A Saturday in South Dakota

We kicked off Saturday with breakfast at the Millhouse II Restaurant.  It's one of my favorite places to eat at when we are in Rapid City.  Yes, I have favorite places to eat while I am there.  I opted for the French toast with fried ham and it was soooo good.  It's making me hungry thinking about it now.

So on the wall by the door are lots of pics and these caught my eye.

Millstone Babes?  Hmmm...so while I was standing there reading what was written on the pics a man approached me and pointed to the 2nd pic and said, "You see that lady there?  That was my wife.  She passed away a few months ago.  She was my favorite babe."  Awwwww ~ so sweet and sad. ::sniff:: ::sniff::

Well after I had my sad moment we headed out to Keystone so we could buy tickets to the wax President thing.  The awesome guy at the counter let us know about a coupon in one of those travel books that I typically overlook when I'm traveling and it saved us a bunch of money if we bought the tickets before 11am.  Cool beans!

So we were on the road again and backtracking just a bit to go and see the Cosmos Mystery Area.

We turned up the road and headed in the direction of the arrows.

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Cosmos was really pretty cool and we had a lot of fun on the tour.  There's also a really great gift shop there full of fun stuff.

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Would you like to see my really AMAZED face?  Well here it is...

I think M thought he was Superman

And despite the g-forces or whatever affects the Cosmos Nick was able to do this exercise.  Trust me...I couldn't do it.  The fact that I couldn't even reach the bar is only a partial factor in my inability to do this. 

After being totally amazed and awed we headed back to Keystone to tour The National Presidential Wax Museum.

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Some of the wax figures weren't presidential.

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Even though the museum does not seem overly large there are A LOT of wax figures to look at.  Like a whole bunch.  Like I got a little bored about half way through.  But I wasn't too bored to take some pictures and here they are.

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I love phones

And we were off again to continue our adventure...

 

Technorati Tags: Cosmos Mystery Area,South Dakota,The National Presidential Wax Musuem,road trip,phones,family fun,fun times

Zesty Italian Baked Chicken

Tonight I tried a new recipe.  I really like trying new recipes and ~M is more than happy to participate in my experiments so it's a win for everyone!

Here's what you need:

Chicken breasts, I used 2 large boneless skinless

1/2 c miracle whip

1/2 c Italian dressing

1 T Italian seasoning

Here's what you do:

Heat oven to 350. 

1.  Combine miracle whip, Italian dressing and Italian seasoning together.

2.  Place chicken in baking dish and spread 1/2 of the miracle whip mixture over one side of the chicken.

3.  Bake for 30 minutes, turn and spread the remaining miracle whip mixture over the chicken.

3.  Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes.

Super easy and it turned out great!  There were no leftovers ;) so I'm not sure how it would be reheated.  Let me know if you try it!

<3 enjoy

Technorati Tags: chicken,new recipes,Italian,baked chicken,AFWM

South Dakota Trip - Sep 2011

We got up at 3:15am which is literally the crack of dawn in order to get ready to go and see Nick.  We headed to DFW Airport to begin our trip and ate at BK because that's what we always seem to do.

I almost always take a pic of the in flight snack.  It's just what I do.

Our first layover of the trip was in Denver.  Now for those of you that don't know there's apparently a conspiracy that surrounds the Denver airport.  I didn't notice any conspirators around so I couldn't get any clarification to any of them.

We arrived in lovely Rapid City ready for a fun filled weekend and headed to Ellsworth to check in.  They allowed us to check in early so we had a place to drop off our bags and then we were off!

We ate at a place called Pancheros and it was really yummy! Nick is apparently a regular there because when they saw him walk in one of the cooks walked to the back to cut up some fresh cilantro for him. :) That's my boy!!

It's definitely a place we would visit again.

After filling our tummies we were off again and headed to Mt. Rushmore so that I could get my National Park Passport Stamps Book stamped. We had visited several times before but we are always amazed at the magnificence of it all.

