{Recipe} - Grilled Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

Another recipe! This dinner was delicious and really simple to throw together. I fixed it in the skillet because I don't have easy access to a grill and it worked just fine! It was filling too! I was starving after going to yoga after work and waiting until 8 pm to finally get around to eating dinner. Definitely a "make again" recipe!

Grilled Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

adapted from The Picky Palate

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Pinch of salt

¼ Cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

4 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced

8 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced into chiffonade

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions: 

1. Preheat a grill pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Spray with cooking spray. Combine balsamic and olive oil in a bowl. Season both sides of chicken with pinches of salt and place on grill. Brush top sides of chicken with balsamic mixture.Cook for 4-5 minutes and flip chicken. Brush with additional balsamic and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Add cheese before removing from the pan and let it melt. 

2. In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, basil garlic, salt and balsamic. Toss gently to combine. Spoon on top of chicken, hot from the grill, and serve.

{Recipe} ~ Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta

I haven't been cooking as much lately since I've been busy! I finally made it to the grocery store last week (after eating toast for breakfast, pb&j's for lunch, and popcorn for dinner) and stocked up on some goodies. My old roommate Laura has class in Greenville a few nights a week so I invited her over to the apartment for a girls' night with Lauren and me! I love having two of my girls to hang out mid-week. I gave this recipe a try, and it was a hit! Laura brought bread from the Fresh Market and Lauren made the salad. Red wine was also a must. Without further ado:

Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta

from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:

4-5 Italian sausages (about 1 pound) found in the fresh meat department

1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
5-6 big leaves of fresh basil, chopped
12 ounces penne pasta (get a 16 ounce box and use 3/4 of it)
grated Parmesan for topping

Directions:
1) Cook the pasta in salted water al dente, according to package directions.
2) While pasta is cooking, brown the sausages and cut them into slices (I actually removed the casings and then browned and crumbled the sausages like you would ground beef).
3) Add the onions and garlic to the sausage and saute for a couple of minutes.
4) Pour in the entire can of diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce and heat through.
5) Pour in the cream and heat through. The longer you cook the sauce the thicker it will get so simmer it until it is the consistency you want.
6) Add the fresh basil and let it simmer for a few minutes.
7) Finally, mix the sausage sauce with the pasta and serve. Top each serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty garlic bread.

Weekend Update ~ Braves Opening Day & Clemson Spring Game

Happy Sunday! I've returned back to Greenville after traveling again this weekend and having lots of fun! Here's a quick recap:

On Friday, a big crew of us went down to Atlanta for the Braves Home Opener. This game was extra special because The Civil Wars performed a pre-game concert! Lauren and I saw them in Charlotte back in December, and were excited to see them again! They played a shorter set with a few of their new songs from The Hunger Games soundtrack. While I must admit that their music isn't really appropriate for a baseball game venue, I still enjoyed hearing some of my favorites again live (plus, we were so close to the stage)!

Now onto the game! The Braves won 10-8 against the Brewers!

Our wonderful friends Jacob & Emmie, who live in Midtown, let us crash for the night. They have an awesome view of the city! We were in Atlanta back in March for a weekend reunion and I was excited to see them again!

We walked a few blocks to Einstein's for brunch. The food was to die for. Tom and I split the Fried Green Tomatoes and I had Shrimp & Grits as my meal. Yum. We could've spent all day drinking on the fabulous porch.

After brunch, Tom, Ryan, and I were on the road again to Clemson. We spent the afternoon tailgating. Honestly, we never actually went into the stadium for the spring game. It was just so nice to prop our feet up at the tailgate; I really didn't want to move. And since I have no pictures to show for it beside this one of the stadium, I'll give you some pictures from the Clemson vs. Furman baseball game at the Drive Stadium we went to on Tuesday night.

And now I'm off to enjoy Sunday Funday by the pool on this gorgeous day! Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Thankful Things Thursday Remix

Hi! Apparently I've gotten in the habit of only posting weekend recaps or my weekly "Thankful Things Thursday" post. This has got to stop! I promise I'll stop being so busy and I'll be back to more consistent posts! I've got some good ones planned already!

