Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Crockpot Hack + Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Recently I ran into a dilemma before heading to work...do I put my sweet potatoes in the crockpot to bake all day? Or do I put my buffalo chicken in the crockpot to cook all day? I couldn't decide...so I did both. Here's the crockpot hack that has seriously changed my life...
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Whole30 approved)
Adapted from The Real Food Dieticians 

Slow Cooker Ingredients

1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Pepper Sauce
2 Tbsp. ghee, coconut oil or butter
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
4 sweet potatoes
1 green onion
aluminum foil
slow cooker liner

Homemade Ranch Dressing Ingredients

1/2 cup mayo (homemade or Primal Kitchen Mayo)
1/4 – 1/3 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
1 tsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. dried dill
½ tsp. dried garlic powder
½ tsp. dried onion powder
½ tsp. dried chives
¼ tsp. sea salt (add additional sea salt if desired)
¼ tsp. ground black pepper


Instructions

1. Divide your crockpot using a piece of aluminum foil (see video tutorial). Insert slow cooker liner. Place chicken on one side and potatoes on the other side.
2. In a small saucepan on medium-high heat, combine the hot sauce, ghee, coconut aminos and garlic powder. Stir together and heat until ghee is melted.
3. Pour sauce over chicken in slow cooker.
4. Cook for 6-8 hours on low or until chicken and potatoes are tender. (I just set mine for 8 hours and let it stay on "warm" until I can get home)
5. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker and toss with sauce.
6. Serve chicken in baked sweet potatoes, drizzle with ranch and sprinkle with green onions.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Asheville City Guide

It's no secret that Asheville is one of my very favorite cities. Between day trips and long weekends, we try to visit this gorgeous city as often as we can -- usually a few times a year. With every visit I blog about I receive lots of messages asking about recommendations! So I thought I would create a city guide with all of our favorite places to stay, eat and play. You'll notice that I don't have a ton of recommendations for each category and that's because we love to go back to the same places over and over and over again!
-- EAT --
BREAKFAST

Early Girl Eatery: Serves a wide variety of delicious southern dishes with made from scratch ingredients that are locally sourced. This restaurant has been featured in so many places -- Southern Living, Bon Appetit, National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times and more. This is my second favorite place to eat breakfast. It used to be my favorite...until they discontinued the Early Girl Benny menu item.

Tip: The wait is always very long. Grab a cup of their complimentary coffee after you put your name on the list and walk around downtown to check out all the street musicians and shops while you wait.

Corner Kitchen: My favorite breakfast bistro located in Biltmore Village. The cream cheese scrambled eggs with fresh herbs and chives are unreal. And you can't leave without enjoying a side of goat cheese grits.

Over Easy Café: An adorable café in downtown with delicious breakfast options.

LUNCH

Buxton Hall Barbeque: An Eastern-style BBQ joint that roasts a whole hog for 18 hours every day. This restaurant has been featured in Huffington Post, Garden & Gun, Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart and more. The buttermilk fried chicken sandwich with pimento cheese has won many awards.

White Duck Taco Shop: With more than a dozen taco choices to pick from, this restaurant serves creative and delicious a la carte tacos that you order from a counter and eat at a picnic table. Make sure to order the Bangkok Shrimp taco.

DINNER

The Admiral: One of my favorites! The Admiral is a cozy restaurant with less than 10 tables (books up fast) that has hundreds of outstanding reviews. However, when you first arrive you may think you're at the wrong place. The cinderblock exterior of the restaurant screams "dive bar" for sure and is located between a junk yard and gas station. Despite the appearance of the outside, The Admiral is definitely every bit of 5 stars and serves up the best seared scallops, rib eye, beef tare tare and more.

Cúrate: A Spanish tapas restaurant by James Beard finalist, Chef Katie Button. The ambiance is incredible and the food totally lives up to all the hype.

Nightbell: Another amazing restaurant by Chef Katie Button. This lounge is described as "a sophisticated contemporary nightclub designed in the spirit of the speakeasy," and is perfect for the cocktail enthusiast (think blow-torched rosemary, infused vodkas, berry ice, lavender foam, etc.). This is an especially perfect dinner spot for the girls (we went during a bachelorette party and it was amazing) or a perfect stop for a nightcap.

