I love pizza! I also love feta cheese! I was so excited when a recipe for Spinach Feta Personal Pizza came directly to my inbox this morning. I cannot wait to try this recipe out. You will know when I do as I will take a picture of the pizza. The recipe and nutritional information are provided by SparkPeople.com.
Spinach Feta Personal Pizza Serves: 1
This quick and easy thin-crust pizza is a delicious alternative to the giant, greasy cheese pizza you could have delivered.
INGREDIENTS 1 (8-inch) flour tortilla (I am sure that flat bread would be a better alternative as it generally has less fat in it) 2 tablespoons pizza sauce 10 spinach leaves, fresh 1 sliced Roma or plum tomato 1 tablespoon feta cheese 2 tablespoons low fat mozzarella cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Turn on oven broiler.
2. Spray cookie sheet with spray margarine and place tortilla on sheet.
3. Toast tortilla lightly on both sides under broiler. Remove from oven.
4. Top tortilla with sauce, spinach leaves, and tomato slices.
5. Sprinkle on feta cheese and mozzarella cheese.
6. Place under broiler until cheese melts.
NUTRITION INFO (per 1-tortilla serving)
Calories: 275.8
Fat: 8.9 g
Carbohydrates: 37.7 g
Protein: 12.9 g
Yes, it is true. Seventy-five percent of every dollar spent on health care in this country is spent on chronic diseases. The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease recently released a new television ad featuring Katy Segal, Phylicia Rashad, Lauren Bacall and Mary-Louise Parker along side every day women in an ad asking women to be sure who they vote for on November 4th is going to help with this situation.
The ad has appeal. I find myself turning around again and again to watch it as it airs throughout the day. Be sure that you know where whoever you vote for stands on this issue.
As I have said many times, I swear I am getting a new digital camera soon. My apologies in advance for the image quality.
Winter has paid a brief visit to where I live in upstate NY. As I spent last weekend in the Buffalo-Niagara region of the state, I was happy to get out of there without a lake effect happening of some sort. I didn’t have log to wait as the weather came to my area instead.
The forecast was for bad snow. This prompted the first discussion with the 18 year old about driving to school. The weather was not bad but I did convince him that he needed to stay at school for lunch. He even took my warnings to heart and called to see if it was okay for him to come down “the hill” to get home from school.
I have been super busy this week at work but managed to walk out and snap a few pics of the weather on Wednesday morning.
I use to watch the news on illegal immigration and our borders with a disinterest. Yes, it is important on a national level. No, I didn’t think it effected me personally.
My mother, who lives in the desert of southern California, and I would talk about it. It does personally effect her.
Then, I started watching as cities around the country, cities large and small, starting passing resolutions and laws. This city is a sanctuary city. This city has a law about renting to illegal aliens. Now, my country is dividing on this issue and it is going to get very interesting.
I was intrigued as most cities were on the west coast or in the south or southwest. Then, Hazleton, Pennsylvania came into the picture. I was intrigued that a city in the middle of Pennsylvania felt it necessary to pass a law called the Illegal Immigration Relief Act. The act basically says that illegal aliens are harmful to US citizens and cannot be employed or cannot inhabit housing in Hazleton. The ACLU and Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund have sued and the law was overturned last summer but the city appealed. Tomorrow, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the lawsuit.
Why am I so intrigued by this law? Why am I so interested now? What has changed? One of my daughter’s best friends at college is now a border patrol member. Illegal immigration has become much more real to me.
Does a city really need to pass a law saying that illegal immigrants are illegal and cannot be employed? Is that not already inherent in federal law?
The problem lies in the fact that federal officials have turned a blind eye on this issue. They talk about it but do little to help the problem. Sure, they talk about a fence or wall on our southern border. Unfortunately, this blockade will go directly through US towns, split a college campus. There is no sense in what our “leaders” are trying to do.
The question is, will either presidential candidate - or any of the third party alternatives – do anything to help this situation?
I know yesterday’s blurb was pretty sure that this was the case. Both the Buffalo News and the Niagara Gazette had articles saying Buffalo was the only of the three finalist cities to have a news conference scheduled for yesterday.
