Author Archives: theinnkeeper

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Road Closures & Piecing the Puzzle

Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in early spring

Pieces of the Puzzle

New Years Day 2010. Looking far too cheery for the morning after! Allen, Jodi, Ashley, and Craig

While  the Cades Cove loop road or Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail are big draws for our guests at this East Tennessee Bed and Breakfast, the Great Smoky Mountain [...]

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Side Dish- Baked Beans

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
Bush Beans
Cattleman’s BBQ Sauce
Brown Sugar
Molasses
Little Bit of Mustard
Chopped Onion
Slices of Bacon Chopped into ½ or 1 inch pieces
Mix together and pour into a casserole dish.  Place on top raw pieces of onion and sliced pieces of raw bacon.  Bake in low oven 325 degrees till it bubbles, then take the [...]

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Side Dish- Escalloped Pineapple

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
1 lg can chunk pineapple drained

1  1/2 cups sugar
1 quart cubed bread
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
Cream butter, sugar, then beat in eggs. Add pineapple, milk and bread cubes and stir until mixed. Pour into a 9X13X2 pan that’s been sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake at 350 for about 1 [...]

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Coffee Cake- Graham Cracker Streusel

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070

Streusel:

Use one package of graham crackers, (9 full ones)
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick and 3 T melted butter
1 1/2 cups pecans
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Put your graham crackers in a Ziploc bag, close it and roll with rolling pin until crushed, put in large bowl.  Add other dry ingredients. Melt butter pour [...]

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Fruit- Pineapple Slice

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070

 

Whole fresh pineapple with a good looking top
Shredded coconut
Ground cinnamon
Sliced almonds
Maraschino Cherry with stem

Cut the green top off of the pineapple. Then slice it in half long ways, then quarters, then into eights. Place green spear at the top of the plate. Cut the pineapple into halves long ways, [...]

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Breakfast- Ham Enchiladas

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
2 C chopped cooked ham
½ C chopped onion
½C chopped green or red peppers
1 T olive oil
8      flour tortillas
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
2 C half and half
1 T all-purpose flour
¼ t garlic powder
½ t hot sauce
Garnish:
1C shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
sour cream
8 sprigs of rosemary
In a skillet with the olive oil sauté [...]

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Side Dish- Fresh Tomato/Basil/Onion Salad

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
 
Basil Onion Tomato Salad
4 medium tomatoes
¼ medium onion
fresh basil leaves
¼ C. olive oil
¼ C. rice vinegar
¼ tsp garlic salt
1 tsp. Sugar
Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic salt and sugar. Chunk tomatoes, and slice onions very thin.  Snip with scissors the basil into 1/2 inch pieces.  Layer the tomatoes, onions, and [...]

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Breakfast- Apple Pork Pie

Kathy’s Note: What is nice about this recipe is you can make as little or as much as you would like. Plus it freezes well. You can make an 8″ pie (serves 6 easily) or 9 to 10″ pie (serves 8 to 10 easily) or little individual oval Pyrex ramekins. Once made they can be [...]

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Coffee Cake- Apricot Almond Tart

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070

Apricot Almond Tart

½ of 8 oz can of almond paste
3T and 1½ t sugar, divided
3 oz cream cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
1 t vanilla extract
1- 15 oz can of lite apricot halves (or those in heavy syrup)
¼ cup apricot jam, heated in microwave
Pie crust dough, see [...]

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Pancakes- Lemon Cheese Blueberry

A Pancake Contest Winner with BedandBreakfast.com

2 cups of flour (sift before measuring)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar

3 teaspoons of baking powder
¼ cup butter very soft
3 eggs
1 ¾ cup half and half (goat milk may be substituted for lactose intolerant guests)
8oz of goat cheese
1 tsp lemon extract
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (read second tip below [...]

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Coffee Cake- Almond Bundt

 
Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
Almond Bundt Cake
A Slice of Almond Bundt Cake
Filling:
8oz package of almond paste, chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 stick of butter
Cook almond paste, powdered sugar and butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth, remove from heat. Set aside. Do this first so it can cool down.
 
Cake:
3 cups flour
1 ½ t baking [...]

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Waffles- Wild Rice Pecan

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
Makes  5 Belgium size waffles
2 eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups milk
5 ½ T of butter, melted
2 T packed brown sugar
4 t baking powder
1 t vanilla
¼ t salt
¾ cup cold cooked wild rice
1 cup chopped fine pecans
Beat with electric mixer just until well mixed the first 8 ingredients.  Stir [...]

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Soup- Taco Soup

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
1 ½#lbs ground beef
can pinto beans-don’t drain
1 can chili beans-don’t drain
2 cans corn-drained
3 cans diced tomato
1 can Rotel tomatoes
3 beef bouillon cubs
2 cups water
1 package dry taco mix
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 T ground cumin
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Regular Style or Scoop Variety Frito’s
Brown your beef, drain off fat then combine [...]

