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. :)