Pappardelle Pasta with Olives, Thyme and Lemon

Tyler LOVES olives, so I think this dish looks like something he would like me to make!!

Pappardelle Pasta with Olives, Thyme and Lemon

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for water
• 8 ounces dried pappardelle, or other long, flat pasta
• 16 Kalamata olives, pitted
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Zest of 1 lemon, coarsely chopped
• One 3-inch piece orange zest, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and pappardelle, and cook until pasta is al dente, following label directions. Drain in a colander, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
2. While pasta is cooking, combine olives, parsley, olive oil, thyme, lemon zest, orange zest, and red-pepper flakes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until a chunky puree forms. Transfer to a warm serving bowl large enough to accommodate cooked pasta.
3. Add pasta, and toss to combine. Add 1/4 cup cooking water, and toss to combine. Add more water if necessary; pappardelle has a tendency to absorb liquid quickly, so more water may be needed. The sauce should cling to ribbons of pasta but should not be dry. Serve immediately.
   Recipe found on Martha Stewart's website

Manicotti with Tomato Sauce

Sticking to the Italian food theme, I saw this recipe (also from Martha Stewart) that looks like fun to make!

Manicotti with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, (about 15 halves)
• 6 sheets no-boil manicotti
• 1 sixteen-ounce container nonfat ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped plus 1 teaspoon fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce Tomato Sauce
• 3 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Olive-oil, cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place tomatoes in small bowl; cover with 1 cup boiling water. Let stand until softened, about 15 minutes. Dry with paper towel, and cut into 1/4-inch dice; transfer to medium bowl.
2. Fill baking dish with very hot water; place manicotti sheets, one at a time, in water. Let stand 10 minutes until softened.
3. To tomatoes, add ricotta, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil, egg yolk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and mix well to combine. On a clean work surface, place one sheet of manicotti lengthwise. Spoon about 1/3 cup ricotta mixture along front edge; roll to form cylinder. Repeat filling-and-rolling process on all manicotti. Spray 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive-oil spray; spoon about 1/4 cup tomato sauce on bottom.
4. Transfer manicotti to the dish in a single layer; cover with remaining 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with foil; bake 10 minutes. Remove foil; bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 12 to 15 minutes. Garnish with remaining teaspoon parsley.

Baked Pasta with Tomato, Cream and Five Cheeses

I am so excited to try this dish! It looks super yummy and comforting!

Baked Pasta with Tomato, Cream and Five Cheeses

Here is the one I made, a casserole instead of individual portions.. it was soooo good!

Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
• 1 pound imported conchiglie rigate, (shells)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup canned pureed tomatoes
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese, (1 1/2 ounces), plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup coarsely shredded (1 1/2 ounces) Fontina cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, (1 1/2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
• 6 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup very thinly sliced scallion, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 4 minutes. Drain in a colander.
2. While pasta is cooking, place cream, tomatoes, cheeses, salt, and basil in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add cooked pasta to cheese mixture, and toss to combine.
3. Divide among six to eight shallow ceramic gratin dishes (1 1/2 to 2 cups in capacity). Dot with butter, and bake until bubbly and brown on top, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with pecorino Romano and scallions. Serve immediately.
   
   
   **Recipe found on Martha Stewart Recipes**

Things that I love...

I love...

The obvious:
1. Tyler.. he is the man of my dreams
2. My faith-- for without it, I would be so lost
3. My friends-- though few and far between, I love the ones I have!
4. My family-- ok, so every family has it's quirks, but they are mine and I know they would be there for me if I really needed them
5. My health-- though azthma can be somewhat annoying, I am so blessed to be generally healthy and able to do activities without pain or discomfort.
6. My house-- (our house)... because it's ours and is a warm place to come home to
7. My car(s)-- They are not brand new or the top of the line, but they are cute and reliable and get us to where we need to go.. (with room to grow into!)
8. The comfort of living "comfortably".. don't get me wrong, we are not rich by any means, but we have enough for what we need and some months even a little extra... I love that we are on a budget and work hard for the things we want

The not so obvious:
1. Our neighborhood, be it small and mostly elderly (haha), it is so quaint and comforting, I love the fact that we all live on  a culdesac, we have a public pool to enjoy that we don't have to take care of, and the houses all look the same so there is no "I wish I had that one"!! The plants and trees all around are blooming and the people are all so friendly (so far!)

