Girls night!

My friends and I started a new tradition this past month of having girls dinner and going to trivia every Tuesday night at Stats Bar and Grille in South Boston. It is within steps from my house and we love their food and amazing drinks. You have to try the Shipyard Pumpkin beer with a shot of vanilla vodka in it. They even rim the glass with cinnamon and sugar! So delicious!! 

Last week we decided to go Italian and one of my friends picked up some great items from Trader Joe's. We started off with some pita crackers, White Stilton cheese with cranberries, sliced salami and of course wine! The cheese was similar to goat cheese in taste and texture but did not have as much tang. 

For our salad we had spinach with pecans and blue cheese with a balsamic dressing. It actually came as a salad in a bag but you would never know it was so good! Then we made fresh tortellini from the refrigerated section with a tomato basil sauce. Last, we bought a loaf of ciabatta bread and I made garlic bread out of it. 

I always get a lot of compliments on my garlic bread and that is because of my secret ingredient...SUGAR! I take the loaf of bread and drizzle olive oil on it. Next I cut a garlic clove in half and rub it into the bread. I then mince the clove and spread it on top of the bread. If you do not have fresh garlic just spread on jarred minced garlic or sprinkle on dried garlic seasoning. Then I sprinkle on a mix of grated parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella. Drizzle on a little more olive oil on top and sprinkle with dried parsley flakes. Last sprinkle a little sugar on top and bake in the oven at 350 F for 15 to 20 minutes. The sugar gives the bread just a touch of sweetness and I promise you people will notice a difference :)

Pumpkin Streusel Cheesecake Bars

I love the Betty Crocker emails that I signed up for. The recipes are so easy, the site is simple to navigate, and you can save and print all of your favorite recipes! Since it is prime pumpkin time I knew I had to make these Pumpkin Streusel Cheesecake Bars when I saw the recipe in my inbox. 

They were so easy to make and were a HUGE hit at my office. I have already passed on the recipe to 3 other people who want to make them for the holidays. I think they are best served cold so I kept them in the fridge until it was time to serve them.

Recipe and image courstesy of Betty Crocker:

 

Cookie Base

1

pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix

    **I couldn't find plain oatmeal cookie mix in my grocery store so I used oatmeal chocolate chip and I think it made the squares even better!!**

1/2

cup crushed gingersnap cookies

1/2

cup finely chopped pecans

1/2

cup cold butter or margarine

Filling

2

packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

    **I used low fat cream cheese**

1

cup sugar

1

cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

2

tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1

tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2

tablespoons whipping cream

2

eggs

Toppings

1/3

cup chocolate topping

1/3

cup caramel topping

• 1Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix, crushed cookies and pecans. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. 
•     **I did this step in a food processor and cut the cold butter in at the end**
• 2Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining filling ingredients; beat until well blended. Pour over warm cookie base. Sprinkle with reserved topping.
• 3Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.
• 4Before serving, drizzle with chocolate and caramel toppings. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Boston Dining Deals

My friend Andrea just shared this link from boston.com. It has some great dining deals for restaurants around Boston so I figured I would share :) I can't wait to check some of these out!!

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/dishing/2009/01/restaurant_deal.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed1_HP

Lauren Conrad

I'll admit it. I watched Laguna Beach and The Hills while they were on TV. Ok, I'll even admit I watch the re-runs on On Demand every so often too :) However, when I heard Lauren Conrad had a blog I didn't really think twice about it because it was not something I thought I would find interesting or relevant. 

Well, luckily I must have been bored one day and decided to click on it. Turns out it is actually really cute with lots of delicious looking recipes, fun entertaining ideas, crafts, fashion tips, and giveaways.

Check out these really creative Halloween ideas. My favorite is the Mummy Pizza!!

http://www.laurenconrad.com/post/tuesday-ten-eat-drink-and-be-scary-halloween-fall-party-ideas 

Gojee

I have this website listed in my favorites. I really like the vibrant pictures and how you can input ingredients you have in your own kitchen for recipe inspiration. The team at Gojee hand picks recipes from blogs and websites so you get a quick overview of the recipe, but than can click on the link to be brought to the full post.

Check it out by following them on Twitter @gojee or click on the link below:

http://www.gojee.com/recipes#!1857

UMASS vs. UNH at Gillette Stadium

We started a new tradition last year when UMASS starting having an annual football game against UNH at Gillette Stadium. I am lucky that a lot of my friends from UMASS live in the area so we have more than enough people to get together for a party bus to tailgate for the day!


The morning started out with a pancake and mimosa brunch at my house. I just use regular pancake mix but add a little cinnamon and sugar and vanilla extract to the batter.

I made a big pasta salad to take with us because it is so easy to make and feeds a lot of people.

• 2lbs of pasta (I mixed two shapes to make it more fun)
• 1 diced cucumber
• 1 diced yellow pepper
• 1 8.5 oz can of corn
• 1 carton of cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 7 oz container of mozzarella balls, quartered
• Light ranch dressing
• Lemon juice

Boil and cook the pasta so it is aldente. Immediately rinse under cold water to prevent the pasta from cooking any more. Mix in the cucumber, yellow pepper, corn, mozzarella, and tomatoes. Add as much or as little ranch dressing as you like, a few squirts of lemon juice and some fresh cracked black pepper. So easy!

Here are a few other snapshots from the day. One of my friends got creative and made double layer jello shots for our bus ride!

Restaurant.com

Every so often I get an email from Restaurants.com that feature $25 gift certificates to Boston restaurants for only $4.

Click on this link and use the promo code "TREAT" at checkout. In order to get the $4 deal you have to choose the $25 gift certificate option.

http://www.restaurant.com/Info/LandingPage/City/Boston-Restaurants