To my adoring fans, I've missed you

Ok, so I'm not doing a very good job updating lately. I thought I'd be all smart and put some recipes up here to automatically update while I was busy or whatnot. Oops-didn't post at all so I look some recipe hound (which I actually am!)

As most of you know there's a lot of exciting news right now, and I'll be honest, I'm having trouble enjoying it. I know that it is stupid that I think a ton of people are out there in the world just judging me like "oh, I wonder if she'll get married this time" or "she'll screw it up again, don't worry", and I've sort of robbed myself of the joy of being engaged to the man I love. I know I'm supposed to focus on the positive, but I just feel so...strange about the whole thing. I wonder if it's what people feel like when they are getting married for the second time around. Sort of that "oh, people won't appreciate this or see it as special". I don't know, I'm blathering, but I guess the only way to prove that this is right, is well, for it to be right and it to all go that way that Mircea and I want it to go (which by the way, is something along the lines of happily ever after)

My parents are coming to visit this weekend and this will be the first "clash of the titans" as I like to call, which is obviously the first meeting of both our sets of parents. It should be an interesting time because I really can't think of 4 different people (even the folks married to each other) and putting them all into one little petri dish (my dining room) should be interesting. My big plan is that if they hate each other, I'll just start drinking heavily and they can bond together to discuss what a lush I am. I guess I get something good out of that, right? Oh yeah, a hangover.

I bought some nice bathing suits for St. Lucia. Bathing suits that I won't be wearing unless I get some (a lot) of weight off. I've not been religious with P90x as my knee has been giving me a rough time, but I started physical therapy again (remind me to tell you that little gem) and I'm feeling some improvements. Trying to eat better for sure...which will bring me to my next post...

(how's that for a cliffhanger since I've been such a terrible poster?)

Recipe Thursday: Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip
From Paula Deen on Food Network

Ingredients

10 oz package frozen chopped spinach
2 13 3/4 oz canned artichoke hearts
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Head spinach to thaw and squeeze dry. Drain artichoke hearts and coursely chop in food processor.
3. Combine all ingredients except jack cheese in large bowl. Stir well. Scrape into casserole dish and sprinkle jack cheese on top.
4. Bake 30 minutes. Serve warm with bagel chips or crackers.

I took this to a party a couple of weeks ago and people really liked it. I thought it was pretty decent too. I will definitely make it again.

Sorry for the Recipes

I had a day a couple weeks ago that I had a ton of time on my hands so I was typing in a bunch of recipes that would auto-post. Unfortunately, I didn't put anything else on the blog during this time, so it's just a bunch of Good Eats that this crappy blog has been spewing out at you. Oops!

As my Facebook friends know, Mircea asked me to marry him on July 3rd. It was a sweet proposal, a huge surprise, and I couldn't be happier to be marrying the man of my dreams. I do worry that everyone in the world is like "are you actually going to get married or freak out like a crazy biotch?" and I'll answer you that "yes, I'm going to get married and I'm putting a lot of effort into not freaking out". I'm not going to have someone else's wedding, which I was essentially going to do a couple years back. Mircea and I are doing what we want and including our friends and family when we return. Our current plan is to get married around the March timeframe at the Sandals resort in St. Lucia. We haven't booked anything, but that's what we're thinking. We're pretty excited and this is MUCH more our style. Dad wasn't too happy about the lack of church wedding at first, but I think he understands that the level of pressure I felt for something like that makes a crazy out of a Katey Pooh. Our intent is to throw a shindig when we get home, a casual sort of reception where we can share our happiness with friends and family. So that's that.

Our old house is almost done, which is great. Can't wait for it to be completely finished and hopefully we'll be able to sell it shortly. I have to laugh, our original planned completion date was DECEMBER 2008. Well, August 1, 2009 will have to suffice! Pray that we sell it quickly and for a decent price.

I hope everyone is having a great summer. We've got something big every weekend (except for two) between now and our Romania trip in mid-September, so it's an eventful summer-which is great. Usually we just park in front of the tv all weekend so this is a much enjoyed change.

Recipe Thursday: Dump Cake

Dump Cake
My Grandma Reed

This cake would be nice to take to a 4th of July picnic, or pretty much anytime. This was one of my favorites as a kid, only I called it "garbage cake" and it sort of stuck with our family.

Ingredients
1 lg can cherries
1 lg can crushed pineapple
1 box yellow cake mix
2 sticks butter (I actually cringed when I typed this. Challenge: Reduce this fat!)
1 cup pecans

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend cherries and pineapple in baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with cake mix.
4. Slice butter over mixture and add nuts.
5. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

This was really simply, and maybe a little "poor people food", but it was so good and I loved this as a kid. I loved it AND I hated cherries when I was young, so it must be awesome. Probably all that butter.