Our Thanksgiving Vacation

We left South Florida on the Friday before Thanksgiving, and stayed the night at Ollie's grandma's house in Daytona. Charles came with us and she thought he was a very pretty kitty. The next morning we drove the rest of the way to Weaverville, NC which is a few miles outside of Asheville. We were there all the way until the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so we did a lot of things and also had plenty of time to relax. This is pretty much what we did:

Saturday: arrived in Weaverville and visited Ollie's friend Ben in their new home and saw his brand new baby Henry, what a cutie.

Sunday: went food shopping, fixed the water heater so we can finally take showers, and attended Sage's memorial service (see previous post.)

Monday: Went shopping at Asheville Mall and left our wedding rings at Helzberg to get redipped and made all shiny and new again.

Tuesday: We drove to the top of Mount Mitchell, which is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. Then we hiked to the top of Mt. Craig which is the next peak over) and then back down again. To get there you need to drive for a good while up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were up so high that the weather was below us.



you can see the weather below us in the background









Wednesday: We had lunch at the Moe's in Biltmore Village (yes, there is a Moe's! I can officially live here now) after we visited Asheville's Urgent Care Clinic so I can take my drug test for the job offer I had received earlier that day. We also traveled to the nearby town of Marshall to check out the real estate in the area. It is a dream of ours to move to western NC in the near future, but Marshall was definitely way too much out in the sticks for us. My BFF Yvonne and her husband Tony also arrived super late that night from TN to spend the holiday weekend with us.

Thursday: Before we left in the morning, I prepared my turkey for the crockpot and left it simmering all day. Since we weren't going to be home, we couldn't leave the oven on so this worked out perfectly. We visited the Biltmore Estate, spent some time wine tasting, and just enjoying the life of the ridiculously wealthy. The estate is over 800 acres, and the home is 175,000 square feet. It is the largest private residence in the United States, and this is only the summer home for the Vanderbilt family.

We picked up a foreclosure while we were there...



The view from the terrace



Here we are posing with Charles' older cousin



And then we tasted all the wine we could.... with a baby.



When we got home, the turkey was ready and we were starving. Yvonne and I whipped up the other side dished, and we dove in. This was my favorite turkey I had ever eaten, so tender and juicy it all fell apart. I used a turkey breast, a stick of butter, a can of broth, salt and pepper, and let it go for about 8 hours. Here are some pics of our feast (please excuse the weaponry on the table, silly boys!)





We had tons of leftovers so we had Thanksgiving part 2 on Saturday night.

Friday: This is my first year not braving the crowds at 4 AM to partake in my favorite shopping day. For once, I actually did not need or want anything. I am guessing it is because we got married this year and got our share of stuff for awhile. We did brave the mall later that day to check out new cell phones and see the deals they were offering. I was about to get the Droid but I am still holding out for an iphone, we shall see what happens in a few months. For lunch we had good ole' BBQ at Luella's BBQ. Back at the house, we found some expired cans of food in the pantry, so the guys decided to use them for target practice. The girls got turns too, but the guys were too busy telling us how to shoot to take our pictures. Bah humbug.










We visited with the neighbors that maintain the property that my in-laws own up there (where we were staying) and also went to downtown Asheville that night to eat at Wasabi's for some good sushi. It was freezing outside so there weren't really too many hippies around. I really wanted Yvonne to see how many there normally are around town.

Saturday: Ollie decided to drive us to a different mall instead of the Asheville Mall we had been to many times already that week. It was called the Biltmore Square Mall, and man was it feeling the brunt of the recession. Almost every store had closed down and all we saw were vacant spaces. Oh well, it was worth driving out there because we passed this road on the way, and had to take a picture:



This sign was actually at the intersection of Ollie Weaver and Ayers Road. How crazy is that?
When we got back into Weaverville, we ate at Blue Mountain Pizza which is the local pizza joint, and the hippies there did not disappoint. That afternoon, we saw the Gators demolish the Seminoles in the swamp. Gator games take priority, even on vacation.

