What a Difference a Day Makes

You know those weekends away, albeit few and far between, that make you refreshed and possibly fall in love all over again?

I was lucky enough to have one of those over my anniversary weekend. It was simply blissful.

We ate, we laughed, we walked, we talked....blissful.



Beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado!

I realized while uploading my pictures that I did not take one picture of Main Street. Not one! It is a large but quaint few blocks with shops ranging from mountian gear to a doggie bakery with the cutest Starbucks (that is in an old tiny house) and a crepe cart smack dab in the middle.

Oh the crepes....yummmmmmmmmm!

We did a little hiking up by lake Dillon.



Gorgeous!

Oh yea, remember how I said we ate? And boy did we....
My favorite part of the whole weekend (except for the crepes-yummm again) was our "fancy" dinner out.



Le Petit Paris is an amazing little French Restaurant right off of Main Street. Sisters Arielle and Marie are the sweetest little team and make you feel at home from the moment they take your coat until the usher you out the door and wave goodbye until you are out of sight. Precious.

Just my kind of place. French bisto-esque with while linen table cloths and vintage advertisements all over the walls.

And the food. Well, the food was To. Die. For.

3 course meals that change with the seasons.

I was trying to be sneaky and not bother the people sitting 2 feet from us, who were probably wondering "who is this crazy girl taking pictures of her table".

After ordering that bottle of wine that is now my new favorite, and having some amazing fresh french bread we dined on French Onion soup and a goat cheese salad that I am determined to duplicate. Boeuf Bourguignon that was deconstructed and amazing and profiteroles that were beyond melt in your mouth!

Now I'm hungry....


The weather was beautiful all weekend, it seemed to be in the stars for us.

And yes, even though we were leaving fat and happy I had to end my weekend here....



Of course, before I realized I hadn't taken a picture of my crepe, it was gone....

I'm thinking of opening one of these....it could be a fun opportunity.

But the pounds I would pack on would not agree with me....so maybe not.

Here we are fat and happy (not in that order~giggle~).


Bliss!

Isn't it Thai-riffic!

O.k. that was just silly. I mean Thai-riffic. Just silly. Anyway, I just had to share this recipe with you because it is mmmm-mmm good and so easy peasy that anyone can do it.
My version of Thai-riffic (o.k. it stuck) Chicken Wraps.
I altered a version of Rachel Ray's Thai Chicken Wraps, so I guess It's part hers and part mine, either way, it's DEVINE. Now if you've never had Thai food, don't worry. This is one simple recipe that I dare you to try to mess up. Ya just can't. Plus, it's really just like a stir fry but so super yummy that you'll make it again and again and again. Well, you get the idea.
Alrighty, on to the recipe.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 c. sweet chili sauce
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 lime

Handful of fresh Basil

Dash of red chili flakes (opt.)
1 Iceberg head of lettuce
1 c. cooked brown rice

Now you see green pepper here because when my hubs brought home the red pepper it was moldy! ewwww!
Start up your brown rice now (or really much earlier cuz this only takes about 15 minutes or so).
For this recipe I used a cup of white rice because the hubs brought home a new brand of brown rice and it takes an hour to cook. So we settled for white, I was up for quick and simple not long and nutritional. We still got the nutritional with a tinsey bit of white. Oh well.

Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips. This chicken was cut into strips that were way to big. I don't know who did that but they should have known better.... now salt and pepper the chicken.

Turn on your the stove to medium/medium high and add approx. 1 tsp of Olive Oil. I don't measure but around one turn of a medium sized pan gets you about 1 tsp or so. Add chicken to pan and cook until golden brown on each side.

*Here is my quick tip regarding the chicken. When you first add the chicken to the hot pan let it sit for a few minutes. Let the first side get nice and brown and don't move it around. If you do the chicken will just tear apart and it will be unevenly cooked. I know it's hard to wait and you'll question it but really, don't move it until you see the underside gettin' all nice and toasty. Then turn and continue to turn until all sides are toasty roasty. Then add in red, uh I mean green (the green aren't nearly as good because they aren't as sweet as the red, oh well) bell peppers and cook until peppers are soft. RR says about 3 minutes.

Next, your gonna need that red pepper sauce. You can find this glorious stuff usually on the top shelf of the oriental section of your supermarket. Just look for what says sweet chili sauce and you have a winner. My hubs uses this stuff on everything now. It is tangy sweet deliciousness. Is that a word?

Add to the pan the sweet chili sauce and honey and let it start to bubble. Then turn down to Medium Low and let simmer to reduce sauce to about half. All the while stirring to coat the chicken. Add in rice and stir.

O.k here is another hint but one you might already know. When cutting the Basil, bunch it up like so, and cut it thinly. It really is the easiest way to cut Basil and it will make nice little ribbons. So pretty for garnishing!

Cut the head of lettuce in half and find the best cups.

Fill each cup with just enough chicken mixture. Don't overfill or you can't pick these puppies up with your hands. That's the only way to eat them!

Top each cup with a little Basil and a squeeze of lime juice. Don't skip the lime. It is devine! ;)

My camera died right before the final pic so this is missing the basil and the dash of chili flakes for my hubs but really, Isn't she lovely. Isn't she wonderful. Isn't she precious. Less than one minute old. O.k. pure silliness. Sorry. I'll stop.

Is your stomach grumbling yet? Mine is. Bon Appetit!