Yesterday, Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, made the news official. HSBC Arena, in downtown Buffalo, and Dwyer Arena, on the campus of Niagara University, will hose the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships.
I have been to many hockey games at Dwyer Arena over the past four years. Improvements to the arena have been plentiful. In March of 2008, Dwyer hosted the College Hockey America conference tournament.
I have spent some time in Buffalo in the past few years also. It is not the dismal city it use to be. It is a wonderful destination.
If you are a hockey fan, look through the site above as you will want tickets to this event.
Do you need a reason to visit Western New York – the Niagara-Buffalo area specifically? Do you love hockey of all levels but the higher the level the better? Stay tuned! Your reason may appear this afternoon as USA Hockey holds a press conference in Buffalo.
Both The Buffalo News and The Niagara Gazette reported Saturday that USA Hockey, the top governing body for hockey in the US will hold a press conference at HSBC Arena today. In attendance will be Sabres owner B Thomas Golisano, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and a representative from USA Hockey. It is anticipated that the announcement will tell the world that the 2010-11 World Junior Hockey Championships will be played at HSBC Arena in downtown Buffalo and Dwyer Arena on the campus of Niagara University. Buffalo is one of three finalists for this prestigious tournament, competing with Minneapolis and Grand Forks, ND for the honor. The tournament is a ten day tourney that features the best 20 and under players in the world.
So, if you’re a hockey fan, stay tuned. If you are looking for a reason to visit Western NY, stay tuned.
Yes, I am off on a road trip at 7 am tomorrow morning. My kitchen table looks like it is time for a college visit so…
… The soon-to-be 18 year old and his 14 year old brother and I head west along the Southern Tier Expressway tomorrow morning. Initial destination – SUNY-Fredonia. The high school senior has a 12 noon appointment with the trombone professor, a 1 pm appointment with an admissions counselor and then a tour of campus. Hope I can keep the 14 year old entertained or at least quiet.
Then, we will hit the NYS Thruway and head to Niagara University. It is Family Weekend. We seldom partake in the scheduled events. Last year, we spent Saturday in Lewiston and the Falls. This year I haven’t quite figured it out yet but we have tickets to the 4 pm Niagara – Merrimack men’s hockey game (wish I could convince Time Warner Cable to broadcast the Niagara/Michigan game tonight but alas, my Mountaineers are playing tonight so no worries). We will pick up the UB twin brother before the hockey game. Not sure about meals but have had a request for me to make potato soup Friday when we get there.
So, if you see a group of people wandering around Niagara Falls this weekend and they don’t look like they live there but look comfortable, say hi!
First, a few caveats. My digital camera is in sore need of replacement. Please do not turn up the volume on the video clips as the sound is horrible. The video itself, though, is much better than the still photos.
My thanks to all those I met at the concert and a boo or two also. To the woman on my right, buy two tickets next time. I don’t pay money for you to use my seat and yours. To the woman and her ten year old daughter on my left, I hope you both enjoyed the concert! To the guy in front of me, I know your friends are jealous that you got a floor ticket on concert day. To the divorced woman who was behind me with her 21 year old daughter, send me a message. We can go out together some time.
Concert Ticket
I got to the Broome County Veteran’s Memorial Arena just as the doors were opening. This is sheer luck but a good thing as it was getting chilly out and I was not dressed for cold weather. This also allowed me – a people watcher – to get into my seat and look around at all the people as they came in. I was truly amazed at the diversity of the crowd. I have never, in my entire life, watched an episode of American Idol so really didn’t give it a thought. There were couples there as old as my parents, late sixties to early seventies. There were families there with lots of little girls. There were young couples there – as Carrie Underwood pointed out prior to one of her songs, with some of the guys looking like they were drug there. There were some diehard country fans there – cowboy hats and boots. There were those who were American Idol fans. Many of the people around me on the floor had seen Little Big Town last year with Sugarland and Jake Owen in CMT On Tour.
Opening Act
Little Big Town took the stage at 7:30. The only complaint I have is that they did not play longer. While I like Carrie Underwood’s music, I love LBT’s. I have them on my running playlist. They played some wonderful songs from their newest release – a re-release under a new contract that has four new songs on it – and some wonderful songs from early in their careers. You may think they are a new group but they have been making music together for ten years. Their set included “Novacaine,” which is one of my absolutely favorite songs, “Life in a Northern Town,” originally done with Sugarland and Jake Owen and on their new re-release, and “I’m With the Band.” LBT closed with “Boondocks,” one of their biggest hits. They filled 45 minutes with music.
