Some eats, drinks + FL recap :)

Happy hump day friends!

And just like that, our trip is done! By the time this post goes up, we will be en route to Philly and home! It’s been a really fun few days, really fun. But time to tackle a few things and get back to reality. womp womp.

We { George & I } left Saturday afternoon to the Philadelphia  air port. We were missing two things on the way. My sister and my bother-in-law we’re way to sick to attend the trip 😦 Having a fever, the chills is no joke. We were completely bummed but made the best of it! We stuck to the plan & headed to the sunshine state.

A little recap, eats, drinks + St. Patty’s Day!

** My phone sucks and is dying really easily = not as many pictures as I wished and few places were very dark! **

Saturday we landed around 6:30 pm, were picked up at the air port by Ellen, Seth & their adorable pup lucy! We made it just in time for diner and drinks! We headed to a place in Boca called, Rebel. Very cool atmosphere, the place was built like you were in a really funky garage. A very fun thing .. they placed popcorn on the table for munching!

We had tons of food: Unfortunately it was really dark in there and all the picture didn’t turn out. A few eats: Lettuce wraps, mussels, shrimp & grits, ahi tuna, pan seared foie gras. <– which I tried!

We left the place and found that we had a FLAT TIRE. Which was pretty funny because the 4 of us all trying to help each other was like a circus. None the less, we got it and also picked up pizza on the way home.

Sunday was a great beach day and actually the only long day we had there! But, most mornings before we started the day looked like this:

Starbucks, Greek yogurt, bagels + eggs, fruit.

Poor George got REALLY burnt and my one leg did,  ooops .. our winter skin fried within an  hour. After the beach Sunday,  it was time for dinner, a place we’ve been wanting to go back to since the last time I visited with my dad. Vic & Angelo’s in Del Ray.

Drinks to start of course, followed by appetizers of Caesar salad & grilled calamari. I am not the biggest seafood eater, but that calamari was cooked to perfection! Again, dark places = awful pictures. I ended up going with a grilled chicken dish with capers, olive oil, lemon + spaghetti squash. The night ended with a live band & dancing.

{They were the highlight of the night, best dancers}

St. Patty’s day on Monday was tons of fun. Jess joined us and our group hit the town. We went back to where we were the night before and hopped around to a few places. An Irish pub, sand bar joint where we played corn hole for a few hours + a oyster place to end the night. With in between a stop to the ice cream shop 🙂 NOW I’m obsessed with all things pistachio.

{car bombs}

The night ended pretty early, where we snacked on pistachios and turkey sandwiches. Proof, because Jess woke up with mustard on her arm 😉

Tuesday once we woke up and were human again ;-), we headed to another part of FL for the day to spend the day at Jess’s house. We arrived in Melbourne around 1pm, after being a very stormy night, the sun finally poke out around the time we got there. We quickly changed and headed to the beach for a last visit.

While sitting on the beach, we discussed a few favorite meals. Bolognese was mentioned and it just clicked, Italian night on our last night and a night in sounded exactly what my body needed. After a light nap, showers we were ready to make and eat dinner. Ah, Bolognese is always a good choice.

Full stomachs, a room by the beach = the perfect sleep.

… And there you have it! Florida went by way to fast, wish we had a little more time to explore around town, but I must say we ate like kings! { and queens } I got to have a few favorites while trying some new things too.

Talk to you soon, NEXT STOP –> Philadelphia,

I’m linking up today with Jenn, over at peas and crayons to share some of the eats. This didn’t include the major snacking that went on 😉

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DC eats & recap

hello hello, happy hump day! We just got to one of the coffee shops here in town, No power and tons of trees are down including in our yard, eeek! Hopefully it comes on later.

I’m linking up with Jenn, sharing our D.C. Eats!

We we’re only there for 2 1/2 days, but still lots of fun things to do and eat. If you missed Monday’s post– here’s what we did on Sunday.

Our first dinner there was Mexican theme, all time favorite. My aunt & uncle did such a nice presentation with everything. From the taco salad, burritos, lettuce wraps & Mexican wine. Perfect lame game Super Bowl Sunday dinner.

Monday was our touristy day 😀 Before heading into the city, we enjoyed coffee & breakfast. I enjoyed some fage greek 2% with strawberries, pb & a few nuts.

We drove all over the city seeing the monuments, my uncle did a great job being a tour guide!{ it was a rainy day outside so we drove to most} Plus we visited the Natural History & American History museums.

sight seeing fuel { good thing we stopped by WF } 😉

{ I loved seeing Julia child’s kitchen & all the different animals }

Once we were done with the two museums, we had one more stop in mind 😉 but we needed something in our bellies first. We walked over to Clyde’s of Gallery Place for a bite. George & I agreed to split a salad and a burger. Great place, something for everyone!

After dinner.. we took a spin to see monuments lite up at night and ….  a visit to GEORGETOWN CUPCAKE!!!!

{happy as a clam 😉 }

We finished our Monday night with cupcakes and the rest of our first second trip to wholefoods ..which by the way I think we created a monster with George. He is now in love with their waffle cookies.

The rest of the evening was spent with lots of laughs, talking & all being on the couch : )

Tuesday morning we woke up to my uncle making some scramble eggs and more of that delicious whole foods coffee. We lingered around for awhile, until it was time to hit the road. We wanted to be back by rush hour/ ALL THIS bad weather!!!

