Reservations for Two at Your Marriott Villa

 Here we are with another Menu Monday adventure.  This however, isn't about which restaurant to eat out, this is an alternative.  Traveling can be expensive, eating out all the time even more so.  We like to stay in condo's where we have a kitchen and care prepare most of our meals in.  We picked up a delicious stuffed chicken breast from Whole Foods.  One was more then enough for a really good meal for the two of us.  We had left overs which came into play another night.  Nice dinner rolls, stuffed chicken breast baked in the oven, fresh green beans seasoned with fresh Pancetta, and nice bottle of wine.  A meal as nice as many out.  The chicken is easy, put it in the oven for about an hour while you're having cocktails.  Lightly brown a few pieces of Pancetta in a skillet (and you really only need a few pieces because it's so flavorable), then add the green beans after they've cook for a few minutes in the microwave.  A meal for about 12.00 without the cost of the wine.

 Skillet pasta.  Cook pasta as you normally would (I had Linguini), but drain it just a bit before it's done, as it will finish cooking in the skillet.  Brown some Pancetta, add onions, and peppers (I like red ones).  Have half a pound of shrimp washed (with or without tails, I prefer without), and toss those in along with a good handful of fresh spinach.  When it looks like the shrimp are almost there (almost pink), add your pasta.  Blend, turn off heat and add fresh cracked pepper.  Serve with dinner rolls and a nice bottle of wine, and freshly grated Romano or Parm. Cheese...Again a easy, affordable splendid meal.  

Not perhaps the best sounded name, but how bout left over stir fry?  This meal can abe done in a skillet on top of the stove, and or in a wire basket/pan with holes on top of a grill.  We have a small pan with holes that travels with us.  Even the handle folds.  Remember the left over chicken from the stuffed chicken....perfect as it's already cooked and will require time only to heat it through.  Cut up peppers (here I used yellow and red for color), onions.  About 1/4 pound of shrimp (again I prefer without tails as they're so much easier to eat).  Cook veggies first, add chicken, shortly there after add shrimp.  Naturally we're still serving nice dinner rolls and a bottle of wine.


**We have a shopping list we print and take on all trips.  We add add appropriate items based on where we are.  Hilton Head, we added shrimp.  We cook in, we cook on the grill.  Shopping well helps you save time and money.  We bought 1 pound of shrimp and got 2 meals plus I did a shrimp cocktail one evening with our cocktails.  We bought one stuffed chicken breast and got 2 nice meals from that.  Standards are always onion, peppers, fresh spinach.  I don't think it's possible to cook without those items.  A bag of dinner rolls, wrapping a few in foil to bake with each meal..you can't go wrong.


We had steak on the grill one night, typically we top that off with a foil pouch of cut up veggies...onions, mushrooms, and peppers and or fresh green beans.  Having items you can use for multiple meals is the way to go. 

Historic Churches Bluffton South Carolina

As you walked around Olde Town Bluffton, you can stop and read these signs and maps.  Though I think it's still best to get the free pamphlet at Heyward House Museum.

This is The Church of the Cross.  Beautiful gardens surround it.  The colors really caught our attention and we actually parked and started our tour here.  However, The Heyward House Museum is considered to be the first stop and probably the best place to begin.   This is a Gothic style, built in 1854 as a replacement for a smaller Chapel of The Cross.  Rev. James Stoney was the first Rector. 

The church was not burned during the fire1863, it was spared by the Union troops.  Sadly the great storm of 1893 caused lots of damage.  In 1975 the church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The windows are quite large and very deep.  They must have let lots of air in during the summers heat.

The beautiful organ.  The name Stoney might ring a bell with you.  On Hilton Head Island The Stoney-Baynard Ruins Exist.  The same prominent families appear in multiple areas in the Low Country.

Not an historic building, but a church within the historic district has a bit of story and history to it just the same.  The Methodist Soc began in 1853 with a church.  During the Civil War 2 Confederate Soldiers were able to keep the church from being destroyed.  In 1875 it was sold to The AME Church and a new church was build in this location in 1890.  But, a 1940 hurricane destroyed the church.

Hurricanes have been very damaging to communities in The Low Country, but the people are resilient, they rebuild.

Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church mentioned above, built in 1853 is a good example of Greek temple style.  Although damaged by the fire of 1863, it was not destroyed. 

It was sold to the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1874.  The members have held services here for more than 100 years.  Some alterations, mainly to the interior were made back in 1969. 

Take and Bake Pizza

*It's Menu Monday*
 Mama Mimi's Take and Bake Pizza.  Always made with fresh tasty ingredients.  A nice way to do quick, easy, affordable gourmet pizza at home.  There are several locations here in Columbus, Ohio.  These came from the Grandview location at King and North Star.  Picked them up on my way home from work.  I like the lighter pizza's with white sauce and or oils.

