Monday, May 31, 2010

Memorial Day: Spanikopita Burgers & A Winner

I really enjoyed learning about what ya’ll would do if you won the lottery. Some fun ideas:

Camping Girl would open a children’s bookstore.

Lauren would quit her job ;)

Shannon would open a Bed & Breakfast (and I would visit ;))

And Lindsay wants to open a bakery with me (ok…I added the with me part)

The rest of my Sunday was lovely! I ran some errands, changed up some of my choreography, and went for another run/walk with Josh. Josh had a friend over at night and I used this recipe and the leftover meatballs to make up a mini meatball bake for the boys. My dinner was a bit of a hodge podge, but was wonderful.

Onto Monday! Monday went as follows:

  • Taught Body Step
  • Brunch with Josh and our friends Jill & Chip

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  • Relaxed
  • Housework
  • Walk with Frank
  • BBQ with Mandi & Bryan

Here is our table setup. I probably should have gone with some red, white & blue for memorial day, but black and white won out ;)

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We started with some fresh fruit Mandi brought over and served it up with some of my cool whip dip (1 container cool whip + 1 single serving fruity yogurt):P1080783

Mandi and I cooked up the meal together:

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which included some Vegetarian baked beans (I cheated and used Bush’s):

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corn on the cob (grilled):P1080792

 Rachael Ray’s Spanikopita Burgers (slightly modified):

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and a cobbler Mandi made based on a Paula Dean recipe (deliciousness):

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SUCH a great time! Can’t get enough of Mandi & Bryan ;).

And last, but not least, the winner of Emeril’s Farm to Fork cookbook is….

Biz!!!!! Email me your address (itzyskitchen at gmail dot com) and I will get your cookbook out to you!

What are ya’ll looking forward to this week?

53 comments:

Lauren @ Eater not a runner said...

Thanks for the shoutout :-) I have to say I LOVE your plates!

Lauren said...

Your dinner looks great! I had baked beans tonight too (ok, actually mine were lentils, but baked beans style).

Sounds like you had a nice long weekend! I'm looking forward to the short week.

Unknown said...

ooh, love those burgers! haven't made them in awhile though... sounds like a fab day :) i'm looking forward to leaving for italy wednesday!

We Are Not Martha said...

Those burgers look SOO good!! Yay for fun weekends :) I'm looking forward to my friend's wedding shower and bachelorette party this weekend!

Sues

I Run for Fun said...

Sounds like a lovely, relaxing weekend. If you open a bakery, I will definitely be one of your loyal customers.

Megan D said...

Your fruit dip recipe sounds so easy and yummy! This week I am looking forward to starting my new job working at a daycare center :)

Julie said...

the lottery question i forgot to answer! damn i missed that boat haha but speaking of boats if i won the lottery i would buy a HUGE 200ft yatch with helicopter pad included obvi so i wouldn't have to sit in hours of traffic after long weekends out east. naturally i would pick you up on my boat but we'd have to meet somewhere near a harbor..

what a fun dinner party you had :) black and white is hte new red white and blue didn't you know...

i'm looking forward to my sunburn fading this week hahaha

fittingbackin said...

I think the black and white set up is great!! Cute pics of you and your friends - I want to dry those burgers - they look great! And i'm intrigued by this "meatball bake" - sounds like something Austin would like! This week i'm looking forward to seeing SATC2 with my mom & sis!

Anonymous said...

Holy shit! I won! Thanks Erica! :D

Priyanka@thehealthydiary said...

Such cute plates and the food looks so good!!

Trying To Heal said...

I love those plates! so cute!

Dinner looks great too! i'v yet to ever try baked beans...isn't that sad!? i dont' think i've tried them because i don't like things that i think should be savory...and are made sweet. bleck! hehe!

Melissa @ For the Love of Health said...

What a great looking dinner!

I hope you really enjoyed your weekend! :-)

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

how were the veggie bush's beans? i really want to make baked beans from scratch but dont have the patience to run an oven for hours in the heat...and if i could doctor those up...well....

cool whip. you know you can make amazing desserts w/ it, right?! LOL. When i saw your dip recipe, it reminds me that as a kid, my mom used to be able to turn a tub of coolwhip into just about anything. LOL

BroccoliHut said...

Love your beautiful tablescape!

Miz said...

goodlordyouarecute.
I know I say it all the time---but it bears repeating :)

I am committed to starting something BIG this week.

what will it be? I swear I dont even know yet---I can just feel it.

Its coming.

Lauren said...

Cookouts with friends are unbeatable! The set up is so beautiful and all of the food looks great! :)

We are definitely brunch girls!! I think you and I need to meet up for brunch at some point! ;)

Hope you have a wonderful week Erica.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I saw my name :)

Your dinnerware is so cute!

Heather said...

Those plates are so cute!
It's funny b/c I am in love with baked beans right now, too. Must be the beginning of summer!

Jessica said...

Super weekend and bbq. I'm a sucker for bbq dinners!

This week, I'm looking forward to planting beans. They plant pretty quick, germinate even faster, and grow in to a fabulous veggie.
Also looking forward to dinner with a gf tomorrow eve and Sex and The City!

