coffee 2 cosmos: Fun In The Sun!

Last weekend Tye and I went to visit my BEST friend Heather and her husband Charlie that recently bought a house in Murrells Inlet, SC. It was so great to visit with Heather, Charlie and Sparkles the chiwawa! Their new house is fabulous it is in the cutest southern beach neighborhood with moss trees and even a pond in their back yard with ducks. Heather has inspired me with her her new found hobby of finding fabulous furniture antiques and restoring them, I can't wait till we can go antiquing together! On Saturday when we woke up it was 70 degress out, it was so nice since now it is like 40 degress outside here in Charlotte. We went to eat lunch at Hannah Banana's which is the best beach bar right on the water within walking distance from Heather's House. We decided not to walk and took the easy way out and drove...it was our lucky day because when we got there it was Bloody Mary Bar Saturday! I love a good Bloody Mary, I must get that from my Grammy. Papou used to make her a Bloody Mary everyday at 4pm (Because that was Happy Hour at the DeLuca House). In December when Grammy was visiting we enjoyed quite a few Bloody Marys :) I like them spicy so lots of hot sauce and horseradish went into mine!

After lunch we packed up the cooler with lots of champage, picked the doggies (Nelson and Sparkles) up from the house and headed to the beach for some fun in the sun. I had the great idea of being active on the beach so we brought boccie ball to play...FYI boccie ball is not that fun with only 4 people so we went back to playing with the dogs and drinking champage which was just fine with us! One thing when we go visit Heather we know we are going to eat and drink well, it is about a week preperation before we go of dieting and working out so we dont gain 50 lbs when we are there :) Tye's all time favorite food is pizza so Heather promised him the best pizza happy hour EVER and it was! We went to a little place called Vienna's and enjoyed tones of italian goodies and everything was $2.50 so according to Heather is was "basically free" ( love her)!!!

It was such a great visit and we were so sad to leave on Sunday but we headed back to Lake Norman to enjoy a super bowl party for two (well three including Nelson)! Tye and I have a tradition of watching the super bowl together and cooking fabulous snack foods. This years menu included Party Ham Sammies and Baked Potato Soup...two easy and great recipes! It was a great way to finish off a great weekend! The recipes are below for you to enjoy!

Party Ham Sammies

1 Package Hawaiian Rolls

1/2 lb Deli Sliced Ham (sliced thin)

1/4 lb Baby Swiss Cheese (sliced thin)

1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)

1/2 onion (grated)

2 Tbs. Poppy Seeds

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

2 Tbs. Yellow Mustard

To make sauce melt butter then add onion, (I always grate the onion because Tye does not like the texture of chopped onion, it works out really well) poppy seeds, worcestershire and mustard and stir.

Without seperating the rolls, slice them horizontally. Spread both sides with the sauce (dont skimp on the sauce it is the best part). Fill rolls with cheese and ham then put the top half back on the bottom and bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until melty and delicious!

Baked Potato Soup

1/2 Stick Butter

1/2 Chopped Onion

1/4 Cup All -Purpose Flour

1 Can Chicken Broth

1 (12 ounce) Can Carnation Evaporated Milk

2 Large Baking Potato's

Melt butter in large saucepan then add onion and cook till tender. Stir in flour then gradually stir in broth and evaporated milk. Cook potatos in microwave until tender then scoop the pulp of each potato into broth mixture. Stir until thick and heated then enjoy! I like to put bacon and cheese on top but you can put whatever you like!