German Knockwurst In Beer Broth

I don’t know what is going on with me lately but I am on a roll with my German cooking! I promised myself I would try harder to learn these great dishes of Toblerone’s culture..anticipating one day that we have children of our own to share it all with. So far, looks like I’m living up to that promise!

The other day I found a package of German Knockwurst at our grocery store (made by Boar’s Head company) which I liked since it was in it’s natural casing with zero additives. I hate all that “added caramel” for color plus 8,000 extra chemicals. Just trying to stick to what is clean and good! (The German way of course!)

I wasn’t sure what I would make with Knockwurst but there is one thing I know…nothing goes better with Wurst than….yep…you guessed it….BEER!!!

What You Need:

Knockwurst (I used a pacakge of 4 for our smaller family)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Medium onion sliced

12 ounces of light beer (I used a can of Labatt blue…cuz I’m classy like that!)

1 Cup water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Parsley

 

Here’s How Its Done: 

First off, heat up a dutch oven with olive oil on medium heat. Add the wurst to oil, turning every couple of minutes to brown each side. I would highly recommend putting the lid on. These suckers spit hot oil at me!

 

Next up, add the onions until they are soft. I added just a little extra splash of olive oil. Again, lid on and occasionally stirring them around and turning the sausages.

 

Once onions are cooked through, remove the sausage and place aside. Next comes the fun part…or as some might see it…alcohol abuse. Pour in your 12 ounces of beer! I mean…if you ended up only pouring in 10 ounces because you were feeling a bit thirsty throughout the ordeal, that would be ok too! (I did it. No shame!)

 

As the beer starts cooking up and the fumes start to slightly intoxicate you…add in your salt, pepper, and parsley to taste! Add your cup of water  and bring to a boil. Once boiling put on low heat and let simmer until reduced and you no longer smell the alcohol. This takes about 12-15 minutes.

 

Once reduced, add back in your sausage and keep on low heat. Just need to heat the sausages through.

 

While that continued to warm up, I made my homemade Spätzle and warmed up some Sauerkraut to complete the meal. If you want a thicker sauce you can certainly add a little sauce thickener or cornstarch and water mixture. I didn’t do that to mine, I liked it as it was but to each his own!

 

There ya have it! It’s a really simple dish which requires very few ingredients. Let’s be honest…most of which you probably have in your home already!

Let me know if you try it out or what you would do to change it up!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

 

 

 

An American Easter in Germany

Easter rolled around again and it’s crazy to think that I’ve been here for two Easters already. My how time flies. We were slammed with more snow BUT our home was warm with American friends and a roaring fire of course.

I mean look at these lovely guests!

We had our American buddies, who live in Stuttgart Germany, drive out to spend the weekend with us which was such a treat for me! I really love having visitors to begin with where I can speak my own language and remind myself of all the slang words I’ve forgotten living out this way! Not only that but these two brought us the most AMAZING gifts!!! I mean…HELLO!! Take a look at these:

Can we talk about that for a moment? They are not in the military but have access to the military base because one of them works on base, which means they have access to the grocery store with all the American stuff. It’s like this treasure hidden away and I’m not allowed in 😦 I wish they would just grant me access to shop there. I’d be all over that! Anywho, we got a normal sized peanut butter jar with YUMMMY peanut butter inside, loads of reese’s, Sam adams beer for Tobi (there were more but those went bye bye in a mere 5 minutes!), and GIRL SCOUT COOKIESSSSSSSS!!!!!!! OMG! I can’t even begin to tell you. Its amazing. The last time I bought girl scout cookies I think I had to leave them with my parents because I was moving to Germany so I never did get my last one 😦 So…THANK YOU, FRIENDS!!! Made out Easter 1 million times more amazing by bringing a piece of home to us!

So we had a great dinner with my strawberry salad and caprese filled burgers. Totally American, totally loved!