Sunday: we left Weaverville at around 10:30 AM, and got back to South Florida at 3 AM. It was a loooong drive, but the most annoying part was the 3 hour holdup in South Carolina because of the accident on the OTHER side of the highway. That's right, our lanes were free and clear, but everyone needed to stop and slow down to investigate the other side of the highway. I still cannot get over that cost us 3 hours.

Here we have some pictures of the property my husband's parents' own. I am so glad we can visit as often as we want. Can't wait to go back next year!

Charles goes for a walk

It's not often you see a cat being walked on a leash, but we decided to give it a try. We are heading to North Carolina on Friday, and Charles will be going on his first long car ride with us, so we figured he needed to learn how to be walked on a leash at rest stops. My husband had way too much fun doing this. Charles was wary of the harness and leash at first, but now he won't stop scratching at the door to go outside. He is getting pretty big now and is about 8 months old.

GO GATORS!

If the Gators continue to play tonight the way they have been playing the past few games, I will definitely have heart palpitations. That is all I have to say.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Ok, so this is the last recipe from A Year of Slowcooking that I absolutely had to try right away. I am sure I will be making more in the very near future, like next week haha. The Buffalo Chicken Lasagna recipe just sounded so delicious, I knew it would be a hit. It definitely would have been out of this world if we had cooked it the correct amount of time. Lets just say ours cooked about 4 hours longer than it was supposed to... not a good recipe to leave cooking for 12 hours straight. Our noodles were soggy and the cheese burned, but it was still actually tasty and it looked good. I was actually worried that uncooked noodles wouldn't cook enough in the crockpot. So I can imagine how awesome it would have tasted when it was cooked correctly, and I will definitely be trying it again.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna... in the crockpot!

Ingredients:
--uncooked traditional lasagna noodles
--4 already cooked chicken breast halves
--jar of prepared pasta sauce
--1 cup buffalo wing sauce
--3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers (I didn't use any, we didn't care)
--tub of ricotta cheese (15 oz)
--2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella and cheddar blend- or whatever your fave is)
--1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
--1/4 cup of water (add at very end)

Directions:

use at least a 5qt crockpot, or cut back on the amount of ingredients.

In a large glass bowl, combine cooked and chopped chicken breast, the pasta sauce, and 1 cup of buffalo wing sauce.

Ladle a big spoonful of the sauce into the bottom of your crockpot. Cover with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. You'll have to break them to get a proper fit.

Add a smear of ricotta cheese to the top of the noodles. Add a layer of chopped bell pepper. Sprinkle on a handful of shredded cheese.

Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients.

Add the bleu cheese crumbles, if desired. Put the 1/4 cup of water into your empty pasta sauce jar and shake. Pour the liquid over the top of the entire lasagna.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5. When cooking time is complete, unplug and take off the lid of the crock. Let it sit for 20 minutes before cutting into. Or it will fall apart. We didn't have this problem though because it was so overcooked.

Crockpot kick continues.... Chicken Noodle Soup

Here comes another recipe from A Year of Slowcooking. Who doesn't want chicken noodle soup when it is finally cool enough to need long sleeves outside? I busted out the brand new digital crockpot for this recipe, and I can tell it has changed my life already (and you can see it's gorgeousness in the above photo.) This crockpot holds 6 Quarts, so not to repeat the overflowing that occured with the Shepherd's Pie.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups already cooked chicken meat (I used 3 boneless chicken breasts.)
6 cups water
1 or 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chunked
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 cup broccoli florets
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
kosher salt to taste (probably a good 1 teaspoon, since the base is water)
50-cent piece size, or so, handful of raw spaghetti noodles to add at the end (I used about half a bag of egg noodles.)
1 large handful raw spinach leaves to add at the end (I forgot to buy the spinach, so we went without.)
Parmesan and Asiago cheese, optional garnish

Directions:

Start with a slow cooker with 6 cups of water, and add chicken. Add all vegetables except for the spinach leaves. Stir in the bouillon and vinegar. Salt to taste. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until sweet potatoes are tender and the onion is translucent.

15 minutes before serving, put in raw spaghetti noodles and a large handful of spinach. Cover and flip to high.

