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Hello everyone,

Not only are the Backstreet Boys back -- this blog is back, as well!  Sorry for the long hiatus.  I honestly have no good excuse for my lack of posting, so I won't even try to make one up.

So long sweet Summer.  

Labor Day has come and gone, so now we get to look forward to my favorite season: Fall.  

Some posts that you can count on seeing soon will be related to: Fall, football, beer, bars, and patios (yes, I do realize how cliche this sounds), but please feel free to get excited.  

--

As a goodbye to the Summer season, I will leave you all with this great salad recipe.  I don't have a name for it, so we can just call it Summer Orzo Salad.  I sort-of adapted a recipe from a friend and threw my own spin on it.

Summer Orzo Salad

2-3 cups Orzo, cooked, according to directions on package
1 Green Pepper, chopped
2 Small Roma Tomatoes or 1 Large tomato, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 can yellow corn or 1 bag frozen yellow corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch Cilantro, rinsed & chopped
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt, Pepper & Cayenne to taste

Cook the orzo, chop the vegetables, and mix together with oil & vinegar (I add liquid a little at a time, depending on how big salad is so it is not too dry or too liquid-y) -- add salt, pepper, and cayenne to your liking. Refrigerate the salad for a few hours and then enjoy! Great as a side dish or as a light lunch or dinner.

Summer Orzo Salad

Margherita Pizza

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather. :)  Hooray for the Bengals win yesterday, putting them on a 5-game winning streak with a 6-2 record.  The last time the Bengals had a winning streak this long was the year I was born - 1988.  Looks like they are doing something right with the additions of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green.  My dad was so fed up with the Bengals franchise after last season he actually gave up his season tickets for the first time since he moved to Cincinnati back in the 80's.  Funny thing is, he just purchased tickets for the rest of the home games this season two weeks ago - don't worry everyone, I made sure to call him a bandwagon fan, to which he just laughed.  Unfortunately, the Browns aren't doing so well and lost yet again yesterday. :(  

 To celebrate the Bengals victory, I made my favorite kind of pizza for dinner Sunday night - Margherita!  This recipe is simple and it turned out delicious!  


Recipe: 

12 inch pizza crust (I used Boboli original crust)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 -4 large basil leaves, cut into strips
2 small tomatoes, cut thinly (I used Roma tomatoes)
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Drizzle the olive oil over the pizza dough. Use a brush to spread it around and make sure to get the crust!
3. Next, spread the finely chopped garlic evenly over the entire pizza.
4.  Spread the mozzarella cheese throughout the top

5. Place the thinly sliced tomatoes across the entire pizza.
6. Lightly salt and pepper the tomatoes
7. Spread the fresh basil leaves, making sure to get some on tomatoes and on just the cheese itself.
8. Cook the pizza in the oven for about 9-10 minutes, or until sufficiently crispy and melted to your liking.
9.  Add a little Parmesan cheese ( I added a little before baking and a little after) and enjoy!

End Result: 

Pre Christmas Ale Post

So apparently, Great Lakes Christmas Ale has been tapped in Cleveland, OH and most stores now have cases of it in stock.  I have yet to drink a full Christmas Ale Beer.  I have only tried one sip of a friends beer at a Christmas themed party a couple years ago, but I don't even remember what it tastes like. 

I guess you could say this is my Christmas Ale V-card post.  I am determined to drink some Christmas Ale this weekend and why not, 'tis the season, right! :)  

I will also post about my experience with this drink 'Post Christmas Ale.'  That is, if I'm not too hungover! I have heard this stuff is pretty lethal as far as getting you drunk....hopefully for my first time drinking this 'crack' beer, I don't end up like this guy -->

And yes, if you look at my google history, I did just google "drunk santa."  

Cheers to a great and sunny weekend!

~Mandy
 

My New Obsession

is...

Pintrest!

If you have not been on this website before, it is an absolute must!  My friend Skinner told me about it a couple months ago and it took me a bit to understand what it was and how it worked, but now I am obsessed.  I could literally be on that site all day and just repin, repin, repin.  I actually started reading people's blogs from seeing the different pins and that's what prompted me to make my own blog!  

