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. 

The "Minister's" Tree House

Located in Crossville, Tennessee, the Minister’s House took Horace Burgess 14 years to build around an 80-foot-tall white oak tree, with a diameter of 12 feet. The wooden edifice itself is 97-feet-tall and it’s supported by six other strong trees that act like natural pillars.

Burgess says he started working on this giant tree house after he had a vision back in 1993. God spoke to him and said: “If you build me a tree house, I’ll see you never run out of material.” And so he spent the next 14 years building God’s tree house, using only salvaged materials, like pieces of lumber from garages, storage sheds and barns. So, as far as Horace is concerned, God did provide him with all the materials he needed.

Although he never bothered to measure Minister’s House (he estimates it must be about 8,000 to 10,000 square feet), he did count the nails he had to hammer into it, 258,000. It cost the 56-year-old landscape architect around $12,000 to construct the world’s biggest tree house.

Officially this is a closed attraction on private property due to the fire Marshall, and there are posted "No Trespassing" signs.The word is "No one cares." No one cares, no one will report you going in, no one cares if you take pictures, and everyone is trying to save it. It is still trespassing to go in, of course, but the liability is yours, and yours alone.

When I saw the "No Trespassing Signs"; which one of them said absolutely no vandalism, smoking or sex allowed, they sorda threw me!  I try so hard to be law abiding; so Robin and I were content on  taking pictures from afar.  Then Robin and I looked up and saw a couple climbing through the gate.  They had tattoos all over their body, and one had spikes in her nose and in her ears.  I should not judge a person by their appearance, they were the sweetest people that I have met in a long time.  They told us that we had to walk down, it was so amazing to see up close.

I'm not saying that I trespassed; I am saying that short legs are not good when you are trying to climb over a fence into grass as high as me or higher.  The couple were exactly right that you have to see it up close!  I just can't believe it is sitting there, and the fire marshal will not work with the minister to get it reopened.  This would be such an attraction again, and bring so many people into the area to help the economy.

The funny part is that when I'm worried; I start itching, and I have to scratch.  So I itched from the time I was close to the structure until I was off the property, and every time that Robin told me that I trespassed (I'm not admitting that)!  Even today while I"m typing this post, I start itching.  

I'm going to look at it this way; I didn't do everything that was stated on that "No Trespassing" sign; I didn't vandalize, have sex (darn), so it's not that bad.  

I hope it gets back open soon!

his is the most amazing place I have ever been. I talked to several people at the "outlet center" just down the road, and they all said the same thing: "No one cares." No one cares, no one will report you going in, no one cares if you take pictures, and everyone is trying to save it. It is still trespassing to go in, of course, but the liability is yours, and yours alone.
The structure is very sound, and there is an amazing swing that hangs all the way from the top. There is a room full of huge wood carved statues, which are simply incredible.
[Lore, 06/21/2014]

Officially this is still a closed attraction on private property, and there are posted "No Trespassing" signs.

- See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13746#sthash.CWs76fjY.dpuf

his is the most amazing place I have ever been. I talked to several people at the "outlet center" just down the road, and they all said the same thing: "No one cares." No one cares, no one will report you going in, no one cares if you take pictures, and everyone is trying to save it. It is still trespassing to go in, of course, but the liability is yours, and yours alone.
The structure is very sound, and there is an amazing swing that hangs all the way from the top. There is a room full of huge wood carved statues, which are simply incredible.
[Lore, 06/21/2014]

Officially this is still a closed attraction on private property, and there are posted "No Trespassing" signs.

World's Largest (aka Minister's) Treehouse
Yup. Closed. Padlocked. Plethora of NO TRESPASSING signs. Shut down by the fire marshall. No one to be found with whom to negotiate a visit.
[Jason, 10/28/2012]

Luckily for Human Civilization, the treehouse isn't going anywhere (it's just too big). We hope that the minister and fire marshall can resolve their differences, and that the treehouse can reopen to the public sooner rather than later.

- See more at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13746#sthash.CWs76fjY.dpuf

Jailers Inn Bed & Breakfast

Jailer's Inn Bed & Breakfast - Bardstown, KY

The Jailer's Inn is located at 111 West Stephen Foster Avenue in Bardstown, Kentucky (Nelson County).

The Jailer's Inn, now a bed and breakfast, was the former Nelson County Jail. It was in operation from 1797 until 1987, and today it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The front building is the oldest, constructed in 1819. The back building was constructed in 1874, and it is surrounded by a tall stone wall.

Now, being able to sleep in an old jail is cool enough. But it's even better when it's supposedly haunted! Many visitors see the prisoner's ghosts roaming the halls, and almost everyone has heard unexplainable footsteps while staying there. One of the most well known ghosts at the jail is that of Martin Hill. Martin Hill was convicted of the murder of his wife, and was sentenced to execution by hanging. The execution was scheduled to take place at the gallows behind the Nelson County Jail. However, he died in his cell before they could hang him. His death was very painful, and witnesses claimed they could hear him crying and moaning in agony from his cell. Some believe it was the spirit of his wife who slowly killed him in revenge.





I hadn't read the ghost stories before staying at The Jailer's Inn; I thought I saw someone write on the wall, and I heard a crying baby.  There were no guests that had children.  Robin thought she saw the night gown on the wall move.  


You know, I don't know if these were ghosts sighting or that we were way tired!  The most scariest thing that happened to us was that we had to walk through the graveyard from the parking lot behind the inn after going to "The Stephen Foster Story" at around midnight.  I was being brave and trying to scare my big sis, and then I started to get scared.  


Then we got to the front door and the key that the inn keeper had given us didn't work no matter how hard we tried.  So, we had to wake up the inn keeper to get in.  The next morning when we went out for breakfast; I was so frustrated with that front door lock from the night before that I left it open.  The sun was up, it was OK!






In my opinion the room at The Jailers Inn was nice enough; some of the furniture and such was worn out and things were taped together.  I still don't understand that the claw foot bathtub was painted blue.  It would have been so pretty restored, but I guess in a very small town you have to be thrifty.  The beds were way comfortable though.  I probably would not stay here again, but you have to stay here at least once to see if you experience the paranormal activity and to learn all history.  Jails are not made like this today.

They do have one room at the inn that contains the actually jail beds and the original bars.  That room goes fast. 

On the morning of our departure, I found a book on our wicker coffee table.  It was a place where each guest would write a review, and if they had any sightings.  There were some interesting sightings.  I wished I have had time to write in that book, but I found a piece of paper with a clue to a riddle.  It was like a scavenger hunt. We found the first clue under a brick by the fire place, and it went on from there.  I believe the answer to our riddle was "Singer"; the last clue directed us to an antique sewing machine that was a Singer. 

Robin and I was off to Louisville, KY after solving the riddle, but that riddle was so much fun and solving it with my sister was even better.

So much fun!