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Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs

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There is nothing more tasty than fresh, homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Pair with a good glass of red wine and you have the perfect night!

homemade pasta and meatballs

Homemade spaghetti is not something I make often (spaghetti, yes; homemade, no), but every time I do, I wonder why I don’t it more often? It’s not hard or time consuming. I know, I know, boiling water and dropping in a box of pasta is much quicker. However, it just doesn’t give you, or your belly, the same satisfaction.

Kneading and rolling out the dough, getting your hands dirty is so rewarding! Plus, it’s a fun activity to do with your kids. It starts teaching them about food: measuring the ingredients, rolling out the dough, and watching it go through the pasta attachment.

spaghetti homemade

I followed the recipe that was included with my Kitchen Aid pasta attachment. First, I made fettuccine, then spaghetti. I must admit we all enjoyed the spaghetti better, but I learned some tips as we went.

Tips for the best homemade spaghetti 

  1. If your dough is too dry, add more water, just a little at a time
  2. If your dough is too wet, add more flour
  3. Make sure you roll it out very thin; when you think you’re done, roll it out more
  4. Cook the pasta for 3-5 minutes, but start tasting it after 2 minutes. Cooking time will depend on how thick you made the pasta and the type you are making

homemade pasta

The most important ingredient of a pasta dinner is good red wine. I want to thank my brother and The Every Day Travelers for bringing home red wine from my favorite restaurant in Positano, Italy, La Tagliata. If you ever find yourself in Positano, this is a MUST GO TO restaurant. This is non-negotiable. It is a pre-fix menu (whatever the chef feels like cooking that day). You get multiple courses: anti-pasta, salad, fries, pasta, meat, vegetables, dessert, and of course a bottle of wine. They can accommodate special diets, like vegetarian.  The next best thing other than the food is the view! The restaurant is set up high on the cliffs where guests can take in the panoramic view of Positano, the Galli Isles and Capri below.

Food from La Tagliata. Photo by the Everyday Travelers.

Views of the Amalfi Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 3½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Place eggs, water, flour, and salt in a mixer bowl of your Kitchen Aid. Using the flat beater, mix for 30 seconds on speed 2.
  2. Switch out the flat beater for the hook attachment. Knead for 2 minutes on speed 2. Remove dough from the bowl and knead by hand for 1-2 minutes. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
  3. Cut the dough into four even sections and roll out with a rolling pin. (Unopen bottle of wine works too).
  4. Attach your pasta sheet roller to front of the Kitchen Aid Mixer. Turn on to speed 2 and feed the rolled out dough through the roller.
  5. Cook immediately in a boiling pot of water for 2-5 minutes for fresh pasta.

 

 

Oven Baked Pork Schnitzel

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Super easy oven baked Pork Schnitzel is an easy week night recipe. Pair it with potatoes and a salad for an easy and satisfying dinner.  

Pork Schnitzel

Looking to get in the fun of celebrating Oktoberfest? Then try this easy oven baked Pork Schnitzel. It’s healthier than pan frying, but tastes just as delicious. It also is a great make ahead meal and stores well in the freezer.

Pork schnitzel is a popular German dish prepared by breading and frying thin pork cutlets. Although there are many varieties of schnitzel like chicken, veal, and turkey. Pork is one of my personal favorites. The key to a good schnitzel is a meat mallet. You need to pound the pork very thin.  Skip the gym and have this be your arm work out!

Baked port schnitzel

Oven Baked Pork Schnitzel
 
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Super easy oven baked Pork Schnitzel is an easy week night recipe. Pair it with potatoes and a salad for an easy and satisfying dinner.
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 boneless pork chops, pounded until ¼ inch thick
  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp roasted garlic powder
  • 2 eggs whisked
  • 1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Combine flour and spices in shallow bowl. Eggs in another, and breadcrumbs in another
  3. Dip each piece of pork into flour, shaking off excess. Then dip into egg, then bread crumbs. Place pork on a lightly oiled wire rack over baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake another 5 minutes.

 

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Healthy oven baked pork schnitzel

Charleston Must Go Restaurants

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Here is an overview of all the restaurants and bars we went to in Charleston and the surrounding areas. I’m going to give awards for the best food, decor, and overall experience. To read about our daily itinerary, click here.

Best Food – Eli’s Table – “Eli’s Table features a menu offering bold, worldly flavors while using fresh and local ingredients.” They were voted the best tasting Shrimp and Grits two years in a row.

Best Decor – The Obstinate Daughter – Natural wood elements and soft Edison bulb chandeliers mixed with nautical theme. The blue and gray color palette was friendly and welcoming. Oh, and so was the food!