After our bellies were overstuffed overjoyed we hopped in the jacuzzi for a long time and discussed wedding plans. Obviously not with each other but our American weddings are a week apart. So that’s fun! We snuggled up on the couch and watched the Syracuse game against Marquette and it was totally amazing to see live (thanks to our new “English” channels).

The following morning was filled of Easter fun and more snow…fantastic. Everyone had to find their basket…including Harley and there was also an Easter egg hunt at the end! Loved doing this and now I know why my mom loved doing it every year too 🙂

We had omelettes for breakfast and then they were on their way home. It was SO nice for us and so easy with these guys. I forget sometimes just how easy going Americans can be and it’s not an all out process like it is with the Germans. Two totally different cultures and two totally different stress levels!

Here’s a little gem for you….check me out in the mornings with the lovely Fe!! WOOHOOOOOOO Sexy thang!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Avocado Feta Grilled Cheese

I promise you all that you will be thanking your lucky stars once you make this (and tomorrow’s post – SOUP!) It’s an incredible burst of flavor in your mouth that you didn’t know was possible. I’ll be taking donations for the excruciating feat of testing a new recipe in case of any poisonous reactions and the like. Indeed, I took one for the team on this one. You’re welcome.

AVOCADO FETA GRILLED CHEESE

Naturally, grilled cheese was the first thing I learned how to make. Simple. Fast. and took 3 ingredients. Cheese, bread, and butter. Over the years I even got requests from my baby sister to make her my famous grilled cheese. I am the master. You can get really creative with it and this is what I put together. Sticking with the theme of the original grilled cheese in two ways. Keeping it Simple and Fast as well as the usual Cheese, bread, and butter. Again, you’re welcome.

What You Will Need (this serves 2)

4 slices of Bread of your choice.

1 Avocado – peeled and sliced the “hot dog way” into thin long slices.

1/4 Cup Feta cheese

2 slices of cheese – I used something similar to Swiss.

Butter and lots of it!

Tzaziki spread – here in Germany we have many different yogurt based spreads to use. I used one similar to Tzaziki without garlic. It’s a bit more of a cream cheese consistency.

How To Make It:

Heat a frying pan on medium-low heat. My stove goes up to the number 9 – I set it at 4 (If that gives you an idea.) The art of grilled cheese is lots of butter (get over it diet people) and slow cooking.

Butter one side of each slice of bread. (4 sides should be buttered – not 8..obviously)

Place the buttered side down on the heated frying pan and carefully spread a small  helping of the tzaziki spread on the non-buttered side of the bread.

Place cheese on top of the tzaziki, then avocado, and sprinkle carefully the feta cheese.

Let cook for a moment to get the cheese melted. Carefully lift the bottom to see if the bread has browned lightly. If it has, place the other slice of bread on top (butter side up) and press down lightly then flip!

Once both sides are browned lightly or to your liking, take out of pan and slice it! 🙂  EASY PEASY!

Hope you guys enjoy this one…it’s soooooo yummy!!!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

A Fat And Happy Bunny

For those of you who know me, I like to plan things out and if things don’t go perfectly, I may as well hide in a dark closet for the rest of my life. Since I’m typing this and clearly not from a dark closet I wanted to let you all know that the Easter dinner I had planned last minute went swimmingly. Literally was a HUGE success and now I’m ready to take on the world! Er….no, I’m not but I’m a little proud of myself. I had literally next to no Easter decorations so I made them myself or got creative!

I found some tea lights that were cute, bought some Easter grass and voila! That’s it! 🙂 The rest I had here at home and this place was popping with color!

The aftermath of awesomeness

The key to a successful dinner party is a combination of two things:

Creamy Dijon Chicken Linguine!

I made this for Valentine’s Day and it was a HIT! Lately, I’ve been trying to stay away from Garlic recipes since it makes for some really stinky breath but since it was Valentine’s Day I decided to let us have it!

