Day at the Beach

So, as I mentioned below, the other day my boss and co-workers decided that it was too nice a day to be stuck inside working and we took an impromptu day off at the beach. Here are the pictures. The guys with the volleyball nets are my boss(left) and super cool co-worker (right). I work soooo hard....



Elan, Corey and Scooter!

People playing in the water. Lance(left) and Anton (right) setting up volleyball net.

Beach!

Lance(left) and Anton(right) TRYING to set up the volleyball net...it didn't work there in the end and we set up elsewhere. :)

I am about to steal!

So... I was just reading a friend of mine's blog and she had a brilliant idea which I am about to steal. She loves cooking so on her blog she posted a recipe to share with her friends, family and anyone else who wanted to give it a go. Now while her family grew together in the kitchen, I have faced it alone.

In my family, many people have this diasese...it is called can'tcookrealwella. I narrowly escaped this terrible diasese when I dated a chef and learned that I loved experimenting in the kitchen. Cooking and inventing new meal ideas is my form of art...since I can't draw or paint. I take recipes, I tweak them or I come up with things all on my own. It is a relaxing and rewarding hobby that I would love to share with others. So without further ado... I present to you my first recipe post. Enjoy! (Thanks Christine for the idea! I hope you are doing well.)

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
This dip is the best spinach and artichoke dip I have ever tasted and trust me... I have had A LOT of spinach and artichoke dip. I first found the recipe in a magazine and I offered a few tweaks to make it my own. P.S. This makes a HUGE amount... Easily enough for four people to share.

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese
1 9oz pkg of artichoke hearts. (I used canned hearts and drained them before use.)
1 c. steamed spinach (1 10oz frozen package)
1/2 c. Helmans Mayo
1/2 c. grated parm cheese (fresh grated is the best)
3 sml/med garlic cloves (chopped real small)
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Grease a 2qt backing dish
3. While the spinach steams over the stove or in a steamer, mix cream cheese, artichoke hearts, mayo, parm, garlic and pepper into a food processor. Blend until everything is chopped.
4. Add steamed spinach. Again...blend until everything mixes into a paste.
5. Pour mixture into baking dish.
6. Cover with mozzarella.
7. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown...about 25 minutes. Serve with baked pita chips (recipe below)

Pita Chips:
Buy a package of pitas, whole wheat, white...whatever kind you like. Cut about three pitas into bite size pits and put on a baking tray. Lightly salt and bake. You can coat each one with a small bit of butter if you like but without the butter they are still amazing! They only need baked for about 5 minutes at 375. You want them to be soft but toasted.

Feels Like Summer!

Hello once again,

I think as you all can tell...I am not very good at updating this thing very often. Too busy I guess... Maybe too lazy. Things have been well. Lately CA has been HOT HOT HOT! Like triple digits hot... kinda crazy. Never felt this kinda heat in April/May before. I mean really...the Stanley Cup Playoffs aren't even over yet.

Speaking of the Cup... I am going home to Pittsburgh in three days!! YAY! I miss home SOO much and being so far away really eats at me. I have been in California for not even a year and already I dream of returning to Pittsburgh. I am a small town, family girl at heart. I can't help it. I really miss home and my friends and my family...especially during holidays and the playoffs (hockey or football...it sucks not being able to celebrate in the burgh!).

I am full heartedly considering moving back to PA when my lease is up in September. Not sure what to do right now, I am a little torn. It will be hard work to find a job and what if I am giving up too early? How do I know? Plus... I booked tickets to fly out of SF to Australia in October... It would suck having to rearrange those plans to fly out of the east coast. We will see... things are very topsy turvy but I am enjoying it while I can. Especially now that the weather is getting better.

The other day at my job it got so nice outside that instead of working the whole office took the day off to go to the beach together. Talk about spontaneous ideas! I have them all the time but I am never able to do them at work. It was awesome and a perfect day for it. Who knew that a beack could be so close when in a big city!

Anyway, I will write more again later. In the meanwhile, if anyone has any advice about my current predicament or if you have moved away from home before and missed it with your whole heart let me know. I could use someone who understand!

Talk to you again soon.