Dinner w/ Relatives

We recently had Johnny's niece, Felicia and her husband, Aaron & their adorable kids over for a fun time & dinner. We usually see them about once a year, so we don't really get to know each other very well. But recently, it's started to feel like a smaller world...mostly because of her having a blog about her family that I get to read and find out about what they are doing and see their photos! In fact, I must say, she inspired me to start this blog and helped me get going on it a little. I obviously have a long way to go before it becomes interesting, but it's a start.

OK, anyway, on to the dinner evening! My kids really enjoy having other kids over to play with and basically show all their stuff to and tell them what to do. So they really like the younger ones! Caleb is about 2 or so and Hannah is 9-10 months. Check out her blog www.feecha2.blogspot.com. It's quite amazing how she has transformed into a wonderful at-home teaching mommy!

I got one photo of Hannah & Emma=ADORABLE! Caleb is upstairs playing with trains and Sammy is there on the right side of the photo playing scarily close with a rubber band!

I served a yummy new appetizer that I found in a recent issue of Good Housekeeping. It's actually Trisha Yearwood's Warm Feta Dip with Artichokes. It was a great variation on the party favorite: artichoke dip. So here's the recipe:

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained & finely chopped
5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used light)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't have any so used the sprinkle kind)
1 jar (2 oz.) pimientos, drained & diced
2 tsp. minced garlic (2 cloves)
Melba toast or pita chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir together everything (except the crackers) until combined. Transfer mixture into a small casserole or glass pie plate and bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. To serve, place your casserole dish on a larger platter and surround the Melba toast or pita chips (or any favorite cracker or toasted bread). Makes about 1 2/3 cups of dip or about 8 servings.

Note: We ate almost all of it and there were only 4 adults eating it. It is yummy so if you make it to take to a party or serve more guests, you might want to double it! Enjoy!!

Then we had a chicken fettuccine that I had bought at Super Suppers and some sides. Then for dessert, we pulled out the Skookie maker and made giant chocolate chip cookies in little cast iron skillets...just like the pizookies they have at BJ's. Topped with vanilla bean ice cream and several spoons...I think we were all happy after that!! We had a great night and the kids had fun too!