Best Overall – 167 Raw – A cozy, charming restaurant seating only 24 customers at a time. You can watch fresh oysters being shucked right in front of you. The causal, laid back style makes you want to order another drink and watch the bartenders work.

Breakfast

  • The Obstinate Daughter
    • Chic sit down located on Sullivan’s Island. We had mimosas and debated about getting a cinnamon bun. Thankfully decided against because I had the largest vegetable frittata ever! Brian had the eggs Benedict.
  • Poogan’s Porch
    • Recommend getting reservations or going right when they open. Check the hours because during the week, they don’t open until 10:30 am, which I think is late for a breakfast place. Weekends they open at 9am.
    • We both had the fried chicken and waffles. It was delicious! Also shared the fried green tomato served with blueberries. Four decent size tomatoes; I was surprised how large this appetizer was. Looking back, I wish I only had 1 piece and saved more room for chicken and waffles!
  • Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit
    • A tiny little grab and go breakfast place located on King Street.  There is also another location in the Markets, but I wanted to see the real deal!
    • Only 6 seats inside along the wall. Avoid the weekends, we went Monday morning and there was no line and seats available!
    • They have seven different kinds of homemade biscuits. Order a single, three, or a baker’s dozen. Also offer breakfast sandwiches with sausage or bacon and pimento cheese. These biscuits are buttery and flaky and you will want to try every kind!

 Lunch

  • 167Raw.
    • Hands down our favorite spot we ate lunch. It’s a small place, seating only 24 people. I loved the floating shelves, subway tiles, and the oyster shucking station right behind the bar, trying not to drool. They also have a Rose of the day!
    • They don’t take reservations, so go when they open at 11am, otherwise you’ll be sorry!
    • We each ordered tacos, shrimp for me and pork for Brian along with a side of homemade guacamole which included homemade chips! To add to the laid back vibe, silverware was a help yourself served in large Le Creuset pitcher.
  • Table and Tavern

    • This came recommended by our local friends we meet at happy hour. Table and Tavern is located in Mt. Pleasant and is perfect waterfront dinning. The menu was simple and good. I had a turkey sandwich, one of my only non-seafood meals all weekend!
  • Craftsmen Tap House. 
    • We came here for beer flights and finger foods after eating a large breakfast at Poogan’s Porch. We each had a flight of four beers and splint Mexican Street Corn and wings.

 Dinners

  • Eli’s Table

    • Our favorite meal all weekend was at Eli’s. We sat out on the covered patio and enjoyed a light breeze. Eli’s is known for their shrimp and grits. They have been voted two years in row the best shrimp and grits out of 472 restaurants in Charleston. To say it was amazing is an understatement!
  • FIG

    • A highly popular restaurant in Charleston. Good luck getting in without a reservation. They are known for making a simple Low country dish elegant.
  • Blossom

    • Made reservations here last minute. The restaurant looks small from the outside, but it has quite a large dining area and a private patio in the back. I recommend the SHE crab soup, a Charleston specialty. I also had the crab ravioli which was pretty tasty!

Drinks/Happy Hour

  • Pearlz Oyster Bar.
    • Went for happy hour on Friday night. Happy hour deals include $1 oysters as well as a few other finger foods. The atmosphere was fun, the bar was a decent size, and we met a friendly local couple!
  • Vendue Rooftop bar.
    • We loved this place so much we came twice.  Amazing views and on a hot day the breeze feels even better! On our first trip we didn’t notice stairs leading to another level until we were leaving. There are two rooftop floors! The main level is even with the skyline, but the top floor (make sure to go up the stairs after taking the elevator up) has views of the harbor and all surrounding buildings.  So obviously this is where we sat and enjoyed a Strawberry Basil Lemonade on our 2nd visit! Upon my return home from Charleston, I attempted to recreate this drink! Click here for the recipe!

Charleston Vacation-Things to Do

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For anyone who knows me, whenever I visit a new city I fall in love with it and tirelessly try to convince my husband to move there! Charleston was no exception. The cobblestone streets, pastel colored houses, and waterfront drew me in. The enchanting city is filled with history, eclectic resturants, bars, and shops around every corner. We spent three nights exploring and relaxing (hey we were on vacation after all!). There was definetly enough to see and more we wished we did see. Charleston is going to remain on our “must visit” list! There was so much more I wish we had time for.


