Chicken + Red Wine

I hate chicken. If I never had to eat chicken ever again, I would be perfectly content for the rest of my life. However, try and take beef away from me and I will hurt you. Chicken is just terrible all the way around. It's bland and boring. I hate cooking it because it's so disgusting when it's raw...I don't want to touch it or even look at it. I'm terrified of cooking it because I'm afraid that I'm not going to cook it well enough, get salmonella and die. Plus, you really have to do a lot to it to make it taste good because it's just so bland on its own...aka: it requires a lot of work that I don't want to do. Beef on the other hand...sprinkle a little seasoning on it, cook it any which way you choose and voila, delicious. You can even under-cook it and that makes it taste even better. Win, win. Unfortunately, my husband says that we should eat less beef and more chicken because it's less fattening and a healthier option. He's a fun ruin-er. No wonder it's less fattening and healthier, it tastes like nothing. So typically what happens at my house is we make the dreaded chicken breasts (because my husband forces me too) which I hate and then I end up drenching it in ranch dressing or something delicious in order to make it actually taste like something...thus, destroying that whole "less fattening and healthier option". Alas, I have been experimenting recently with ways to marinade my chicken so that I can actually enjoy it and not add a billion extra calories thanks to dressings like ranch. So when you are in the kitchen and need to add a little extra flavor to something, what do you do? You rely on your trusty old friend...alcohol. Turns out that wine and beer aren't just for drinking, but for marinating too. My mother-in-law taught me the art of cooking with beer years ago. Basically the rule is whenever a recipe calls for water, you substitute beer instead. This is especially true for anything in the Crockpot. If you notice that your Crockpot dish needs a little more liquid, don't waste the opportunity for flavor on water, use beer instead.

Which brings me to my newest creation...chicken and red wine. There are two things that we have plenty of at my house that I don't care for myself, and that's chicken and red wine. Jared loves both of them, and I do not. However, put them together in the oven for about 45 minutes and I might just be able to get on board. Presenting a super easy way to make your boring chicken breasts taste so much better...

I do not have a catchy name for this dish other than "my new favorite way to cook boring, bland chicken breasts and make wine an essential staple in your diet". Sorry blog world. 

Step 1: Pour about a 1/2 cup of balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing and 1 cup of red wine into a baking dish. Coat both sides of the chicken breasts in the marinade and then submerge the chicken in the baking dish. Sprinkle a little black pepper, garlic and light brown sugar on top of each chicken breast. 

Step 2: Bake in the oven on 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. If the chicken breasts you are using are extra thick, then maybe add about 5-10 extra minutes of cooking time. Serve and enjoy! I drizzled a little extra of the leftover sauce on top of the chicken once it was on my plate. I also drizzled a little on my veggies too. 

This is the perfect way to jazz up those boring chicken breasts! And don't forget to use the left over wine and pour yourself a glass to enjoy with your meal as well. I'm sure that the more wine you drink, the better the chicken will taste :) 

A Champagne Toast

Any time I go on vacation somewhere, I always bring gifts back for the fabulous women in my life. My mom, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law, Erika. And by "gifts" I mean wine. No matter where we travel, Jared and I always manage to find a winery nearby. So of course on our most recent adventure to North Carolina we made sure to stop for a visit at the winery of the Biltmore Estate. We purchased bottles of wine for ourselves and the mamas, but for Erika I got champagne. Erika and I have this fun tradition where we like to drink champagne together. Usually it's something really cheap like Andre, but when I find a fun bottle on my travels I always have to bring one back for us to share. When I spotted this bottle at the Biltmore Winery, I just had to buy it.

Two reasons. Number one, pink bottle. We all know I'm a sucker for anything pink. Number two, the name of this champagne is Pas de Deux and I just can't pass up a good ballet reference. Too perfect.

Last night, I invited Erika over so we could pop this bottle of champagne and celebrate two very special occasions. The first was to watch this season's Men Tell All special on The Bachelorette. Since Erika was the one who got me hooked on The Bachelorette, it's only right that she be there to toast a little champagne with me on this occasion.

Even though watching The Bachelorette together was the initial reasoning behind our champagne date last night, it ended up being the far lesser important reason of the day to celebrate. We also got to toast the arrival of the royal baby!