Rhubarb: Award winning chef John Fleer's downtown Asheville restaurant serving contemporary American cuisine including wood-fired dishes, plates made for sharing, house-baked breads, and other rustic creations. The menu is crafted daily, but check to see if the goat cheese burrata is available because it is out of this world!

Tupelo Honey: A destination for scratch-made Southern food in Asheville. Also a delicious breakfast or lunch spot!

Other spots on our short list that I've been dying to try but haven't: Rezaz, Posana and Limones

BREWERIES & COCKTAILS

COCKTAILS

Sovereign Remedies: The best spot for farm to table cuisine, fancy cocktails and late night food.

Nightbell: Another amazing restaurant by James Beard finalist, Chef Katie Button. This lounge is described as "a sophisticated contemporary nightclub designed in the spirit of the speakeasy," and is perfect for the cocktail enthusiast (think blow-torched rosemary, infused vodkas, berry ice, lavender foam, etc.). This is the perfect dinner spot for the girls (we went during a bachelorette party and it was amazing) or a perfect stop for a nightcap.

Capella on 9: Located on top of the AC Hotel, this trendy rooftop bar features gorgeous mountain views, delicious cocktails and lots of comfortable lounging areas.

Sunset Cocktail Terrace: My favorite place to sip a cocktail and watch the sun set.

BREWERIES

Burial: Last year this Burial was named the best craft brewery in Asheville. The outdoor space is pretty cool and they have live music.

New Belgium Brewery: A national brewery located along the French Broad River in the River Arts District. This place is easy to camp out at for an afternoon with brewery tours, beer tastings, lawn games and more. Oh, and the beer is cheap! This is my favorite brewery.

Green Man: A 3 story, 20,000 square ft. “brewtique” with an indoor/outdoor top floor taproom that overlooks production and the Blue Ridge Mountains! 

Highland Brewing Company: This brewery has it all -- good beer, live music, large grassy meadow and a huge patio.

Wicked Weed Brewing: This brewpub specializes in west coast style hoppy ales, open fermented belgian beers and barrel aged sours. The upstairs houses a full restaurant featuring 16 beers, a street level patio, tasting room, bottle shop, and original 15 barrel brewery. Oh, and they serve a super delicious bison burger.

-- PLAY --

River Arts District: A really cool area of town to that consists of more than 200 artists and working studios in former industrial and historical buildings spread out along a one mile stretch of the French Broad River. Plan on spending some time visiting artists working in their studios, grabbing some tacos at White Duck Taco Shop and a brew at New Belgium!


Asheville Brews Cruise: Definitely a fun way to sample several breweries! A huge yellow mustache school bus arrived to pick us up and our tour stopped at Pisgah, Highland, French Broad and HiWire breweries. All of them were fantastic and unique. At each brewery we received 4 ounce pours of 3-4 beers. This is such a fun activity for large groups too!

Blue Ridge Parkway: Take a scenic drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway with the windows down, stopping at as many overlooks as you can!

Hikes


Triple Falls: Located in DuPont Forest, this 3 mile hike features 3 gorgeous waterfalls, one of which you can stand in the middle of! Make sure to bring a picnic or prosecco to enjoy on the flat rock plateau. If you arrive early enough, you'll have the falls all to yourself.

Craggy Pinnacle Trail: Only 24 miles from downtown Asheville, this fun 1.4-mile roundtrip hiking trail goes through tunnels of rhododendron, gnarled sweet birch trees and wildflowers. At the top there are the most beautiful panoramic mountain views. This is the easiest and closest hike we do near Asheville.
-- STAY --

AC Hotel: The best place to stay in downtown. It's a trendy newer hotel that is super clean and modern, walkable to almost everything, offers easy parking and has an absolutely amazing rooftop bar.

Omni Grove Park Inn: I've stayed here twice and think the rooms are expensive and underwhelming. However, the resort is gorgeous, the restaurants are delicious and the sunset terrace is one of my favorite places ever to spend an afternoon. But what really sets this place apart is the Spa, which is consistently voted as one of the top resort spas in the...world. During my last visit I splurged on a Mountain View Massage in an outdoor pagoda overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Tip: Buy a day pass for the spa and spend some time on the Sunset Terrace, but save your pennies for a gorgeous room at The Biltmore Inn.

Grand Bohemian Hotel: One of my favorite places to stay in Asheville. I love all of the details of this hunting lodge-inspired property and the service is always top notch.

