Recipe #2

Let me apologize in advance. I feel like a fraud. I really did make this recipe. I just forgot to take a picture. Very sad. Oh well. So the picture you'll see below is from the website. But, if it's any consolation (and it is a little to me...) my pizza looked EXACTLY like this. No joke. That always makes me so happy.





So here's the recipe:


Artichoke, Tomato and Spinach Pizza (from Every Day with Rachael Ray, Feb 2010 issue)





5 tbsp EVOO


3 cloves garlic, finely chopped


3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley


salt and pepper


1 lb refrigerated pizza dough


2 c shredded mozzarella cheese


5 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese


one 13.75 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered


1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved


2 c baby spinach, chopped (about 2 oz)





1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic and parsley; season with salt and pepper.





2. Using oiled hands, stretch the pizza dough to fit a parchment paper-lined (or, in my house, a Pam-sprayed) baking sheet. Spread 3 tbsp of the garlic mixture on top, leaving a 1/2 inch border, then sprinkle with the mozzarella and 2 tbsp of the parmesan. Toss the artichokes, tomatoes and spinach with the remaining garlic mixture and arrange on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining 3 tbsp parmesan on top. Bake until the crust is crisp and golden, 18-20 minutes.





Here's my fake-out picture:

It really did look just like this, I promise!

This was SO good. It took literally 15 minutes to throw it together and since I have a convection oven it took somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes to get all brown and crusty on the edges and sweet and cheesy in the middle. I love crushed red pepper so I added some to my own 2 square pieces. I also couldn't find artichokes in a can. I found them in jars in the "ethnic" food section. I had to buy 2 jars to get the right amount but they were already quartered! I also didn't chop my spinach. It still wilted perfectly.

This was one kind of pizza I was fine not dipping into anything. I usually want ranch or some garlicky or parmesan-y dressing but this was fine just by itself. We are totally pizza lovers so I will definitely be making this again.

Forgive my blunder. And thank me next time you make this...and of course, my friend Rach. :)

Drool Alert

I'm sorry. I feel like I have to apologize up front for what I'm about to show you. My friend and fellow foodie, Robin (my inspiration for my new years resolution), sent me this link. People, this is the ultimate food. I don't know if anything more delicious or sinful could ever be created but I have to say, I cannot WAIT to try this. Aaaand I'm salivating. Thanks again, Robin!!

*Very happy P.S.---- It's Girl Scout Cookie Delivery Day!! I have 3 precious boxes sitting beside my desk right now. Beckoning me. I'm totally going to Curves today. I may even open a box on the way... hmmmmmm

So Long, Insecurity

I'm so hoping and praying that this journey will be the beginning of the end of a life-long burden for me. As you may know, I have a secret BFF. Her name is Beth Moore and I just love her to pieces. She released a book last Tuesday (which I bought that afternoon) that I'm sure was written just for me. Not just because she's my best friend, but because I'm POSITIVE my heavenly father whispered to her that I, and probably countless other women, needed to hear that we don't have to be insecure anymore. That sentence was extremely easy to type but I still don't know if I believe it's true.

I don't know when my insecurity started. I don't know if there was a certain incident or a person or an episode in my life that sparked it. I DO know it's a lie of the enemy. But what I DON'T know is how to fix it...on my own anyway. So I'm so thrilled to have this book and this opportunity to discuss it with Beth and the siestas on her blog. Because more than anything, I want to walk in the promises of God and take him for his word when he tells me I'm good. And I'm beautiful. And I'm worthy and just...enough. I want to believe my husband when he affirms me and tells me he'd choose me again...over and over. And I want to raise my daughter to believe that she is nothing less but priceless and captivating. I pray I don't teach her by (poor) example to be insecure and so terrified of rejection. Because she is extravagantly, exceedingly more than ANYTHING I had hoped for. She is wonderful and I pray she not only knows she is loved, but that she loves herself. And feels worthy of love because she can grasp the love of her Heavenly Father.

