Cheesy Zucchini and Red Onion Flatbread

In case you were wondering why I was so dressed up as I wished my parents 'bon voyage' in the last post, it was because I had my ladies small group that night. After dropping my parents off at the airport, we drove to the small group and Shaun waited patiently reading in the car while I spent two hours socializing. (I mentioned the small group briefly in the post here about my bad day.)

The small group is interest-focused, so it is all young women who enjoy cooking. Each of the five weeks is themed, and the first week happened to be "Cocktail Night," so each woman was to bring an hors d'œuvre to share and dress up in a little black dress and heels. The themes have all been really cute and fun.

What hors d'œuvre did I bring, you ask? Well, I found this recipe for cheesy zucchini and red onion flatbread from the magazine Bon Appetit, and altered it a little. While my parents were here, I actually made it with a salad for a light dinner one night. You can substitute different cheeses or even use summer squash or sweet onions if you prefer. Let me know if you give it a try!

Cheesy Zucchini and Red Onion Flatbread

• 1 10-oz pkg Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 red onion, sliced thinly crosswise
• 2 zucchini, sliced thinly crosswise
• ¾ cup garlic and herb goat cheese spread
• ¾ cup blend of shredded asiago, parmesan, and romano cheeses
• 2 Tbsp dried parsley
• Olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Roll out the pizza dough and cover one half of the dough (lengthwise) with half of the goat cheese spread. Make sure to leave about a half-inch border along the edges, so it doesn’t ooze out. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese and 1 tbsp of parsley evenly on top of the spread.
2. Using the parchment paper as an aid, fold the plain half of dough on top of the filled half. Make sure not to pinch the edges together. Then spread the remaining goat cheese on top, followed by the rest of the shredded cheese and parsley.
3. Line the red onion slices along the center of the bread lengthwise, and line the zucchini slices up along both sides of the onion line. Brush the vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake in the oven for about 24 minutes, until the bread is golden brown.

July 4th Weekend

Our 4th of July weekend started off well with dinner at The Shrimp Boat. If you knew how much my mom likes shrimp (think Bubba from Forest Gump...), you'd know that with a name like that, there's no other restaurant to take her to! Shaun and I had never been, but we were really impressed! I foresee a return trip sometime in the future... :)

Shaun's dinner -- a cheesy, rich seafood gratin

Dad's dinner -- a caper, butter sauce drizzled over a fresh filet of red snapper

Momma's dinner -- bacon-wrapped shrimp in a dijon glaze

My dinner -- shrimp and grits, a southern classic

Outside of the restaurant
When you eat at a place on the water, you have to take sunset pictures before you leave!

Saturday afternoon we spent at Tyndall's beach. It's only available to military, so it's never very crowded. Either that, or no one ever wants to make the half-mile trek down the boardwalk to get to the sand.

The guys body surfed some of the waves for a while...

How I spend my time on the beach... at least until the sunscreen dries and I can get in the water!

We ended up driving about 2 miles out on some dirt roads near the housing area on base. With a little hike, we were right on the water and able to watch Panama City Marina's fireworks display. Shaun took a picture of the crew on our lawn chairs, but I promise he was there too!

Ends up our camera isn't quite fireworks-enabled, but Shaun got a couple snapshots from the night. :)

The next afternoon, we drove up to Destin to get to the airport. We had so much fun with them while they were here. It was sad to see them go! But we made lots of good memories during the week; hopefully enough to encourage them to come back again soon!

Thanks again for a great week, Mom and Dad! Love you and miss you both bunches!

Getting Kicked While I Was Down

When I talked to Shaun on the phone today, I told him all about how awful my day was yesterday. He thought that I should blog about it and share the experience with all of you, so as he suggested, here is how it all went down...

It all started with Shaun leaving. He's going on a three-week long pretend deployment trip. He left around 8:30 yesterday morning, and I followed up his absence with a good cry. But then, I decided to make the best of my day. That morning and afternoon I scurried around the house, organizing and cleaning whatever I could find. Nothing picks you up quite like the scent of Lysol. :)

I am also in a cooking small group this summer with a bunch of 20-something women from our church. We meet on Mondays at 6:30 and have a theme for the food we bring. We are also supposed to bring 20 copies of our recipe to the group so we can all share. Well, in my emotionally-charged cleaning frenzy, I had forgotten to remove the ground beef from the freezer. It was about 3:00 when I realized this and sat the meat in the sink to thaw.

By 4:00, it was still no less frozen, so I started running water on it while I proceeded to write the recipe 4 times on a piece of printer paper. We don't have a computer hooked up to our printer, but it does have a copier function. However, the darned copier would not copy. So I decided to go to the on-base housing office and use their copy machine, since the meat was still not yet thawed. But first, I decided to swing by the gas station to return our DVD rental from the night before.

We don't have a Redbox on base, but we have a similar machine. The only downfall is that you have to return it by 6:00 PM the next day to the same machine you rented it from. So that's what I ventured to do. As I went to return our movie, the box promptly informed me "This machine is full. Please return at another time." It was now 4:40, so I had no other option, and did not want to be charged for an extra night, so I called the number on the machine to report an issue...

Our base only has two DVD machines - one at the gas station. As I am telling the lady on the phone about my dilemma, she stops and asks me "Wait, you're at the one at the gas station?" Umm, yes. "Hold on, I have to transfer you." So I hold. Then Lady #2 gets on the phone. I repeated my dilemma. "Oh wait, you're at the one at the gas station?" Umm, yes. Yes, I am. "Oh, well you need to tell the manager there at the gas station." (So I ask you, what on earth was that help line number about?) Either way, I go and wait patiently in line at the only cashier's line.

