August's Lists

Goodbye July! You were a lot of fun, but August means I am one month closer to my favorite time of year... Fall :)

Let's recap for a second, shall we?

In July I wrote 4 more posts than June - patting myself on the back

I had a Food Should Taste Good giveaway where Jessica from Dishin About Nutrition won :)

I went to the beach twice - seen here and here. 

I shared what I have been loving lately.

I told you about my future dream career. One day it will happen!

I took care of my mom's and sister's horses.

AND... I made lots of new eats!

Healthy Shrimp 'Fried' Rice 

Stuffed Burgers 

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Cinnamon Apple Pancakes

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Grilled BBQ Pork and Carmelized Onion Pizza

Zucchini Pizza

Homemade Vanilla and Almond Granola

Last weekend was the gorgeous bride Kristen's bachelorette party! We had a great time out in Baltimore celebrating... so good of a time my camera is now MIA. Devastating, I know. That's one lucky person to have a camera full of food photos ;-)

My mom, CL and I also went to Wegmans. If you have never been there before it is a grocery store the size of a super Walmart. It's HUGE!! They have an organic section similar to Whole Foods and a regular section. You can also go to their market where they have lines of hot food bars, sushi that is being made in front of you, a bakery, EVERYTHING!

I stocked up on a few goodies before heading to dinner and the movies to see Harry Potter!

I grabbed a kombucha and handful of dates, while my mom stocked up on gormet cheese and CL grabbed some oats and dried seaweed. 

I've never had this brand of kombucha, but I think I will stick with GT's brand. Their flavors you can actually taste! We tried to convince my mom that sometimes you have to eat and drink non-appealing things to live longer! haha She didn't enjoy the vinegar/fermented taste let's just say.

Did anyone else cry during the last HP movie? It was so bittersweet to see the ending of this series! I think I started reading the books in 6th grade, so HP grew up with me!

If you follow my Facebook page, you know that we started the month off with Maryland crabs! I put those TJ bags to good use!

Luckily my mom doesn't eat shellfish so by the time we were finished she had a nice pile of crab meat... which can only mean more recipes to try out involving crab! CL chose a spinach and artichoke dip topped with crab :)

Before baking.

After baking. I wish I grabbed a video of this. The mozzarella was bubbling!

Topped with Old Bay and crab meat this dip was a success! And much healthier than pre-made dips!

Healthy Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Adapted from Cooking Light via Serious Eats
Ingredients:
10-ounce bag fresh spinach
6 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
6 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella, shredded
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed (not minced)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Tear spinach into bite-size pieces, removing any thick stems. Rinse in a colander, leaving a little water on the leaves. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the spinach over medium heat until wilted. Drain in the colander, pushing a little of the extra water out. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheeses. I just mashed with a fork. Add sour cream and mash more. Add spinach, mozzarella, artichokes, pepper, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Stir everything until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan on top. Bake 30 minutes, or until parmesan is melted dip is all bubbly. Remove from oven and give it a minute or two to cool down. Serve with baked tortilla chips or this would be amazing on top of some baked chicken breast! Top with crab meat and Old Bay if you have some :)

I have a long list of things to make in August already that I'll post to my FB page.

What are you making this weekend? Anything good?