Happy Birthday Brian!!

We had the great opportunity to go to dinner tonight with some great friends, Brian and Sue Wilkes.  We first met the Wilkes when they moved to Maine several years ago.  They live in Kaysville, and have been some of our very best friends for a very long time.  They make me laugh so hard.  Brian does this fabulous little river dance that has me rolling on the floor.  It takes a lot of coaxing, but is so worth it.  Sue of course looks like a million bucks every time I see her.  I remember the first time I saw her at church, I thought to myself, no way will she be nice- she is just too pretty.  She is going to be this snooty standoffish woman.  Boy was I wrong- she is beautiful outside and IN!!  I just love them both.  I love that Sue and I both are addicted to diet soda- she likes coke & I like pepsi, so when we go out to dinner our husbands order water and we smirk and order our diet cokes. 
I am going to share a very secret recipe, that I always get asked for.  We had open houses at work when we finished our new office, and when I served these meatballs, I have had several offices call for the recipe.  This sauce works equally well on frozen meatballs as kielbasa.  Whatever your preference may be!!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

1 cup catsup

1 cup grape jelly

frozen meatballs or kielbasa, sliced

Melt catsup and jelly together.  Pour over meatballs or kielbasa in small crockpot.  Cook until warmed through out. 

Its been way too long

I've spent the last hour reading the blogs of three of my four lovely daughters.  Each makes me smile in a different way.  I am so thrilled to see Tara so happily married and in love.  I knew on the eve of the wedding, when her fiance was in charge of making sure the headbands were made, because it was something important to Tara, that he was absolutely perfect for Tara.  He wielded the glue gun, cut felt, rolled the fabric flowers and kept everyone going.  I am so happy to have Scot as a son-in-law. Melissa is smitten with Daniel, who is treating her like a princess, which is just what she deserves.  She is also a person who always shows gratitude, no matter how difficult her life may be.  But the one that touched me the most was Jessica's.  She is one of the most amazing young ladies I know, who makes me laugh until my sides hurt.  I cried when I read her blog, and the struggles that she has with her self esteem.  I am soo very proud of her goals for this year, and will follow her blog very closely to see how her detox and weight loss goals are progressing.  She is taking a course to become a nutritionalist, and I cant wait to see the difference she can make in her life, as well as others.  Danielle is a teacher, and she is so busy that she does not blog.  I do get to talk with her several times a week, and love the times that we chat on our way to work or home from work.  Mark and I have recently downsized our living conditions, we moved into a townhome.  We are still trying to get used to having less room, and I am trying to sort through and get rid of unneeded things.  My goal this year is to SIMPLIFY!!

Sunday is Superbowl, which to me means great food and commercials.  Only time I actually watch the game is when the patriots are playing.  I will share some of my favorite recipes for when we get a group together over the next few days.  The first recipe is for Artichoke Dip, from a wonderful friend of mine named Darcia Tippets.  Yes, it does call for 8 cloves of garlic, this is not a typo.  It is very fattening, but delicious.  It will seperate as it cooks, so don't be surprised.  If you want to make it just a little bit more healthy (haha) you can add spinach to it. 

Hot Artichoke Dip

Process:

 1 can artichokes (packed in juice), drained

7 to 8 garlic cloves

4 oz grated parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonaise

place in small casserole dish, bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Serve with crackers, pita chips or french bread slices.