Please, don't misunderstand. This is so far beyond "fishing for compliments" (as my brother used to CONSTANTLY accuse me of when we were younger). This is a deep-seeded fight that I struggle with on a daily basis in so many facets of my life.

This is so intensely personal but I just know I'm not alone. If you wouldn't otherwise go to her site or pick up one of her books, please do so this time. Because it's time we stop feeling so afraid and insecure and start living full, complete, abundant lives OUT of our shells. Go grab the book and then go here and join me in the discussion and what I pray will be healing and deliverance of this bad, bad friend to us: Insecurity.

And if you don't feel led to join, then please, pray for me on this exciting trip towards healing and wholeness. :)

Recipe #1

Okay so this is a New Year's Resolution I can get behind. I mentioned in my last post that I want to try one new recipe a month and blog about it. Well, I must say, January has set the bar pretty high. I made Spicy Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes (courtesy of the just delightful and I'm sure, delicious, Paula Deen. LOVE her!)

Here's the recipe:

For the Potatoes:

6 large baking potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp kosher salt

2 c shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1c sour cream

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter softened

2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminium foil.

Rub potatoes with olive oil; sprinkle evenly with kosher salt. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Let stand until potatoes are cool enough to handle.

Cut off top 1/3 of potatoes; scoop out potatoes pulp into a large bowl, leaving shells in tact. Set potato shells aside. Add cheese, sour cream, butter, cream cheese, and 2 tsp salt to potato pulp. Using a potato masher, mash to desired consistency. Spoon mixture evenly into potato shells. return potatoes to baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Top each stuffed potato with spicy shrimp.

Spicy Shrimp recipe:

2 1/2 large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c butter

1/4 c minced green onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 c chicken broth

1/4 c fresh lime juice

1/3 c chopped fresh cilantro

In a large bowl, combine shrimp, flour, red pepper and salt. Set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat. Add green onions and garlic; cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add shrimp mixture; cook for 1 minute or until shrimp are just pink. Add broth and lime juice. Cook for 2 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Stir in cilantro. Serve over stuffed potatoes.

(If you want the printable version you can go here)

Okay so this was reaaaally good. The shrimp were sooo good and I don't know if I will EVER make baked potatoes any other way than the recipe above. If you are NOT a spicy food fan, I would suggest only using a little of the red pepper because it was pretty spicy. But everything had such a great flavor. I just made a salad and dinner was complete. Everybody said they enjoyed it but James liked it the best which, of course, made me ridiculously happy. Nothing like impressing the hubs! Here's a picture of the yummy shrimpy goodness

Okay. There it is! Number one! And I must say, this is starting out to be a delicious year!

All (okay some) things new

I kinda hate New Years. I like New Years Eve and the excitement of watching the ball drop and counting down and getting a sweet kiss at midnight...then I'm like "oh. It's the new year" and so commences weeks of feeling bad that I DON'T have a New Years Resolution (I quit after about 100 consecutive years of stopping around Feb 1) and every piece of paperwork looking like a Kindergartner's every time I try to write the date. (I realized it wasn't that I'm THAT stupid...everybody seems to be having a hard time writing /10 on their dates. I figured it's because we've been writing /0_ for TEN YEARS! It's going to take a while to get used to writing a "1" after the slash. It still feels awkward for me. Riveting, I know.

So I said I don't make resolutions, and I am sticking to it, but there are a few NEW things I'm doing this year. For instance, I joined Curves which is HUGE for me. I HATE working out and would rather wake up skinny (oh, Lord, PLEASE!) but finally came to the sad realization that was never going to happen. I have known for quite a while I needed to do SOMETHING about my weight and just feeling better and it finally just got on my nerves enough to make me want to do something about it. I want to be healthy and just feel better about myself, but mostly, I want Abby and James to be proud of me. I don't want to be a fat mom. I want to be able to keep up with her and share clothes with her one day and NEVER want her to be embarrassed of me (beyond the normal adolescent embarrassing stuff...). And I want for James to be proud that I am his wife. I know he already is in a lot of ways but I want him to feel the same way I get to feel when I introduce him to someone new. I want to give that to him. So I'm Curving 3 days a week. This was week 1 and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with myself for making it. **pats herself on the back** (now, right this minute, you stop and say a prayer that I stick to this...I MEAN IT!)