The Inn at Biltmore Estate: One of the prettiest places we've ever stayed with cozy places to sit inside. The large wrap-around porch offers unbelievable mountain views too! 

Tip: Spring for a mountainside view. It's worth it.

Other helpful tips and notes:


+ Uber is very accessible anywhere you are.
+ Book your dinner reservations WELL in advance of your trip.
+ Use my search bar to find more info or pictures on any of these places.
+ Wedding Venues: The Crest Pavilion // The Farm

Asheville Trips: 2nd Glamping Weekend (2018) // 31st Birthday Weekend (2017) // 1st Glamping Weekend (2017) // 5th Anniversary Day Trip (2016) // Wedding Weekend (2016) // Bachelorette Weekend (2016) // 4 Hour Day Date (2015) // Birthday Weekend (2014) // 2nd Anniversary Cabin Weekend // Farm Wedding (2012)

Now, I know I have readers who are huge Asheville fans as well. Please share your recommendations in the comments below!! We are always on the hunt for new things to try!

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Thomas (2.5) & Caroline (3.5)

It's been awhile since I updated the kids' online baby books so today I wanted to share some fun things about Thomas at 2.5 and Caroline at 3.5 before I let this post sit in my drafts folder for another 6 months.
Caroline: These days she is so self-sufficient it actually makes me kind of sad...but it's awesome all at the same time. In the mornings she gets up, goes potty, gets herself dressed, brushes her teeth and opens the baby gate (it was only a matter of time before she figured this out) and comes downstairs (usually too early), pushes a chair into the pantry and grabs something for breakfast, then goes back upstairs to wake up her brother and help him out of his crib. I mean WHAT IS HAPPENING?! She is also really in to helping me with everything. From cooking to cleaning to unloading the dishwasher, she wants to do it ALL. And she's pretty good at it too. I am so obsessed with this age.

Other fun things about Caroline:
  • Loves to say the pledge of allegiance and the blessings at dinner
  • She is obsessed with caring for her baby dolls. I love listening to her read to them, rock them, feed them, sing to them, say prayers to them and then tuck them in to bed. It's so dang adorable.
  • Really in to racing her brother. We are always one competition away from losing a lamp in the family room.
  • Always wants to have her nails painted
  • Her teachers always tell me that she is the first to volunteer to be the teacher's helper. She loves to be the flag holder, door holder and helps her friends clean up their messes after she cleans hers. 
  • Most surprisingly food she likes is broccoli.
  • Rarely naps at home but has "quiet time" in her room where she usually just makes a huge mess.
  •  Favorite toys right now are magnatiles, puzzles and the trace & learn and random jewels (she finds these in the sandbox at school). She also loves to use scissors and glue.
  • Favorite books: Have You Seen My Dinosaur?, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, Pete the Cat, Duncan the Story Dragon, Secret Pizza Party and Princesses Wear Pants
  • Favorite TV shows: Paw Patrol, Doc McStuffins, Sophia the First, Sid the Science Kid and Team Umizoomi


Thomas: He is seriously the sweetest and strongest little man ever. He loves to give "big BIG hugs" and kisses and prefers to be held all the time. When he isn't being held he is rambunctious and runs into walls, trips over everything and bumps his head at least 3 times a day...but rarely cries, he just gets back up and keeps going. It blows my mind how tough he is. He is also really obsessed with his daddy. And I may or may not still rock him to sleep most nights.

  • Drinks out of a big boy cup
  • LOVES music, singing, dancing and laying on his side on the floor rolling his toy cars and trucks back and forth.
  • Still the very best napper and sleeper. He loves sleep. He also loves when his sissy wakes him up in the mornings and helps him break out of his crib.
  • Potty training is going....um, well it's not really going. We are following his teachers' lead (like we did for Caroline) but he really just likes to unroll the toilet paper and flush the toilet after sitting there for 3 seconds. So it doesn't look like I'm going to be canceling my subscribe & save for diapers on amazon anytime soon.
  • Leans on his sister for everything. She helps him put on and take off his shoes, jacket, etc. We are trying to intervene and push him to start doing things for himself. He does like to get his own snack and fill his cup with water from the fridge, but that's about it. 
  • He is doing terrific with his contacts so we are pushing off the next surgery. When a contact falls out he will usually bring it to me, his teacher, etc.
  • Favorite toys: Elmo, Cars, Ride-On Firetruck, Rollercoaster, Remote control cars, Race Track
  • Favorite books: Trashy Town, The Day the Crayons Quit, Have You Seen My Dinosaur?
  • Favorite TV shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

2nd Annual Asheville Glamping Weekend

Last weekend Matt and I joined our best friends, Brynn and Palmer, in Asheville for the weekend. We did this trip last year and it was so amazing that we decided to make it an annual tradition.