2. Spring flowers and nights with the windows open... I never really thought I liked Spring, always been more of a Fall and Winter girl, but as this Spring is here, I am starting to appreciate the beauty all around me, the cool breeze at nights, the sweet smell of orange blossoms blooming, the new and bright colors that are in stores and the overall lifted mood of the people I come into contact with

3. Decorating--- love it! It is a fairly new talent that I came across about this time last year when we bought our house. I always had a knack for putting things together, but never a place to put them! Now that I have rooms to work with, it has been so fun to decorate a "clean slate" and have it look just the way I want it!

4. Cooking-- most people know that I love this, but I really love looking in stores at cooking utensils, bowls, recipes, etc.. love Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn cookware and dinnerware.

5. Dinner dates with Tyler: always a good time, we don't do this often so its nice to dress up, get out and share a good meal together! We love trying new places around the valley!

6. Quiet time alone to think and pray about life and its many challenges.. it is when I feel the most grounded, the most happy and the most at peace with where my life is at that time.

7. Baths!! Don't take too many, but I love them... give me a glass of white wine, bubbles and some soothing tunes and I am a happy girl!

8. Walks at dusk--- have always loved these... it is such a good time to get out and enjoy the beauty around me.. it is all too often that I forget about this when I'm too busy or stressed

9. Beer and a night out with the girls at a local pub-- have been doing this for a while and it is always refreshing for me.. I don't get out too often, so it is nice to catch up once in a while with these ladies and just talk about life, the good, the bad and the ugly!

10. BBQ's with fam or friends-- there is something so relaxing about having a slow day of being by the pool with a BBQ going.... makes me feel like I'm in the midwest and I love it~

11. Rainy days--- I love to cuddle up with a magazine, coffee and candles on these days.. they are so few and far between in AZ, but I am super thankful when we have one!

12. The family I dream about having-- I know we don't have kids yet and I am not sure exactly when that will happen, but I love thinking about what our kids will look like and act like... can't wait til that day arrives!!

These are just a few things that I love that were on my mind... sometimes on a particularly blah day I like to take time to think about the things I love and am thankful for~

10.

Williams Sonoma

So.. I am officially obsessed with Williams Sonoma stuff... I mean for a girl who likes to cook with cute bowls, spoons and other gadgets, this is like my "mothership"... :)

I went in there the other day to check out some of their stuff and found a couple items that I love!!

How cute is this cupcake stand?? I think cupcakes are so darn cute and fun to make, especially with homeade cream cheese frosting! It would be fun to use this to display your cupcakes at a party!

LOVE, LOVE this!! I love brie and especially when it is baked... with a drizzle of raspberry sauce! This cookware for Brie is super cute and would be great for hosting!

Pretty excited to try these out! You can find the recipes at 

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/desserts/cakes-and-cupcakes/

updated house pics!

So, if you know me, at all, you know that I LOVE to decorate.. and redecorate... and move some more things around... :)

My 30th bday gift from my parents and grandparents were new tables for our living room and a new TV stand... I love them and am so lucky to have such a generous family!! With the new furniture, I decided to update some other areas in the house.... here are the pics.. :)

The office! Going for a white country look... eventually to be a nursery some day! :)

The guest room, added drapes and new bedding (well old bedding, but new to the room!)

the nook (in the hallway)

Hallway corner

New TV stand from Pottery Barn!

New side table and coffee table... also changed the decos above the couch and added a large pillow (thanks to mom!)

New center drapes in the kitchen... needed some more yellow in this room!

love me some plant life! (kitchen center counter)

New baskets under table and green pot from anthropologie

Our new tree! Can't wait for it to grow~

That's it for now!!

A little "Frosting"

So, for those of you have seen "How to lose a guy in 10 days"... the movie refers to a little bling as "frosting"... I decided the other day to start making my own "frosting"... material flowers that can be worn in hair, on a jacket or shirt, or on pillows, vases, etc... they were fun to make!! Here are some of the ones that I made..