Kid Approved
The Great Smokey Mountains ! ! ! (Part 1)
October is THE month to take a trip and explore some of the South’s most beautiful scenery.
SO!
That is exactly what my family and I did this passed weekend.
When I was a child, my family went to places like Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC and Grandfather Mountain, in Linville. We did this for two reasons. One, they happen to be in North Carolina where I am from. Two, the trees are so beautiful this time of the year with their ever changing colors and it’s crisp Fall air. I wanted to let my kid’s experience this too.
Since, they have never been to the Mountains before, I knew they were going to have a blast!
We couldn’t have picked a better weekend to go. It was almost as if the leaves were literally changing color right in front of our eyes. NO KIDDING!
Our first stop was Tweetsie Railroad. It is the best place to take your kids! It has everything from Cowboys to Indians……..
to even TRAINS! (Hence, Tweetsie Railroad).
The Cowboys put on a little skit for you and you go for a train ride. Along the way, the train stops a few times……
and you even get ambushed by Indians! Oh my! This guys was great, because bless his heart! He held that pose for me for a few minutes because he could see I was trying to take his picture! Haha! I guess he felt sorry for the lady with the bulky camera and all her settings. (Note to self: Sometimes, you just need to keep it on auto!)
Let me just tell you, all the landscaping was beautiful too. I need to hire the same landscaper.
I honestly don’t know what is wrong with me. Ever since I started to have children, I have become afraid of my own shadow. I remember riding on these ski lifts when I was a kid and purposely trying to shake them and scare the bajeezus out of my mom. Now, I have become my mom. I couldn’t even breathe without thinking that one or all of us were going to fall out of those things! Oh well, there goes ever trying to attempt to ski on a mountain.
At the top of the ski lift, they had more fun things to do. They had a little petting zoo with goats, white deer, and even llamas.
Not sure if “Oscar” was trying to kiss me or spit on me! He was THAT close. No zoom lens here!
I know they say you aren’t suppose to show people pictures of your home because of Paparazzi and all, but I thought I would share a picture of my “home in the mountains”.
AND while I was at it, I thought I would share a second picture of my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th homes as well.
We had such a great time at Tweetsie!
While we were there, we got to. . . . . . . . . . . .
Let our 3 year old son play with firearms . . . . . . . . .
Lock our children up . . . . . . . . . .
And even embarrass my husband. *Don’t ask me what the girls are doing???
So I would say we had a fantabulous time!
Check out part 2 tomorrow. (Grandfather Mountain) : )
– Esther
Build your Own Pasta
My kids love it when I do “Build Your Own Pasta Night”.
It allows them to put exactly what they want in their bowl almost like being at a Buffet. Except, I don’t own that much food.
You can use absolutely anything you want. Everyone has different tastes.
I just happened to use what I had on hand.
I used some olives, capers, feta, roasted tomatoes (not pictured), and fresh basil (also not pictured).
For the roasted tomatoes, I just took some grape tomatoes, drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil over them, and a little salt and pepper. Then I roasted them at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to burst.
Afterwards, I sprinkled fresh chopped basil over them.
These things are so yummy. When you roast them, they become sweet and tangy and they start to produce their own juice. So, instead of doing a tomato sauce, I decided to just use these in place of it.
I chopped up extra fresh basil to sprinkle over top at the end if anyone wanted to.
A drizzle of olive oil and ………
a splash of lemon juice is always a great option when you are trying to keep it lighter instead of the typical heavy feeling pasta can take on sometimes.
That’s exactly what I did. : )
AND it was soooooooo good.
It’s a great chance to get creative and try all kinds of different toppings. This would be great for a Get Together also! Especially if you have picky eaters.
Enjoy!
Chicken Piccata
My husband loves Chicken Piccata. He also loves ANYTHING with capers. I hadn’t fixed it in a little while and the other night, I happened to have everything on hand that was needed.
Well,
ALMOST everything. Usually, the recipe I do calls for white wine. Since I didn’t have any of that, I used chicken stock. All that meant was that it would be a good substitute for the wine and my children wouldn’t be walking around bumping into things. J/K
It is actually a really easy, fast meal.
All you need is a some lemons, capers (which taste like mini olives and can be found right next to them in the grocery store), butter, spaghetti noodles, chicken stock, chicken breast and a little flour.
I guess you could call it a 30 minute 20 minute meal.
If you love lemons and olives, you will love this dish.
Recipe: Chicken Piccata
Ingredients:
-4 skinless and boneless thin cut chicken breasts
– Salt/Pepper for seasoning
– All-purpose flour, for dredging
– 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
– 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
– 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
– 1/2 cup chicken stock
– 1 small jar of brined capers, rinsed
– 1 lb. Thin Spaghetti Noodles
– lemon slices for garnish
Directions:
– Cook Thin Spaghetti Noodles according to package instructions.
– Salt/Pepper chicken breast and dredge in flour. Set aside.
– Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
– Cook chicken breast for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
– Remove from pan and set aside.
– To the same pan, add lemon juice, chicken stock , and capers. Bring to a slow boil, scraping up any loose brown bits from chicken.
– Return chicken breast to pan and allow to simmer for 5 additional minutes.
– On a platter, layer spaghetti noodles.
– Remove chicken from sauce and layer on top of noodles.
– To the sauce, add butter and whisk until smooth.
– Throw in lemon slices and pour sauce over chicken.
Enjoy!
Kale Chips
Let me just tell you, Kale Chips are SOOOOO good. I love leafy greens and when you throw these bad boys into the oven and sprinkle a little Parmesan on them, they are AMAZING!
Z and I usually fight over them, so when I’m trying to make him jealous, I’ll fix these for lunch, take a picture, and send it to him. You know, like a good wife!
Not only are these Kale Chips good, they are REALLY GOOD FOR YOU! They have Vitamin A, B, C, K ……. L, M, N,O, AND P. (Just kidding)
You get the picture though. They are really easy to fix too.
Here is what I did:
Rinse a small bunch of Kale.
Pat dry with a paper towel, making sure that you get as much of the water off as possible. If not, they might get soggy in the oven instead of crispy.
Then, pull leaves off of stem.
Tear leaves to desired size. You dont have to worry too much about this.
Then take some Pam spray and lightly coat a cookie sheet or roasting pan.
Place Kale on pan and lightly spray tops with more Pam spray.
Now, pop into a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes or until desired crispness. Do not leave unattended too long as they could get too crispy and become somewhat burnt.
When finished, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
ENJOY!
Make sure you get one before this happens!
Recipe: Kale Chips
Ingredients:
– 1 small bunch of Kale
– Pam spray
– 1 to 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
– salt/pepper to taste
Directions:
– Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
– Rinse Kale and pat dry with a paper towel. Make sure that Kale is as dry as possible. If Kale is still wet, it may get soggy in oven instead of crisping up.
– Remove stems.
– Tear Kale in small pieces to desired size.
– Spray a cookie sheet or roasting tray lightly with Pam spray so that Kale does not stick.
– Layer Kale on cookie sheet and spray lightly with more Pam spray.
– Bake Kale chips for 10 minutes or until desired crispness.
– Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Salt, and Pepper.
Enjoy!
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