Layered Hummus Dip

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As I mentioned in yesterday's post, when we got to Fort Worth last Thursday, my sweet friend's mom was eager to get us whatever we needed and even fixed us this yummy snack! We had worked up an appetite after our little road trip!

It's basically a mediterranean layer dip, and you can really use whatever you have on hand. This one used hummus, chopped artichoke hearts and tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and tabbouleh.

Layered Hummus Dip
serves a crowd (embarrassingly, the 5 of us scarfed the whole thing down)

Ingredients:
10 oz container of your favorite hummus (this is mine)
Store bought or leftover homemade tabbouleh
4-5 artichoke hearts, chopped
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions:
Toast your pine nuts over medium-low heat on the stove (watch them carefully, they toast quick). Spread the hummus evenly along the bottom of a pie pan. Distribute artichokes over the hummus. Top with an even layer of your tabbouleh. Lastly sprinkle your tomatoes and pine nuts over the top.

Serve with crackers or pita chips!

I also mentioned last week how I got a huge shipment of hummus sent to me...well a few weeks ago, Eat Well Embrace Life Hummus contacted me seeing if I would be interested in being a brand ambassador for their company. You're saying I get to eat and promote hummus? I'm in!

Basically I just get to talk about their yummy hummus a lot and use it in some of my recipes. This layered dip would be perfect to use EWEL's hummus! I'd suggest using their white bean, classic, roasted garlic or roasted pine nut flavor in making this dish! 

You can find EWEL hummus in most specialty grocery stores (If you're from around here check Sprouts!). If you are trying it for the first time, I suggest the spicy black bean or yellow lentil flavor. They are my favorites. EWEL prides themselves on using beans other than chickpeas to make their hummus. They also just came out with a line using greek yogurt which makes the product contain half the fat than regular hummus!

Annie

Bites of My Life

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Usually, my "bites" posts are pictures from the past week, but this time they are only from the weekend. Only because it was the best weekend ever. Last week we were basically just trying to survive until the weekend.

Unfortunately, the weekend is now over and I have post-OU/Texas depression. Thursday all my best girlfriends and I stayed at a friend's house in Fort Worth and had an amazing mexican dinner at Joe T Garcia's. We woke up the next morning and did a big breakfast and a little shopping! Then it was off to Dallas to really start the festivities! Friday and Saturday were action-packed. Despite losing the game, the weekend still seemed like a win win. The road trip, 10 girls in a hotel room, a 7 a.m. wake-up call for a football game, fried fair food, and an exhausted Sunday was all worth it!

-Before our Mexican feast on Thursday, my friend's mom made us a little layered hummus dip snack! It was so good, I'm thinking a quick recipe post sometime this week.
-The cutest little chair I found in Anthropologie. If only it was for sale.
-The best weekend, with the best friends.
-6th row seats don't make for a bad view.
-Best part of the weekend easily could have been my Fletcher's corn dog at 10 a.m.
-After the game loss I needed a little pick me up. I had the friend pumpkin pie last year and have been holding out for it since. It is pumpkin pie filling sandwiched between two gingersnaps then deep-fried and served with whipped cream!
-The most unusual fried food we saw at the fair was the Cool Ranch Dorito Fried Pizza. So of course we tried it. It's just what it sounds like. A piece of pepperoni pizza is battered in crushed-up cool ranch Doritos then fried and served with a spicy ranch drizzled over it. Not lying, it was so good!
-After the best weekend I had the joy of coming home to study all Sunday night for a midterm I have on Tuesday. A little Panera and Christmas music eased the pain a bit.

xo annie

p.s. Happy 21st birthday to my freshman roommate and one of my best friends! Love you Claire!

BWE (Best Weekend Ever)

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It's not just one day, it's the whole weekend. Later this afternoon I will be headed southbound on I-35 to start the best weekend of the year. OU/texas weekend. NOT texas/OU weekend.
If you're from around here or if you don't live under a rock you've probably heard of this glorious event. Oklahoma and Texas fans will meet in the middle in Dallas, TX to watch their teams go head to head in the Red River Rivalry. I've been going to the game since I was little, but it's a completely different experience now being a student at OU.
On the agenda, we have dinner plans at the best Mexican restaurant in Fort Worth for Thursday night, shopping and exploring Dallas on Friday, an early morning trip to the fair before the game on Saturday (the day isn't complete without a Fletcher's Corny Dog and some kind of fried dessert) and then, cross your fingers, celebrating an OU win Saturday night. 

Big Tex. An iconic part of the Texas State Fair, where the game is held.
{image via pinterest}

Boomer Sooner and cheers to the best weekend of the year!
xo annie
p.s. happy 100th blog post to me!

Dinner Party Dreaming

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It all started last week when I saw a blog post about this beautiful fall dinner party held at an old farmhouse to end the summer and welcome the beginning of fall! I was swooning over the scenery and food dishes they made. 

I wish I had all the time and money in the world to throw fabulous dinner parties for my friends and I. Since I don't, I'll just daydream about would could be.
If I had a fall dinner party I would...
{I love dining al fresco. Something rustic like a picnic table with twinkle lights strung through the trees!}
{I'd cook some appetizers like this pumpkin bruschetta or pumpkin hummus, then roasted vegetable + smoked gouda baked penne and an autumn cobb salad. I'd finish the meal off with after dinner coffee and a treat such as caramel shortbread or homemade pumpkin bread.}

{Dressing for the occasion is just as important. I'd probably layer cozy knits, a sweater and puffy vest with boyfriend jeans and booties.}

I wish I had the time to make this fall dinner party come true, but in the meantime I'll keep dreaming up ideas.

xo annie
all images via pinterest 

Bites of My Life

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Besides the repetitive hours in the library last week, it was a great one! Monday night I gained two new g-littles. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just go with it. The rest of the week I was either working or pulling my hair out trying to memorize definitions for an exam. 
We finally made it to the weekend and I got to spend Friday night with 80 of the coolest girls I know, at my sorority's Freshman Pledge class retreat. It was full on slumber party mode with junk food, songs, and prank phone calls!
Saturday was the most beautiful fall day with temperatures in the low 60s! OU beat TCU and I had the best time celebrating with close friends and family!
-Quinoa with tomatoes, basil, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and a fried egg on top for dinner with one of my besties! We are getting into a regular routine of making dinner together once a week.
-This package arrived for me on Thursday filled with nine of Eat Well Enjoy Life's delicious different flavors of hummus! Stay tuned with why they sent me all of it!
-I've had the best semester and Friday night hanging out with these girls as their New Member chair.
-OU gameday!
xo annie