This recipe is super easy and only takes a few ingredients! Give it a try and let me know what you think! 🙂 (Note: Sorry for the lack of pictures – I was cooking 8 things at once and didn’t have a chance to get out the good camera! Hope you can forgive me!!)

What You Will Need:

350 gram package fresh linguine, cooked
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup fresh, cleaned, and sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to season
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds – if you can’t find toasted just regular (peeled) and chop them up!
4 ounces dry white wine
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups whipping cream

How To Make It:

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium low heat.

2. Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook the chicken until completely cooked.

3. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm

4. Add 4oz white wine (I used dry) to the pan and let simmer until it is reduced by half.

5. Next add in 2 cups whipping cream, 3 tbsp Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon.

7. Return Chicken to the sauce and add the mushrooms.

8. Simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

9. Serve over cooked linguine. Sprinkle almonds on top.

10. GUTEN APPETIT!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Chicken Marsala – Totally Worth It

As most of you may have figured out I’m beyond addicted to a cute little website called Pinterest. It’s going to be the death of me, however, it’s really sparking me to get a grip and do things better. I decided a while ago that I wanted to expand my repertoire in the cooking field and this I am doing with the help of other’s super easy recipes. I came across this website called Savory Sweet Life and in it I found this recipe for Chicken Marsala.  Toblerone loves the beef or chicken flavored gravies. When he was a a little tot…that’s all he ate was bread and gravy so I knew this recipe would be one he could easily enjoy.

This is how mine turned out in comparison to the picture from the website below.

Please please please go check out Savory Sweet Life’s webpage! It’s INCREDIBLE!!! These are the exact pictures, recipe, and directions from the website so no credit to me! You should know that I used white wine instead of sherry and it was just as good. Next time I will try it with sherry just to see if there is a difference. It’s SO tasty and I absolutely will be making this again!

TOBLERONE’S TASTE TEST:

Well, I guess its the first time I am doing something like this, I mean, posting I guess, other then on Facebook probably. I am following Kaiti’s post longer then all of you do for sure but now I am at the computer, now I am in charge, as the Americans would say ! So I know, you  heard a lot about me and our lives here in Germany, all the bad things, all the good things, all the up and downs, everything. Thats not what I am supposed to talk about I guess… Well, if you care about my private life as well, here are a couple facts first, before I start rating the Chicken Marsala ! 1st of all, I am just getting out of our jacuzzu, sitting at the couch right now and thinking about food I have to write about in a blog, as I just got told…. Sounds weird to me. I am not a big writer. Me, the Toblerone, I am a soccer, snowboard, hiking outdoor guy. Very competitive and I also never can lose. Sitting here, thinking about food, and even worse, how to rate it. Maybe I can add some beer tasting ? I just got yelled at for that comment. Just got yelled at again for not getting to the point, or to Chicken Marsala. Ok fans, you will get more later,  big promise.

Here is the rating (To see my rating table go here): Years ago, I hated beans, I basically hated everything green, spinach, broccoli, beans, everything. Today, with a good piece of steak or chicken and I dont care about the green stuff.  The first thing I told Spice when I ate the Chicken Marsala was that I really love it, and I meant it. The chicken was super tender and moist, the mushrooms perfectly cooked and even the beans (I hated years ago) were better then expected. Overall I would say, it was an 8 out of 10 points. I have to say, I compared it to some food in the past (I dont want to specify any closer) which was a 4 or so at most. So, for me an 8 is like super good. Ok people, thats it for now. As Spice would say, until next time readers! Cheers Tobi

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Ingredients
2  skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour or corn starch for gluten-free
up to 1/2 cup  olive or vegetable oil
8 ounces container of mushroom, sliced and cleaned
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine
Optional: 2 tablespoons  heavy cream
Garnish with chopped parsley or oregano

Directions:
Split each chicken breast through the middle to make 2 pieces.  Place plastic wrap over them and pound each one flat using a meat tenderizer/mallet until they are about a quarter inch thick.  Season a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides of each piece.  Place some flour on a plate and and dredge each piece of chicken in it.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and when the oil is hot fry each piece of chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown (this may require you to do this in 2 batches). Remove chicken and place them on your serving platter covering them with foil.

