using an orange slice to rim) and one with cinnamon & sugar. You could also add a dash of nutmeg!

Dip the rim...

...and roll it in the sugar.

Almost there! 

Pour using the side of the glass.

Enjoy! :)