I think I'm going to shake this post up a bit. Instead, we're calling it "Things I'm Looking Forward To Thursday: Summer Edition!"  Since we've finally gotten through to the other side of busy season and I can return to my social life, I realized I've got a lot of things to be excited about this year. I love making lists, so let's just combine the two!!

April

• Atlanta Braves Opening Day/Civil Wars Concert
• Clemson Spring Game
• End of Busy Season Audit Party
• Upstate Beer Festival
• Trip to Litchfield (hopefully!)

May

• Lauren and Rachel's Birthdays
• FAMILY VACATION to Arizona for Memorial Day (yay, Grand Canyon!)

June

• Father's Day
• Mom's Birthday

July

• Independence Day by the pool
• Week-long trip to Litchfield
• MY 24TH BIRTHDAY
• Ryan's 25th Birthday (two days after mine)
• Trip to San Antonio to see Ryan's Dad's family and 3 high-school friends
  

August

• Trip to Dallas to see Ryan's Mom's family

September

• Labor Day Weekend
• Clemson vs. Auburn in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome (Labor Day Weekend)
• Official start of college football!

October

• Dad's Birthday trip to the mountains
• Half Marathon #2 in Greenville
• Halloween (not a favorite of mine, but people seem to get really excited)

November

• Three back-to-back home games in Death Valley
• Thanksgiving! (Tied with Christmas for my all-time favorite holiday)

December

• Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
• New Year's Eve

This post has gotten me so excited about the upcoming year! I'm pretty excited I have this blog now so I can journal things before they happen and as they happen (and include pictures)! I have so many things to look forward to and be thankful I'm able to travel and enjoy time with friends and family. Hope you all are excited about the rest of 2012, too!

Weekend Update ~ Easter

Hello! Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! I had a great weekend full of friends, fun, happy hours, delicious food, and of course, the blessing of Easter! 




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On Friday, I worked from home, but only had to work about 4 hours to hit my weekly total. The morning involved a much-needed mani/pedi. Lauren and I had bought a Living Social for a local salon for a pedicure with wine. Unfortunately I made my appointment at 10 am, so the wine was semi-socially-unacceptable. I opted for coffee instead.



OPI's Cajun Shrimp

 

After work, I started baking some Easter treats! I found the idea on Pinterest, but basically all you have to do is melt a Hershey Hug on a pretzel and then top with an M&M! So easy! Actually, the hardest part is just unwrapping all those Hershey kisses! I ended up taking them to work Monday morning and they were gone before lunch. If you want to get rid of sweets, take them to the office!

All plated for Easter dessert!

Friday night involved happy hour at Ale House with the work crew, and then bar hopping for the remainder of the evening with both my work friends and Ryan's. I believe our stops included Nose Dive, Ford's Oyster Bar, Corner Pocket, and last but not least, The G-Spot. Side note: The G-Spot is a pretty seedy bar. But Ryan and I had our first kiss there. So we return for nostalgia sake. And sometimes, the music is good for dancing.

Saturday was a lazy day! I really wanted to drive to Asheville to see the tulips at the Biltmore. Unfortunately, you can only buy one ticket as admission (for $64) and Ryan and I weren't in the mood to tour the house while we were there. Bummer :(

Here's a picture my dad took of the garden several years ago:

Instead, we decided to spend a day enjoying our own city! We went to lunch at Luna Rosa. This place has the best gelato and the food is actually pretty amazing too! I had a grilled cheese panini and Ryan had the eggplant tomato bisque. We had to finish our lunch with gelato (caramel latte crunch for me and peanut butter cup for Ryan). 



Pretty flowers at our outdoor table

 We spent the next two hours sitting at Falls Park on a bench and people watching (one of my FAVORITE things to do). It was so nice to just relax and hang out and chat. The weather was gorgeous! Here's a few pictures:



Hi ducks! You're cute. Let's be friends.