Hubby prefers red sauce and a combo of meat and veggies.  A small pizza a piece is perfect.  If you've not tried Mama Mimi's Take and Bake Pizza, I encourage you to do so.  Pizza's come with directions about how to cook them.  You'll not be disappointed.  Generally cheaper then a wood fired pizza you'd get out, perhaps a bit more then a regular pizza...depending on what you put on your pizza.

When we travel, we also enjoy Take and Bake.  In Hitlon Head we've ordered from TJ's multiple times and have never been disappointed.  There too there are multiple locations.  We've always ordered from The South End location on Palmentto Bay Road.  Their menu is varied with plenty of choices for all appetites.  I highly recommend TJ's Pizza in Hilton Head.

Take and Bake Pizza, add it to your menu list while vacationing.  Check for locations near you and enjoy. 

Hope to see you again next Monday for Menu Monday 

Foggy Day on Hilton Head

 You may not be able to tell, but this looking out at the beach from my balcony at Marriott's Monarch on Hilton Head Island.  It was an unusual morning in January of 2013.  Some fog rolled in the previous evening around 4 pm, but only lasted a short while.  This morning fog lasted several hours.

 It was odd, pretty, and sorta eery all at the same time.   Was interesting how quiet everything seemed as well.  Hubby and I relaxed after breakfast in the villa until the fog lifted and then went out and enjoyed the day.

If you look real carefully, you can see the pool.  We've never experienced this before even though we've been to Hilton Head 4 times, so thought I'd share these few pictures with you.

Olde Town Bluffton, South Carolina

 The Heyward House, Visitor Center, in Olde Town Bluffton.  This house is one of only 15 buildings that survived being burned in 1863 by The Union.  But, let's back up a bit.  Bluffton is an easy day trip for anyone visiting Hilton Head Island.  It's about 8 miles one way, around 15 minutes depending on traffic.  Bluffton is situated on the May River, has bluffs over looking Glenn Cove, Heyward Cove, Huger Cove, and Verdier Cove.  You get the picture of lots of water.  Bluffton was once a summer place for the rich and famous.  Though plantations were vast holdings of land and typically worked by slaves, the land owners apparently still needed to "get away".  The area, the low country wasn't the nicest or easiest place to live with rats, mosquito's, alligators and the like.  The very weather and swampy conditions that could make a white plantation owner wealthy were also the very conditions that were hard on his family.  Yellow fever was a constant threat in the low country.  Wealthy families "summered" elsewhere while their plantation overseers and slaves worked the land back on the plantation.  Bluffton provided cooler breezes being on higher ground,  protection from the mosquitoes, rats, and alligators, and transportation for goods with the water ways. 

 Because the rich land owners gathered here many political discussions took place.  Now we all know South Carolina is where the Civil War began, but Bluffton, not Charleston is probably where the talk of secession took hold first.  Discussions about secession took place as early as 1844.  When war did in fact break out, and Hilton Head Island and Beaufort were occupied by The Union families vacated Bluffton.  Bluffton was utilized by Confederate Pickets as a base to spy on Union activities. 

 The house was originally built as a summer house for John Cole and is the 4th oldest structure remaining southern Beaufort County.  Guided tours of the house are available, as well as free maps of a olde town walking tour.  This old elaborate mirror is signed by a Union Soldier from New York.  Though it's hard to read, it gives the date of July 12, 1863.  I can't make out the name, and sadly I don't remember it, but you can read it's Company E 6th NY.

 Much in the house is in fact original.  Beautiful quilts.

 A game that looks similar to checkers.

 A singer sewing machine.  This one is much smaller then an old treadle machine I have.

 A beautiful wedding dress.  You may not be able to tell from the picture, but when you stand next to it, you realize how much smaller women/people were in those days.

 This 2nd Singer predates the treadle.  It's in fabulous condition and you see the carry case even.  Can you imagine the skill it took to crank the wheel with one hand while using the other hand to feed the fabric through the machine? 

 I don't recall seeing Slave Tiles before this tour; but our tour guide said we probably had but they might not have been discussed, or labeled.  Tiles were hand made by slaves and unique to that property.  While on a tour in Savannah, we saw an entire building made from bricks from slave tiles.  These bricks are very expensive and highly sought after.

 A slave dwelling remains on property.  Records indicate this slave dwelling was probably built before the main house and used while the slaves built the main house.  While not the smallest of similar dwellings I've seen on tours in The South, you wonder how many people lived in this one small room.

The name Heyward, has a huge presence in South Carolina.  You see streets with the name, we've toured plantations where Heywards lived, and other large family homes.  Prominent family members graves are scattered about The Hilton Head, Charleston, Beaufort area.  As you travel around the low country "rich" takes on a how different picture.  The wealthy plantation owners owned so much, houses and land here there and everywhere it seems. 

Thomas Heyward was a signer of The Declaration
as well as The Articles of The Confederacy.