After coming off of a 3 day holiday weekend followed by 3 snow days, we couldn't have been happier to see Ms. Jamie bright and early on Saturday morning. Actually, the kids may have been even more excited for the change of scenery and we were ready for some adult time -- sans Doc McStuffins marathons.

A little over two hours later, we met Brynn and Palmer in Asheville at our hotel. We decided to try the AC Hotel in downtown this time and it is gorgeous, smells heavenly inside and offers the most incredible rooftop bar which we took full advantage of. We quickly checked in, dropped our bags in our rooms and ubered straight to lunch at my favorite Asheville BBQ spot, Buxton Hall Barbecue.
After lunch we walked down the street to Burial Beer Co. which was a really, really cool place for a few beers and some fun pictures in an old Ford truck. A little while later we decided to walk further down the street to Green Man Brewery for a little bit.


Afterwards we decided to head back to the hotel rooftop for cocktails at Capella on 9! This bar was absolutely gorgeous and the view was amazing. We lounged on giant couches over happy hour before heading to our rooms to get ready for dinner.
It was SO nice to have a late dinner reservation and leisurely get ready for the night out without our kids tugging on our shirts and asking for snacks. 
Once we were all ready we met B+P down in the hotel lobby for pre-dinner drinks before heading to dinner at another one of my (and Brynn's) favorite spots, The Admiral. I can't believe it had been almost 4 years since we dined here! And it was just as amazing as I remembered. Don't let the exterior fool you! I'll spare you pictures of every single thing we ate...minus the beef tartare and my scallops!
After dinner, the boys thought it would be a great idea to each take a 5 hour energy shot while Brynn and I stood by laughing and shaking our heads. Our last stop of the night  was at one of my very favorite cocktail bars, Sovereign Remedies. After a nightcap, Brynn and I headed back to the hotel to crawl into bed while the boys stayed out until...well, let's just say they didn't make it to breakfast the next morning. Before heading out of town, Brynn and I had some girl time over the most delicious breakfast at the cutest little spot next door to the hotel, Over Easy Cafe, before scooping the boys up back at the hotel and heading back home. 
It was another amazing trip to one of my favorite cities with some of my favorite people!

Monday, January 22, 2018

Meal Plan Monday: Whole30 Finale | Week 4

We made it to our very last week of Whole30! Thank goodness. As much as we love this diet we are definitely starting to fall off the bandwagon a bit (ahem, weekends). Once this week is over I think we'll transition to the paleo diet! We have been really happy with our results though. We both have lost a few pounds but the biggest difference is the way our body feels without sugar and carbs. We've slept better, had more energy and overall just been happier! OK -- on to the final meal plan, which is pretty much the best one because it's a compilation of many of our favorite meals we've had throughout this diet!

WEEK 1
MONDAY
TUESDAY:
B: Scrambled eggs over roasted sweet potatoes
D: Baked Pesto Salmon with Kale Chips
 
WEDNESDAY:
B: Scrambled eggs over roasted sweet potatoes
THURSDAY:
B: Scrambled eggs over roasted sweet potatoes
FRIDAY: 
B: Scrambled eggs over roasted sweet potatoes
D: Chicken Fried Rice 

SATURDAY: 
L: Salad
D: Oven Baked Ribs w/ Roasted Green Beans

SNACKS: celery or apples with almond butter, plantain chips and hard boiled eggs

L: Salads with leftover Paleo Carnitas 


FRIDAY
L: Salad
D: Roasted chicken with green beans

SATURDAY
B: Scrambled eggs, bacon & fruit
L: Salad
D: Steak, sweet potato & salad

**Favorite recipe of the week: Breakfast Casserole!!!! Oh my goodness, it is SO good. Runner up was Paleo Carnitas
Breakfast Casserole

MONDAY

TUESDAY
D: Ground Turkey Taco Bowls with Spanish Cauliflower Rice

WEDNESDAY
L: Leftover Ground Turkey Taco Bowls with Spanish Cauliflower Rice
D: Crockpot Chicken Tinga (using slow cooked pork) 

THURSDAY
L: Leftover Crockpot Chicken Tinga
D: Pork Enchiladas (using leftover pork) 

FRIDAY
L: Leftover Pork Enchiladas
D: Greek Burgers & Loaded Guacamole Sweet Potato Fries
Greek Burgers
Loaded Guacamole Sweet Potato Fries

Friday, January 19, 2018

Five on Friday!