Saturday afternoon was spent napping while watching the Masters. Ryan and I met one of my coworkers, Trent, at Liberty Tap Room for appetizers and dinner. We ended up making friends with the waiter and stayed for hours. 

Sunday was Easter! Ryan, Trent, and I headed to Anderson to the church I grew up in, First Presbyterian, and then had Easter lunch with my family. The church was packed so I'm glad we got there early for a seat. Lunch was delicious! We made our usuals: honey baked ham, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and rolls. My mom made these precious "easter baskets" for dessert! 

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend with their families!

Thankful Things Thursday

Hello there! I've been a bit MIA this week, but for good reason. Bobby's dad's funeral was on Tuesday in Aberdeen, MS, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The trip was a whirlwind. Jordan, Michael, Ryan, and I pulled out of Greenville at 10 pm Monday night. We drove 5 hours to Jasper, AL to crash at a hotel. We slept about 3 hours and were back up again to shower and hit the road. We got to the church about 2 hours before the funeral. We spent some time with the family and it was great to see them and hug them all. The funeral was a great testament to Mr. Dale's life and what a great man he was (I, of course, bawled through the entire thing). After the burial, we joined the family for lunch. I'm so happy we got to give everyone a big hug and express our love and sympathy for them. We were back on the road by 2 pm and pulled back into Greenville 24 hours after we had left. I've been catching up on sleep ever since!

But on to regularly scheduled blog programming (which will probably be a very short post)!

I'm thankful for birddogs. For everyone wondering what the heck a birddog is, let me explain. It's one of the best foods ever. There's a restaurant in Anderson called JC's which makes the ultimate birddog. A chicken tender in a hotdog bun, toasted with cheese and bacon, and covered in honey mustard. Y.U.M. In case you're having a hard time picturing this, don't worry, I managed to get a picture before I scarfed it down.

I'm thankful for thunderstorms. We've had lots of rain showers in the afternoon this week, and it's given me a perfect excuse to climb in bed when I get home from work. Which reminds me...

I'm thankful for my bed. From Thursday to Tuesday, I slept in a different bed every single night. Insane. I was so exhausted from not sleeping before the funeral, I climbed in bed last night at 8:30 and I'm not ashamed to say I was in my pajamas by 6 tonight. 

I'm thankful for weekends. And this weekend can't come soon enough. It's also Easter! I'm going to enjoy the Masters on tv and take naps and sleep in on Saturday! During busy season, the weekend was just another opportunity to work (yuck) so I'm back to taking full advantage of my Saturdays! 

I'm thankful for quotes. I love them actually. I have a word document on my computer where I save all my favorites. Just when I needed something uplifting on Tuesday, I saw this on Facebook: "I was sure by now, God, you would have reached down, wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say 'Amen' and it's still raining. And as your mercy falls, I raise my hand and praise the God who gives and takes away."

I'm also 100% thankful for my friends and family. I'd be lost without them. There has been such an outpouring of love and support this week and it reminds me just how lucky I am. God blessed me with an incredible support system when things are tough.

I'm glad you hung around for this semi-sad post today. Hopefully recharging my batteries this weekend will have me back to normal! Until next time!

Weekend Update ~ Cooper River Bridge Run

Happy weekend everyone! This post is coming to you from the beach! It's actually cloudy this morning so I'm inside horizontal on the couch blogging while Ryan reads through The Hunger Games.  I read the book when it first came out and can't wait to see the movie, but Ryan wanted to read the book before we went to see it. I handed over my kindle when we got to the beach Friday and he's been immersed ever since! That book really does suck you in! Here's how my weekend has looked, starting from the beginning!

Friday, we woke up early (the downfall of the working world - sleeping in is hard to do) and decided to watch the sunrise from the hammock. It was such a perfect way to start the day.

I ended up working for a little bit while Ryan napped in the hammock. We ate a quick breakfast and headed to the beach for a quick 2 mile run. I love running on the beach! It's just hard to get used to the humidity down here! After the run, we made a quick change into our bathing suits and were back on the beach in 30 minutes. Ahh, the weather was perfect! We spent the rest of the day soaking up the sun.

