a house in mourning

Dear Em,
Today we are in mourning. You should be all in black, but black isn't really your color. So, instead you're wearing a pink hearts tutu, an orange & pink flower shirt, & flower clips in your hair. BUT we are still in mourning. We not only mourn the end of football season, but also the disastrous end of the season for Patriots fans.

Gasp...the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl...AGAIN. In the most nail bitting way.

With the way our defense looked this season, I suppose most of us didn't think the Patriots would make it into the Super Bowl. I guess we should be happy for how far they made it.

BUT we are still in mourning.

Things started out great yesterday. We cooked some yummy food. We had TONS of food. We all had our Patriots jerseys on (you & Daddy rock Tom Brady jerseys & I wear my Teddy Bruschi jersey). We had a great set-up in Mantown.

You played a lovely rendition of your ABCs on the Rock Band drum kit.

BUT...things quickly turned sour.

Once the game ended I had to ask our friends to check under their car before pulling out of our driveway to make sure Daddy wasn't laying under their car.

At least we had yummy food. Actually, what am I talking about? We still have tons of leftovers that will be calling out my name for the remainder of the week. Our friends brought Dynamite, a Woonsocket delacacy. Daddy made stew & helped me make calzones. I made buffalo chicken dip & Bloomin' Bread.

I'll list the recipes for the calzones & the Bloomin' Bread here since they were all easy to make & super yummy. I love to play around with stuffing different things in calzones. Last night I made a Mashed Potato, Bacon, & Cheese Calzone & a Spinach, Pepperoni, & Cheese Calzone. They were both super yummy & easy to eat while watching the game.

Mashed Potato, Bacon, & Cheese Calzone

Ingredients

- Bag of pizza dough (I'm sure you can make your own, but we've always bought ours)

- Mashed potatoes (in the past I made them from scratch, this time we used a bag of instant)

- 1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese

- Bacon (I think we cooked a pound)

Let the dough sit out on a plate for at least an hour while you cook the Bacon & prepare the mashed potatoes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease baking sheet & stretch the dough out to cover the width & length of the sheet. Patch any holes. Spoon the mashed potatoes down one side of the dough (lengthwise) leaving a border on the edge for closing. Top with the bacon, & sprinkle the shredded cheese over the mashed potatoes & bacon. Close calzone by folding the unfilled side over the filled side (lengthwise). Crimp the edges closed with your fingers or a fork so that there are no holes or openings. Cook for 40-60 minutes. Crust should be browned & hard on the outside. Let sit for 20 minutes. Slice & enjoy.

Spinach, Pepperoni & Cheese Calzone

Ingredients

- Bag of pizza dough (I'm sure you can make your own, but we've always bought ours)

- Box of frozen spinach

- Garlic powder

- Pepper

- Pepperoni

- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Defrost spinach before cooking. Let the dough sit out on a plate for at least an hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drain spinach of excess water. Put spinach in a bowl & season to your taste with garlic powder & pepper. Mix in a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Grease baking sheet & stretch the dough out to cover the width & length of the sheet. Patch any holes. Spoon the spinach mix down one side of the dough (lengthwise) leaving a border on the edge for closing. Cover the spinach mix with pepperoni. Sprinkle top with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese. Close calzone by folding the unfilled side over the filled side (lengthwise). Crimp the edges closed with your fingers or a fork so that there are no holes or openings. Cook for 40-60 minutes. Crust should be browned & hard on the outside. Let sit for 20 minutes. Slice & enjoy.

From time to time I come across recipes on the internet that I want to try. When I saw the recipe for the Bloomin' Bread on The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife, I was excited to try it out. Mercedes cooks & posts about all kinds of food that are typically easy to make & seem so yummy. I have a list of recipes from her site that I hope to try. This bread will be a repeat for when we have get-togethers. It was SO yummy.

Bloomn' Bread

Source: Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife

Ingredients

- 1 unsliced loaf of sourdough bread

- 12-16 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese (we bought it from the deli & had them thinly slice it)

- 1/2 cup butter, melted (the next time I might use a little less, it was pretty greasy)

- 1/2 cup finely diced green onion

- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Heat oven to 350 degrees. The recipe called for cutting the sourdough bread lengthwise & widthwise without cutting through the bottom crust. I just cut it widthwise, thinking it would be easier to eat slices of the bread. It was still plenty cheesey. Place bread on foil-lined baking sheet. Insert cheese slices between cuts. Combine melted butter, green onions, & poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Unwrap & bake for 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

At least we won't have to cook at all while we mourn. Here's to next year.

I love you so,

Mommy