Simply Life said...

oh my, all that food - especially that brunch - look amazing!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

Looks like your holiday turned out great and tasty! :-) I love the combo of black and white, and it looks really good with your tablescape. Have a good week dear!

Lindsay @ http://pancakesnpajamas.blogspot.com/ said...

As if you had to add we'd open it together. ;) We'd be bakers fo sho! I love Bush's. There's no shame in using those.

RhodeyGirl said...

YUM. This whole meal looks so incredible!

Anonymous said...

All the food looks fantastic! I'm looking forward to my friend's baby shower!

Anonymous said...

Hey beautiful chica!
I soooo want to take one of your body pump classes! I am starting to REALLY enjoy them, and I bet your classes are super tough! :)
Black&White is classy and perfect for all occasions, I lovee your dishes! Plus 4th of July will be here and you can bust out plenty of Blue&Red then! ;)
I am looking forward to this being the last week of school for my lil swimmers so that we can switch to morning practice times!...I am getting tired of coaching until 9pm every night!
I hope you have a fabulous week ahead of you!
xoxo!

Rose said...

Wow - all the food in this entire post looks fantastic!

homecookedem said...

Oh yum, your entire memorial day meal looks great! We had baked beans too - I love all baked beans, canned, homemade - I'm not picky!! :)

Hope you're having a great day!! :)

Christina said...

oh my gosh those burgers look so good! i really want to go back to charleston's cafe soon!!

Angharad said...

It's kind of nice to have a week of "normal" to look forward to! There's nothing on my calendar and all is open - that feels pretty good after such a crazy weekend!

Your brunch looks amazing - gotta love baked beans!

teresa said...

don't you love having such great friends to spend the holiday with! you two look so cute, love the apron!

glad you had a good weekend! congrats on the win biz!

Maria said...

I love the black and white. My favorite colors-even our wedding colors:) glad you had a nice holiday!

Holly said...

LOVE the cool whip/yogurt dip!! So so good and very refreshing in this hot weather. :-)

I LOVE your black/white plates - that totally would win out for me over red, white and blue, too!

Hmm...this week looking forward to my birthday and just a short work week!

Pining for Pinterest said...

Looks yummy!!! Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

I still love that apron :D Sounds like a great day- time with friends is awesome. Those burgers look delicious! Just bookmarked the recipe :)

I am looking forward to having lunch with my mom tomorrow :)

Jenna said...

LOL i cheated too with Bush's veggie baked beans! :) there is just not enough time in the day to make everything homemade.

p.s. LOVE your skirt!!!

Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...

I love those dishes...beautiful!

I am looking forward to the Vintage VA wine fest this week...highlight of the summer!! :)

Katie said...

Your brunch parfaits always look so delicious!

Spanikopita burgers?! Spinach pie is one of my favorites, so I will HAVE to try this in burger form.

Have a great week!

Juliana said...

Wow, nice dinner...love them all...great pictures as well :-)

The Blonde Duck said...

I love your little apron! How cute!

Erin at The Healthy Apron said...

your apron is super adorable!

Kelsey Ann said...

awe look at you too!! <3 hehe

love the apron! and im a total sucker for baked beans, theyre SO FANTASTIC!! and gotta love those burgers- obviously <3 hehe

Paige (Running Around Normal) said...

Sounds like a fun weekend:)
Your place settings are TOO cute. I can totally see why black and white won out.
I always cheat with Bush's, hehe.

Naomi(Onefitfoodie) said...

i love that apron and love the plates on the table! perfect!!! Jason LOVES baked beans...he always asks for it even with things that do not go with it...we would be having turkey meatballs nad he asks for baked beans, its hilarious!

congrats to biz!!

Sarah said...

Yum! Fabulous holiday meal, looks delicious. I love grilled corn on the cob. :)

I'm looking forward to finding out if we're having a little miss or a little master this week!

Hope you're having a nice day!

KRis | iheartwellness.com said...

What a wonderful sounding get together! I love cheating where I can on dinners ;)

Your pics are so cute!

XXOO

Krista said...

What a great get together! Sounds like lots of fun!!!

Sophie @ yumventures said...

Those burgers look amazing. what a fun weekend! :)

lynn @ the actors diet said...

i forget how much i love baked beans in a can!

Anonymous said...

What a fun day! I saw that recipe for the Spanikopita burgers awhile back and forgot about them---I need to try them!

I love the plates, skirt (or apron? Regardless, still super cute!) baked beans, fruit....ok everything :)

I am looking forward to the pain my body has from hiking this wknd to go away. It will be so nice to be able to move again and not wimper when doing so :(

Esi said...

Congrats to the winner. The spanikopita burgers sound so good!!

The Blonde Duck said...

Random thought: Have you ever had black bean burgers?

vanillasugarblog said...

ohhh that cobbler! yes please. you made those burgers look so good.

Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather said...

Spanikopita! Love those flavors... Mmm in burger form would be delish. I'm going to check out that recipe, it's grilling season... well it should be since it's June but we've got rain here :(