Hi ya’ll! I’m now living in San Diego, CA, the city where the sun is always shinning. There is so much to do and so much to explore. If you love to workout and eat good food this is the city for you. There is hiking, beaches, wine tasting, craft breweries, and countless festivals.

Moving from the South has been a definite change. We went from living in a 4 bedroom house with tons of backyard space to a tiny two bedroom apartment. It has been an adjustment, especially for our Pup. Going to the dog park daily and establishing a routine has helped. We are learning to go with the flow and believe that nothing is permanent. There is however, a lot of places to discover right in in our neighborhood. There is so much variety and so much convenience. I walked to the plant nursery because, well, plants make a space happier. I received some pretty weird looks from cars passing by as I carried my Pothos hanging plant home.

Then I walked to the French Cafe on the corner and enjoyed a cappuccino, then up the block the the gluten-free bakery and finally to the store front with Kombucha on tap. Not all in one day, of course. As with any new place we happen to find ourselves in, my husband and I like to go out and explore as much as we can. While it has been extremely fun, our wallets and waist lines have suffered. So moderation is key. Grocery shopping and cooking from home have once again become a mainstay. Only on occasion do we go out and “treat” ourselves. I’m always on the look out for new recipes to try and I happened to come across this recipe from my sister Kate. The recipe is below.

Polenta Pizza’s

I went out to Trader Joe’s and picked up the Polenta roll and most of the ingredients. We didn’t have this store in the South and it’s been fun to shop here again.

Ingredients:

1 polenta tube

8 leaves of basil, chopped

Spaghetti Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese, grated

Salt and Pepper

Bacon (this is what I had on hand, but you can use any meat you like or go meatless!)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the polenta loaf into 1 inch rounds (I used the whole tube)

Place the rounds on a cookie sheet sprayed with coconut oil spray.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven for 15 minutes, flipping rounds over half way through.

Remove from the oven and let cool.

While the polenta is cooling, add bacon to a separate cookie sheet and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until crisp. After the bacon is done cooking, let it cool on a paper lined plate for 5 minutes.

Place the rounds back in the oven for 10 more minutes.

While the polenta is baking, break bacon into pieces and chop the basil.

Remove the polenta from the oven and spread the rounds with sauce, grated cheese and top with basil and bacon. Place rounds back in the oven for 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.