Reduce the heat to medium and add butter and mushrooms.  Saute mushrooms for 4-5 minutes making sure to season them with salt and pepper lightly.  Add marsala wine, sherry, cream, and chicken stock allowing the liquid to reduce slightly – approx. 3 minutes.  Pour mushrooms and sauce over chicken and serve. Enjoy!

 

NOW GO OUT AND MAKE IT!!! STAT!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Holy Schnitzel!

The word “Schnitzel” just sounds dirty doesn’t it? Like what your younger brother used to call his boy part. Well..this has nothing to do with nakedness but more like the deliciousness that is “THE SCHNITZEL.”

The German people love their Schnitzels (see what I mean…that just sounds wrong!) especially with French fries and lots of beef flavored gravy. I don’t think it’s in any way good for you as it is a fried food but when I first came here to visit and I couldn’t read the menu I always ordered Schnitzel with Käse Spätzle because I knew that was safe to eat. I didn’t want to mistakenly order Liver or something like that. Speaking of Liver, Grandpa, you would LOVE the food here. They have liver soup, liver noodles, liver everything and lots of deer meat!

So, I started to learn how to make Schnitzel for the Toblerone and it’s crazy easy. You can make Schnitzel with a beef gravy, creamy mushroom gravy, tomato sauce, turn it into a Hawaiian (pineapples with cheese), A Caprese Schnitzel, A Schnitzel salad. The possibilities are endless here! And not to mention it takes an assembly line and 20 minutes to cook, tops! You know me, the faster the better. This recipe is to make the very basic Schnitzel. Once you have the base you can make anything you want.

What You Need:

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. All-purpose flour

3-4 pork steaks – thin cut

1 egg beaten

1 cube beef flavored bouillon

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

How to Make it:

1. In a shallow dish, mix bread crumbs, flour, and salt and pepper. Put aside.

2. In a shallow dish, beat egg. Put Aside

3. In a shallow dish, put mustard in bowl.

4. If your pork steaks are still too thick, use a meat mallet to flatten it a bit. Here they have them so thin they spread out to be bigger than the plate. It’s incredible. So, the thinner the better!

5. Heat oil in a large skillet. While the oil is heating up work an assembly line with the pork steaks. First dip into the egg, then coat with mustard, then coat with the breadcrumbs evenly. This is the fun messy part so get down and dirty! Liberate yourself in the mess!

 

6. Place steaks in pan and cook evenly on both sides until browned.

7. Make the bouillon in a separate pot, you may want to add cornstarch or flour for thickness.

My Toblerone usually eats this with gravy poured over his french fries and his schnitzel and whatever else he can find. Literally licking the plate afterwards…(he’s obsessed with gravy.) This is a super quick meal to make and since I wasn’t able to get a finished picture fast enough (he eats like Garfield) I found one that looks similar so you get the idea! When in Germany, eat as the Germans do!  Guten Appetit!

 

 

 

 

Vacation In The Alps: Day Two – Relax

For those of you just tuning in – Don’t forget to read Day One of our vacation here. 

Day Two

We woke up refreshed and as usual I sat outside on our balcony waiting for the cows to come outside from their barn. A little farm directly in front of us with 12 cows (yes I counted) and the first cow would always “moo” his way to the grass with the others following, as if to say, “Hey Blanche! The weather is great, come on out of your hole!” I think I want a pet cow. Just a little one. Maybe they have miniature ones? You know, like the miniature giraffe phenomenon.

