10/7/13

It’s An Alligator!

Do you remember on Saturday when I said, “maybe I really am southern?” Well, I continued my country themed day by attending a country concert. A friend called me around 5:30 and asked if I’d like to go see Keith Urban. The Georgia game wasn’t looking to go, so I agreed. I prefer rock music but will listen to country every now and then.

This turned out to be on of the best concerts I’ve ever been too. Keith Urban is an amazing performer. We had lawn seats and at one point, during the concert, he came to the back and performed for everyone on the lawn.

I had a great time. Again, such a great show!! 

Sunday, we woke up early and went kayaking at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

Every time we seen a stick or leaf in the water, we would scream gator and smack it with our paddle. Yes, we’re dorks, and I’m sure people thought we were crazy.

The water was so smooth here, it looked like the sky! It looked like the lake was a mirror. I want kayaks so we can take them out whenever we want without worrying about time. Our rental was only for two hours and neither of us had a watch.

After we finished Kayaking, we climbed a mountain.

We’ve passed this tower many times but never knew what it was.

The view from on top of the “mountain” was nice. You could see the river, Jupiter Island, and the Atlantic.

After showering, we headed out to lunch. We had a coupon for Cantina Laredo. {We love coupons :)} I ordered Chicken Tacos. Huck ordered Steak and Chicken Fajitas. We were both really impressed with the food, and the prices were really reasonable.

  

The girls behind us ordered an apple dessert and it smelled amazing! I didn’t order one, though. It was huge, and Huck isn’t a fan of sweets. I can’t control myself around anything apple and would of ate the whole thing.

After lunch, we went shopping for our anniversary presents. We want to start doing more outdoor activities and decided to buy something outdoorsy for our anniversary next month.

We both decided on mountain bikes {Huck decided and I agreed}

 

I bought a Giant Tempt 5. The store was sold out of my size, so I had to special order it. They said it may be here by Friday. We’re going to the Everglade this weekend as part of our Sunrise Sunset Anniversary trip. I was hoping to take our bikes with us, so hopefully it will be here on time.

It may not matter since right now the park is closed due of the Government shut down. 

There’s actually lots of trails in our area. The guy who sold me my bike told me about an overnight camp/biking trip that happens at Jonathan Dickinson every 6 months. I can’t wait for it to cool off more. I want to go camping. 

We’ll that was our weekend. I’m going to try another recipe this week. Hopefully, it will turn out better than my last attempt at cooking.

10/5/13

Beer Boiled Peanuts

For the most part, the food I make is good. It isn’t to often I make something that goes in the trash without us eating it. Well, I’m officially announcing this today, I can not make Brittle! I almost caught the kitchen on fire, burned myself, and burnt the brittle. It’s frustrating. Note to everyone out there, never add a liquid to hot sugar! I know this but woke up stupid this morning that thought it was a good idea.

Beer Boiled Peanuts

I consider myself a good cook and it bothers me when I mess something up. I have a few things I’m not good at. Stir Fry is at the top of that list. It never comes out good. Ask Huck! It’s always bland or too salty. I suck at cooking Pork Chops, too! 99.9% of the time, they are dry. Huck loves them, and I hate cooking them.

As I’m writing this, I have a pot of peanuts boiling on the stove. I really hope these turn out good. Salt, Water, Beer, Peanuts… If I screw this up, I’m closing the blog and ever cooking again!

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Boiled Peanuts are my last hope for my College Football themed recipe. Today, UGA is playing Tennessee. My plan was to make Pumpkin Seed Beer Brittle. Easy enough, right? NOT!

I originally wanted to make boiled peanuts. It was the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about Tennessee and Fall. Every year my parents would take us to the mountains and we’d always get boiled peanuts. It’s a tradition. Huck and I have done it too. I’ve never made them at home. I’m not sure why? They’re so easy and they make a perfect snack while watching football.

BTW! The peanuts came out great! You wouldn’t be reading this if they didn’t. I had to slap Huck’s hand away a few times while taking pictures “Give me some!”

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Hanging out at home, watching SEC Football, and eating Boiled Peanuts… Maybe I am from the South after all!