Garnish with parmesan and asiago cheeses, if desired.

We absolutely enjoyed it and it was a definite comfort food!

Shepherd's Pie, crockpot style

One of my favorite cooking blogs revolves around crockpots, which is great because I am a faithful user of mine. Stephanie O'dea decided to make a new year's resolution to use her crockpot EVERY DAY for the year of 2008. And she did it! Now she has a cookbook out and has made several TV appearances. You can check out her blog here, and this is where I found this recipe.

Well we had a very cold and windy Sunday morning, so when I asked the hubby what he wantes for dinner (I was smart and only gave him a few choices) he quickly chose the Sheperd's Pie because it felt so wintery. I totally agreed, and after our monstrous breakfast at Cracker Barrel this morning, I set up the crockpot and let it cook until we we were finally hungry again, late into the evening. I probably should have used my large crockpot, but I still haven't ever taken it out of the box yet. I definitely will the next time I cook, as you can see how filled this one is. Use at least a 4 Quart crockpot for this recipe (mine was 3.5 Quart, no wonder it was so stuffed!)

Ingredients:

--3 cups leftover mashed potatoes (I made fresh ones in my Kitchenaid Mixer with real potatoes) --1 lb ground turkey or beef
--2 cloves garlic, chopped (I used minced garlic)
--2 cups frozen vegetables (I used 2 cans of veggies)
--1 medium onion, chopped finely, or 1 T onion flakes
--1/2 tsp seasoned salt
--1/2 tsp onion powder
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/4 tsp paprika (then a bit more for garnish)
--1 cup water (DO NOT add water if using canned veggies.)
--2 cups shredded cheese

Directions:

Brown the meat and onion on the stove, and drain any fat. Add in the garlic and spices and then remove from the stove.

Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray. Put the meat in the crockpot and stir in the frozen vegetables, and a cup of water. Add two cups of cheese on top. Press the mashed potatoes down on top of the cheese and meat. Sprinkle with a bit of paprika.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for about 3, then remove the lid and cook on high for 30 minutes to release the condensation and allow the potatoes to brown a bit on top. Everything is cooked already, so you're really just allowing the flavors to meld and the potatoes to get crusty.

The hubby really loved how this came out, he ate two huge plates and then ate the rest for lunch the next day.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

I have been insanely busy with work, meeting with brides and vendors, and interviewing for other jobs, I haven't had a lot of time to blog. I generally get home around 9 in the evening on weekdays, sometimes later, so I for sure don't cook a huge meal at that time. Hence my love affair with my crockpot. I currently have 3 of them, but the one I use the most is 3.5 quarts, and was given to my hubby years ago from his mom. Of course he never used it and I had the pleasure of christening it myself. I have been looking through tons of crockpot recipes lately and they are mostly chicken ones because chicken can often be dry, bland, and plain. Therefore I will be posting a bunch of slow cooking recipes over the next few days.

Well my BFF Yvonne has been raving about this dish for awhile, and I have seen several different versions of it on the internet, so I created one based on my own preferences.


40 Clove Garlic Chicken



Ingredients:
1.5-2 pounds any kind of chicken (I use boneless skinless breasts)
1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I actually used about a half cup but I think it was way too much)
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp of Paprika
1 onion, any size or color
40 or so cloves of garlic (I used 3 bulbs)


Directions:
First you need to peel the garlic, or throw it in a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds first, which allows you to peel it easier. (Thanks Yvonne and the internet for this trick.)

Slice the onion so that it makes rings and lay them on the bottom of the crockpot. Salt and pepper the chicken on all sides. Put it in the crockpot- the size of the crockpot doesn't matter too much. It is okay to stack meat and chicken on top of each other, it doesn't all have to touch the bottom. Sprinkle the paprika all over the chicken, and cover with the olive oil.

Throw in your peeled cloves of garlic and set on low 6-8 hours or on high 8-10 hours. You can also use frozen chicken, doesn't have to be thawed, just cook a little longer. We will be eating our chicken with leftover potatoes and veggies.