Thank you.

Okay so the other thing I'm super excited about doing this year is an idea that my friend Robin had. I read the book Julie and Julia in its first release. Before it was packaged differently and before all the buzz about it and definitely before the movie. I loved it. (And I loved the subsequent movie.) It got Robin and I talking and we decided (I hope she's still in) that we will, Julie style, try ONE NEW recipe a month and blog about it. I figure it'll give me at least ONE blog post a month (which, as we all know would be an improvement. Sorry.) and it'll hopefully give me 12 new delish recipes in my back pocket. I am NOT going to try all Julia Child or french or even super difficult recipes. I just want to try 12 totally new ones and tell you about it. Side note: the January one should be interesting since James is doing a 21 day fast and is eating no meat, bread or sugar. Stay tuned.

I hope you each had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I hope you are excited about 2010 and, like myself, are waiting with bated breath to see what the Lord has in store for each of us this year.

Please, all kidding aside, pray for James and I this year that we would desire more of the Lord than ever before and be faithful to ALL he has called us to... not a single prayer would be wasted on us.

Happy New Year Everyone...I mean, you know, like a couple weeks ago. I guess technically it's still a new year though, even if I'm a little late. I'll stop now.

Best Intentions

So I'm the world's worst procrastinator. No seriously. THE worst. I can prove it.





Well let me back up and say I'm the world's worst procrastinator with THE BEST intentions. The perfect example is Christmas Cards. I cannot tell you the hundreds of dollars I have wasted in Christmas cards. I will get nauseous if I think about it too much. But every year I will have these ideas of grandeur, go as far as having the dern things MADE and printed, STUFFED IN THE ENVELOPES and ADDRESSED for crying out loud...and somehow never getting around to sending them. I said I have proof. (Don't tell James.) I have HALF of the Christmas cards from LAST YEAR in my car. Still unsent. Lord forgive me.





I ordered our Christmas cards for THIS year today. They are already ready to be picked up. I vow to do my very best to get them to their rightful owners (by Christmas!!!) and not sit sad and lonely in the pocket behind my driver's seat this year. But just in case....

Merry Christmas from the Cooks!!

Snapshot

I absolutely love this tme of year. I love how even if it's just for this month, everyone seems to be on the same page. People decorate their homes and really take pride in it, people seem to smile and be more friendly to strangers and, I don't know, just seem to enjoy each other more. I am one of those people who truly doesn't take for granted the blessings I've been given and have recently tried to soak in and just be in the moment. Lindsay told me her sister-in-law has decided when her daughter makes a mess or gets into something she shouldn't to embrace the moment instead of being upset and grab the camera. So that's what I've been trying to do. Take little snapshots of what's happening around me so I can remember the mundane and the spectacular.

This week's snapshots:

Mundane= a visit to the hospital
Spectacular= sitting with my friend and praying with her in one accord for a good report (we did, in fact receive a good report. Lindsay's dad underwent Quadruple Bypass surgery last Friday and came home yesterday. Praise the Lord. We are believing for an uneventful recovery and miraculous results.)

Mundane= walking across the street to MeMa Nancy's house
Spectacular= the smells of Christmas there and watching her dote on my baby--a full circle moment since I'm quite sure she used to call me "baby doll" and dote on me as well

Mundane= cooking dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, the unending circle of daily life
Spectacular= Looking at my husband, fire crackling in the background, loving this life we've bulit.

I've heard the expression "God is in the details" and he really is. I really believe if I will slow down long enough he'll reveal himself to me (even more) by showing me how intricately he loves me. How painstaking he is to show me comfort and joy.

In this season of overindulgence and too much "stuff" Lord, don't let me miss your glory. Thank you Lord for simple blessings--because they are the ones that are truly extravagant.

