My time in Virginia Beach

My mom and I took a girls trip over to Virginia Beach this past weekend to visit my oldest friend Jill Tyler and her fam. It was such an fun trip, we spent the first day at Colonial Williamsburg enjoying the crisp fall weather, shopping and of course amazing food.

Jill told us about this place that has AMAZING Hot Cocoa, and she was right it was Amazing even the homemade marshmallow inside was to die for.

Here is Jill dipping it into her Hot Chocolate ( or what we like to call the cup of melted chocolate)!

While this is one of the most extraordinary cups of Cocoa I have ever had, you must not drink one all by yourself after about the 8th sip or so it's overwhelming richness makes you want to chuck it! I know it sounds weird but both Jill and I had the exact same reaction and couldn't even make it through a 1/3 of the cup. Anyways if you do happen to make it out to Williamsburg hit up this place and see for yourself.

The Blue Talon

Both Jill and I have both been wanting to try these delicious looking Apple Pie Caramel Apples off The Girl Who Ate Everything .

We both aren't the best "candy makers" but we gave it a try.

Jill doing her special "tap" technique to get the excess caramel off.

"I am so proud of Me!"

We ran out of sticks so the knife made do.

Mixing up the white chocolate

adding the cinnamon sugar

ours didn't turn out quite as perfect as hers, but of freaking my they were MMMMMM Good!

I don't know exactly how many we ate, lets just say the kids didn't get much.

Will I make these again, Yes indeedy!

While we were there the Tyler's took us to the famous Wood Chicks BBQ, who won the Throwdown with Bobby Flay for their pork sandwich and is also on Pit Masters.

Well BBQ Pork sandwiches are one of my many food weakness and I couldn't wait to try it

I apologize that I ate it too fast and was unable to take a picture. But I will tell you it Rocked! So if you have a chance please stop in to Wood Chicks.

Thanks for a GREAT time Tyler's you fed us well!

Jill will also be featured in an upcoming guest food post! Till then, happy trails.

All Wrapped up

So I saw this meal on one of my fav. cooking blogs Mels kitchen cafe.

Now it was a little out of my comfort zone, but since I had previously attempted this roll recipe I thought I could do it. I tried and triumphed. It was perfection- granted it didn't look as Gorgeous as hers did but the tasted was still Phenomenal!

Now this looks a LOT more complicated than it is.

As long as you follow the steps you can make this dish into anything you want. I used mostly the same stuffing as she did- but I plan on trying many more variations of it. ( Her readers had many comments on different ideas and things they have tried)

I rolled it out pretty wide since I had a lot more stuffing that hers called for. It also makes 2 braids so this is a great dish to make one for your family and one to take to someone. ( Which since It was our night to make dinner for my SIL and her family, that is exactly what I did.)

Then I made about a 4 inch groove in the middle that would house the stuffing.
Then I cut strips on either side by hand- this does not need to be perfect each strip was about an inch wide.

Then I loaded up the stuffing in the center that I lightly rubbed with some bbq sauce.

The Stuffing mixture could be basically anything you would like- I did bbq chicken with red onions and cilantro. Topped off with 2 kinds of cheese -monterey jack and sharp cheddar.

This is where your creativity and food preference will come in whatever sounds good to you.

Ideas here

Then start wrapping it up- taking one strip at a time starting at one end and wrapping it over to the other side.

seal up the edges and brush butter on the top
then bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min.
It felt pretty hard when it came out, but it tasted perfect. Crunchy, chewy and just pure goodness. I can't wait to try some more filling ideas.

BBQ Chicken Braid
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture

*Note: the amounts of chicken, onions, barbecue sauce, and cheese in the recipe can be altered based on your preference – simply add more or less to your liking.

*Makes 2 large braids

1 recipe French Bread Rolls
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
1 red onion, sliced into thin half moons
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

After the french bread roll recipe has gone through the first rise, split the dough into two parts. Lightly cover one portion and set aside. Roll the other portion into about an 11X17-inch rectangle (I roll mine out directly on a silpat liner to make for easy transfer to the baking sheet and oven). Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut 1-inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread half of the barbecue sauce down the center strip. Top with the chicken, onions and cheese. Fold the side strips over filling, alternating strips from each side and pressing them into the dough on the opposite side, forming a braid. Pinch or twist to seal.

Place the braid on a lined baking sheet (or simply transfer the silpat liner to a baking sheet) and let rest for 15 minutes. While it is resting, follow the same steps above for the second portion of dough. Bake the first braid for 15-20 minutes (while the second braid is resting), until golden brown and bread is baked through. Remove from oven and bake the second braid.

Let the braids rest for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut braid into sections and serve warm.

A Meal For 10 Under $10!

This past week while shopping I asked the butcher if he had any pork shoulder, he informed me that he did but if I wasn't planning on cooking tonight, that it would be on sale the next day for $.99/lb. ( the roast ended up being less than $4)

SCORE!

So I planned one of my favorite meals.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Corn on the Cob

I also had some fantastic Buns from Sprouts that my neighbors gave us, Score again.

First thing I did was place this Fine piece of meat on top of a bed of sliced onions. Then I seasoned it up with some salt and pepper, threw in about a cup of water and let 7 hours in a crock pot do the rest.

While that was cooking I boiled up some fine looking corn.

I also made a little extra since I had some last minute guests.

Here is what the pork looked like after I shredded it up and De-fatted it ( I think that is a word).

I decided not to cook it in bbq sauce, since my favorite place to get pulled pork sammy's is Joes BBQ and they serve theirs plain and then you add sauce. I also feel like you can really taste the flavor of the meat, instead of Just the sauce.

Then I got some Yummy sauce ( pick whichever you like best). I prefer Joe's sauce but didn't have time to go and get it, so I settled for my second favorite which is Sweet Baby Rays. Then I toasted up a lightly buttered bun(Joe's style) and served it up.

The end result was an A++. The flavor of the meat was perfect and it was oh so juicy, I also loved the onions in with it as well.

So if you are looking for a cheap meal to feed a lot, head on over to Safeway and pick up a pork roast. Hurry quick tomorrow is the last day, and I just picked up 3 more myself.

I also sliced up some strawberries and powdered sugar to go along with it. Yummy right?