Giants Party

Hi there! It's Monday! I'm happy for a number of reasons.

1. I do not have work today. I love having Mondays off, much more than Fridays, because then I start the week on a Tuesday and somehow it seems like its a less crazy start to the week. Fridays are usually quiet anyway, so I don't really mind being in the office!

2. I have a fun day in NYC planned! Shaun is taking me to get a new camera lens (my Christmas present), then we are having Restaurant Week lunch at Striphouse and then I'm going to my bff Lindsey's to do wedding stuff with her. It doesn't get much better on a day off!

3. Oh yeah...and the Giants crushed the Packers yesterday! Woooo-hoooo!

Shaun and I spent the afternoon and evening at my parents house to watch the game. His parents joined us as well. We dined on way to many snacks and I even created a quick Giants cupcake for the occasion!

We had mini cheeseballs - cheddar and feta

 

a trio of wings - barbeque, buffalo and sesame teriyaki

 

my mom made this amazing cobb salad. love the presentation on this.

 

cold spinach dip with veggies

there was also some Greek layer dip...

and pizza dip on hand

and for dessert? I whipped up these cute Giants-themed cupcakes with some leftover red cupcake liners from Christmas. I used a basic chocolate cake recipe and just whipped up a basic cream cheese frosting with a little blue food coloring mixed in! What can I come up with next week?! Gah!

So that's how we spent Sunday afternoon and evening...cheering on the Giants and stuffing our bellies.

Question of the Day:

How was YOUR weekend?!

Do you prefer to have Mondays or Fridays off from work?

Easy Appetizer: Baked Goat Cheese & Crackers

Last night I had the place to myself and though I hate it when Shaun isn't around, it was nice to have some along time to wrap Christmas presents and watch the girly Christmas movies that Shaun just isn't into. Somehow, I made it through half of the Muppets Christmas Carol, Love Actually, Scrooged and about a third of The Santa Clause. Not too shabby, if you ask me!

Last Friday evening, we invited our parents over for a little holiday dinner at our place. I had worked on the day of the party, so I was determined to keep things completely simple and quick to prepare, yet still chic enough for a dinner party. Shaun's mother was bringing a spinach dip appetizer and so I just added a couple of other things to the table. When I found a baked goat cheese recipe from Martha Stewart, I knew this was the ticket! I made a bunch of changes to the original recipe and the result was nothing short of delicious, sophisticated and simple.

Baked Goat Cheese & Crackers
6 oz goat cheese, in log form
black pepper
paprika
thyme
parsley
cooking spray
crackers of your choice (I recommend Club Multigrain crackers)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a very small baking dish or ramekin with cooking spray. Cut goat cheese into large rounds and sprinkle with spices, repeating for each layer of the goat cheese rounds. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes and serve with crackers.

Yum! I can't wait to make this again next week when Shaun and I are on our little holiday staycation! Have a great Thursday, everyone! Today is my last day in the office for the year, and thus, the countdown is on!

Question of the Day:

What are you favorite easy apps?

Game Day Eats: Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I so enjoyed having the day off yesterday. I'm still working on my quilted table runner, and I spent the day with my mom getting it done! Of course I'm feeling sleepy and overall not ready to tackle work today. I get so spoiled when I have a day off! I must have snoozed my alarm like 5 times this morning. Are you a snoozer?

Moving on to something happy. Like this:

There are like...1 billion spinach and artichoke dip recipes out there. Seriously, I've counted.

I came across a Martha Stewart recipe a while back and had saved it in my recipe binder. When we were at a loss as to what to make for this past football Sunday, I pulled out the binder, came across this recipe and decided to give it a go. I'm sooooo happy I did. I made a few changes and added artichokes. I think it adds a little more texture and flavor. Artichokes rule!

Once I pulled the browned and bubbly dip from the oven, Shaun and I settled in with the Giants and Jets. Since both games were so bad that it felt like we completely wasted a large chunk of our lives, I was psyched that at least we had this delicious dip to make the day a bit better :)

Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip
*Adapted from Martha Stewart
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained very well
1 can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup milk
1 8oz pkg reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes Frank's Red Hot
1 C shredded mozzarella, divided
kosher salt
ground pepper
cooking spray
tortilla chips, crackers or baguette slices, for dipping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and sautee the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sautee 1 minute more. Mix in the spinach & artichokes and heat through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, add milk to the saucepan and warm over low heat (don't boil). Whisk in the cream cheese. Mix the spinach mixture back into the milk mixture. Add 1/2 C mozzarella, Worcestershire, Red Hot, salt and pepper. Mix well and pour into a baking dish lightly greased with cooking spray (I used a pie plate). Top with 1/2 C mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly.

Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, baguette slices, pita chips or your left arm. This dip is delicious on anything!

So there you have it. An easy and delicious dip, perfect for football Sunday or any day!

Questions of the Day:

Do you have a go to dip recipe?

Are you a snoozer in the morning?