It's (almost) the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Alright. I'm over fall. I'm ready for Christmas. My mums died about 2 weeks ago and my cute pot-sticker scarecrow has fallen out of said-dead-mums about 37 times (in the Noreaster that almost made me go get one of those sunlight lamps so I wouldn't sink into a black hole inside my house). So I'm ready for Christmas music (which I usually start listening to around Halloween so I'm waaay behind by my own standards), apple cider and finding glitter in very strage places around my house.

My mom, aunts Pam and Tricia, Mema Nancy and I all went on our annual shopping trip this past weekend. (Crystal couldn't come and it totally wasn't the same without her but we still had a blast...) We left at 8 in the morning on Friday and pulled back in the driveway at 11:10pm Saturday night. We allowed about 7 hours for sleep somewhere in the middle and showed no mercy on any sale we could find. We went to Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, this cute little shopping center called Briar Creek Commons (or something like that) and then Cary Towne Center and finally CLOSED DOWN Target. We. Don't. Play. I got 10 people's gifts completely finished. Done. I feel like superwoman!

So anyway, I had planned on putting my tree up BEFORE we left (Don't judge me. Mema Nancy had hers up 2 weeks ago...) but it just didn't happen. I wanted to do it while I was off on Veteran's day but all I got done was pulling all the decorations down from the attic. Bummer. Every night since then I've planned on getting SOMETHING decorated but it just hasn't happened. I'm determined that glitter will fall tonight...even if it's just unrolling the garland or soemthing arbitrary like that. (Not that garland is arbitrary but it doesn't exactly equal the tree or the village in splendor, now does it?)

To some I may be rushing the season but I'm in the spirit already and am definitely ready to replace leaves rustling with sleigh bells.

**side note: Mom and Dad tried to teach Abby to sing Jingle Bells yesterday. Last night she was walking around the house singing "Tinkerbell, Tinkerbell, Tinker awww da way...." Yep. It's official. Cutest. Kid. Ever.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Abigail,

It's a little after 11:00pm and the house is a wreck. We had about 40 of our family and closest friends over at our house to celebrate your 2nd birthday. You birthday was actually Friday but we decided to make a weekend of it and celebrate your big day on Sunday so everyone could come. You were an angel. You wore a shirt (that was a 2T and WAAAY too big) that said "Birthday Princess" and that's exactly what you were. We had a ladybug birthday cake from your GiGi (Mommy's Mema Nancy) and biiiigg princess balloons and lots of chips and dip because they're your favorites. You opened presents for almost an hour and squealed as loud for clothes and books as you did for big, loud toys. You are such a good girl.

The past 2 years have been the absolute best of my life. And that's really saying something because I didn't think ANYTHING could be better than marrying your Daddy! You have completely surpassed any expectation I ever had of being a Mommy. I always wanted a daughter....I just never knew I wanted her to be YOU. I loved you from the moment I found out you were on the way. I loved you when you were born and the first time I laid my eyes on you I knew I had never loved anything more. Then we brought you home. And I started falling in love with you over and over every day. I love you because you are mine...but I also love you because you are YOU.

Just so time doesn't get away from us and make us forget, let me tell you a little bit about you.
You are very petite (like your Daddy's family) and even though you are officially 24 months old you still wear 18 month clothes. You wear a size 6 shoe and have THE cutest toes (and you know I don't like feet...) You like Ladybugs and anything with the Disney Princesses on it (especially Belle) and your all-time-favorite-show is this crazy one called Yo Gabba Gabba (which Mommy and Daddy tolerate only because you are completely enthralled). You are becoming more of a picky eater but we can almost always get you to eat chicken, french fries and macaroni and cheese. Your faaaavorite foods are corn and, believe it or not, PICKLES!!! Seriously, you eat Mt. Olive hamburger dill chips like they're going out of style! You also love cheetos and are a professional Oreo-cream-scraper-outter. You wear size 4 diapers and are 25 pounds. You normally go to bed around 9 or 9:30 and Mommy and Daddy both tuck you in and read a bible story, say our prayers then get a "butterfly kiss, eskimo kiss and a big ole' kiss." You can say anything you want and are speaking in full, complete sentences. You crack us up all the time. You are a very good girl but have been getting in trouble lately for telling mommy and daddy "Stop it" or "No" when we tell you to do something you don't want to do. You have even put yourself in time out (which makes us laugh but we don't let you see.) You also have the sweetest spirit and have started praying for us without us asking you to. I couldn't love you any more.