Once I got to her, I repeated my problem for the third time. She told me to hold on and paged her manager. The manager informed me I had to go return it to the base's liquor store, the second machine location. I told him that I was under the impression that it had to be the same machine. Apparently, more than one of the signs on the machine are inaccurate. So I sighed and drove the extra 15 or so minutes to finally return the DVD. Success!

Then on my way back, less than a mile to the housing office, I had to pull over and wait for the end of the National Anthem, which is played every weekday at 5:00. I made a beeline to the office and parked just to see the last employee lock up. Apparently they close PROMPTLY at 5. I submitted to the fact that I would have no copies of my recipe for the small group, and hightailed it home to the ground beef.

It was now 5:15, and in order to get to my small group, I have to leave at least 45 minutes early. Oops. 'Oh well,' I decide, 'women events always run just a little late; no big deal if I show up a couple minutes off schedule.' So I dash around the kitchen to finish up my Barbee Cups, set them on a platter and glance at a clock. 6:10, shoot! I'll be like 15 minutes late. I figure my accelerator can make up some lost time. Out the door, I flew...

Anyone who's driven in Panama City knows that Highway 98 is ridiculous, and ridiculous it was. I hit the majority of lights and was not gaining much in terms of my time deficit. Then, at 6:25 I hit construction traffic. I texted my small group leader to let her know I was going to be a little late. She texts me back with where we'll be meeting -- the condo's clubhouse, not the condo. I figure that will save me an extra minute or two, so I'm good.

But traffic, on the other hand, was not. I waited the next 35 minutes to move 3 miles. By now I was 20 minutes late. I finally got over the Hathaway Bridge to Panama City Beach, but realized that when I drove to this condo last week, I was coming from Destin, so I had no idea where I was going.

Thankfully, I was able to call Shaun and ask for his help. Like 6 times. Ends up, we both were getting confused as to where I was and how to get there. Shaun's friend, who happened to be with him, used his phone to find out that I had now driven 20 minutes out of the way, and I had to backtrack. Frustrated tears ran down my cheek as I told Shaun I wanted to just go home and skip small group. He convinced me that I had already invested so much time into driving here - and I was so close - that I should still go for the last half hour.

I finally made it to the condo an hour late, and found that I had to park super far away from the clubhouse, which ended up being locked. I texted the leader again, and she came to my rescue. When I sheepishly walked into the meeting room, I realized that they still had yet to eat and that they were introducing new girls who had not come last week. I was side-swept. Had I really not missed small group?

I spent the next two hours eating, chatting, and sharing testimonies with nine other Godly women. I left that night amazed at how good my God is. I had come from a crazy day, so frustrated and emotional, and He turned it into a wonderful night of fellowship. How amazing to worship and serve a God so lavish in His love!!

Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

While my parents were in town visiting us, I made them several of Shaun and I's favorite meals. One of which is this recipe I found online for apricot-glazed pork tenderloin. It is really fairly easy and super delicious. As you can see in the picture, I made up some mozzarella smashed potatoes and sesame balsamic asparagus to serve with it.

Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4-6

• 2 lb. pork tenderloin
• 1/4 cup very softened butter
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 18 oz jar of apricot preserves
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup moscato white wine

1. Preheat the oven to 350F while you spread the softened butter all over the tenderloin. Then evenly sprinkle the pork with thyme, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
2. As the pork cooks, mix together the apricot preserves, honey, and wine. Then remove the pork and baste with this mixture.
3. Return the pork to the oven and keep it cooking for 20-25 more minutes, basting it occasionally. (I tend to baste about every 5 minutes or so.) Once the pork is no longer pink in the center and a thermometer reads 160F or warmer, you know the pork is ready to slice and serve!

My Parents' Trip

Well hello again! I haven't posted in well over a week, but with good reason.

My parents flew down from Colorado to stay with Shaun and I for 10 days, so I was busy hanging out with them. We had a lot of fun -- eating at some great places, biking along scenic highway 30-A, playing lots of card games, two beach days, shopping, watching fireworks on the 4th, and of course, cooking some fun meals!

Picking them up from the airport.

The first Saturday we went to Seaside and Watercolor, two beach towns along 30-A, and biked around for the afternoon. Our two biker guys!

Watercolor is filled with cute bike trails!

Ahh, shaved ice and frozen lemonades... Whoever owns Frost Bites in Seaside must make a pretty penny in the summer. It made for a really COOL ending to our bike ride!

Toucans! We ate lunch Sunday after church at this beachside restaurant in Mexico Beach before spending some time in the sun. Grouper sandwiches? Yes please!

It would have not been a complete tour of Panama City without Sake House. We rarely go out to eat just the two of us, but it is the only restaurant (sans Five Guys) that we have gone to multiple times. It is so yummy. We went to the one in Callaway, but the owner told us that they were closed with renovations, so we drove an extra 30 min down the road to eat at their PCB location. He saw us there later and recognized us, so he brought out a complimentary dessert -- tempura cheesecake bites!! It was such a kind gesture, and we're easily loyal. As Shaun declared, "We will never eat at any other sushi restaurant in Panama City." I love him for his faithfulness. :)

One night during the week, we decided to go get some pizza and play some pool at HelenBack Again, a bar and pizza place near base.

It was Shaun and Amber verse Lee and Renee.
Thanks to Sharp-Shooter-Shaun, we won! :)

Get it, Momma!

Linin' up the hit.

And then, the pizzas came!

He even let's me share his pizza. What a keeper!


Well, seeing as how long this post ended up, I might just have to save 4th of July weekend for another day. Stay posted!