Best Nozzle

I don't normally push products like the ladies that have ads on their blog, BUT I wanted to share with you the best nozzle I have found.

I always buy them from a garden center near work, but Gardener Supply has them on their website.

  I have had a number of them and they are hands down better than any other nozzle.

You should get one if you like watering your plants or your lawn or your car or your kids!

White Bean Dip

As promised in my Teen Witch Post, here is the recipe for the White Bean Dip. : )

I have made this 2 or 3 times and each times it comes out great.  I think I might start making this instead of buying hummus.

White Bean Dip with Rosemary

From Country Living Magazine June 2008

Makes: 1.5 cups Prep: 10 Minutes

1 (15 oz.) can canellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary

1 small garlic clove, minced

salt to taste, pepper to taste

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

If making it to serve, lightly drizzle with additional olive oil and garnish with sprig of Rosemary for serving.

It tastes best served in fun colorful bowls! : )

It was served with veggies and pita chips.  (Be careful, bean dip fills you up faster than you think, and so do pita chips, so careful with that combo! ha!)

Mac and Cheese Cups

Update: I realized I left a step out of my re-copied version of the recipe which I have since fixed!


 

 I was having some ladies over for a Teen Witch Party so I needed some yummy apps.  Nicole had made yummy Mac and Cheese cups for my 30th birthday, and last winter I tried making them myself.  They were ok, nothing great though.  (I don't recall the recipe I used in the winter).  So when I decided to make them again, I once again hunting down a few recipe options.  I like the blog, Anne's Eats, so I figured I would try her recipe. 

It seems like a lot of ingredients with perhaps some flavors that this plain jane food girl might not like...but I went for it.  I made the recipe exactly as it, even though I had some reservations. 

 sour cream!!!! : (

And the verdict...YUM!  They were a bit more flavorful than I personally need, but they were a crowd pleaser!  And as Erin pointed out, they were better than the winter's attempt! ha! 

Mac and Cheese Bites

from Annie's Eats

Ingredients

12 oz. elbow macaroni

2 cups butter crackers crumbs (such as Ritz)

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

I did half mild and half sharp

6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter. melted

1 (5.2 oz.) package Boursin garlic herb cheese

Found with the fancy cheese near the deli

2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter

2 large eggs

3/4 cups milk

1/4 sour cream

1/4 tsp. salt

I don't measure salt, and I think I added pepper too

pinch red pepper flakes

This recipe filled 2 muffin tins.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook the pasta according to the package until just shy of al dente.  Drain Well.  Meanwhile, lightly grease standard sized muffin pans with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese, and melted butter and mix with a fork until combined.  Spoon a bit of the mixture into the bottom of each muffin well and tamp down with the flat bottom of a glass or other.  I just used the back side of a spoon.

2. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add it to a large mixing bowl with the remaining shredded cheese, the boursin and cold butter.   In a liquid measuring cup, combine the eggs, milk, and sour cream and whisk to combine. Add the liquid mixture to the bowl with the pasta.  Stir in the salt and red pepper flakes and mix until evenly combined.

3. Dived the macaroni between the prepared muffin wells.   Bake until light golden, about 20-25 minutes.  Let cool in muffin pans at least 10-15 Minutes, then carefully removed from the pan and serve warm.

Next time I make them, Colin requested I do a little less cheese in the base/crust and use a little more cheese in the mix to make the macaroni cheesier.  I will try that next time and report back. : )  I think he is just used to creamy Mac and Cheese, which this isn't. 

mmmmm I want some mac and cheese cups right now!

Birthday Day Date

I just had a birthday! I celebrated my real day with Colin and he said we could go whatever I wanted.  So just like last year we headed to one of our favorite little towns to get a yummy lunch and wander around!

Before we got there we headed to one of the vineyards we had gone to for valentines day a year ago.  We had gotten a blackberry wine which made the best sangria!  So we headed back for some more, a case more!!! We got a variety of flavors, so hopefully they all make yummy sangria so there will be sangria on the patio all summer long!!!

Then we went to one of my favorite restaurants for lunch and ate outside in their lovely courtyard.

After lunch we hit up some gift and antique stores.  And I trespassed on people's yard to take pictures of their flowers. ha!

I want something like this for our dining room at some point the future. : )

Look at these window baskets! Lovely!

I saw a Jeep filled with plants and flowers and got really excited, I did my best to snap a picture quickly! I miss my Jeep!

I asked Colin if we could get these for the patio (They were HUGE) and he said Yes without looking since he was only half listening to me! HA! Don't worry, we didn't get them.

Did I get anything you ask? Why, yes I did!  I saw these 2 tiny bottle in one of the antique stores and when the dealer said they were $3 each, I said sold! Sold to the lady in the orange shorts she wears too often! : )

As soon as we got home I filled my new tiny bottles with some roses from the rose bush I was planning on cutting down and some iris from my neighbors yard.  You can pick flowers from other people's yard if you never met them right? : /  I never got caught, so it was ok!

(Is trespassing a theme of my birthday this year?)

I also got flowers from the girls at work!  Then the following weekend I celebrated with friends and family, but sadly did not documents with photos.

 

It was a great birthday!

Teen Witch Party

Do you remember the movie Teen Witch???? If not, here is the trailer.....

It is a movie about a young girl who discovers she is a witch and uses her new found powers to become popular and snag the dreamy popular stud...naturally.....

It is so 80's, it is too fabulous for words...big hair, stone washed denim, pale purple leotards....and Brad, Brad the red hot lover!!!  I remember watching it as a kid, then we would watch it in high school and college just for a good laugh.  SO I decided to host a Teen Witch viewing party!

I decorated the house with pale pink and pale purple balloons and streamers and cranked up the Debbie Gibson Pandora until Aimee showed up with a special 80's mix tape playlist for our listening pleasure.

Since I was having just a small group of ladies, I decided to whip up a delightful app spread and then people brought some yummy food as well.  I was tempted to serve the type of junk food we would have eaten as kids/teens, but something about a huge bowl of cheese puffs just wasn't calling my name. ha!

We had:

Mac and Cheese Cups
White Bean Dip, Hummus, and Ranch with Pitas and Veggies

Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes with Fresh Pesto Erin made

Then fancy fruit and chocolate tarts and an eclair cake.

Aimee dressed full on 80's, the rest of us only committed to the side pony!  We had a great time eating, laughing, and watching the movie.  I think we will do another movie night in the fall...perhaps Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie, not tv show!!!) and maybe someone can find the game 'Girl Talk' buried at their parents house.  That game should be fun after a few glasses of wine!

And I shall leave you with this JEM! HA!

Yay Teen Witch!!!!

Flowers and Finding Time to Blog

So many photos, so little time! : )  I have so much to share, just no time to do it!  BUT today is a lazy rainy Saturday, so hopefully I can write a few posts.  We can start with some flowers I picked at work a few weeks ago! Yay free flowers!

Sadly, the setting wasn't right on the camera so they didn't come out great, but please enjoy some photos of summer's bounty while I work on some more exiting posts for you!