Beer Boiled Peanuts

Ingredients

  • 1lb Raw or Green Peanuts
  • 1/4-1/3 cup Salt
  • 2 tablespoons Cajun Seasoning
  • 1/2 cup IPA Beer
  • Water

Directions

Rinse Peanuts until water runs clear. Soak Peanuts in water for 30 minutes. Rinse again.
Add Peanuts, Salt, Cajun Spice, and Beer to large pot or slow cooker. Add water to cover.
Stove: Boil for 3-6 hours or until desired tenderness (I like mine a little mussy so I cooked them for 6 hours)
Slow Cooker: Cook on high for 12-16 hours (I found this time online.)

"Green" Peanuts will cook faster than Raw. The peanuts are done with they are no longer crunchy. I like mine very soft)
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10/3/13

Red Brick Brewery and Trip to Georgia

We’re back! We actually arrived home Monday around 3PM, but I’ve been trying to play catch up the past few days. Our trip was super short, but we were able to spend time with lots of family and friends. I haven’t seen my Daddy and Sister in over 6 months. I was overdue!

We left Thursday around 3PM and arrived in GA right at midnight. Huck and I had a great ride home for the first 7 hours. At hour 7, I hit a wall. I wanted out of the car and just wanted to be there. Huck and I decided it was better not to talk to each other. I was being “a little” grumpy! I’d been sitting all day! I WANTED OUT!

Friday, I woke up early to spend time with my mom before she left for work, we had lunch with Huck’s family, and dinner with friends and family that night at Taco Mac. It was a busy day.

Saturday, I went shopping with my Mommy and Huck made a Life Size Jenga set.

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My parents really enjoyed their new Jenga set!

Huck and I went originally went home to attend a surprise birthday party for our brother-in-law’s father. His birthday party was at Gordon Biersch. We left a little early to stop at Sweetwater Brewery. Unfortunately, they were sold out. I forgot that Georgia has different brewery laws than Florida.

We decided to make a trip to Red Brick Brewery instead.

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In Georgia, you can not purchase a beer from a brewery. You purchase a glass and they give you tickets for samples of the beer.

For $10 we received one glass, 4 tickets for 8oz pours, and a brewery tour. We didn’t use all our tickets BTW!

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We listened to some of the tour, but headed back inside. The Georgia game was on after all!

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It was a cool spot. Be sure to arrive early, though. When we got there, they were out of all but two of their beers :(

Red Brick closed at 5, so we headed to Gordon Biersch to finish watching the game.

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It was nice watching the UGA game at a bar in Georgia with everyone cheering when UGA scores! And they won! It was a great game! We had a great time hanging out with Huck’s family (his aunt is awesome by the way!) and Mike’s family (Hi Cindy!)

Sunday, we had a BBQ at my parents house with friends and family. I actually didn’t take any pictures but my sister did.

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I haven’t seen my Great Aunt Jill in years! It was so nice her and my Uncle came! She’s an amazing, strong woman! I’m sad I didn’t get to spend more time talking to her.

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It was great seeing my Uncle Mark, too. Him and Angel kicked butt at Jenga. 

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Helping or waiting on food??

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Andrew wasn’t to happy with Uncle Huck!

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Everyone took turns holding the twins.

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They’re so cute!

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Tabby took this picture of Oopie right before he peed on Lisa’s foot! So embarrassing!

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It was a great day. The weather was amazing as well. Thank you Mommy, Daddy, and Tab for all your hard work! It was great seeing everyone and we should do it more often!

I managed to make it out of the driveway without crying this time. I didn’t make it far before the water works started. It sucks seeing my Mom standing on the porch, with tears in her eyes waving at us, knowing I will not be able to see her whenever I want.

I miss them already but Christmas will be here soon!

Stay tuned for a new UGA themed recipe. UGA is playing Tennessee this weekend. My recipe is chilling in the refrigerator right now. 

09/23/13

DAS Biergarten Craft Beer Bus

We’ve taken our love for craft beer to a whole new level. Sunday, we loaded a bus supplied with nothing but craft beer to watch the Falcons lose to Miami.