So we started our day with the typical German breakfast which usually consists of bread/rolls, meats of all kinds, yogurt, oats, soft-boiled eggs, and more kinds of jams than I can comprehend. All homemade of course! After breakfast I was cursing myself for eating so damn much because 10 minutes following food would come our massages. Yes, massages. Just what the doctor ordered! These situations are always funny to me because of the awkward language barrier. I take off my robe and get on a table and the woman was very nice of course but she starts talking all fast and in crazy German and I’m totally lost. She got the hint and said nothing for the rest of the time. Then came out the elbows! She was digging into the millions of knots I have in my back and shoulders with her elbows! Those things are pointy!! Don’t people know that?! Lord, it was good though.

Of course after the massage I felt super calm and wanted to relax a little bit more on our balcony. Which I did completely naked except for my underwear. What? I’m trying to be a “European” these days! No one could see me anyways. We are on the second floor and completely guarded by walls. It was just naked old me, the sun, and the cows. As I’m laying there all the sudden a guy who works at the hotel goes tramping by my balcony. Checking on the water system or some such. What does he say as he sees me in my nakedness? “Good Morning!” HA! I bet it is indeed a good morning for you, buddy! However, my morning just went from totally relaxed to high-strung in a matter of glances! Of course this would happen to me. What are the odds?

After I calmed down slightly we decided it would be best to save face and head to town…fully clothed, mind you! We shopped around and walked the streets.It was sweltering hot so looked for a place to chill out and have some lunch. We ended up finding a nice outside restaurant with shade!

What better to have then a beer and jaegerschnitzel (this is pork in a creamy mushroom sauce)! Which was pretty good but the beer was better.

This town, Oberstdorf, is also a big winter-sports place. Complete with ski-flying jumps, ice-skating rink, and of course a million mountains for skiing/snowboarding. We went to check out the ski-flying jump (If there is a better English word for these, please inform me because I can not for the life of me remember anything!).

(Can you see up at the top? Where the jump starts? That’s where we were headed.)

Now, I was all for seeing this and taking a trip to the very top of it all. From the bottom all was grand, and the steepness of the hill was in perspective however, that’s a totally different perspective when you’re getting dragged up to the very top in a raggedy old ski lift!

As we went up I was wicked jittery and really nervous. This strikes me as odd only because I AM that person that lives for roller coasters and the thrill of it all. When I’m on a roller coaster – I’m bored. I usually laugh my way through it and when we get done, I’m probably the only one saying, “Isn’t there something more scary?” I’m crazy like that.

So we reach the halfway point and on the top of the hill is a little cafe and sitting area. We kept going. We take the Willy Wonka elevator in a diagonal motion which is strange in of itself. I get in the elevator and there is seating on one side and steps down on the other. So imagine this. On the left are two boys sitting down to my left and their fathers are stationed on the steps to my right. I’m standing in the middle on the flat platform. The walls have no windows. All the sudden we start moving and my body is set for going vertical however, this bitch is taking me Northwest! What in god’s name is happening here? Get me off this ride, Dorothy! So, as I get my bearings we reach the top and as soon as I walk out of the elevator, my knees go.

I’m like a big bowl of melting ice cream. I wasn’t going any further. Toblerone was so excited and snapping pictures right and left. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wouldn’t go to the very very top. Knees buckled beneath me and moving like jello, we walk the stairs up to the tippy top of this monstrous thing and there you have it. I’m holding on to dear life.

Literally as we walk around the small space I won’t move a foot unless my hand is touching something. Like Tarzan swinging from rope to rope however this was me swinging from ledge to flag pole to ledge. I realized at this moment, I have a fear of heights. Scratch off bungee-jumping from my list. NOT going to do that in this lifetime, thanks. The views were incredible though, honestly.

I’m not exactly sure how people decide to make this a sport. I mean, You put yourself on a slippery slope, which cuts off at the end and you just fly. I don’t have the parts to just do that. I’m also not a skier so this could also be my issue. I just don’t get it. MOVING ON. Apparently the record at this particular place was 225m which is 738 feet. Not too shabby I’d say!

                                                    (Check out these wild-flowers….beautiful!)

