Our Tennessee Vacation - Day 3

Day 3

Adventures at Cades Cove and Gatlinburg. We had a wonderful drive on the scenic loop at Cades Cove, and then stopped for soft serve ice cream at the camp store. Mmmmmmm......... Then, we drove the 2 miles to Gatlinburg, and walked off that ice cream, only to end up eating trout and Jack Daniels Creme Brulee. The price of being on vacation. Even though we only went a few places, our pictures are numerous. We had a lot of fun today, and we even had time to go swimming when we got back to the room. I love vacation!!!

Danny, the worm protector. All of Cades Cove could hear his warning..."Don't step on the worm!"

Do you ever want to freeze one moment in time? I don't think this one would be their choice, do you?

We love ice cream!!!

Danny has decided that, since the one-hour "how-to-react-when-you-see-a-bear" training on tv was so informative, he's ready to meet one.  

The traditional family sign photo. I think Zachary has grown an extra set of ears, but I'm not sure. Do you see anything?

Our Tennessee Vacation-Day 2

Day 2

Our vacation continued on day 2 with excursions into Pigeon Forge. We started across the street from our condo at the Old Mill district. We shopped at the Old Mill country store and the Pigeon River Pottery store, and then took a break at the ice cream shop.

We continued in Pigeon Forge with a winery tour of the Mountain Valley and Hilltop Wineries, and then made a stop at one of the best places in Tennessee, The Apple Barn and the Applewood Restaurant.  Oh, my - their apple fritters with apple butter are so insanely good, we got an extra batch for breakfast the next morning. After we had stuffed ourselves on home-cookin' (best chicken and dumplin's I have ever eaten, hands down) we went to their winery for our last stop on the Smoky Mountain Wine Tour. 

We then made our way to the Smoky Mountain Knifeworks store and museum. I think if George could have, he would have spent the entire day there, it was pretty impressive.  By the time we were finished there, we were pooped, and we went back to our room for the night. Good books and relaxation were what we needed, and we sat back and enjoyed some quiet time. It was a good day.

Our Tennessee Vacation-Day 1

Day 1
Our excitement was tangible in the morning as we finished packing and left Tallahassee for the 8-hour drive to Pigeon Forge, TN. I drove through Atlanta on I-75 (no bypass this time, and I can tell you, I am one brave woman), and on into the Knoxville area. I have always wanted to live in the low mountain area of Tennessee, so as I was driving, I was taking in the scenery and just enjoying being in the mountains. We arrived at our accomodations, Whispering Pines Condominiums, and checked in to our beautiful 2-bedroom condo with furniture that Megan said made her feel like we never left home. By then, it was 8pm, and we were ravenous, so we went down the street to Mama's Farmhouse Restaurant, and had one of the best family style meals you can get in a restaurant. The waiter pegged our family as carnivores because all of the meat was gone, and the carbs and veggies were barely touched. So true... We then came back, put the kids to bed, and watched the season opener of True Blood. It's going to be a great season, I can tell already.
George, Zachary and Megan all took pictures of the first day, and I'll share a few. I will document each day as they happened, so more to come tomorrow...

The Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

A couple of weeks ago, George talked me into buying a new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. This book is chock full of home-cookin' recipes and amazingly well-shot photos of her life on a ranch in Oklahoma. It is also apparent that Ms. Drummond loves her husband, the Marlboro Man, almost as much as I love mine. One stipulation of buying this is that I have to make the food in the cookbook (and I thought I was buying it to look at the pretty pictures!), so last night I made the Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwiches for the family. Oh my, were they tasty. If you're a fan of farm life and you love great photos, then this is the book for you. It is definitely a keeper for us.

Banana Pudding

I got my absolute favorite Banana Pudding Recipe about 13 years ago. Curtis Akins, one of the original food network chefs, is a vegetarian soul food chef (is that an oxymoron?), and he made this pudding. Once I tried it I was hooked. All natural vanilla custard (that means no cool whip!), bananas and vanilla wafers. Simplicity at its finest. The recipe goes like this:

Banana Pudding

2-3 bananas, sliced

Vanilla Wafers

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

2 eggs

2 cups whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla (I use homemade vanilla, it's lighter)

In a large bowl (2 qt.), place one layer of sliced bananas, then a layer of wafers until bottom of bowl is filled (I put one banana and wafer on sides), making sure that the top layer is wafer. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, beat eggs. Add sugar and whisk until combined. Whisk in flour, vanilla, and milk. Place on medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard coats the wooden spoon. Pour over banana and wafer layers. Chill to allow the custard to set (at least four hours or overnight).