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.