Sharing some questions that I received about our Spain trip!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! How was the weekend? We spent some time in Aulani, which was an absolute DREAM. P and I are huge fans of lazy rivers, and we pretty much love Disney anything.

For today’s post, I’m sharing one last Spain recap. I’m sorry I’ve dragged this out so much, but I’ve had a lot to say! I can already tell you that we’ll definitely back and I’m scheming to see how much time we’ll be able to spend out there. The Pilot will be retired from the Air Force in January (!) so that opens up a lot of options. Fitnessista in Sevilla has a nice ring to it, just sayin.

Here are the questions you sent in on IG!

(dress on sale here!)

Spain Q&A post

Any issues with language barriers? I’d love to visit but nervous about it!

So my family speaks Spanish, and I minored in Spanish, so I understand it pretty much perfectly. However, I don’t have a ton of experience or confidence speaking Spanish. Growing up, I’d always respond to family members in English, and in college, we spent so much time studying Spanish (reading novels, analyzing poems, writing essays) but very little time actually practicing. Getting more comfortable speaking Spanish has been a huge goal of mine, so I started taking weekly Itaki private lessons in January. It’s made a huge difference and I don’t freeze up like I used to!

It was pretty amazing to get to practice in Spain, and I also found that they’re extremely patient and I think they appreciate the fact that you’re trying to speak their language.

If you don’t speak Spanish but would like to, I highly recommend Italki. You can also download this audiobook for phrases to know while traveling.

What made you pick Sevilla to visit over other cities in Spain?

We have good friends there, so that was the main focus of our trip! They have lived in Sevilla for the past year and absolutely love it, and we knew we wanted to make a visit (and also give P the chance to see her best buddy in the whole world). Next time, we’d absolutely love to see Madrid, Barcelona, and head over the Portugal.

How/why you picked the area you went to and how the food was?? I’m half Spanish

We stayed close to our friends in Alfalfa Plaza. It was a great location, close to tons of restaurants, cafes, and shopping.

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Blueberry Pancake Syrup is a quick and easy way to make your pancake or waffle breakfast deliciously special. You won’t believe how simple it is to turn 4 basic ingredients into a showstopping, vibrant purple feast for the eyes and mouth!

Blueberry Pancake Syrup

I don’t know if you’re as crazy for blueberries as I am, but I can’t think of a more appetizing looking breakfast than a stack of blueberry waffles or pancakes.

And if you just happened to douse them in blueberry syrup, I think I might just go straight to heaven. It’s like blueberry inception!

Of course, this blueberry pancake syrup is also incredible on top of waffles but the blueberry-on-top-of-blueberry fun doesn’t need to stop there. You can drizzle it over Blueberries and Cream Almond Oatmeal or Blueberry Baked Oatmeal.

Or make your own soda with a couple of tablespoons stirred into an icy cold glass of seltzer.

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Roasted Peach Chicken

Juicy marinated chicken breasts, pan seared and roasted with bright flavorful peaches, roasted peach chicken is about to be your new favorite fall dinner!

We are moving into day 2 of Peach Week here at Oh Sweet Basil, and today we use peaches in this mega delicious savory dish!

This happened.

And then a gazillion other peach things happened, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

A few years ago I saw a photo on instagram from just a normal, not there to be a food blogger person and it was the darkest, weirdest angle, but my goodness, I loved it. The chicken was a whole roasted bird that should have been on its back but instead was breast down in a pan surrounded by, covered in roasted peaches and the happiest little caption about how good dinner was that night.

I loved the unapologetic joy that, by instagram standards would have been nothing but imperfection coming from that post. And instantly I was sold. I needed a peach chicken recipe as well. I wanted it simple, the peaches to be the star and this my friends is that recipe.

Thank you to the wonderful people out there that don’t need social media, but occasionally hop on to post something good.

Thank you to those that let us share the imperfect and the perfectly perfect and are inspired by both because they are confident enough in themselves to live with eyes full of light.

This peach chicken is for you. I hope it brings a little beauty and deliciousness to your autumn table.

Ingredients for Peach Roasted Chicken

Peach season is so short here in Utah. I am not a fan of that. So toward the end of last summer, when delicious juicy fresh peaches flooded the farmstands and grocery stores, I loaded up and made all the peach things I had on my wish list. This roasted peach chicken dinner was one of my favorites. Here is what you will need:

• Chicken Breasts: We prefer bone-in and skin on for this recipe.

Marinade

• Peach Preserves: You can use homemade peach jam or use store-bought.
• Buttermilk: Helps tenderize the chicken.

