Mazzolini Pizza

Since I am about to become Mrs. Mazzolini, a member of a pizza-loving family, I thought I'd make a silly video to describe the incredibly delicious BBQ Chicken Pizza we made.

Improv Class

I've been taking improv classes at Dad's Garage since November. I look forward to class every week. It is fun, it pushes me to get outside my head (which I am not so good at), and I am learning new things. We have one more class until we're done with level 3. Once we complete the 7 weeks of level 4, we're done. Boom. Over. But then what? I love improv. I dont want to stop learning and growing in it. My question for myself is "to what end?" As in, what am I going to do with this learning and growing. I have no answer. Nurse by day, improvisor by night? Maybe. The next SNL character? Probably not. This could help me to write the next great American novel. We'll see.

I ask a lot of myself. I am a perfectionist, even though I despise that label. I want to push things to the next level. I look for life lessons in even the smallest of events. What can I learn from this? How can I make it better in the future? I find these traits tripping me up in improv class. Instead of just trying to let a scene with 2 characters work from start to finish, I am in my head thinking about where the scene is going, where a good place for a tilt would be, trying to avoid sterotypes in my character development. Every class my goal is to get out of my head and just let go.

This weekend we saw Tim Meadows perform at Dad's Garage. If you've never been to Dad's, you are missing out on a wealth of enjoyment. This was the first time Tim Meadows has visited a theater and left his troupe home in Chicago. We enjoyed Tim and the Dad's Garage improvisors on Saturday night. They were hysterical. Tim even did a phenomenal job of calming down a loud wobbling drunk chic who thought she might be the highlight of the show. After the show, Nick and I went up the street to Across the Street, a Mexican restaurant. They will work out ways to make just about anything on their menu GF and vegan. I thoroughly enjoyed their mojito and their goat cheese enchilada as a late night snack. I will be going back to investigate their menu, maybe next time in daylight.

Easter, Part 1

It's been a whiles since I've posted. Yes, I've been busy. I also thought about just not blogging anymore. Yet here I am. We're just back from church. The flow of our day goes something like this: we woke up, tired; I rubbed the brisket, got ready for church; we stuck the brisket in the smoker, ran out the door; went to a crowded church service at St. Jude's. Somewhere amidst the singing and burning frankincense I came to.

Once we exited church stage left, we hit up Dunkin' Doughnuts to consummate our Lenten desires. Nick bought two doughnuts (his Lenten sacrifice), and I bought a cup of French vanilla coffee (just because). We sat at a table munching sweets, he his doughnuts and me my peanut butter M&Ms (I gave up chocolate) in a satisfying silence. As we enjoyed, a mother and her two boys came in. The older boy came in for a doughnut saying "I've waited 40 days for this." Nick and I smiled to each other and finished our indulgence.

Sloppy Joes

Sunday night I felt restless. We had just returned from an open house at our wedding reception space, said goodbye to my mother, bickered a bit. I decided I would take the Barkers for a long W-A-L-K in the woods to tire us all out. I took my normal path down to the river. I love the sound of rushing water, the feeling of moisture in the air, the placidity of the river. As I walked down the stair-like steps of rocks near the river bed, enjoying David Gray n my ipod I slipped. I felt my ankle twist and pop. I landed on my back and gasped for breath. I watched Lorenzo wander off, and called him back. I realized if we didn't walk back as a pack, I'd be laying there for a while. I stood up, brushed the dirt off, put in my ear buds, and got back on the path. Jem's music played, the lyrics saying "God give me strength to keep on walking." I laughed. How tv sitcom dramatic.

When I got home, Nick had me do "ice bucket therapy." He fixed a bucket of ice full of cold water with ice in it to stick my foot in. Have you ever done that? Ice baths are intensely uncomfortable. As I squirmed around on the couch, I decided I should distract myself. Nick had been craving Sloppy Joe's. Meals in boxes did not exist in my house, so I had never seen a Sloppy Joe prepared in my life. I Googled a recipe for Sloppy Joes from scratch. I was quite impressed with them. I served mine on a Kinicknick's hamburger bun.

Nick only left one serving of Sloppy Joe in the fridge, so I know he loved them. I ate the leftovers today over GF shell shaped pasta. I think they were even better this way. And my ankle? I have a hairline fracture and a really fashionable boot to wear for the next 2-6 weeks.

Enjoy some sloppy good food!

Sloppy Joes Front Scratch

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced carrots (can sub chopped bell pepper)
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• 1 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 cups tomato sauce (or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, puréed)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
• 4 hamburger buns

Cook it up

1 Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium high heat. Cook the carrots for about 5 minutes, making sure to keep them moving so they don't burn. Put in the onion and celery with the carrots. Move the food around in the pan with your spatula occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat. Transfer the veggies from the pan to a bowl and set aside.

2 Salt the bottom of the same pan. Turn the heat up to high to brown the beef. You may consider cooking the beef in 2 batches. Use a slotted spoon to help the beef brown on all sides. When the beef has browned, remove the extra fat juices.

3 Put the beef and veggies together in the pan over medium low heat. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well. Add ground cloves, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, then serve on GF buns.

Better Mexican

Wedding, work, work, work, wedding, stuff, improv, work, wedding...

Nick and I finally reconnected with Ali and Jason a few Sundays ago at La Fonda. I've been to La Fonda before, but have only had their pork chops (which are quite tasty). This time I ordered chicken tacos on corn tortillas. I was expecting a typical taco involving meat, veggies, salsa. This one came out with some sort of chipotle mayo. It really didn't do it for me. While the drinks (margaritas and mojitos) were quite good, my heart longed for a better Mexican food experience.