Happy Friday! Whew, we've got some serious cabin fever over here today. Just got the text that school is closed for the THIRD day in a row.  

one. I had a lot of requests on insta-stories about my shoes I wore in Florida. I found it so funny because the picture I posted didn't even show the full beauty of the shoes.  Here they are in their full glory...and they are ON SALE...and I am obsessed with them...
two. So I just finished All the Missing Girls...and I didn't love it. I knowwww. I knooooooooow. I'm in the minority because so many of you swore this was one of the very best books. I just felt like it was too slow for me and I kept losing interest! I and can't wait to crack open The Good Daughter tonight!
three. I was cracking up last night at the amount of questions I received about the kitty cat night light that Caroline showed off during her room tour on insta-stories! Truth be told, Matt bought it on his own and when it arrived I thought it was SO weird...but Caroline is obsessed with it -- clearly!

four. We made these Whole30 Greek Burgers last night and I couldn't wait until my next Meal Plan Monday post to share them. We devoured ours too fast to even snap a picture.
five. There's nothing like an unexpected snow day to push me to finally scoop up some rain/snow boots for the kiddos. At the sign of the first flurry, I purchased these adorable shark boots for Tom and kitty cat boots for Caroline. Both on sale for less than $20! Also purchased a cute dinosaur hat + mittens set (on sale) for Tom so he wouldn't have to use socks as mittens anymore. #secondkidproblems

Happy weekend, friends!

Thursday, January 18, 2018

SNOW DAY!

Yesterday Charlotte got 3 inches of snow which pretty much paralyzed the city, giving us the very best snow day. No seriously, it was the best! 
Matt must have made 40 snow balls for the kids to throw. There are snow angels all over our backyard. And a pile of soggy wet clothes by the back door. These are the days!
 
To thaw the kiddos out, I whipped up some hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, which I later regretted at nap time.
All day I slow cooked Chicken, Kale + Sweet Potato soup in the crock pot.
 
And I just got the text -- school is closed again today.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Books! Books! Books!

My GOODNESS, y'all came through with amazing book recommendations on my recent book request post! I literally requested EVERY single one of them from the library and am anywhere between #6 and #191 on the wait list line for ALL of them! However, since I'm impatient, I primed a handful of the books with the longest wait list. Also, I decided to compile and share the list of books that were recommended because they are ALL in the thriller/suspense/can't-turn-the-page-fast-enough category and those of you who left suggestions would probably like the others too!
BOOKS!
My Husbands Wife

*recommended more than once

The books en route to me are The Woman in Cabin 10, The Kind Worth Killing, Luckiest Girl Alive, The Husbands Secret, My Husaband's Wife, The Good Daughter, The Chemist and The Couple Next Door. I purchased all of them used on Amazon anywhere between .93 - $6 for hardbacks in excellent condition! I can't wait to report back with a review!

Happy reading, friends! 

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Florida!

First Florida trip of the year in the books! We took advantage of the long MLK weekend and flew home for a few days. It was a quicker trip than normal but still SO great. Dad is feeling (and obviously looking fantastic) which is just such a blessing. In fact, Hospice is re-evaluating him to see if he's still a fit for their program. It's pretty unusual to get kicked out of Hospice but you know those insane stories of patients given up to 3 months to live...and living years? I'm hoping that's us. I am so thankful for every extra day we have!

Now for a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend (all from the same day -- church & lunch).
 
Before my Grandpa (one of my favorite people of all time) passed away, he would eat lunch every single day at his favorite restaurant, Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar in Cocoa Beach. I can't tell you how many times we've eaten there. In fact, we surprised him on his 80th birthday when he walked in for his usual lunch and we were all there screaming SURPRISE! The waitresses knew him SO well and loved him fiercely. So you can imagine how special it was for us when Grills opened an Orlando location!!! It opened earlier this week so after church on Sunday we went for lunch and the mahi mahi is just as amazing as I always remembered it to be. 
Cheers to a great weekend!
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