Healthy

Maine! And Homemade Seafood Stock

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It’s Wednesday! Hooray!

Ok, so Wednesday’s aren’t always the most exciting, BUT this one is pretty great. In just a few hours I’m flying to Maine for a long weekend with my college roommates Anna and Michelle!

red-hot-chili-peppers
Probably the most recent picture I have of just the three of us! Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in 2012!

We have been trying to plan a reunion/girls trip for at least two years so the fact that it is finally happening is pretty exciting. The fact that we are going to Maine, all as first timers, is also pretty exciting. We are flying into Portland, spending the night and then driving up to Bar Harbor for the remainder of our trip. We have a rough itinerary but would welcome any suggestions! I’m ready to eat all the lobster rolls and Maine blueberry pancakes my little heart can handle!

Segue time…. speaking of lobster rolls and fresh Maine seafood, how about a recipe for homemade seafood stock?

ingredients

So a few weeks ago, the beautiful island we call home was the unfortunate landing locale for Hurricane Matthew. The governor called for a mandatory evacuation, which we reluctantly followed, and it was a little terrifying  quite an adventure.

tree
Robert cutting the tree off of our house and simultaneously giving me a heart attack

Robert, his parents, Renly and I all evacuated to our Aunt Teen’s house which is just off the island. She had a generator (lifesaver) and welcomed us and all three dogs into her home. After 4 days together with no power/AC or phone service, she deserves a medal!

hurricane-team
The whole gang! Before we lost power…

Now, this was my first hurricane evacuation, and packing the morning before we left was nerve wracking. Its amazing how little most of your stuff actually means to you in a situation like that. My bag basically consisted of comfy yoga pants, plenty of underwear and our wedding and travel albums. It took me all of 5 seconds to throw together and then it was time to worry about the important stuff: Food.

I packed all the non-perishables we had in the pantry and then made a few careful selections from the freezer knowing that we would probably lose power and all of our food (which we did). *side note: food gone bad was a VERY small price to pay compared to others who had extensive damage to their homes.

Our careful selections: Air-dried sausage that my grandparents bring us and I use sparingly because it is the best sausage ever; a bag of boiled peanuts (Robert’s choice) and last but certainly not least, several pounds of shrimp Robert caught this summer that we were saving for a special occasion. No special occasion like a hurricane party eh?

shrimp-shells
A small portion of our bounty

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Super Simple Salsa Crudo

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Happy Thursday! How about an easy recipe?

salsa crudo

I’m back in the swing of things after a great week away for spring break. I spent a long weekend in DC visiting my best friend Caite (more on that in my next post!), a few days at home with my mother and sister who came for an all too brief visit and finished it off with a fun final weekend at the annual RBC Heritage golf tournament here in Hilton Head. It certainly wasn’t the most relaxing spring break I’ve ever had, but all the friends and family were well worth the lack of sleep (and lack of warm, sunny weather…hurry up summer!).

It was so fun re-living my trip to Italy and re-capping those posts and going through those old pictures got me pretty excited for our next big trip… Thailand!!

Thailand
I snapped this photo of the plane magazine on the way to our honeymoon

Our tickets are officially booked and we are headed across the globe in June! I am 100%  ecstatic, Robert is probably more like 70% excited, 30% a nervous wreck who doesn’t know what to expect, but he’s getting there 🙂

elephants
We are spending a day here…and I’m so excited I could wet my pants

Since Robert couldn’t take as long as we had planned away from work, my sister is going to join us. She and I are leaving ahead of him and coming home a little after him which should work out great. Our rough itinerary is Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Tao, Koh Samui, but more on that later. I’ll take a brief break from the trip talk and get to the kitchen talk. This salsa crud0 recipe is super simple and dresses up everything from eggs to grilled meats!

ingredients

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Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

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Rush, rush, rush, rush. That has been the theme of my life over the past few weeks as we try to cram everything in before the holidays.

Don’t get me wrong, it has been lots of fun rushing. There have been dinners to attend, holiday parties to celebrate, gift exchanges with friends and plenty of shopping and present wrapping. But on top of all those fun holiday extras we’ve still had to keep up with the normal hustle and bustle of every day life. You know, like work and laundry and dinner. The less fun stuff.

Hollowed Zucchini

The television played in the background as I cooked dinner the other night and Robert stopped in his tracks to stare at a Dominoes commercial. “Maybe we should just order pizza” he said.

Helpful Husband Hint: When your wife has been standing at the stove for an hour making you a home cooked meal, it really isn’t the best time to suggest ordering a pizza.

I glared at him over my bubbling pot and he quickly back tracked “I mean it would just be quick and easy and then you wouldn’t have to cook!”. Thankfully, once we sat down to eat, he raved over my enchilada casserole and forgot all about the pizza. Smart man.

filling

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Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

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Ren in chair

This is the face of a dog who doesn’t really like to pee in the cold and would rather cuddle upside down in daddy’s chair.

Ren face

This is also the face of a dog that could care less that he isn’t supposed to be in said chair. “Busted! But look how cute I am mom!” – Renly

Winter came to South Carolina this week, whether or not it’s actually here to stay remains to be seen. It has not been abnormal to have the temperature fluctuate from 40-70 from one day to the next this year. For now, I’m happy to finally be able to wear sweaters and boots without sweating…whether or not that attitude will last also remains to be seen.

Marinara

One undeniable winter positive is the fact that I can now make as many stews, roasts and “hearty” dishes as my little heart desires. One of my first orders of business is this delicious roasted vegetable lasagna.

Finished Lasagna

Last year was the first Christmas I spent with Robert’s family and although it was wonderful, nearly everyone got the stomach bug leading up to the holiday. Since no one felt well enough to cook, his aunt’s sweet best friend brought over some delicious vegetable lasagnas for our Christmas Eve meal. They were warm and cheesy and full of healthy veggies so of course everyone was instantly cured!

Ricotta Egg

Ok, so maybe they weren’t miracle medicinal lasagnas, but they sure were yummy and since I magically avoided the bug, I helped myself to seconds and thirds 🙂

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Slow Saturday Breakfast – Acorn Squash Egg in the Hole

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Happy Friday! It’s ALMOST the weekend…hallelujah! I have really been dragging all week thanks to the time change, so I am more than ready for a few less scheduled days to get me back on track. Of course, true to form, Robert and I will be traveling this weekend so I’m not sure how much rest I’ll actually get.

After work today we are heading to Clemson for the Florida State game. This is the first game we have been able to attend all season and for once I may be just as excited as Robert! We are renting a big house with Robert’s parents, aunt & uncle and cousins and are planning a big tailgate with our friends! I am in charge of breakfast on Saturday and although I am planning on crowd friendly biscuits and breakfast casserole, I wanted to go ahead and share this yummy fall breakfast with you!

Plated Close Up

Growing up, my father’s mother, Grandma Mary used to make us ‘eggs on toast’ (also known as ‘egg in the hole’) for breakfast when we were visiting. She also made them for us whenever we had tummy aches in which case she would add a glass of coke to the side. She swore the carbonation calmed your stomach. I’m not sure if it was her grandmother magic or the fact that the bubbles made you burp, but it really did work! My grandmother passed away nearly 12 years ago but I still think of her fondly every time I see an ‘egg on toast’!

Fast forward to now, when I am not only older, but more into veggies and less into carbs. I’m still not at all into stomach aches, but that’s neither here nor there. I saw a variation of this recipe in an old issue of cooking light and decided to give it a try. The basics are essentially the same, but you swap out your slice of toast, for a slice of acorn squash…genius!

Acorn Squash

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