Party buses to football games are popular here. Maybe they’re popular everywhere. Deena and Alex asked if we were interested in going to the Miami vs. Atlanta game a few weeks ago. It was Miami’s first home game.

Last weekend while at the Food Truck Invasion in Abacoa, we noticed DAS Biergarten was sponsoring a bus trip to the game. DAS Biergarten is a craft beer bar and the flyer said the price included craft beer, bus ride, tickets, and food. All for $80 each! Where do we sign up?

Deena and Alex arrived at our house around noon, and we rode our bikes downtown.

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We were greeted with a mimosa to start the day. I’m recreating a mimosa like this for the blog soon. It was made with beer :)

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DAS Biergarten Dolphins Falcon Game (1) 

I was going to buy a Falcon shirt online but didn’t want to pay $30+. I purchased a cheap Walmart tank top {My favorite tank tops plus they’re only $4} and iron on transfer paper. For less than $6 I had a Falcons shirt!

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We boarded the motor coach at 1pm and headed to Miami. It was actually one of the bus with the company I work for. Is that considered drinking on the job?

Once on the bus, we were provided road beers.

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Huck said I looked like a bug…

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and he was right!

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The best part of the beer bus, we had a bathroom!

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Miami vs Atlanta. UGA vs UF. We’re in the wrong state! 

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He enjoyed chips and hotdog as we watched the clouds move in.

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It started sprinkling, and everyone crowded around the tents, but then it started raining hard!

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Luckily, we had the A/C bus to wait out the storm! And a tub full of craft beer.

The rain stopped just in time for us to make it inside for the beginning of the game.

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And it was the ugliest stadium EVER! Orange and Aqua everything.

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Some of us didn’t make it through the whole game…

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Felix bought us an Arepas. Good greasy stadium food.

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Of course the Falcons lose. Walking back to the bus in a Falcons shirt sucked. Everyone had something to say! “3-0” “You need a better team” “Honey, you need a real team” “Aww sucks to be you” “GO FINS!” “I’m a stupid Dolphins fan” I may have added the last one :)

We were home by 10 and in bed around 10:30.

It was a great time. Great people, good food, and great beer. If the Falcons won, it would of been a perfect day! Thanks Das Biergarten for a great event. Can’t wait until next time.

09/16/13

Pumpkin Pie Beer Cookie

It was cold today! Cold for us anyways. Yes. I think 73 degrees is cold! It was 93 yesterday. That’s a big difference. It put me in the fall food mood.

Pumpkin Pie Beer Cookies 1

I kink of cheated with this recipe. I had a pack of Pumpkin Cookies from last year. I checked the expiration, and they were still good. Our friend came over the other night and brought a variety of beers. One was Harpoon UFO Pumpkin. I figured it would be perfect for my Pumpkin Cookies. I followed the recipe on the back of the package but substituted the water for 2 Tablespoons reduced beer.

Harpoon’s Pumpkin is a very strong Pumpkin beer. A little too strong on its own for me. I plan to make this recipe from scratch in a couple weeks to take home. I talked to my Nanny Mathis on Skype yesterday and her and my Papa both want to try these.

I’m also thinking about make real Pumpkin Pie with it too. I’m going to go Pumpkin Crazy!! :)

Pumpkin Beer Cookies 2

These also have more of a cake like texture. That’s typical of all my cookies. They were still really good and I hope you give them a try.

Yesterday, Huck, Karl, and Greg got together and made a Pumpkin Porter. It was their first collaboration beer.

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They added Pumpkin to the grains during the mash. I saved a couple cups for soap and maybe a recipe. Pumpkin soap sounds good!

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Karl had an audience.

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They used Cinnamon, Allspice, and Nutmeg plus 8 cans of Pumpkin. Someone said it smelled like Thanksgiving and it really did!

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09/10/13

Cioppino And Dinner Together

Sunday, Huck and I went to 3 different grocery stores to buy ingredients for dinner.

We went to the Seafood Market for Mussels, Fish, Shrimp, and Crab. On the menu, Cioppino (Seafood Stew).

