Stuffed Sweet Potatoes/Weekend Getaway

The last couple of days have been amazing! Hopefully good news coming from an OBGYN appt on Friday(I have a follow-up on the 23rd. It's always been a dream of mine to be a mom and we're having some issues. I hope to find out what those are when I go back.) After the appointment was over and I had lots of blood drawn, Chris whisked me away to Chattanooga for a weekend getaway. When we got there Friday afternoon, we checked into our bed and breakfast, The Garden Walk Inn. After getting settled, we headed to Ruby Falls. The exhibit was okay. Both of us agreed, the best parts were learning about the history of it and seeing the actual waterfall. My goodness, it was gorgeous!

Before we left on the trip, I researched places to eat. One of the places I came across was The Acropolis Grill. They bring you fresh bread and homemade cinnamon butter to begin with. I ordered their Caesar salad with homemade dressing, and Chris had their potato soup. For the entree, I had their Farmer's Pie. He had their lamb gyros. Both were delicious! I could eat there every single meal. Dessert was a little different. I had their sugar free Strawberry Patch cake, and Chris had their Tiramisu. His dessert had too much coffee on top. It was definitely not the best one we have ever had. If that was the only bad thing-who cares.

Saturday morning we woke up in time for breakfast which included bacon, cinnamon chocolate chip pancakes, orange juice, and coffee. One word to describe it: heavenly. The room was full of windows and you could watch the squirrels in the garden, observe the beautiful flowers and greens, and admire the vintage furniture. The owners came by the tables and made sure that you were thoroughly taken care of and satisfied. With breakfast as good as that, how can you not be :) After breakfast, we headed into downtown to the Tennessee Aquarium. I knew that it was voted one of the best, so I was super excited! We went through it in about 3 hours, and it was a lot of fun. We both love to learn and observe, so it was like nerd heaven. Outside of the aquarium, there were lots of venders. We had to get goodies to bring home. I am so excited to wear my new badge holder to work tomorrow!! Across the street from the aquarium is Ben and Jerry's. Being an ice cream lover and ALWAYS having it in my freezer growing up, we had to go. The girl behind the counter was awesome! She explained all of the flavors to us, and let us try a sample before choosing anything. It's the little things that make me happy :) After that we went back up Lookout Mountain to Rock City. I was a little unsure. What's so cool about rocks? Boy was I wrong! The scenery was beautiful, and the designers were very creative in the landscaping. We went to Lover's Leap and learned about it's history. Basically it was a Romeo and Juliet story with 2 Native Americans. In one of the trails, there was Fairyland Caverns, and it was full of black lights with sculptures of Mother Goose tales. It was very cool! We had free wine tasting later in our journey through, and Chris got a new leather hat. He's stoked about it.

For dinner, we went to Sing It or Wing It. The menu items are named after famous singers. I thought it was precious. Before 9PM, any age can be in there. If you want to sing karaoke, you pick a song from the binder, give it and your name to the dj, and when its your turn, rock it out. Chris and I didn't sing, but we had so much fun watching everyone else. An older woman got up there and sang Prince's song "You Don't Have to be Rich." Of course she danced with it too, and she was amazing!! I hope after we left she sang more. We went back to Acropolis just to get dessert to go(they have a dessert fridge in the front of the restaurant) and came back to the bed and breakfast. Sunday morning, we got showered and packed and headed to breakfast for the last time. This time, we had a peach french toast bake and sausage. It was slap yo' momma good! I hated to leave, but we had so much fun. I am definitely married to an incredible man. He planned all of this and did an amazing job. I love investing in our marriage.

Here's a couple pictures:

The Lover's Leap Waterfall

My precious hubs and me

Moonshinin' gnomes

The beginning of Fairyland Caverns. There is an actual neighborhood on Lookout Mountain called Fairyland and the street names are fairytale characters i.e. Cinderella, Aladdin, Snow Ride, and Red Riding Hood.

 I had an off day yesterday, and while trying to plan meals, I came across stuffed sweet potatoes. There's the new staple in your kitchen.

Ingredients:
4 medium sized sweet potatoes
1 can black beans washed and drained
1 cup corn-I used fresh corn that I cut off of the cob(4 half ears)
pepper
paprika
cayenne pepper
parsley
cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash potatoes and with a knife, poke small holes. Place on baking sheet and bake in oven for an hour. While they are baking, wash and drain the black beans and put them in a mixing bowl. Next, place paper towels in your microwave and put the corn on top. Microwave for 8 minutes. Remove from microwave and let cool. This helps the shuck and strings to come off easier. Once removed, cut the corn off of 2 ears and place in bowl with beans. I didn't measure my spices. I just added until I got the flavor just right.(Everyone has their preferences.) Mix all of the ingredients together. When the sweet potatoes are soft, they can be removed from the oven. Slice and open them like you would a baked potato. Add the corn/bean filling and top with cheese.

It's easy, delicious, healthy, and very filling! I hope you all enjoy this recipe. What different ingredients will you use?