A couple of weeks ago I hosted a baby shower for a friend from the Embassy with a few other ladies. With everyone bringing food it meant I could focus on decorating and doing fun projects like icing a zillion cookies! The shower went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time! The mom-to-be didn’t want to be the center of attention so we made it a family affair! Here are some pictures!

Katie and Haley made AH-mazing cake balls. Red velvet with chocolate icing were the best! I am going to have to make those at home at Christmas time!

the kids decorated onesies that we hung on this cute line

Sweet mom-to-be!

Katie and Jeremy found the best dad gift ever for when he has to come up with dinner!  Being away from the US we hadn’t seen this but they found the pizza cookie combo box at the commissary! So funny.

Last weekend I headed by train to Germany for what will likely be my last trip to see Leigh and her family. Seth and the boys came the next day to meet me in Germany.   It was a bittersweet weekend. I helped her pack boxes and helped her throw Katy Jo’s 1st Birthday party. It was so much fun to get to be with them and it was good to feel like I could attempt to help when they are going through a rough time with Bo in the hospital and their upcoming move approaching. But since I am still in denial about their moving I will focus on the party.

A few months ago Leigh mentioned wanting to do a French cafe theme party. She sent me this link….

French Cafe Birthday

Here is the invitation, if I had had more time I would have redone it but it was a quick job and it was probably better because the perfectionist in me would have likely given up and told Leigh I couldn’t help with it. Better I just sent it as is.

And here is how the cafe turned out…

Leigh’s parents made an amazing awning and she borrowed her neighbors patio. It looked like a real cafe.

Leigh’s friend, Heidi, made the window boxes with paper flowers…she also made homemade chocolate eclairs! So yummy!

what’s a French cafe without sweet macaroons?!

Leigh’s friend, Stefanie, made delicious chocolate cupcakes!

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we used french yogurt containers on the cafe tables with a few daisies in them…when we go to France next week I have decided I will eat a daily yogurt so I can collect 10 more of these. Nope, not going for 10 days but maybe I can force feed some to my kid and Seth too!

Sweet birthday girl

KJ’s GiGi was in town helping out and made the yummy strawberry cake…and KJ’s daddy, Bo, got to leave the hospital for 2 hours to join in the fun!!

Jackson was reunited with his buddy Grayson. They were sitting on the step comparing bruises!

So cute together. I really wish they lived closer so the boys could play more!

Owen loved running in the grass and sneaking behind the bushes.

We all had a great time!  Happy Birthday, Katy Jo!  I hope I can help with your Sweet 16 one day…and your wedding! But that is way down the road. We want to keep enjoying you while you’re little! Thanks for sharing the past year with us! (ps-I’m sure glad I got to have pink heart-shaped waffles with you for breakfast and champagne mimosas with your mommy and GiGi to celebrate your mom successfully being a momma for a whole yr!!! )

My poor family is slowly turning a pale shade of green…not from seasickness but rather from an abundance of pesto. Not really, don’t worry. They are all just fine. But we are eating tons of the green goodness!

A couple of weeks ago I had thawed some chicken breasts. We were just going to have grilled chicken and some veggies. Blah. About 30 minutes before dinner I decided to get creative. I popped open the pesto jar in the fridge and spread it on the chicken. We grilled it and made the yummiest sandwiches. I used herbs from the garden to make some herb mayo which was super easy! And then threw on some sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese onto slices of crusty bread. The only thing I would have changed was that I didn’t toast the bread. It may have been yummier with toasted bread.

Telling you about the above thrown together sandwich is really just a distraction before telling you what this post is really about. Tomato Basil Pie. It is our most favorite summer recipe. Seriously, our favorite. It makes a great appetizer or meal. For a meal I normally serve it with a nice green salad.

I got the recipe from my dear friend Annie in Kentucky. She got it from her friend Mary (who I believe got it from Southern Living way back when) but in my cookbook it is now “Annie’s Tomato Pie”. I think of her every time I make it!! I made the first pie of the season last week for a girls lunch. It was a hit. It was an even bigger hit for Seth….I made a double batch so he could have it for dinner. It’s one of those things that he turned his nose up at when I first introduced him but he now requests it.

Last week I tried to take pictures while making the pie….somehow I got to the end and never took a picture of the finished product. It may have something to do with the fact that I was doing it with Jackson and Owen and I had a group showing up for lunch.

you salt the tomatoes after slicing to get out some of the extra water

you can make your own crust but I cheat and buy one…this time I accidentally bought whole wheat. It was actually really good!  You poke the crust with a fork and brush it with dijon mustard.

Pop it into the oven for 8-10 mins.

While it is in the oven mix the cheese topping mixture.

When it comes out of the oven dump the first cup of  cheese on the hot crust. Then top with tomato slices and cheese, pesto mixture.

Pop it in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins or until bubbly. This is where I should have a picture of a beautiful golden brown pie that makes you salivate and buy a bag of pesto. You will just have to take my word for it.

Another variation is using a mini cupcake pan and cutting the crust to fit. It makes a great bite-size appetizer. Last year I made the mini version to serve as appetizers for the adults at Jackson’s birthday party. I used cherry tomatoes instead of big tomato slices and they worked out well! This isn’t a great picture but you get the idea!

And here ya go…

“Annie’s Tomato Pie”

originally from Southern Living (although I can’t find it anywhere)

1 15 oz pie crust

1-2 large tomatoes

2 cups shredded mozarella

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mayo (I didn’t say this is healthy)

2 Tablespoons pesto       (On a side note, the beauty of ready-made pesto or even using homemade in this recipe is that you aren’t   having to chop garlic and measure out spices. All of that work is done!)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

small amount of dijon mustard for brushing crust

Slice tomatoes and lay on paper towel. Lightly salt and allow to sit for a few mins so the water can absorb into the paper towel.  Put crust into pie pan. Poke with fork and brush with dijon mustard. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 mins. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Let cool for 15 mins. Arrange tomatoes on top of the cheese. Mix together remaining ingredients: mayo, parm, mozarella, pesto, and pepper. Spread over top of tomatoes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. And while it bakes and the smell begins to fill your home think of my red-headed sister/friend Annie in Kentucky! I always do!

Oops. I thought I posted this weeks ago. It got lost on my post list. Here are some pictures from our visit in Zug a few weeks ago. We drove up for a picnic lunch and then drove back during naps.  Our friends Nick and Kima live right near the lake so we met them there.