Then, came 30 minutes of set change. At the 25 minute mark, a countdown clock came up.
Countdown to Carrie
Carrie Underwood came on stage about 8:50 and walked off stage about 10:30. I was absolutely amazed at the length of her set – which was broken up twice for costume changes, the first time by a video of her awards and the second time with music from her band and backup vocalist.
Underwood had fans on their feet before the countdown clock hit 30 seconds. The floor stayed on its feet for quite some time. Her first outfit was a sparkly, sequined black dress with above the knee black boots which I am sure made those guys who “got drug to the show” happy they were there.
When Underwood disappeared for her first change of the evening, the big screens played a compilation of clips from American Idol and awards shows. There were magazine covers – lots of them – and other information about how her career has taken off in the last three years. Underwood reappeared in a dreamlike dress and sang from one place for a bit – slower tunes that fit both the outfit and the background that was showing on the screen behind her.
The great part about this outfit was the skirt ripped off – yes, someone pulled it off though we, the audience, could not see who – and she had on a short strapless dress and really gorgeous yellow shoes. This gave her two outfits in one – good for showmanship.
The music was wonderful. She sang all her big hits – “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Some Hearts,” “All American Girl” – she actually brought a young girl from Sidney Center up on stage with her to finish this song off, “Just A Dream,” “So Small,” “ Wasted,” “Don’t Forget to Remember Me,” and “I Ain’t in Checotah Anymore.”
To add a local flavor to the concert, Underwood appeared in a Denis Hamel, number 17 Binghamton Senators jersey with her name on it for her encore. She sang two songs – one the crowd was waiting for, the other a surprise at least to me. She opened the encore with her rendition of Guns N Rose’s “Paradise City.” Then, she sang the one big hit she had not done yet - “Before He Cheats.”
The color pumpkin is one of my favorite colors. Case in point, the shirt I have on for the big concert tonight – I have floor tickets to see Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood – is pumpkin colored. My most requested baked good is pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. My favorite season of the year is fall, when pumpkins are harvested.
Pumpkin Collage
This image above is a pumpkin collage I did last year. At the time I had a subscription to Vogue. I went through the magazine page at a time, removing all the pumpkin items that were in it and cutting and pasting until I came up with this collage.
Pumpkin Patch
This is the pumpkin patch on Route 26, just outside of the hamlet of Maine, New York. I came upon it filled with pumpkins still last October, on my way home from picking apples with my college-aged daughter. Reminds me – better check the TV guide to see when Charlie Brown is on.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
This brings me to the whole reason for this post. I am going to put out there my pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe. The picture above is a double batch. Below is the recipe for a single batch. If you don’t have six kids, you probably don’t need six dozen cookies.
1/2 c shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)
1 c sugar
1 15oz can pumpkin puree (not pie mix)
2 c flour (I mix half and half, unbleached flour and wheat flour)
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1/2 bag (1 c) chocolate chips
Cream first three ingredients together. Slowly mix in next five ingredients. Stir in chips. Drop by spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 11 minutes at 350F.
One of the things I love most about living in upstate New York is fall. Not the kind our economy is taking but the season of the year. I am not sure I could live where there are not four distinct seasons. I have tons of photos of autumn colors. Now I have a small piece of art.
I had this tag sitting around the house. I had been saving it to make it into a small piece of art. I had in mind that I would gesso the tag to get rid of the “Steve & Barry’s” part of it and then I would use a stiff stipple brush to make leaves in all the gorgeous colors on it. Well, the gesso part went well. The stippling, not so much. I started with the lightest color – yellow – and could not get what I was envisioning.
Take two. I decided that I would use the colors I had out – yellow, orange, cranberry, green and espresso – to color the tag. I did direct from ink pad to paper, or tag in this case, and here is the end product. Each side is unique but this is my favorite side.
1 (8-inch) flour tortilla (I am sure that flat bread would be a better alternative as it generally has less fat in it)