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Soup- Tortellini

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
12 cups beef bullion
2 cups red wine
4-14 1/2oz cans of tomatoes (salt free)
2-8oz cans tomato sauce (salt free)
2 cups onions chopped
2 cups carrots sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 t dried basil
1 t lemon pepper
1 t dried oregano
1 green pepper chopped
Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer ½ hour then add-
3 [...]

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Coffee Cake- Nutty Pecan Orange Cream Cheese

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, Townsend, TN
www.GracehillBandB.com
info@GracehillBandB.com
865-448-3070
 
Nutty Orange Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
3/4 C granulated sugar
1 C chopped pecans
Zest a whole orange
2 (12 oz. -10 count) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 stick melted butter
1 C sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 T fresh orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, [...]

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Bread- Rosemary Feta Cheese

Rosemary Feta Cheese Bread
1 ½ cups half and half
¼ cup water
¼ cup melted butter
4 to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 t sugar
½ t salt
1 package rapid rise yeast
¼ cup butter softened
6 oz feta cheese grated
2 T butter melted
Fresh cut up or diced rosemary
Melt ¼ cup butter in saucepan.  Add milk and water and bring [...]

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Breakfast- Criss Cross Puff Pastry

Criss Cross Puff Pastry
1 package of Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry, 2 sheets
4 eggs
1 Tbsp milk or water
1 lb bulk pork sausage
1 lb mild Italian sausage
2 C herb seasoned dry stuffing
1 medium-large onion, chopped
3 C sliced fresh mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
Thaw pastry at room temp about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown Sausage, drain [...]

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WBIR TV, Knoxville, TN, NBC affiliate contest nets Gracehill top honors!

A Winter’s Snow at Gracehill

Local Channel 10 WBIR TV held a contest to determine the top five bed and breakfasts in East Tennessee.  Any one logging onto WBIR’s website could cast a vote for the several days the contest ran.  By Friday at noon, Gracehill B&B was at the top of the list with four [...]

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Four Wheeling with ATV’s in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains

Keri and Tim Meeker on an ATV break at the top of Bluff Mountain in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Keri and Tim Meeker, here at Gracehill Bed and Breakfast for four days on their 1st anniversary, ran the gamut of what Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Townsend, TN have to offer with one new activity, to me at [...]

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Knoxville, TN artist-muralist, Lisa Haggerty Palmer brings vision to Townsend’s Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

Gracehill Bed and Breakfast Living Room
Gracehill Bed and Breakfast Hallway and Snack Bar Area
October 2009 brought Gracehill B&B its busiest month since opening at Thanksgiving in 2000.  As the pace eased in November and December, while most folks got ready for the holidays, I decided to jump in with both feet and do two projects [...]

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To Read or not to Read, Fried or Scrambled, Seasons in the Great Smoky Mountains

Scott and Jessica
This must be Gracehill’s favorite rock, see the blog of July 8th, and, one of my favorite photos of the season,  took it  in August.  My office overlooks the back patio area and waterfall.  Every once in a while, I glance outside and see either guests or wildlife.  Suppose the wildlife would consider [...]

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Gatlinburg’s Craftsmen Fair at the Convention Center

Fall Display 2009
Sunday October 25th is the last day of Gatlinburg’s Craftsmen Fair at the Convention Center.  One guest said it was a step above most fairs of its kind; she is in retail and should know!  What is even more important, they made a lot of purchases for the holidays…
How do you go from [...]

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Smoky Mountain Heritage Center’s Blue Ribbon County Fair and the Movie Julie, Julia

Blueberry Almond Pound Cake
A year ago we won Best Pie in the Cove at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center’s Blue Ribbon County Fair, so, I was a little excited about entering the fair this fall.  Two of our recipes won ribbons, a third place finish in the pound cake division and surprisingly, a second [...]

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Breakfast- Cheese Enchiladas

Cheese Enchiladas in Spinach Wraps
A real pain in the patoot to make but ahhhh soooo good!

1 # mild ground pork sausage
2 T butter
4 green onions, thinly sliced
14 large eggs, beaten
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8- 8” soft green spinach taco size tortillas
1 C (4oz) Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
Topping:
Grape tomatoes cut in half
1 or [...]

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Breakfast- Prosciutto Strata

Prosciutto Strata
This is a take off from a recipe given to me by Betty Jones of Laurel Valley in Townsend, TN.
1 loaf sourdough bread 1- 1 ½ #,
sliced no more than a ½” thick
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
½ # mozzarella, grated or fresh cubed
¼ cup pesto
8 oz prosciutto thinly sliced1 # tomatoes, thinly sliced
5 [...]

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