For Roasting

• Peach Preserves: We use some more peach jam to add more flavor during roasting.
• White Wine Vinegar: If you don’t have white wine vinegar, good substitutes would be apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, or white balsamic vinegar.
• Thyme: Fresh thyme is definitely recommended, but if you don’t have it, use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.
• Dijon Mustard: Adds flavor to the roasting sauce.
• Olive Oil: Helps the chicken stay moist and helps it crisp during roasting.
• Shallots: Adds flavor.
• Garlic: Adds flavor.
• Sea Salt: Adds flavor.
• Black Pepper: Adds flavor.
• Peaches: We prefer to use freestone orange-fleshed peaches just for the color. They are added for the second half of the roasting.
  • TIP: If you don’t have access to fresh peaches, frozen or canned peaches can also be u

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We spent most of last week driving to Arizona and back for our annual family camping trip in the White Mountains. It’s a heck of a drive now that we live in Ohio, but we love the family time. After 56+ hours sitting in the car for the drive, I’ve been on my feet and moving as much as I can this week. 

And speaking of being on my feet, there are some great new recipes on the way to all the sites. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love this job?!)

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Juicy fresh peaches are matched up with spicy jalapenos, fragrant red onions, fresh cilantro, and zesty lime in this utterly irresistible peach salsa. I guarantee you can’t stop at one bite of this beautiful dip!

California spaghetti salad is a guaranteed hit for the summer vegetable lover in your life! This amped up pasta salad is exploding with peak-freshness produce and an irresistible Parmesan dressing.

Coleslaw gets an exciting upgrade in this pineapple coleslaw. Crunchy cabbage and sliced almonds are paired with sweet and fragrant pineapple tidbits, super fresh green onions and cilantro in a tangy but light and creamy dressing.

This peach cobbler is made as easy as can be with canned peaches and it is exactly what I remember my grandmother making when I was little. The topping is a little bit cakey, and buttery sweet, and the peaches fall through as it bakes and create juicy pockets of fruit in each bite.

Almond glazed, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies are the perfect afternoon treat with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Keep a stash of these on hand for a sweet accompaniment to a cuppa whatever you love best.

Full of tender apples, beautifully citrusy rhubarb, and crowned with a classic brown sugar oat crisp topping, this apple rhubarb crisp blends seasons together in sweet tart harmony. It’s different and it’s delightful.

Deep, dark, and indulgent, chocolate chocolate chip ice cream is unapologetically extra chocolatey. Not one, not two, but three kinds of chocolate make their way into this rich and creamy chocolate lover’s dream of an ice cream.

What I’m CRAVING: The biggest, greenest, crunchiest salads possible! After a lot of travel, with more on the horizon, I’ve happily made and eaten as many salads as possible. I have this one on my radar to ma

Marinated Smoked Chicken Thighs on the Traeger

We have smoked chicken breasts, a whole chicken and chicken wings so it was high time we share our smoked chicken thighs recipe. Chicken thighs have the best flavor and we are ramping that flavor up in the Traeger!

We start with a sweet smoky marinade and allow the chicken thighs to soak in all that tasty flavor. Then we smoke them on the Traeger. Serve them with an elote corn and some mac & cheese, and you have the perfect summer meal!

Remember how we used our Traeger as our oven a few summers ago while our kitchen was being remodeled? We love our Traeger so much! Not only does it make delicious food (practically on its own), but it also saved us last summer and is a great way to avoid turning on the oven when it’s scorching hot outside!

What Ingredients are Needed for Smoked Chicken Thighs?

Grab your chicken thighs and all the rest of these ingredients for the best smoked chicken thighs:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Honey
• Soy Sauce
• All Spice
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Yellow Onion
• Garlic
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Water
• BBQ Spice Rub

If you are a sauce lover, like I am, you can dip this chicken in some homemade bbq sauce…store-bought or whatever your favorite barbecue sauce is! The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Smoked Chicken Thighs

The first step in making these smoked thighs is to decide if you are going to smoke the meat in a pan in the smoker (this is the way I prefer to do it) or directly on the grill. If you want to cook them directly on the grill, save about a third of the marinade to use later.

The next step is to make the marinade. We like to pour everything directly into the ziploc bag that we are going to marinate the chicken in…less clean up! Put all the ingredients into the bag and then squish everything together to combine.

NOTE: If you’re grilling directly on the grill, reserve a third of the marinade for later now before adding the chicken.

Add the chicken to the bag and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 1-12 hours.

When you’re ready to start smoking, place all the chicken thighs and marinade into your pan.