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We listened to music, cooked, and drank wine. Yes, I got Huck to drink Wine :)

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We put up our new baby gate so the dogs couldn’t bother us, too. Oh, I can not figure out how to work this stupid thing. It’s way smarter than me apparently.

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“Feed Me!!”

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We bought fresh baked bread from Joseph’s Market. I know it was fresh because it was still warm.  

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Big Pot of heaven!

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I followed the recipe by Giada De Laurentiis for the Cioppino.  It tasted like Seafood Tomato Soup. We both agreed it was good but I probably wouldn’t use as much tomatoes next time. Or maybe just more wine! 

That’s all I have tonight. Didn’t really have a lot to say tonight!

08/27/13

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today is my Mommy’s Birthday.

My plan was to sneak home and surprise her, but she decided to go out of town… Oh and flights were SUPER expensive because of Labor Day.

So, I will not be able to see her. This recipe is as close to her as I can get. I get a little sad around holidays and birthdays. I miss seeing them whenever I want.

Chocolate Pecan Pie with Brown Ale

Making food that reminds me of home always makes me feel a little better. My mom makes the best Pecan Pie. Thanksgiving hasn’t been the same without her Pecan Pie. Sunday, I was just planning on making regular pecan pie to ship home to her. I started looking through the pantry and realized I have a bunch of chocolate and decided Chocolate Pecan Pie would be the perfect birthday treat!

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I used my Mommy’s recipe for the Pecan Pie, minus the Corn Syrup, and just added the Beer and Chocolate. They turned out great, even without Corn Syrup.

I substituted Brown Sugar for the Corn Syrup. I don’t know if that is an acceptable substitute but it worked.

They tasted like mini brownies.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I hope you have a great day. I know these pies are not the same as a hug, but it’s as close as I can get.

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Chocolate Pecan Pie with Brown Ale

Serves 30 Mini Pies or 1 Large Pie

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tablespoon Butter (Melted)
  • 1 large Egg
  • 1/4 cup Beer (Stout, Porter, or Brown Ale)
  • 1/8 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 cup Pecans (Toasted and Chopped)
  • 30 Mini Phyllo Dough Shells
  • 1/3 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 2 tablespoons Beer (Stout, Porter, or Brown Ale)

Directions

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Combined Sugar, Vanilla, Butter, Egg, Beer, Cocoa Powder, and Pecan in a bowl.
Add Mini Phyllo Shells to a lined baking sheet and add filling to each. {I had a little filling leftover}
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until shells are toasted and filling looks set. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
While Pies are cooling, Melt Chocolate in the microwave {10 second increments}. Once Chocolate is fully melted, add the Beer. Stir and drizzle over Pies and ENJOY!
Large Pie: Add filling to precooked pie shell. Cooking time will be longer.
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08/25/13

Birthday Surprise

Last night, we went to Jilda’s Surprise 30th Birthday Party. She text me earlier in the week wanting to hang out on Friday. She didn’t know I have a real job now. I asked her what her plans were for the weekend, and she said her husband, Warren, being awarded at work on Saturday… Sneaky!

We arrived a few minutes before 7PM. The last thing I wanted was to be the person in the parking lot, when she pulled up and gave away the surprise, so we quickly walked inside.

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Once inside, we were surround by Tiffany Blue everything! It was such a cute theme.

The boys were given sunglasses and the girls pearls. Huck enjoyed his new shades.

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Jilda arrived at 7:30 to a room full of people!

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Surprise!

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Sneaky Husband!

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Warren made all the food for the party. I forgot to take a picture but everything was really good.

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I’ve worked with both Jilda and Warren and some of my old coworkers were there. Our neighbors, Time and Nancy are also friends with Jilda and were at the party, too. It was fun catching up with everyone.

Early in the evening, Huck gave me a blue box. I was so excited to see what was inside…

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I worked for a doctor once that told me women love anything in a blue box… This ring pop is probably the only thing I’ll ever receive in a “blue box”, and I enjoyed it more that a piece of jewelry!

Jilda even had a Tiffany Box birthday cake!

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So yummy!

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We had a great time celebrating Jilda’s birthday with her friends and family. She’s a great friend that I do not get to see nearly enough!

Happy Early Birthday Jilda!

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