Short trip, but packed with lots of new memories and packed stomachs 🙂 Can’t wait to revisit again!

Have you ever been to DC? Favorite sight?

Alrigty, time to catch up on a few blogs & save some of this battery.
Stay safe and warm ❤

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“Blonde” Brownies

.. Growing up, my mom always had baked goods around and I was the taste tester for all batters. Even if I wasn’t home she would save some of the batter for me 😀 We don’t believe in salmonella { kidding…}

I remember one time I asked her what she was making and I said ” OH you mean the blonde ones “{ like hair color 😉 } Seeing them in their form reminded me of the brownie. so the blondies were always the “BLONDE” ones 😉

I haven’t had one in so long until the other morning after our brunch, in the display there were tons of baked goods. I asked the guy what his favorite was & said he loved the blondies cause they go so well with coffee { its true } After I had one, I instantly remembered why I loved them!

Nothing crazy, or healthy ingredients
Just traditional blondies.

 Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick ) butter, melted
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t0 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

• Pre heat oven to: 35
• Spay cooking spray to an 8X8 pan
• Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
• Add salt, stir in flour and than your chips!
• Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle.

Enjoy as your mid afternoon delight!

xo

Something you haven’t had in awhile? The blondies
Favorite baked good? Brownie cupcakes!

I’m linking up with Jenn over at peas and crayons to share this simple but great reminder recipe! Head over to her blog : )

Quiona & black bean “chip”chicken parmeasen {GF}

Hello beautiful friends, how’s your day treating you?
I just got back from coffee, pedi + shopping with my friend Larissa 🙂 nothings better than that!

but wanted to pop in & share this recipe with you.

..I know that title is a mouth full! but that’s what it is! I recently made chicken parm with one of my favorite chips from trader joes, quinoa & black bean! We discovered them back in the summer and they paired so well with salsa, that we started getting them almost every time. Such a good combo!

There’s so many wonderful wonderful foods out there that I LOVE. especially things with breading. But, my stomach doesn’t always appreciate it. But sometimes ya just need it. But, if I can help it.. I will make an alternate. Insert, quinoa + black bean tortilla chip chicken parmesan 😀

It’s so simple to make, and you’ll be glad you made it 🙂

What you need:

• 1 lb chicken breast, boneless and skinless
• 1 1/2 cups of trader joes quinoa & black bean chips — optional! can use bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free spaghetti sauce (I used prego mushroom & garlic, & a little bit of trader joes)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Shaved parmesan for additional topping
• Seasoning: salt, pepper, oregno, etc..
• 1 egg

Directions:

• Pre-heat  your oven to 425
• Beat the one egg in a dish big enough to place your chicken in
• Dip each chicken breast in the egg mixture
• Pour the crushed chips onto a dinner-size plate. Roll each chicken breast in the chip mixture until fully coated on both sides or just the top if you wish!
• Spray a different (don’t cook the chicken in the marinade dish) {9×13} baking dish cooking spray of choice
• Place the breaded chicken breasts in the dish next to each other
• Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.
• Remove from oven & pour your sauce across the top.
• Then the cheese
• Place back in the oven and bake another 5-7 minutes .. {until the cheese starts to brown}
• Pair with: pasta, quinoa or whatever your in the mood for!

What’s your favorite Italian dish?
Do you like breaded foods?

have a good rest of your day!
xo

Chocolate coconut butterscotch dream bars!

It’s no secret that I love chocolate and coconut { of course peanut butter } so when I was thinking of a Christmas cookie to bring to our cookie swap this weekend, I found the best one with a little spin on it with butterscotch added! I wouldn’t say its a traditional Christmas cookie { but we all agreed on no chocolate chip, etc. } so these seemed fitting!

A layer of chocolate with a coconut filling topped with more coconut and butterscotch morsels = a wonderful  concoction.

For the chocolate bottom

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour –>  spooned and leveled

For the coconut filling / topping

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, again –> make sure to spoon it in and level
• 1 package sweetened shredded coconut + pour out 1/2 a cup for the extra topping
• 1/2 to 1 cup butterscotch chips to sprinkle on top {depends on your preference}

Directions:

• Preheat oven to: 375
• Prepare chocolate bottom: Cover a 9 inch pan with foil + spray with cooking spray
• Melt the butter in the microwave then combine sugar and salt until creamy.  Whisk in the one egg, while adding in flour and  coco powder.
• Mix til smooth. Pour chocolate mix into pan and bake for 10-15 minutes until firm.
• Take chocolate bottom out and prepare your coconut mixture:
• whisk the other 2 eggs with sugar and vanilla, while gently mixing in flour and coconut.
• Place mixture on top of your chocolate bottom, while filling every corner.
• Once you’ve done that, place that extra 1/2 cup on top
• Place back in the oven for another 25- 30 minutes, half way through pour your 1 cup of butterscotch and finish baking
• Bake & let them cool.. devour!

** Note, I added butterscotch to half the batch to see how it would turn out.. I really should have put them on the whole thing!

Linking up with Jenn over at peas and crayons.. hoping to find some more goodies today on her blog! 🙂
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What cookie{s} are you making this year?
I still have another to make for Christmas eve..