Stamped Passport Book in hand we were now ready to head to Keystone and ride the 1880 Train from Keystone to Hill City and back again. While waiting on the train we walked around Keystone checking things out.

There's a cool shop called Dahl's Chainsaw Art.  Two brothers own it and their work is pretty awesome.

 

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...and I love taking pics of the lights above me.

Hey M ~ you've got mail!

A picture of us in a really big wooden chair.

Now it's time to wait for the train.

The three of us ready for a fun ride on the train

 

On the way we passed this sign and if you know my family you will know I had to take a pic.

We made it to Hill City.

Brief stop to drop off and pick up passengers and then we were on our way again. 

Is he facebooking?

There's a house for sale out there that I'd LOVE to have

 

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We had the chance to meet the conductor and get his autograph so we did.  How often can you say you've done that?

I had such a fun time with both my guys and was excited because there was more fun ahead!

<3

 

Technorati Tags: South Dakota,Mt. Rushmore,National Parks Passport Book,Keystone,Hill City,1880 Train,fun times,road trip

Creamy Rice, Chicken & Spinach Dinner

Tonight I tried a new recipe from Kraftrecipes.com but I of course tweaked it a bit.  Or maybe exercised my creative license?  Either way you go I didn't follow the recipe as closely as I have others in the past.  It turned out great and here's how you can try my tweaked recipe for yourself.

Here's what you need:

1/4 c Italian dressing

2 pkgs pre-cooked chicken strips, cubed

1/2 c onion

2 c chicken or vegetable broth

2 c instant rice, uncooked

8 oz cream cheese, cubed

1 pkg (8 oz.) baby spinach leaves

1 large tomato, chopped

Grated parmesan cheese

Here's what you do:

Cook onion with a little bit of butter until onions are softened and slightly brown.  Add dressing and chicken and heat through.  Stir in broth; bring to boil.  Add rice; stir.  Return to boil; cover and simmer on medium heat 5 minutes.

Add cream cheese and cook 2-3 minutes or until melted stirring frequently.  Add spinach, pan will be full.  Cook covered, 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.  Stir gently to mix in spinach. 

Remove pan from heat.  Let stand, covered 5 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes; top with Parmesan cheese. 

Turned out pretty good and it made enough so I can have leftovers.  Yummy!

Enjoy <3

**UPDATE** The leftovers were awesome! I love a recipe even more when the leftovers are good as well.

 

Technorati Tags: Creamy Rice,Chicken & Spinach Dinner,kraft recipes,new recipes,spinach,chicken recipes,rice,dinner ideas

Chicken Carbonara

I love the Betty Crocker website.  They have lots of yummy recipes to try and I found a new one to try for dinner last night.  It's not necessarily in line with my lower calorie eating ideas but it was really delicious.

Here's what you need:

1 package (12 oz) spaghetti

8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch squares

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 cups cut-up cooked chicken

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream

Not too many ingredients which is the kind of recipe that I like!

Here's what you do:

1.  Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package.

2.  While spaghetti is cooking, cook bacon in 3-quart saucepan over low heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp.  Remove bacon from saucepan with slotted spoon; drain.  Drain fat from saucepan, reserving 1 tablespoon in saucepan.

3.  Cook onion in bacon fat over medium heat about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is tender.  Stir in spaghetti, chicken, cheese and whipping cream.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.  Toss with bacon.

This was supremely yummy and it reheats very well. 

Enjoy <3

Technorati Tags: Chicken Carbonara,chicken recipes,chicken,AFWM,pinterest,AF WingMoms,new recipes

Feta-Topped Chicken

Like many of you I have opted to embrace some goals (resolutions...whatever you want to call them) for the New Year.  2011 was a good year and I expect 2012 to be EPIC!  Since epic doesn't happen by accident I've decided one of the things I was going to do was eat a little healthier.  Here's a dish I made for dinner this past week.  Let me tell you, it turned out yummy!