We finally went inside to shower around 5 pm and then we were off to Charleston! One of my best friends, Rachel, is in medical school in Charleston and we were staying with her for the race. I had made reservations for dinner at Red Drum weeks ago. I had my 22nd birthday dinner there and the food is amazing. I didn't need an excuse to eat there again! Ryan and I were starving, so we ordered the chips and salsa before Rachel and her friend got there. The menu has a southwestern flair (which I knew Ryan would love because he's from Texas) so I had to have a margarita! The lighting in the restaurant is pretty dim so I didn't get any good pictures of our food. I had the wood-grilled chicken breast which comes with mexican cheese, thin tortilla strips, and a avocado sauce. We were so full, we couldn't even make room for dessert, which is a shame because the dessert menu is to die for!

After dinner, we went back to Rachel's apartment for lots of sleep before the race. Unfortunately, right before bed, Ryan and I got news that our best friend's dad had passed away. He's been battling cancer for a couple of months and had slipped into a coma earlier in the day. I had a rough time sleeping Friday night because of my heavy heart, so that 5 am wake up call came mighty early. I think I only managed 3 hours of sleep. 

On to the race! We got dressed, pinned on our bibs, grabbed some Luna bars and a bottle of water and headed to the shuttles. Our shuttle managed to get lost on the way to the start line, and there was over an hour delay for the race. But Ryan and I passed the time, and tried to keep stretching.  Then we were off! We ran over a mile before we got to the bridge but Ryan's calves started to cramp up. We walked up the bridge (which is over a mile long) and ran the rest of the race. We had a lot of fun, and crossed the finish line together at 1:21! Training next year will go much smoother and we're going to kill that time!

After the race, we headed back to Rachel's place to shower and then meet Ryan's roommate Travis and his girlfriend Abby downtown for lunch. They had picked Big Gun Burgers and it was delicious! We ordered mac & cheese fritters for an appetizer. I had a blue cheese bacon burger and a Tom Collins! Running 6 miles requires refueling with food that's bad for you! :)



Water in mason jars!



Fried mac & cheese! Doesn't get much better!

We were absolutely exhausted but I wanted to get back to Litchfield before it got dark and before the Final Four games came on. Ryan took a little more convincing...




Rachel and Ryan post-race

Before leaving Charleston, we ended up meeting one of my friends, Kyle, at an Irish pub. It was great to see him and catch up and Ryan and I enjoyed a Coffee and Kahlua to stay awake for the remainder of the day! We also had to make a pitstop for this picture:

Fun Story: Ryan's last name is Berndt (pronounced "burnt"). As the story goes, freshman year of college, when he was introducing himself to the guys on his hall, they didn't understand what his last name was. So, to make it easier, he said "Berndt. Like burnt toast." And the nickname was born. When I first met Ryan, I was introduced to him as "Toast." I had no idea what his actual name was for at least a month. He was even in my phone as "Toast." But after dating him for a little while, he requested I no longer call him "Toast." So I'm retraining myself and slowly learning to call him Ryan! I saw this restaurant (which is a great place for brunch) and I just had to make him take a picture under the awning!

Back to the weekend! Ryan and I left Charleston around 4:30 pm. We got back to the beach and picked a local seafood place for dinner. Hanser House is a delicious, family owned restaurant about a mile from the house. We bellied up to the bar just in time for tip-off of the first basketball game. Dinner was amazing (I had shrimp and grits, Ryan had the seafood platter) and there were endless baskets of hushpuppies!!




Guess who had the fruitier drink?!

Sunday was a short day in the sun and we hopped back in the car to head home. Ryan continued to read The Hunger Games all the way home, so we could see the movie when we got back to Greenville! It was sooo good! 



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And that, my friends, concludes the weekend! Whew! We packed a lot into one weekend (and drove over 796 miles)! But it was a great weekend and a lot of fun!