Oh my goodness, it feels so good to be home.
My time in Europe these past few weeks was such a gift, and filled to the brim with so many wonderful memories with friends. But between the six-course meals each night on the Mediterranean cruise, paella in Spain, and pub food galore with friends all over England, I think it’s safe to say that I probably ate more carbs (and specifically, potatoes!) in the past month than ever before!
Calling all of you spinach artichoke dip lovers!
Allow me to introduce you to one of my new favorites — Spinach Artichoke & Chicken Pizza! Actually, the chicken is optional, but the spinach and artichokes are a must. This one turned out to be fantastic!
When I was a kid, our extended family used to love meeting up for big dinners regularly at our neighborhood Italian restaurant, DeFazio’s. Everyone would order these huge steaming plates of delicious pastas, salads, sides and more. And Yours Truly would order…”plain spaghetti”. Oh yes. I was the token picky eater in the family. And no thank you, I did not want to “just try it”. ;)
Luckily, though, everyone at DeFazio’s always received a steaming bowl of minestrone soup as an appetizer. And over the years, I began to grow more and more fond of this yummy pasta soup, even though I would have had a small heart attack at age 10 if anyone had told me that there was zucchini snuck in there!