Monday I got to work on a quesadilla that would ease pain of bad Mexican. I turned to the staples or my refrigerator. They turned out quite well- crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

Spinach Quesadillas & Corn Salad Using Fridge Staples
* Bag of shredded reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
* Corn tortillas
* Bag of spinach (or whatever you have left over)
* Chicken breast, cut into thin strips or squares
* 1 clove of garlic, crushed
* Can of corn
* Can or diced tomatoes
* 1 jalapenos, diced, seeding optional
* 3 tablespoons EVOO
* reduced fat sour (optional)

Preheat the broiler while you are preparing the remaining items.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the EVOO in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, and cook until cooked through, about 5 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, make the corn salad.

When the chicken has cooked through, set aside. Drain any remaining juices. Add 1 tablespoon EVOO. Add the garlic, crushed, and cook for 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook, turning it every so often with a spoon, until it is wilted.

Meanwhile, lightly brush each side of the corn tortilla with some of the EVOO, and place half of them on a baking sheet. Set aside the other half to use as the tops. Spoon the cooked spinach onto each of the quesadillas. Add the shredded cheese onto the tortilla to taste. Top the quesadillas off with the remaining tortillas.

Place the baking sheet in the broiler for 1 minute. Flip the quesadilla and cook for 1 more minute, or until both sides are crispy. Enjoy, seasoned with the corn salad or a salsa of your choice.

Corn Salad
Open the 2 cans. Drain the juice out of the corn, and drain the majority of the juice out of the tomatoes. Combine in a bowl with the jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Adding cilantro is a bonus.

Stuff and Things

We've been really busy lately with stuff and things.

We had our Engaged Encounter weekend in Cullman, AL. Their motto is "a wedding is a day, but a marriage is a lifetime." We did this weekend because of Nick's uncle and aunt-

th

used to teach these weekends. I really did not know what to expect. The retreat format went in lecture, separate the men and women to answer questions, then meet with your fiancee to discuss. Many of the topics discussed were things Nick and I had talked about already, but maybe not in so much depth or so pointedly. Talking and writing all weekend wash exhausting, but very worthwhile. Not only do I feel this weekend helped deepen our relationship, but I am even more excited about marry this amazing man. My favorite part of the weekend was the love letter we wrote each other. I'll cherish that forever.

The nuns of Cullman, AL really accommodated my and another man's GF needs very well. Everything was fresh and healthy. They did not even serve sweet tea in Alabama, because the sugar content makes the tea too unhealthy. We ate chicken breasts, salads, roast beef, potatoes, etc, all made with love. :)

What else have I been up to?

Wedding planning. Nick picked out his tux with me. He is going to look so handsome. I made little bracelets and headbands for the flower girls. I collected florists names, and Nick finished the hot

el stuff. Today I received our invitation mock-ups. Kristy did a great job with them! I am so excited.

Outside time. Who knew it could be 70 degrees for a whole week in February?

Enjoying Nick's cooking. He has been making some really great

food lately. (I've been sticking to the basic meals, things I have already cooked.) We had three Valentine's Day meals. On Sunday I came back from my scrapbooking retreat to find a baked chicken, stuffing, and a baked potato (my favorites!). Monday I wanted to fix spag and meatballs for Nick (one of his favorites), but ended up with meat sauce because work went over. He fixed some tasty skewers on v-day Tuesday.

One of Nick's new finds is this coconut root extract sauce that tastes like soy, but is GF, vegan, GMO happy, kosher, etc., etc. He made a stir fry with that sauce, a pinch of corn starch, onion, and beef strips last night. It was sooooooooooooooooo good!

Engagement Party

Saturday we hosted our friends to celebrate our engagement. The party was wonderful. I love entertaining, having a home full of people I love. To make a relationship succeed through the good and bad, I think you have to have a support system of friends and family. It is a blessing to have wonderful friends in our lives, in our life together. I look forward to our next get-together, whether it be a large group or one-on-one.

We wanted to keep this party simple, so we ordered a Boar's Head meat tray from Publix. On the side, I fixed spinach dip, guac, and goat cheese/sun-dried tomato crostini. Kristy brought her signature pizza dip (oh so so SO good) and Melissa brought a black bean dip that received rave reviews. On the sweet side, we had a m&m bowl, chocolate covered pretzels (not GF), cupcakes, and some chocolate-pretzel-pecan creations by Kristin that also got tons of complements. So much for keeping it simple. If you come to our house, we will feed you. Well.

The spinach dip is a bit funny- it takes an obscene amount of spinach to make a small dip. I used a Martha Stewart recipe for it (the recipe is here). As for the goat cheese crostini, I used rice crackers instead of bread. The crackers did get a bit soggy under the cheese, but nobody seemed to mind. The crostini disappeared quickly. Next time I might try to cut some GF bread into squares. Read on for the easiest recipe ever.

Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomato "Crostini"
Ingredients
Goat Cheese log
Sun Dried Tomatoes
GF Base - rice crackers, bread, etc.

Take your cold goat cheese, and mold a dab of it onto the base. I found it much easier to use my (clean) fingers than to use a spreading knife. The pressure from the knife broke a lot of crackers and left flakes, while my fingers made a smooth finish. Next, add the sun dried tomato pieces. Enjoy!

I served mine on a shallow chip tray (I ran out of big flat serving things). To even the surface I used candle-scaping rocks, but you could also use dried beans or peas.