Week 3 of 4

To be honest I wasn't looking forward to most of the recipes dedicated to week 3. Boy was I pleasantly surprised each night. I enjoyed every single one of them.

Recipe 1: chicken paprikash

Excellent sauce that made delicious leftovers with various pastas (yellow rice, white rice, noodles). Didn't care for the sour cream or dill.

Recipe 2: shrimp with white beans and toast

Homemade bread! Delicious.

Recipe 3: asian beef and mango salad

This recipe was very light. Perfect mid week dinner.

Recipe 4: mushroom and herb strata

This recipe was AMAZING. Leftovers were even better. And again we used homemade bread. YUM.

Recipe 5: balsamic-glazed pork with lentils

I have a secret obsession with lentils. Especially because they come in lots of fun colors.

Just got back from the store with our last week (week 4 of 4) ingredients. P and I thought it would be fun to have a "best of" week. We are going to pick our top 5 and make them again! I. can't. wait. Week 4 looks promising so stay tuned!

Honeymoon Recap: Touring Asheville

Our first "real" full day in Asheville we decided it would be fun to do a little touring around the Asheville area. But first..."breakfast in bed" :)

(Yummy Pancakes for me and egg sandwich for P)

The hotel was located right next to the Shops of the Historic Biltmore Village so we wandered around that area first and did some window shopping.

(Inside our hotel...many photo opportunities)

Next we decided to drive a couple miles to downtown Asheville. For lunch we ate at Early Girl Eatery. It was absolutely delicious. I ordered the special: blackened fish Caesar salad (complete with grits shaped as croutons!) and P had the pimento grilled cheese sandwich with french fries.

(Don't be fooled...those croutons are really grits!)

(Mid devour...P eats his food really fast)

Our first day in Asheville was pretty cold so we either stayed in the sun clutching coffee or stayed in the shops.


For dinner we were recommended the Corner Kitchen by many of the hotel staff so we decided to check it out. The food was very good and the company even better :)


Up next... The Biltmore.

Week 2 of 4

#1
curry shrimp and snow peas
(my favorite of the week)

#2
lamb meatballs with couscous and feta

#3
red currant-glazed chicken with spinach

#4
chorizo and potato tacos with black bean salsa
(favorite leftovers of the week)

#5
ravioli with brussels sprouts and bacon

Week 1 of 4

To speed up the posting process, I will be sharing photos of all 5 dishes we created each week. (email me if you would like a copy of the recipe)

#1:
roasted tilapia, potatoes, and lemons

#2:penne with tomatoes, eggplant, and mozzarella

#3:
turkey burger with creamy romaine slaw

#4:
pork cutlets with spicy noodles
(my favorite of the week)

#5:steak with roasted carrots and onions

Honeymoon! (Part 3) The Hotel!

Our hotel in Asheville was ridiculously nice. We stayed at the Grand Bohemian Hotel located right across the street from the Biltmore (more on that in another post). P & I were instantly drawn to the great outdoorsy feeling we got from the website and thought it would be fun to stay at. The Grand Bohemian Hotel is very new to Asheville. It has only been running for under a year and a half. We booked our honeymoon relatively early (6 months ahead of time) and boy were we glad because the price of our room had doubled by the time our honeymoon came around. How's that for saving money!

Our first view of the hotel! Little did we know we were actually staying across the street (to the left of where I am taking this photo) in the "Manor House".

Our room/home for 5 nights. The bed was HUGE and comfy. I loved the soft teal head board and the double curtains. The carpet was a hounds-tooth pattern which I absolutely adored!

Yes that would be a curtain to the bathroom. A little more classy than the hotel Cori & Casey stayed at in Orlando. haha!

View from the bathroom.

Weird glass doors for the shower & restroom.

Most amazing piece of technology available. I have no idea if it had TV capabilities...we didn't watch any, but I'm sure it did. But what I do know is that it streams pandora, makes dinner reservations, plays NETFLIX (!!), and is a ginormous computer screen. Totally cool. Patrick wants to get one, of course. lol.

Cool light fixtures.

Happy to be here. Finally out of the car and ready to relax!

Week 1, Recipe 2

Oh boy I have a lot of blogging to do. We are currently moving on to week 2 tonight...all recipes in week 1 have been completed, photographed, and promptly devoured. Now all I have to do is share them with you!

Recipe #2: Penne with tomatoes, eggplant, and mozzarella.

Total time in kitchen: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

1/2 pound penne (1/2 box) - We used whole grain. It was delish
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium eggplant (about 1.25 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt & Pepper
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves -mojito anyone?

1 Cook pasta as it states on the box. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water, return pasta to pot

2 Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 8-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, tossing, until tomatoes soften, 2-3 minutes more.

3 Add the tomato mixture to the pasta, along with the mozzarella and reserved cooking water, and toss to combine. Sprinkle with mint.

Overall this recipe was really good (with excellent lunch leftovers). Next time I would omit the cheese altogether or maybe try a different cheese like feta. The mozzarella decided it wanted to clump as an entire mass (instead of the 100 cubes P cut it into).

Honeymoon! (Part 2) Caesars Head State Park

During our scenic drive up to Asheville, NC the Mr. decided to take me to our first beautiful look-out: Caesars Head State Park. This park is located just 3 miles south of the South Carolina/North Carolina border. It was a perfect beginning to a week of magnificent views.

Sun shining through the clouds

25 cents for a greasy view

"secret" path

Was kinda nervous the rocks were going to start closing in on me.

Side view of the mountain. Caesars Head? Maybe.

Where's waldo?

Gorgeous views that I bet are even better when the leaves turn bright red.