After this wonderful adventure which tested my fears we decided to go back to the hotel since it was so incredibly hot. I knew that today seemed to be a test of all sorts of things. Why not grasp this moment and experience things from a European’s perspective. This thought brought me directly to the Sauna. I could do this. It wasn’t an overly crowded thing so the odds of being in there with someone other than Toblerone were fairly slim. First stop of course though was the pool. My FAVORITE place to be. Put me in pool water and I won’t get out. I was that annoying kid that you had to tell 800 times to get out of the pool before you had to come and drag me out yourself. Some things never change. After swimming we tried out the infrared sauna which was interesting. I’m not sure what it does exactly but something with lights and if your back is red then it means the blood circulated properly. I don’t know, I just played with the pretty lights.

After that we walked up to the treehouse which held the saunas in it. We tried the steam room which wasn’t so bad. Then we tried the regular coal sauna. This particular sauna is never my thing. It’s much too hot and I think I can’t breathe so I normally don’t last longer than 5 minutes, if that. I tried my hand at the naked part (towel was still wrapped around me) but Toblerone let it all hang out. Here’s the fun part. This sauna is quite beautiful it’s very large and looks like a log cabin complete with a loft. There was a naked man up there at one point and he got too hot so he came down the stairs. Guess where I was sitting? Directly under the stairs. I got the show of a lifetime, people. Let me tell you! I won’t get into details but I’m sure you can imagine what I saw. End of story and end of my time in that sauna. I went by myself to the Steam Sauna where no one came in, not once and it was the best topless 10 minutes of my life. exhilarating and naughty all at the same time.

This is not my picture – from the hotel website but this is what the steam room looked like. Smelled like hay in there. 

Afterwards I went back to the pool and told Toblerone I would meet him for dinner. Tonight was typical Bavarian dinner. Bavarian = Oktoberfest. This region is known for some interesting foods so I wasn’t super excited. Kept thinking about how I hope they had some kind of normal food I could eat. Serenaded by two large men in their tiny lederhosen with traditional Bavarian music got me excited to put on my Dirndl and dance on tables with a glass of beer ten times the size of my head. The dinner was a buffet style so we were able to choose from all sorts of things. I’ll be honest, most of the things I got I didn’t eat but I tried all of them! That counts right? If you can figure out what these things are in the picture, all the more power to you!

Soup – Tomato cream soup (Originally menu called for liver soup but I asked for something else): 

Appetizer (lots of cheeses): 

Main Course:

Dessert – Apple filled fried donut with cream and berry sauce (SO good):

I was filled to the brim and seriously needed to get out. There was a soccer game on so we headed to town to watch the game in a quaint little bar. We had enough of the bar and felt so tired from the day and headed back to the hotel where they were showing the game on a giant projection screen. I knew this meant two things. 1. I wasn’t going to bed anytime soon and 2. Toblerone would wake up the whole hotel if a goal was scored. Both of those things happened.

It was a great day/night and I was feeling more relaxed every minute!!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Vacation In The Alps: Day One – De-Stress

I can’t even tell you how excited I am about sharing our vacation with you people! I’m so ridiculous, I even made notes everyday of everything we did so I wouldn’t forget and you wouldn’t miss out on ANY detail! So let me get right down to it! I’ve decided I will spread it out over a few blogs that way I can post more pictures without boring you to pieces!

DAY ONE

We left the house around 11am and I felt pretty good that I had packed everything into the smallest suitcase ever made. Of course Toblerone would find the reasonable sized suitcase and pack all his crap in there before I could get started. So, after all that was finished, I decided to clean the house so it would be perfect and spotless to come home to. Which included vacuuming and mopping the floors, 3 loads of laundry, dusting, dishes, changing sheets, and cleaning the toilets (FUN!). As we left though I felt a bit of a clam rush over me. After the months of stress during his surgery and illness and finally being able to get away from the house and just de-stress, it was more than welcomed!