I know that a lot of people are sick of hearing about this royal baby stuff already, but I have to admit that it makes me excited. Just like I was really excited two years ago about watching the royal wedding. I know that I'm not British and I have no reason to be excited about the royal baby, but as much as we Americans want to believe that the new royal baby does not affect our culture it does. Plus, isn't it nice to see something positive and happy on the news instead of the normal depressing, hateful events that we have to see on our news everyday? I think so.

Let's be honest, this is a historical event whether you want to believe it or not. This is one of those moments where decades from now when this baby is an adult, people will all be saying, "Do you remember where you were when William and Kate first brought that baby out of those hospital doors?" And thanks to it being summer and me not working, I will be able to say that I was sitting here on my couch, eating my lunch and watching it on television live. It might not seem like an important life moment right now, but it resonates with me for some reason. Just like I vividly remember being 10 years old sitting on the bed with my mom at a beach condo we were staying at and watching Princess Diana's funeral. I feel the same way about Kate as I did about Princess Diana as a kid. I always admired her. I even had that purple beanie baby that they made in honor of Diana, you know the one I'm talking about.

With so many of our current cultural "icons" ending up in rehab, arrested or even dead from violence or overdose, it's nice to have a role model like Kate for our society to prove that just because you become famous don't mean you have to become a lunatic. Plus, I really love the positive attention that is being paid to the traditional family unit which is unfortunately becoming more uncommon in our culture. Ultimately, this is a happy and historical occasion for all.

Cheers to Will and Kate and their new bundle of joy!

North Carolina {Day 1}

Jared and I went on a little mini-vacation last week for the 4th of July. We stayed at a cabin that his family owns in northwest North Carolina. They have owned the cabin since he was an infant and it is definitely a little rustic, but full of character and good memories. I have only been to the cabin one other time and that was when Jared and I first started dating in 2006. It was so nice to be back in the mountains again, I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed this place. I will definitely not let another 7 years pass by before we go back.

Now, onto the trip recap...I am going to split this trip up into multiple posts because I obviously took a lot of pictures. I know, shocker. Jared refused to pose for any pictures for me, so all of the pictures from our trip are of me. Only me. Also, it rained the entire time we were there so you are going to have to look at a bunch of pictures of ugly, frizzy hair me. Sorry in advance. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Thursday, July 4

Jared and I actually left Florida on Wednesday afternoon and drove up to Asheville, about 1 hour from the cabin. On Thursday morning, we went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville to celebrate the 4th.

Jared and I had both been to the Biltmore years ago when we were little and neither of us had been back since. I love visiting historical sites, especially big, pretty mansions. First, we went on a tour inside the house which was absolutely beautiful.

Unfortunately, it was raining on and off all day, but I was not about to let that stop me from dressing festive for the holiday. Just had to add rain boots :)

We spent the afternoon frolicking around the gardens and grounds of the estate.

  

I know Jared just loves it when I make him pull the car over so I can pose in front of something. He's such a wonderful husband.

We were eager to finish our house tour, escape the crowds and get on over to the winery. First, we went on a tour of the winery and learned all about how they make their wines on the property. After the tour, it was time for a tasting!

They make 25 different wines on the property at the Biltmore and at the tasting they invited us to try and many as we wanted. Wait, you are actually allowing people to sample 25 glasses of wine for free? That sounds like a challenge that I will gladly accept. Ok, so I didn't actually try all 25 of them. We decided to divide and conquer. We split the list in half, Jared tried the reds and I tried the whites. It was a glorious afternoon.

Of course, I now see that this "try 25 wines" promotion is just a way to get you drunk enough to buy all of their wine. Well, it totally worked. Well played Biltmore, well played.

We left Asheville and made our way up to the Smoky Mountains. Once we hit the mountain road that takes us up to the cabin, we ride with the windows down to take in that mountain air. Rain or shine. It's a family tradition.

We finally arrived at the cabin and I was so ready for a relaxing weekend with no distractions. Yes, the cabin has electricity and running water, but that is about it. No air conditioning. No television. No internet. No cell phone signal. Surrounded by nature, it is so quiet and wonderful.

I told you it was rustic. I may have forgotten how rustic. After a little sweeping, dusting and some Clorox, it was ready to be inhabited by this girl for the next 4 days. 

I love the country, mountain decor inside the cabin. It makes it feel so cozy and it looks pretty much the same as it has for the past 27 years.

My favorite part of the cabin is relaxing in this swing on the porch with a beverage listening to the creek.