Adios Amigas!

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu.....

I wanted to take the time to bid a fond farewell (hopefully temporarily!) to one of my favorite bloggers. 2 Girls In The World was one of the first blogs I ever got sucked into, I remember when I found it I must have ready 20 posts straight before my eyes started burning. I just adore their blog(s). They had the coolest life opportunity and they took such full and fabulous advantage of it. They are done with the crazy schedule now and settling back into "normal" life. I imagine it is bittersweet. I would be a liar if I told you I didn't get misty eyed reading this farewell post.

Anywhoooo....thanks ladies (especially MAV! such a sweetheart) for being so fun to follow and inspiring me to get going and keep it up. Hope you are enjoying the normalcy!! I vote for a "Life List" blog to start up sometime in the future. ;-)

Something I Cooked!

So...we bought a house, and remodeled the kitchen.
I should use it. I've actually been trying to use it! Thanks to Pinterest I've found lots of recipes that are just my style (easy). One of the first things I made was really just a side dish, but it was yummy and I plan to keep it as part of my cooking repertoire. Green Bean Bacon Bundles! I love bacon AND green beans, so WIN-WIN! The recipe I used is here (from www.howsweeteats.com via Pinterest). I pretty much followed it step by step since, ya know, I am not much of a chef.


So this is how it went down...There were just a few ingredients. (just my style!)

• Green beans (I don't know exactly how many, however many you need!)
• Bacon (1 piece per bundle of beans)
• Garlic
• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Salt/Pepper

NOTE: Cut the tips off the green beans BEFORE starting! I forgot... we just cut them off after they were cooked. Wrap 6-8 beans per bundle with a strip of bacon. Toss a little salt/pepper on them and set them in baking dish.
Then melt the butter, add chopped garlic and brown sugar and let simmer for a few minutes so all the flavors can mingle.

Pour (or in my case brush and then pour) the butter sauce all over the bean bundles. I wanted to make sure it got inside every nook and cranny!

Bake for around 30 min COVERED with foil and then another 10-15 uncovered to crisp the bacon. I turned it over during the crisping session to get both sides. I don't like soft bacon.
(The recipe didn't say what temp but I guessed at 375 degrees.)

Ta-da! Enjoy! Which we did. One of the first things I have cooked in the new house, and not bad...not bad at all!

Next vegetable dish I want to try? Brussels sprouts!! Scary....


Linking up with some lovely craft/recipe/DIY Linky Parties today!

Lorna's Italian Kitchen (yum!)

We were recently introduced to this little gem of a restaurant in the University City area of San Diego. We've been there 3 times in the past few months, and it never disappoints!! Lorna's Italian Kitchen isn't fancy, but it doesn't matter. It's tucked into a strip mall, the decor borders on kitschy Italian (red/white checked vinyl tablecloths, paper maps of Italy for place mats, possibly the same exact decor since the 70s even though they opened in 1988), and I can't vouch for how "authentically" Italian it is...but I can tell you it's a great place for a weekday dinner, especially when it's chilly outside. The service is exceptional, the portions are large, and the pricing is reasonable.

My boyfriend likes to get wine every time we go, possibly just for the fun of being served wine in a water glass? I think he likes to pretend he is Ron Burgandy in 1970s San Diego...


On our first visit (thank the food gods) we noticed bruschetta on the "happy hour" menu. We have ordered it each time since. Please excuse the camera phone pic, it does not do this bruschetta any justice. They serve you 3 giant pieces of lightly toasted bread, with the delicious tomato mix, plenty of yummy fresh mozzarella , HUGE fresh basil leaves, and an AH-MAY-ZING balsamic syrupy reduction that I literally licked off the plate (OK, I used extra bread, not my tongue). It is, honestly, one of my favorite things to eat right now.


On our most recent visit the boyfriend was craving lasagna. It is meaty, and cheesy, and still bubbling hot when they serve it. I tried to get a picture of the cheese bubbles...no good. I am not a huge red sauce fan (of any kind) but this lasagna is delicious and I would order it myself if he didn't order it almost every time!


On our first visit I had the linguini carbonara (delicious, rich, creamy, sooo filling!), the second visit entree is escaping me at the moment.. This last time I ordered the "made fresh daily" Joy's Tortelloni with tomato cream sauce. They were stuffed with cheese and herbs and came in quite a variety of shapes and sizes, which I thought added to "made daily" vibe. The sauce was just the right combo of marinara and alfredo sauces, neither too creamy nor too "sour" from the red sauce. I really enjoyed it and even enjoyed it again the next afternoon reheated.



I would definitely recommend this restaurant and we plan on making many return visits. It's just a few miles from our house, so we can easily roll home stuffed and happy. If you live in San Diego, give it a try!