Equipped with road beers, wine, and my iBooks on my phone I was ready to start the 2.5 hour drive to the Alps. A beautiful drive at that! Completely through the country-side, avoiding the Autobahn. (THANK YOU BABY JESUS!!!!) The weather was a kicker too. Prior to this, it was primarily cold and rainy – The entire summer thus far. All the sudden as we start out on our trip the sun comes out! Couldn’t have been better timing. I was whiter than necessary and starting to scare the children in our neighborhood. Anywho, as I said, the drive was great and I couldn’t tell if it was the wine that was making me so excited or not but that’s neither here nor there!

We arrive to our hotel which is surrounded by the breath-taking views of the Alps. For those of you who have been living under a rock, the Alps are incredible. Mountains upon mountains but more so I’ve learned it’s not the mountains that are so amazing, but the little villages that are in between all of them.

Our hotel was set back behind a small cow farm and behind a little creek. There were people walking everywhere and the sun was shining down hard on us to welcome us with GIANT open arms to a world of relaxation! Hotel Sonnenbichl was the name – which means Sun something or another. There isn’t really a translation for the second word there. We were greeted by a girl in the typical Dirndl and she was nice as pie, showing us to our room. As we arrived in our room I was surprised to see our bed made up like the honeymoon suite!  Rose petals everywhere and the blankets in the shape of a heart. Adorable! Could it get better? Oh hell yeah it could!

The bed would recline to my fancy! Toblerone could sleep flat as a board and I could have my feet and head lifted slightly. Perfect. Let’s also not leave out that they had many different other types of pillows that we could choose from if we didn’t like the standard one in the room. HELLOOOOO service!

I turned my head and there was our balcony, past our “living room” area and it was incredible. The Alps staring at me right in the face as if to sing, “YODEL-WELCOME-HOO!” I had to stop and take a moment. Sometimes I forget that outside of my little world is a much larger world. A beautiful one and I need to slow down and cherish it. In that moment I reminded myself that while I was homesick and sad most of the time, I’m so incredibly lucky that I get to see all of this. Some day that sadness will get easier, I hope, or manageable at best but I will have captured all these other beautiful memories. I wouldn’t replace it for all the money in the world!

I quickly got over the mushy moment when my stomach started to yell at me. LUNCH TIME, Bitches!!  The Hotel Sonnenbichl is completely stocked with a 5 star restaurant which I was very excited to try out. (No worries, I took a picture of our 4 course meals to share each night!!) Our breakfast and dinners were included in the overall price anyways so I course I would be taking advantage of that! We decided to sit out in the sun and enjoy the sunshine for a bit since it had been missing out of our lives for much too long!

Of course we ordered beer and, my favorite, käsespätzle (cheese noodles!) This particular kind however was different than how I make and love it. It was made with mountain cheese called, “Berg käse” which is seriously stinky stuff. Kind of smells like feet and puke together. Delish. Somehow though, it’s actually really tasty with a good red wine. Melted and mixed with noodles, I found, was NOT my favorite thing. It was mushy and just didn’t sit right with me. So, needless to say I stayed FAR away from that nonsense for the rest of the vacay!

After eating we decided to take a tour of the place. This particular hotel is also known for it’s rehabilitation services as well. They offer services for people that were just in the hospital or need rehab for injuries. They have a whole spa place with all sorts of crazy things I had never heard of! We wanted to go look at the spa area so as we walk up and around to the back of the building, there in all it’s glory was a naked man. Just chillin. He was laying out in the sun with absolutely NOTHING on his body. Mr. Willy was hanging out tanning as well. WHAT ON EARTH?! Let’s note that directly across from this area was the children’s play area. HA! Oh strange folk here. I swear!

The sauna looks like a tree house which was pretty cool. There was a typical sauna – two floors! – and a steam room with hay all over the floor. Special place where you could take a hay bath. Strange! Oh and the story gets better. As we are checking these places out a man walks out of the steam room…Mr. Willy wagging around as he hops in the shower. He greats us with the typical greeting,”Grüß Gott.” Literally means, Greetings from God. How on earth do you send greetings from God when you’re naked and your manhood is staring me in the face. Like waving at me and mocking my prude nature. GAH!