Day One

We arrived mid-morning to our hotel, The Mills House Wyndham Grand Hotel, which is a modern downtown hotel with an outdoor pool, restaurant, and bar. Luckily our room was ready, so we dropped off our luggage and set out to explore! Because Charleston is a small city, we walked to every area we wanted to see on the first day! We visited the Pineapple Fountain, Rainbow Row, the Waterfront, and Battery Park. And of course we stopped along the way to admire the views and take pictures, lots and lots of pictures. Charleston in July is hot, no way around it, so by mid-afternoon we were ready for a break. We headed back to the hotel and laid out by the pool for a few hours.

The Pineapple fountain, located by the waterfront


Rainbow Row


The waterfront


Battery Park

After resting up and showering, we went out for happy hour at Pearlz Oyster Bar (click here to read about all the restaurants we visited in Charleston).  Pearlz Oyster Bar serves fresh seafood and Low country recipes. We got the last two seats at the bar and ordered a dozen oysters! Happy hour special was $1 oyster, so how could we not! We met a friendly couple sitting next to us at the bar and spent the next couple hours chatting with them. They were Charleston locals and the true definition of southern hospitality! Tip, whenever traveling, ask locals for recommendations; nobody knows a city better than the locals.

For dinner we went to Eli’s Table. This was our favorite meal of the whole trip! Wanting to experience some true Low country cooking, I ordered shrimp and grits and Brian ordered roasted duck over waffles. They both were unbelievable. According to Critic’s choice, the shrimp and grits at Eli’s Table has been ranked #1 two years in a row! To read about what other restaurants we visited on day one, including the ever popular 167raw, click here!


Day Two

Wanting to explore some of the surrounding towns, we rented a car through Turo.com. Turo is an online local renting company where you select cars owned by locals. We rented a Kia Forte that cost us $39 for the day. Looking for something fancy? Rent a Maserati or Mercedes. Traveling with a family? Book a minivan. After the car was booked, we were emailed the location for pick up and drop off. It was simple and easy!

We drove out to Sullivan’s Island, which was a short 20 minute trip over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. The bridge offers impressive views of Charleston. If you’re feeling ambitious you can walk, run, or bike over the bridge.  We were not feeling so adventurous; we had eating and drinking to do! We had breakfast at The Obstinate Daughter, which was ranked the best brunch in the Charleston area by thrillst.com. The chic ambiance with natural wood floors and Edison bulb floating chandeliers mixed with a nautical theme was the perfect place to cozy up in a booth with mimosas and giant breakfast portions of eggs Benedict and vegetable frittata.




After breakfast we drove to the Boone Hall Plantation located in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The plantation was founded in 1681 and has gone through numerous revisions and owners through the years. One of the more interesting facts we learned was in the 1940’s the then owner Dimitri Jorjadze, a Georgian prince, owned thoroughbreds. One of the horses, Princequillo, was the fastest distance runner in the United States. Princequillo descendants include Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and American Pharoah, all winners of the triple crown!

Admission to the plantation is $24 for adults ($21 if you have AAA) AND $12 for kids ages 6-12. The price includes a Black History in American exhibit, the plantation house tour, a coach tour of the plantation, the slave street and history tour,  access to the beautiful gardens, and the most impressive attraction: the entry down the famous Avenue of Oaks.  Eighty-eight Live Oak trees were planted generations ago, some more than 500 years old. The sprawling trees line the long driveway leading to the house. I could have stayed for hours taking pictures of the stunning trees! The house tour itself was short and only included four rooms, but the Avenue of the Oaks and knowing that I was standing in the same place that scenes from the Notebook were filmed made the trip well worth it!




Before heading back to our hotel, we stopped at two breweries, Westbrook and Revelry. Clearly the craft beer scene is blowing up in places other than Connecticut; they both had a good variety of brews to choose from. For dinner Saturday night, we made reservations at FIG, which came highly recommended and I can see why. FIG offers elevated takes on Southern classics. The menu changes seasonally. One tip is to make reservations early, aka exactly four weeks before you want to go! To end the night we walked down to Carmella’s, a cafe and dessert bar; it was basically an adult’s dream! The swanky bar consisted of alcoholic desserts. We split a smores cookie sandwich and a death by chocolate drunken alcoholic milkshake!

To read about the other restaurants from day two click here!

Day Three

This was the best weather day of the weekend, a beautiful, sunny and non-humid day in Charleston. We had breakfast at Poogan’s Porch, which is right across the street from the hotel. This is another place you should made reservations at! We both ordered the house favorite, fried chicken and waffles and shared an order of fried green tomatoes to start! Hey, when in Rome! We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon by the pool!


