Girlie Weekend: Part 1, The Food

So 4 of my gurlz came to my casa last weekend.  And, believe it or not, this is our 4th annual weekend!  We's getting cray-cray old.  To be honest, the idea of posting about this weekend had me mildly stressed...because it was so awesome and because I have so much to say (per the usual).  So in an effort to minimize my stress and to categorize my thoughts, I will be splitting up the weekend into several smaller (go with the Heidi definition of "smaller") posts.  Today we will begin with the second most important part of the weekend [second only to our conversation (cue: awwwww)].

Food.

Naturally.

We ate lots.  And it was all delish.  But before you go any further, you may want to visit a recap of last year's weekend in OKC. 

Welcome back.

Anywho, we began Friday eve with an assortment of appies (appetizers).  (Disclaimer: as has been pointed out in the past, I have no skill in taking pics of food.  That is fine.  I know this.  Maybe someday I'll desire to be better.  Now I only desire to eat...not learn new cam-cam skillz.) (Disclaimer #2: apparently I have few pics of the actual food, thank goodness, but I do have recipes!)

Tornadoes almost threatened our existence.  Fortunately, we have a basement (complete with Christmas trees "covered" in trash bags...) in which to take shelter.  And you know we couldn't leave the food upstairs! (PS - don't judge our basement. Thanks.)

 How cute is this little mommy!?

 We were only afraid of losing our food in the storm.  Or losing Katherine, who was still on her way to our house! 

 Thankfully it passed, Katherine made it safely to our home, and we were able to carry on with our weekend.  Friday night we enjoyed my most favorite cold meals of all time.  All time, people.  Sister-in-law Tammy graced my palette with this first, and my life has been forever changed.  Make it tonight and eat it tomorrow.  You will thank me.

Cold Chicken Pasta

Cook box of pasta, cool.

Add chopped raw veggies (onions, tomatoes, carrots, green pepper, etc.)

Marinate chicken: 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 t ground ginger, 3/4 t garlic powder, 2 T honey or brown sugar, 2 T white vinegar, little bit of oil

Grill or bake chicken.  Cut and cool.  (Cold is best)

Poppy Seed Dressing: 1 1/2 cup sugar, 2 t salt, 3 T grated onion, 3 T poppy seeds, 2 t dry mustard, 2/3 cup vinegar, 2 cups salad oil (canola)

Go, and be blessed by this deliciousness.  We also had some yummy fruit and super yummy drinks (courtesy of the B-ster).

 Sunday morning brought us brunch on the patio.  So quaint.

 PS - I bought those 4 chairs from Craigslist and painted them yellow and the table was given to us by other sister-in-law Kelly and I painted the legs with some leftover sample paint. 

 We enjoyed banana bread French toast, bacon (who doesn't love bacon??), and leftover fruit salad.  Make the bread tonight, stick it in the fridge, and turn it into French toast Saturday morning.  Whoever you live with will love you forever, I promise. (The recipe is from a wonderful website called .eat8020.com/.  It may also change your life. I'm all about life change...or maybe I read too much Pioneer Woman and her dramatic ways have rubbed off on me...or maybe I'm just naturally dramatic...don't respond to that...especially if you hate ellipses.............)

Banana Bread French Toast

Serves 8

BREAD

4 ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp butter, softened

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Pour batter evenly into two bread pans (lies - it only makes one pan, unless I'm royally screwing something up) that have been prepared lightly with cooking spray.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, then gently remove from pans and cool fully on a wire rack.

FRENCH TOAST

3 egg whites

1 whole egg

2 Tbsp skim milk

3 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk all ingredients in a large shallow dish.

Cut each loaf of bread into 8 even 1" slices. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Soak banana bread slices, two at a time, in batter for one minute, flipping halfway through soaking. Place slices onto skillet and cook for ~3 minutes each side, until golden brown.

Serve lightly dusted with powdered sugar or with maple syrup.

Nutrition Info per 2 slices: 196 calories, 2 g fat, 6 g protein, 39 g carbohydrates, 2.5 g fiber

And it's healthy!!

After a wonderful shopping trip, we came home for a little baby shower. :)  And we had more appies and zerts.

 And we got Sonic happy hour drinks and poured them in fun glasses.  I'm telling you, hosting a shower with only 5 people is the best thing ever. 

 Treats from Billy Vanilly in T-town.  We each picked out our own fava flaves.  How fun is that!?

 After dinner out (no pics, super sorry), we finished our whirlwind weekend with brunch on Sunday. 

 And we ate, dare I say, the most delectable quiche I have ever had.  It was truly a team effort.  One of the best parts of a weekend in a home with 4 other girlies is having 4 other sets of hands to help in the kitchen.  So fun.  Final self-timer shot:

We also indulged in fruit and yogurt parfaits (as easy as it gets) and cinnamon rolls brought by Cheri (um, so yum...Cheri, I wish you would have left more).

Without further adieu, here's the recipe that's going to make you wish it were brunch-time all the time.

Quiche

½ lb. bacon
10 oz. package spinach
1 c. sour cream (I use light)
salt and pepper to taste
2 unbaked pie crusts
1 onion, minced
½ lb. diced mushrooms
2 c. diced ham
16 oz. Colby Jack or sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz. Parmesan cheese
8 eggs
1 c. half and half (I use fat-free)
1 Tbsp. parsley 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown bacon, drain, crumble, and set aside. Saute spinach in bacon drippings. Drain. Saute onions. Add mushrooms. Stir in ham and bacon. Combine spinach, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Add meat mixture. Mix in cheese. Divide into each pie crust.

Mix eggs, half and half, and parsley. Pour over pies. Place pies in oven and bake 45-50 minutes or until tops are puffed and golden brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Each pie serves 8.

It rocked my world.  But what rocked my world even more was the precious time spent with the besties.  

 To be continued...