Glorious new pots, good friends and Glee

The house it still in shambles, however I’m putting my new pots and pans to good us and throwing a Glee premier dinner party for a few of our favorites. This is the aftermath of dinner on Sunday night, using three of my new five piece set! I gave stuffed peppers a whirl and they turned out pretty good. Need to add more tomato soup and garlic salt next time but Bryan and I ate them three days in a row which isn’t bad.

On the menu tonight crusty garlic bread, three ingredient pasta sauce and a fresh salad (all ingredients from Green City Market!). I have to say I’m just as much looking forward to the menu as I am the episode. Ashley sent this along earlier this afternoon, I think we look great!

Saturday Morning

A raining but nice Saturday morning we started off at the Green City Market. The celosia were gorgeous and I’m planning on making stuffed peppers with red/green peppers tomorrow. It’s the best time to eat, late summer early fall. So much in season and so many new recipes to try!

We absolutely love our Saturday routine of Green City then lunch. I’m glad we are getting back into a regular schedule as newlyweds!

Getting back

I need to start blogging again so I can remember all the amazing moments that are going on right now. I took a read back through this blog and even though there are only a few posts I’m so glad I took the time to write. With the wedding over (sad) I have time to go back and document everything that went on which I’m so thankful for. I want to remember this time in my life as the happiest I’ve ever been.

Last night Ron came in for a surprise visit! Such a treat to see him twice in three weeks, if only this became a regular thing. We dined at The Gage and had fantastic mussels, caught up on his take of the wedding and started to plan trips for next year. Such a great night even though we missed our other halves.

Cheddar Olives

This one is for a dear co-worker and friend. I brought these Cheddar Olives to her Halloween bash and they were a huge hit. I’d recommend making these as a great app to kick of Thursday’s full-on eating festivities. Easy, tasty and a true crowd pleaser.

Cheddar Olives

Adapted from Bob’s Cheese Olives

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 stick of butter, melted

14 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tsp salt (I used a touch less because of the salted butter and cheese)

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Tabasco (I used a little more)

1 large jar pimento-stuffed spanish olives (I’d love to try with blue cheese)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all ingredients, minus olives in a large bowl and mix well. Kneed until it’s a uniform consistency, mine was very crumbly at first but came together with some elbow grease.  Drain olives and lay over paper towels  to dry out.

Pinch off a small amount of dough, maybe 1 1/2 tsp. Form into a small round, place an olive in the center then pinch sides together to cover the olive. Roll around in hands to form a nice ball.

Continue to roll until you are out of dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet 1 inch apart (they expand in the oven). Bake until golden 17-22 mins.

Serve warm or room temperature.

 

Remembering

Today as we remember Maddie, I can’t help but be thankful for the two little girls in my life who bring me more joy than I could have ever imagined.

My thoughts and prayers are with you Heather, Mike and Binky.

Still here

Feel like I’m finally getting back on track. The past two and a half months have been absolutely nuts. So I’m not ignoring you little blog, just need to get back in the swing of things.

Found those letters today and love them – can’t wait until they get to Z!

Down the shore

That’s how east coasters say it. It’s like my “up north.”

After 16 months of waiting and planning B and I off to New Jersey to witness the wedding of two of our favorite loves, Jen and Ron. I’m thrilled to be standing next to one of my best friends on her very special day.

And, since my life revolves around food, in between all the wedding fun, I’ll be filling up on these (I’m a Pat’s fan)

And these…drenched in butter

And soaking up the New Jersey sunshine with my favorite’s from college

An early congratulations to the happy couple, love you guys!

Stuffed mushrooms

I made it a mid-year resolution (yes you can change them from Jan. 1) to try to make one new thing a week, whether that be a full course meal or just an appetizer. I haven’t been doing well at all as of lately but my delicious “recipe” tag is out of control! After life slows down (God only knows when that is going to happen) I’m getting back on the bandwagon and back in the kitchen!

One of my best dishes (Bryan said it was the best thing I’ve ever made him) are stuffed Portobello mushroom caps with homemade marinara sauce, Last Night Dinner’s sausage and fresh mozzarella. I roast the caps,  fill them with Italian sausage, top then with cheese and they come out so tasty and oozing with red sauce and tangy mozzarella.

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps

1 lbs. Italian sausage removed from it’s casing (I use a mix of hot and sweet)

1 egg

1 cup of bread crumbs

1 cup of ricotta cheese

Marinara Sauce (I whipped my own up but the jar is fine too)

Fresh mozzarella cheese

4 Portobello mushroom caps, cleaned

Olive oil, salt, pepper – to taste

Pre-heat oven to broil. Start by combining de-cased Italian sausage, egg, bread crumbs and ricotta in a bowl, mix well (also see Last Night’s Dinner post). Break up mixture and fry in a non-stick pan until just cooked through.

In the meantime clean mushroom caps and place on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper. I throw mine in the oven for a quick five minutes to start the cooking process. Be careful not to over cook because they will go back in later.

Take cooked sausage and fill caps (I pile it in!). Spoon marinara sauce over them and for the finishing touch place a slice of fresh mozzarella on top. Broil in oven until the cheese is hot and melty. Enjoy!

Sisters

Do you remember that show Sisters from the early ’90′s?

I tweeted about it a few weeks ago and couldn’t believe how many people remembered it! Everyone use to watch it with their mom, cry and were puzzled as to why all the girls had boy names,  Frankie, Alex, Teddy and Georgie.

The Spohn girls don’t cause as much drama as the four of them but we definitely keep Dave and Kath on their toes! Al and Dre just started their junior year at Northwood and after a great summer together (minus Dre finding lizards in her FL apt) I miss them.

It’s been on repeat all day

Loving the new Carrie Underwood single Cowboy Casanova. Starts off a little like MJ‘s The Way You Make Me Feel with  NKOTB’s “ooh o ooh o’s” The Right Stuff mixed in and is definitely rock/country inspired. Don’t think I’ll get sick of it the way I did with Before He Cheats, thank god.