By mid afternoon we were ready to explore again. We went back to the Markets.  The City Market is in downtown and stretches four city blocks. Vendors sell everything from spices and cookbooks to jewelry and Gullah sweet baskets.  I couldn’t resist stopping by a stand with natural soaps made by Old Whale Company. The colors reminded me of Rainbow row. We explored a little more, getting lost walking down the cobblestone streets and taking pictures of every pretty house!




Wanting to take advantage of the beautiful weather, we went to the Vendue for rooftop drinks before heading over to dinner at Blossom.


Day Four

To end the trip we took a walk over to King Street, which is known as the historic shopping district in Charleston. Rodeo Drive meets Southern charm. We stopped for breakfast at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit. As soon as I opened the door my mouth started watering. Callie’s serves up seven different types of biscuits including buttermilk, cheese and chive, and cinnamon, in addition to breakfast sandwiches served on hot, flaky biscuits. We each ordered a sausage, egg, and pimento cheese biscuit sandwich. Callie’s is a small, order-to-go breakfast place. We went in on a Monday and were able to get 2 of the 6 seats available. If you visit on a weekend plan to wait in line and take your order to go. Can’t wait to visit again! Make sure to read my post about all the restaurants and bars we went to including who I ranked for best food, best decor, and best overall!

Wells, Maine- A family friendly getaway

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The southern coast of Maine is an ideal vacation getaway. Notable towns include York, Wells, Kittery, Ogunquit, and Kennebunkport. With lots of attractions, this area is a perfect trip for the family.


Growing up, the only time I visited Maine was for soccer tournaments. Playing six games a weekend didn’t leave much time for anything else. Fast forward to summer 2016 when I had the summer “off” for my maternity leave after the birth of my son. Excited to start our own family traditions, we decided on a mid week getaway to Wells, Maine.

We enjoyed our time so much, we decided to go again this summer over the 4th of July. Thinking back on my fond memories of family vacations in Vermont and the Jersey shore, I’m excited for my family to create our own memories: walks on the beach, finding a favorite ice cream shack, pool games, and eating too much seafood!


My family went back to the same resort we stayed at last year, Elmwood Resort in Wells, Maine. I’ve never stayed at a resort that is more family friend, this includes trips to Disney! They have an indoor and outdoor pool, a playground, a large grass area with yard games, picnic tables, and a fire pit, and offer grills so you can cook your own dinner.  If you have young children, you know how difficult it is to go out to a sit down dinner. Elmwood eliminates that hassle by having available grills to reserve and cook up anything you’d like. Setting up a picnic in the lawn while the kids run around and play is so much better than waiting for your reservation at a busy restaurant!


But these aren’t even the best parts of this resort! It’s the little touches that makes them so family friendly. Every day, a staff member walked around offering free ice pops (both kids and adults!). Every night there is an kid-friendly movie outside on a projector screen. Bring your blanket and sit under the stars watching a movie. Want some popcorn? Don’t worry Elmwood has you covered! On Sunday nights they have live music. There was nothing better than arriving after a long drive, dropping our stuff off in our room, and grabbing a blanket and bottle of wine to sit out on a beautiful night listening to music and watching our son play on the blanket.

During our long weekend getaway we went out to eat one night at Captain’s Hooks Lobster Shack in Wells. I wish every restaurant was as laid back as this. No inside seating (but don’t worry, full bathrooms available), only picnic tables, cornhole boards, and tons of room for little kids to run. We arrived and set up camp for the next couple of hours. A blanket and toys for Noah and a fried seafood platter and wine for Mommy and Daddy.


Elmwood Resort is a short drive to Ogunquit, including the popular downtown area packed full of high-end restaurants and quaint little shops. The past two years we’ve headed into Ogunquit in the morning and took a walk on Marginal Way, a picturesque walking path between Perkins Cove and Ogunquit beach. The mile-long trail offers views of summer cottages, lighthouses, and Maine’s beautiful Atlantic coastline.


I hope to be able to explore more towns surrounding Wells over the next few years. If you are familiar with Southern Maine, leave a comment on your favorite restaurant, activity, beach, or anything else! Also, in case you’re headed up to Portland, Maine, check out my recap, which includes numerous restaurants reviews from the trip my husband and I made there to celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary.

Portland, Maine

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Day 1

For my one year wedding anniversary, the hubby and I went up to Portland, ME for a long weekend. I love exploring new places, taking in new sights, and trying new restaurants! I’ve heard GREAT things about Portland, so it seemed to be the best place to go!

We left early on Saturday morning and went straight to the Holy Donut. It’s a little breakfast place that makes homemade donuts using real Maine potatoes. To say they are tasty is an understatement! We ordered three: chocolate/sea salt, maple glaze with bacon, and lemon. Unfreaking believable! They are definitely worth the calories! 7/17/17- I’ve visited Holy Donut again in later years and both times ordered a dozen because I couldn’t decided which ones to try!