Moving along, QUICKLY, I decided I needed a nap to recover from the naked sightings and Toblerone decided he wanted to join the mass in their naked ways at the sauna. By all means…go right ahead!!

Dinner time came along and I was excited to check out what they had. Germans know how to cook and it’s fun for me to try out the new stuff, no matter how much I miss Kraft macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, or pumpkin pie.

We arrived at our reserved table and there I sat staring at 800 forks! I ordered my usual – Amaretto with Apple Juice and headed to the Salad bar. I think I’ve explained this before but the salad bars here are not what we’re all used to in the states. Here, it’s many different types of salads. Most with a vinegar base. At first I didn’t think I could handle eating carrots in vinegar or cucumbers in vinegar. Now, I don’t think I would like the basic salads back home. Let’s EAT!

The Salad Bar:  

And My Selection: 

Noodles with balsamic sauce, ham, deviled egg, and rosemary bread: 

Sauerkraut Soup with Bacon. (AHHH!! BACON!!!): 

Chicken Cordon Bleu filled with gorgonzola cheese, ham, and eggplant: 

Mango Ice-cream with watermelon-mint salad and dipping sauces- strawberry and apricot:

Brilliant stuff! The dessert was my favorite part. A burst of flavor that kicked me straight to heaven! Jealous yet? Piano music played overhead which made me miss my family the most. “Dream a Little Dream” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” pulled at my heartstrings and with an overfilled belly, I was ready to go for a little walk!

We wanted to take a drive and see what we could see. We stopped at a church that had an outside concert of the areas big band. Picture the oompa-oompa music! And then of course we see signs like this – graphic much? I think we get the point, no? It looked like Harley – I couldn’t resist!

We headed into the town called Oberstdorf and upon arrival it felt like magic was in the air. I sound so cheesy but seriously, this town was incredible. Shopping, restaurants, lights, street vendors, everything. There in the background was the haunting silhouette of the Alps.

Like a carnival town with out all the freaks. Wait, I lied. There was a guy walking his black cat around on a leash. Strange happenings. We grabbed a few drinks and sat outside. Day 1 was a success and I was excited to see how Day 2 would turn out!

Mission De-Stress: Accomplished!

Stay tuned for the next few days of the trip! Lots to show you, lots to tell! I’m still dreaming of this place and can’t wait to take my family and friends who arrive. THIS is the place to go! So much to do and see whether it be winter or summer! 

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Tomato Balsamic Chicken – Holy Decliciousness!

This is one of my favorite recipes ever to make. I’ve made it for those I love the most – Roomie, my FamDamily, and the Toblerone of course! It’s incredibly simple and super fast to make. Flavors are brilliant and I just HAVE to share it with you all!

What You Need:

Boneless Chicken Breasts (up to 6 for this recipe)

Black Pepper

1 can (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried basil and oregano

1 tsp Garlic Salt

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 Onion, Thinly sliced

First things first:  Season both sides of the chicken with pepper and garlic salt. I also sometimes use a little bit of greek seasonings I have. I made this last night and used Turkey because I didn’t have Chicken in my giant freezer but it all tastes the same to me! After you season both sides, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. You want the pan to be a little deep because of all the added juices. Once oil is heated, brown the onion and the chicken. You don’t need to cook all the way through, just get it started.

Next you pour in the balsamic vinegar and the tomatoes into the skillet. Throw on your basil and oregano. You can add rosemary and thyme as well but I don’t. Let it simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear. This usually takes about 15 minutes or so.

If I’m feeling extra festive I serve this with garlic bread, fresh mozzarella slices (goes perfect with the balsamic vinegar and tomatoes), asparagus, and chicken flavored rice.  TA DA! Guten Appetit!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxxo