Garlic Butter Smashed Sweet Potatoes

With Parmesan

I hate sweet potatoes, but I loved these smashed slices; I probably will leave out the salt next time, because their taste was a little salty to me.  I don't like a lot of salt.  I will make these again though!

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes (or 3 large sweet potatoes)*
• A light spray of olive oil
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

Instructions 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees setting. Trim off the ends of the sweet potatoes. Cut each sweet potato into slices (or 1½ - inch pieces). 

Smash:

1. Lightly grease a large baking sheet or tray with cooking oil spray. Arrange sweet potatoes onto the sheet for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Then use a fork to LIGHTLY flatten each piece (they will be soft, so try not to press too hard or they will end up breaking and mashed).
3. Mix together the butter, garlic and parsley. Pour the mixture over each sweet potato, along with the Parmesan Cheese.
4. Bake about 15 minutes after you put butter mixture and cheese on the slices. Remove from oven,

To Serve:

1. Season with a little extra salt and parsley, and serve immediately.

Notes

*Look for long sweet potatoes that are fairly wide in diameter. I found the fatter, the better (larger smashed sweet potato pieces)

BLT Sushi

Ingredients

• 10 slices bacon
• 2 tbsp. mayo
• 1 c. chopped tomatoes
• 1 c. shredded romaine
• kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400º. On a large baking sheet with a wire rack placed on top, line 5 slices bacon side by side. Lift one end of every other bacon slice and place another bacon slice on top of the lifted pieces. Lay the slices back down. Next, lift opposite bacon slices back and place a bacon slice on top. Lay the slices back down. Repeat the weaving process until you have a bacon weave of 5 strips by 5 strips.
2. Bake until cooked but still pliable, 20 minutes.
3. Pat bacon weave with paper towels to drain fat and transfer to a piece of saran wrap (helps for rolling!).
4. Spread a thin layer of mayo on top of bacon weave, then top with tomatoes (keep them on the bottom 1/3 for easier rolling) and romaine. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Starting from the bottom, tightly roll, then slice.

My Weaving - I did pretty darn good!

I changed this recipe a tad.  I used "Turkey" bacon for the bacon, "Sour Cream" for the mayo (I don't like mayo.), and salsa for the tomatoes (my sister don't like tomatoes).  

My only issue was that I wasn't able to cut it into sushi rolls; I don't know if my knife wasn't sharp enough, or I didn't have it rolled tight enough.  It all came apart, but that was ok, since it tasted so delicious!!!  If you have a chance, you've got to try this!!!!

Double Decker Mexican Pizza

The original recipe is below, which I bet tastes amazing.  I wanted to be able to make it a little healthier.  So, I replaced the premade pizza crusts with "BFree" seed wraps and used light cheese and sour cream.

2 premade pizza crusts, such as Molinaros approx 10 inch round

1/2 cup refried beans, more or less to taste

1 lb cooked ground beef, seasoned with your choice of taco seasoning, divided

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

3 cups shredded cheese, a combination of Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and Cheddar, divided

1/2 cup enchilada sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a round pizza pan place 1 pizza crust. Spread beans, half the ground beef, and half the cheese.

Add second crust. Add enchilada sauce, remaining beef, tomatoes, and cheese. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

*It's a little messy putting together, but it tasted really good.

Nashville WhatLiftsYou wings!!

This is the largest WhatLiftsYou mural that Kelsey Montaque has done yet. It's 20 feet high, took 60 paint pens with a very large boom lift.  The wings, are located at 302 11th Ave S in The Gulch close to the "Juice Bar" and "Biscuit Love".

I'm on a mission to see as many murals in Nashville that I can, this one has been on my list for several weeks now.  Since it was such a pretty day yesterday, I picked Robin up from work.  Then proceeded to the Gulch.  It was so worth it; such an amazing mural, and it just makes you feel good.  The name "Nashville WhatLiftsYou wings" is perfect.  

Another great reason to love these wings is that  Country music platinum-selling singer and songwriter Eric Paslay has requested the original creator of the pair of angel wings mural, Kelsey Montague, to paint a replicated set of wings for Paslay to take on his tour in dedication for his latest single “Angels In This Town”. His fans will be able to take pictures with this replica of wings.  Paslay has also formed a partnership with Dexcom by creating a website in hopes to spread positivity by helping raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring for those who have the disease.  During a tour stop in Denver, Paslay and Montague made a visit to the children and staff of the Seacrest Studios at Children’s Hospital Colorado where  Paslay performed and Montague handed out her wing artwork in the form of coloring sheets.

After seeing the wings and taking several selfies, we strolled the streets of "The Gulch" and took in some sunshine.  My favorite past time is to people watch, you see them with their dogs, by themselves or with someone else.  There are so many cultures and styles, I'm always surprised and amazed.

There was a restaurant there that we had not eaten at yet so we tried out City Fire.  It's a casual American restaurant that features home made comfort food.   I had meatloaf, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, and mac-n-cheese, while Robin had crab cakes and broccoli.  The Yukon gold mashed potatoes were the bomb!

After our amazing meal and great company, I took Robin back to her car and we drove home.  It was such a treat to be able to do something a little different.  The work week can get a little stressful.  

What does it mean, What's the Thought behind the Picture?

German duo, Herakut painted a dog holding onto a little girl reading ” One day I will rescue your brother to

The "Nashville Walls Project", sponsored by Gibson Custom Guitars, will bring eight of the world’s top street artists to design and paint a series of murals across the walls of some of downtown Nashville’s oldest buildings, between 1 May and 1 July 2016.  The interactive event encourages the public to watch the artists paint and chat with them while they create. The artists who will participate are Herakut (Germany), Rone (Australia), Niels Muelman (Amsterdam), Adele Renault (Amsterdam), Hush (England), Mars1 (USA), Mike Shine (USA) and Curiot (Mexico). The idea behind the project is to encourage art, especially public art, in all its forms. “Nashville has always been known as an arts city, and the ‘Nashville Walls Project’ will add to the City’s ‘visual arts’ image.

I saw this picture on a building last week while walking out of a parking garage across from The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville.  I'm really into art, not so much abstract, but I try.  This mural just caught my eye and I wanted to understand it.   So does it mean that an animal could save a family, is the dog a metaphor for security or protection, or does it have some other meaning?

I'll probably continue to wonder and search to find out the meaning of this painting, but I think that's what the artist wants.  Herakut did an outstanding job on this mural.

If you have any thoughts about the mural's meaning, please let me know.