Lemon and maple/bacon doughnut from the Holy Donut

Lemon and maple/bacon doughnut from the Holy Donut

After fueling up on donuts, we walked around the downtown area by the water, wandered around the cobblestone streets, and went in and out of different shops. For lunch, we went to Duckfat, which is a small sandwich shop. We split an order of poutine and each ordered a panani – roasted pork belly for him and overnight duck confit for me.  This was my second time having poutine and it was much better than the first. (Sorry, Stratton, VT, yours was no where near as good!). Duckfat’s poutine wasn’t overloaded with gravy and it had just enough cheese crumbles!


After Duckfat, we went and checked into our B&B. We stayed at the Inn on Carleton. This charming B&B served amazing breakfast! But let’s not get too distracted. After checking in we went to check out the historic Portland Head Light, which is situated on the shores of Fort Williams Park Around 4 p.m. we headed back downtown and went for a pre-dinner snack at Eventide Oysters. Of every restaurant we went to this weekend, this was my favorite! The oysters were the best I’ve ever had! We put our name down, got a drink and stood by the oyster shucking station. There were over 20 oysters to choose from! We watched which oysters were going the fastest and decided those must be the best, so once we were seated we ordered three different kinds: John’s River, Glidden Point, and North Haven. They were the largest oysters I’ve ever seen! We tried to pace ourselves, but that was useless! A little cool fact; while we were there, a TV show was being filmed on the restaurant, so you know it must be good!


We continued our foodie day and went to Sebago Brewing Co, which was a short walk down the street to kill some time before our 7:45 dinner reservation. We split a flight of beers. We tried Simmer Down, Lemon Drop, Frye’s Leap IPA, and Whistle Punk Double IPA.  From there we headed to The Grill Room for dinner. We each ordered steak with shared sides of green beans and mushroom risotto.

Day 2

Today was a total washout, so we headed up to Freeport and did some outlet shopping. My hubby was a great sport; he’s not exactly the shopping type. But he walked around for a few hours in the rain. We did stop for lunch at Azure Cafe and each ordered a cup of clam chowder and split lobster mac and cheese. From there we headed back to Portland and went to two more local breweries. Now the hubby is happy!  First stop was Rising Tide. This brewery reminds me of your typical brewery, located in a warehouse with all the machines in the background, which makes you wonder; how on earth do they make this? We each got a flight, which was four samples each.  My husband loves IPAs, but I’m more of a light Belgium beer drinker. Next up was Liquid Riot in downtown Portland.  It’s a brewery and distillery all in one and it’s awesome! It had a great setup inside, with lots of tables/chairs. We did another flight here. One of the beers is called Albino Stout. It’s there version of a white “stout”. It looks like one of my summery light beers, but it has a rich chocolaty flavor like a stout. We stayed here for a while, each got another beer and enjoyed talking to the bar tenders.



So now that we had done LOTS of drinking, we went to our anniversary dinner at Boone’s Fish House and Oyster Room. They have a great two level deck, but unfortunately since it was raining, we had to sit inside. We still had a great table next to the window overlooking the water. Up to this point, we had not had too much seafood, but that was about to change! I ordered a steamed lobster and my husband ordered a pasta dish with shrimp, lobster, scallops, and bacon in it! What a wonderful way to cap off our 1 year anniversary!

honeymoon, Mexico, Nashville, Portland 874

honeymoon, Mexico, Nashville, Portland 875

Day 3

Today we took the ferry over to Peaks Island, a short trip from downtown Portland. This is the most populous island in Casco Bay, Maine; it has some shops and restaurants with great views of the Atlantic. Went rented bikes for a couple hours; it’s only about a four mile trip around the island, so we took our time and stopped for a lot of pictures! The backside of the island had the best water views. There were a bunch of small beaches with benches along the way that would have been great spots to stop and have a picnic.

Peak Island

Peak Island

honeymoon, Mexico, Nashville, Portland 913

We only stayed on the island for about two and a half hours before taking the ferry back to Portland. For our final food stop of the weekend, we had a late lunch at Portland Lobster Co. This little clam shack is right on the water. You order food at the window, find a seat, then pick it up when it’s ready. With “lobster” in the restaurant name, I felt obligated to of course order lobster! We had a lobster roll and lobster mac and cheese again (can never have too much of it!) It was the perfect ending to a great weekend in Portland!

honeymoon, Mexico, Nashville, Portland 925

honeymoon, Mexico, Nashville, Portland 927