Here's what you need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (not pictured)

2 T balsamic vinaigrette dressing

1 t Italian seasoning

1 tomato cut into 8 slices

1/4 c crumbled feta cheese

Now I substituted lemon pepper seasoning for the Italian seasoning because it's what I had on hand.  I also used a little more feta cheese than the recipe called for because gosh darn it, I love cheese.  And I don't always measure things but use the measurements as a guideline or a suggestion if you will.  Much like the speed limit on the highway...but that's another story.

Here's what you do:

1.  Heat the oven to 350.  The recipe said to brush both sides of the chicken with dressing but with my bottle you could squirt it out so that's what I did.  I figured less mess that way.  Sprinkle both sides with the seasoning and place in baking dish. 

2.  Bake for about 22 minutes on one side and turn over.  Bake for an additional 17 minutes and then top with tomato and cheese.  Bake for an additional 5 minutes.

I served it with dinner rolls and a pre-made lettuce and spinach side salad and added cucumbers and carrots.  Super easy and definitely going into my recipe box.

Enjoy <3

 

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Quick Stop In Hot Springs

Back on the road again we made a little side stop at Hot Springs.  It was a hot day and I was ready to get back to the Casa but it seemed silly to be so close to it and not stop. So stop we did.

One of the first things we noticed was people carrying empty jugs to these things that looked like water fountains.  As it turns out you are able to take fresh HOT spring water and that's what these folks were getting.

We had never been to Hot Springs and like I said it was a really hot day but we made our way to Bath House Row and was thinking that we might get a massage or something while we were there.  We actually couldn't find a place with any openings so we just walked down the street sightseeing.

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We stopped at the Visitor Center to tour inside.  Here are some of the pics:

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I love this bottle.  It is a very pretty Cobalt Blue.

Warnings, such as this one, never fail to crack me up.

Prepare to be amazed.  Here's a photo of an actual hot spring.

Do you ever take the time to read the directions on things?  Well I do and when you take the time to read like I do you'll find out that the hand dryer also doubles as a hair dryer.  How handy is that?

We stopped by and took a pic of M in front of the Post Office. Yea for photo ops!!

We were hungry so we walked down the street just a bit and found The Porterhouse.

The place was empty so we had the pleasure of the undivided attention of the server which was nice.  I'm so bad about getting names and pics but he wants to be a professional singer.  It's so cool all the interesting people that we get to meet on our trips.

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Love it that there are step by step instructions for washing your hands as found in the ladies restroom. 

I did see a couple of bathrooms...I'm just fascinated by bathrooms.

So I couldn't leave without taking some of the free water with us.  The only type of container we had was a bottle of water.  I couldn't "mix" the waters so I quickly gulped down what was left ::chug:: ::chug:: ::chug:: and gave it to M to go and get the water.  Now if you read the earlier part about folks getting water from the fountains and you remembered the name of the city we were in then you'll know the temperature of the water that he went and got.  In that plastic water bottle.  With no potholder (like why would I have a potholder randomly in the car while on vacation). 

So yeah, the Park Ranger that was there looks at M and says, you're going to get water in that?  M: Yes sir. Park Ranger: You do know the water is hot, don't ya?  M tests the temp of the water and agrees that it is indeed hot.  Park Ranger: That's why they call it HOT springs.  hahahaha!!! 

Well I had to let the water cool down and then I tested it and guess what?  It tasted just like water.  I absolutely felt rejuvenated and refreshed from drinking it. ;)

We were nearly home but saw two more noteworthy things before it was all over.

Yea for Post Offices!!

And LOOK!! It's Air Force One!!

Super fun trip and considering we spent a total of 10 days together 24/7 and didn't get into any disagreements or quarrels I think we did pretty darn good.  I am so thankful that M makes my life so awesome. <3 live <3 laugh <3 love <3

 

Technorati Tags: Hot Springs,Arkansas,road trip,fun times,Bath House Row,bathrooms,post offices,Air Force