You have brought more joy into my life than I thought I would know and I thank the Lord everyday for allowing me this life. I am so humbled at the opportunity to be your mom. I pray I prove to be worthy of such an awesome blessing.

Be well this year my angel and know that your Mom absolutely adores you.
Love,
Mommy

Rebellion

I've never been a rebel. Even a little bit. I mean, okay I do go like, 6 over the speed limit. And I do put on my makeup when I drive. And I do sometimes text and drive...

Okay so scratch the I've never been a rebel. I'm totally a rebellious driver, I'm just not rebellious in life. But right this minute I'm as bad as any angst-filled teen ever was because I cannot even begin to express how much work I need to do and I just am NOT. DOING. IT. (right now.) It is hanging over my head like a dark cloud and I'm just dreading it and mad that I have to do it in the first place so I'm just choosing to procrastinate a little more. So THERE. (I am doing my job...but we have to "bill" or do a data entry into this online program for EVERY service for EVERY child we see. That means I have to enter EVERYTHING I have written in my therapy logs for every child. For this year so far. By Monday. Ughhh Even typing it leaves a bad taste in my mouth...)

So I was also rebellious this weekend. (Okay. Maybe the opening sentence should be tweaked...) Not really rebellious. It came from a good place. Here's what happened:

I was raised in a very conservative Christian, yet not necessarily doctrinal home. I mean, we believe that Jesus is the son of God and that the bible is the word of God and that HE is THE only way to heaven or to the Father. But as far as denominational doctrines go we aren't really bound by any because our church is non-denominational. Does that even make sense? At any rate if there is one thing that my parents were MORE conservative or even dogmatic about it was Halloween. WE. DO. NOT. CELEBRATE. HALLOWEEN. At all. We don't trick or treat, we don't dress up...we barely even say the word. Because the Bible tells us to abstain from even the "appearance of evil" and a complete day dedicated to fear could not be anymore blasphemous to me. Nothing could shun the glory of God any more. So we have a "Halloween alternative" at our church. We call it Fall Festival. There's candy and hayrides and carnival-type games but nothing scary or "Halloween-y." (We don't even bob for apples because my grandmother read somewhere that bobbing for apples was a pagan practice. True Story.)

Okay so the big debate is To Dress Up or Not To Dress Up? We don't turn people away for having costumes as long as they're not "scary" but we don't advertise that you SHOULD wear a costume. So everyone's been asking what Abby would be for Halloween /Fall Festival. Well, my take is that if you dress up you might as well go trick or treating and do the whole thing because you're totally participating in the "traditional holiday" festivities. BUT I knew there would be several people at church who DID dress their children up and I was so afraid for them to ask me "Why isn't Abby dressed up?" Because the LAST thing I want is to condemn other people who don't share the same views or convictions as me and say "Well, I believe if you dress up you're participating...." You see? So I thought and prayed long and hard about it. And I think it's better to give grace even when others don't know you're giving it. So I let Abby dress up. I mean, she already had the ruby slippers...so my gorgeous girl was Dorothy. (I'll post a picture soon, I promise.)

I think this will be her last year dressing up (although there is talk of a BIBLICAL costume contest next year...but that's another ball of wax in itself...) because the internal war is so much harder than just letting her wear a cute shirt and jeans...which she would probably prefer so she can get as filthy as possible. But for this year Mommy was a rebel....but the good kind. Because I did it hoping other people would feel more comfortable. And loved and included. And I think the Lord would approve of that. Because that's the REAL me. Behind the mask.