Happy 1st Birthday G.E

G.E’s 1st birthday went very well I have to say. I so stressed out more than necessary.  Daddy and I ended up inviting our close friends and family over for a cook-out and made her first party a very casual affair given that 99% of the kids invited are under 9 months old. It was 80+ degrees out so we decided to have a kiddie pool for all the babies interested. G.E loved the pool!! That is her and her friend Camillo. She is so helpful, Isn't She?  Dad’s grilled chicken was a hit (sorry he will not share the recipe with me) and so was my mac and cheese and cold pasta salad. We also had hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, bake beans, watermelon, and of course cake! A ton of food! G.E only had one flipping out moment in the beginning, but the pool solved that very fast.  We had a late start cooking as well. We underestimated the time it would take to finish all the food (I blame Daddy for that estimate), but all in all it went great! G.E had a great time with everyone and that is all that matters. That's her with her smash cake in the "after swimming outfit!

Such a diva! She had 3 outfit changes (Party Dress, Swimsuit, and After swimming outfit! :)

Of course I couldn’t end today without sharing a recipe...  Because we celebrated G.E’s birthday on the weekend before the actual day, it still felt necessary to do something the day of. So we baked cupcakes.  I wanted to try a fresh strawberry buttercream that was simple and also looked good (I don’t like recipes with no pictures). Using fresh strawberries will require A LOT of sugar so don’t be alarmed, it will not be “too sweet”, less sugar will make the buttercream runny.  After hours of searching for something simple and good looking, I found a blog and immediately fell in love with the pictures! (I did add more sugar than recommended. I had very juicy strawberries). It was sooo yummy!! G.E even inhaled 2 cupcakes in a matter of seconds.  Please visit this wonderful blog for the recipe!! Try it and tell her and I what you think! Strawberry Buttercream

Talk to you again very soon!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Now I certainly cant take credit for the delicious recipe but I just had to
share it. I made this the other night as an appetizer and lets just say this ended up as dinner for Daddy and I. We didn't even touch the dinner I had made because we practically ate the whole 22 servings.  I even shared the tiny l bit leftover the next day with my lovely neighbor and she loved it!!

I was having one of those days were I decided to put G.E to bed a little early and prepare a "2 course" meal for Daddy and I. I have a Kraft app on my phone that gives me "Recipes of the Day", "Quick Meals", "Budget Friendly Recipes" and much more and this is where I found this easy recipe.  I like Kraft recipes because everyone that I have tried has tasted really great, are simple and don't have all of those "unheard of" ingredients.

So once I got G.E to bed, I cracked open a bottle of wine and went to work on the dip. Well, I had a few sips first then I went to work. I had to send Daddy out to the store because I had forgot to pick up tortilla chips at the store earlier that day. I popped the dip in the oven and began prepping dinner so that it would be just about done by the time we finished our appetizer. The dip came out just as great if not better than any I have had at the popular restaurant known for this particular dip. However, I realized half way through baking that in the midst of a few sips of wine I forgot to add the parmesancheese. OOPS! lol. After stirring in the parmesancheese and popping it back in the oven for the remaining time everything was back on track.

So enjoy:

What you need:
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
3/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup KRAFT Light Mayo Reduced Fat Mayonnaise (I used regular mayo)
1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
*i did add in about 1/3 cup of milk. Some of the reviews I read stated if you drained the spinach too much the dip didn’t turn out so creamy

Instructions:
HEAT oven to 350°F.
MIX all ingredients
BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.
SERVE spoon into 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate

avg rating
total time 30 min

prep 10 min

servings 2-3/4 cups or 22 servings, 2 Tbsp. each

I have included the link to the recipe on Kraft’s site for other tips and substitutes:with tortilla chips or crackers:
Spinach Artichoke Dip