What color is your cheese?

The fourth of July was great! We had family & friends around us for more than 3 days....what could be better? My nephew had been married in Texas back in June. We had a reception for him and his beautiful new bride, it was fun to be able to see the dress on her instead of just in a picture. Because of that commitment I did have to miss a wedding of a dear friend, so Sarah if you get a chance to read this please know that our prayers and thoughts were with you!

Friends from Wisconsin came through Saturday morning. Daryl and Bridget are the kind of friends that you may not see for a year or three, but the minute you are together conversations pick up right where they left off. They have 4 BEAUTIFUL children that were so fun to be around, even the big ones! They should be very proud of the people they have created, God has blessed their family immensely.

Our city did the big bang boom on Saturday night - the 5th. We have a pretty good view of them from our front yard, so we often have people over. A friend (Kelly) gave me some recipes to try, I had time to put 2 of them together so I'll share, they both were delicious! I really enjoy getting recipes from friends that I know share my love for food. I don't believe in secret recipes as you probably guessed ;-)

I hope that you all have had time to rest from the big weekend and are having a marvelous Monday. I'm going to my classroom to start organizing my many boxes. Talk to you soon!

Blue Cheese and Toasted Pecan Spread **** (4 stars!)

8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz crumbled blue cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbs butter, softened
4-5 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley - I used fresh Italian flat leaf
1/4 cup milk, half & half, or whipping cream
1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients except onions and nuts in food processor or mixing bowl. Add more milk/cream depending upon consistency desired. Fold in pecans and green onions. Chill 4 hours to overnight. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week. Remove from refrigerator 30 min. prior to serving for easier spreading.

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Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

3 cans chickpeas, drain and rinse
1/2 cup roasted red bell pepper coarsely chopped (store bought in a jar)
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp water
1/2 lemon - juice only
2 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
paprika and chopped parsley leaves for garnish

In the bowl of a food processor, place the chickpeas and red bell pepper. On a cutting board mash the garlic cloves with 1/4 tsp of salt to a smooth paste with the side of a knife. Add this to the processor along with the crushed red pepper, water, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, and pepper. Process until smooth scrape down side as needed. Taste and adjust seasoning by adding salt & additional lemon juice if necessary. Transfer to a wide shallow bowl for serving. Drizzle with additional olive oil if desired and sprinkle top with parsley & paprika. Serve at room temperature with pita chips for dipping. Kelly also likes carrot sticks with this!