Pintrest makes me want to cook, bake, decorate, and do all sorts of crafty things.  Such a great way to get recipe ideas for food & drinks, look at different clothing styles and trends, look at holiday decorating ideas, hair style ideas, home decoration ideas, and so much more.  And no, Pintrest is not paying me to say this :)  ... although I wish they were!! So Pintrest -- if you are reading this, I am ready to be your paid spokesperson. 

But seriously, if you have not already created an account on Pintrest -- DO IT! And you will be just as obsessed as I am.  :)

Example of something I repined - Pumpkin Spice Latte

~Mandy

Kim K is Cray Cray!

Just in case you were pinned beneath a giant rock yesterday and didn't hear the big news -- Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kris Humphries!!!!

What...a shocker.  

If you saw their 'fairytale wedding special' on E, you are probably not shocked at all.  Anyone with half a brain could have seen that the marriage had no chance of lasting... I mean they weren't even speaking to each other at their rehearsal dinner.  They fought about anything and everything: his dogs, Kim not changing her last name, Kris fighting with members of the Kardashian family, Kim being too materialistic, etc. etc.... I'm not a marriage expert, but these are probably problems that should have been rectified prior to the big day.  

I'm wondering if Kim doesn't really understand what marriage is.  72 days later and she's like eh, this isn't for me, I guess I'll just get a divorce.  Trying not to judge, but REALLY?  Haha.

The Couple in Happier Times...

I'm wondering if the marriage/divorce was all for ratings and publicity or if was actually real love.  We may never know...

Happy Halloween :)

Happy Halloween!!!


I hope everyone had a great celebration this weekend.  I was not very creative with my costume this year and pretty much threw something together at the last minute.  I borrowed some cat accessories from my friend at work and was a cat with one of my friends.   I think it turned out pretty cute for not really putting in too much effort.   We made a Hot Apple Cider + Rum and apples.  So good and so strong!

Lauren (pirate) and I

Group Picture

Friday we ate at one of my favorite Cleveland restaurants - D'vine.  I love the food, atmosphere and of course the many wine flights.  I decided to go with the Pinot Noir flight this time. 

I also like that their food is smaller plates, so it the perfect amount of food if you are going to be drinking and don't want to be too full. My friend Lauren and I split the Bruschetta appetizer and then I got Parm Crusted Chicken Tenders with Tomato Caper Cream Sauce and Pesto Mashed Potatoes for my dinner.  

They also gave us a complimentary dessert to split -- the Chocolate Pizza -- which was beyond amazing.

Hope you all have a great Halloween! Try to stay warm!!!

Recipe for a Rainy Day

Happy Thursday!

I think today would be a lot happier if it wasn't pouring rain and so dreary outside.  I was going to leave for lunch, but made a wise decision to not get soaked.  Instead, I read a little more in this month's book club choice, Sarah's Key -- great book by the way, I definitely recommend it.

If you are looking for something good to make for this rainy night and don't want to do the typical grilled cheese and soup, I made a yummy dish for my roommate and I last week that would be perfect - total comfort food.  Twice Baked Potato Casserole - found on food.com.  My first time on that site and I absolutely love it!  You can change the number of servings on any recipe and it will recalculate the ingredients for you.  

Recipe: 

• 6 medium potatoes, baked
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 lb bacon, cooked and drained
• 3 cups sour cream
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 green onions, chopped

Directions:

1. Cut peeled potatoes in 1 inch cubes.
2. Place half in greased 13x9 baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with half the salt, pepper, and bacon.
4. Top with half the sour cream and cheeses.
5. Repeat layers.
6. Bake, uncovered at 350* for 25 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with onions.

Here is a little hint: make sure you boil the potatoes BEFORE you put them in the casserole!  I overlooked this little detail and ended up having to cook it for a lot longer.  :) Another suggestion would be adding white onion into the layers - also you could use whatever cheese you want.  My friend and I were thinking Cheddar and Pepper Jack would also be good.  

But all in all, a very delicious dish!  Will definitely make it again even though it is not the healthiest.  Sometimes, you just need some comfort food on a rainy night! 

The Final Product: 

Enjoy! :)


~Mandy