Where Have I Been???

So, I guess I goofed on the posting a dish everyday... sorry!!!! Some things came up and we ended up moving to California to live with my sister for the summer. Stress has been a prevailing factor in my not posting in the past month. I am going to post more recipes on here soon. Also, I have some great pics of Henry and my nephews I will be getting on here soon as well. I have been looking into a completely sugar and refined carbohydrate free diet so maybe I will be posting some recipes of that nature soon..... Maybe not. Until then, I'm gonna have some pancakes for breakfast! :)

Mr. Henry Funny Face

Henry was in a strange mood today. He was very cuddly and laid back. Still whiney as all get out but it made it easier to bear when he would snuggle up with me on the couch. Also, he seemed to be making the strangest faces everytime I busted out the camera. I literally cried I laughed so hard at some of these. Enjoy!

Henry in his cuddly mood. (Please excuse Danny and his uncomfotable pose... he is so embarrassing!)

Hahaha!

This is the part where I start crying!

MEDITERRANEAN PASTA SALAD

Yummy yummy in my tummy! This was a good one! I would double up on the good stuff like the sun dried tomatoes, olives and ricotta. For a pound of pasta it just didnt seem like enough fixins. I didn't used the tri-colored pasta either, didn't have it and I've gone to the grocery store everyday for the past three days and I am so over that.... I believe this was another Giada recipe.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
salt
1 pound tricolor pasta, such as bow tie or fusilli
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 to 3 teaspoons dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper
2/3 to 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes (I would use at least 2/3)
1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned
1/4 cup diced onion
2 large pickled pepperoncini peppers, diced
3 tablespoons halved black olives(I used a whole can)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 1/2 tablespoons grated romano cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with cold water to cool.
Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in enough of the oil to make a smooth dressing; season with salt and pepper.
Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, onion, pepperoncini, olives and oregano in a bowl. Add the cooked pasta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the vinaigrette and both cheeses and toss. Chill until ready to serve.

It's only been like 4 days??? I'm already sick of blogging about food.... not a good sign! Haha!

Summer Pea and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad

I saw this on smitten kitchen a while ago and since it falls under the vegetarian category it was a perfect time to try it! Make sure you read through the directions once or twice before attempting because you could forget to cook the snow peas before you sliver them like I did. Not a crisis really, I just nuked them in some water for a couple minutes.

Summer Pea and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad

1 pound of small pasta
1/4 pound snow pea pods, ends trimmed
1/2 pound fresh summer peas, which yielded about 1 cup once shelled
3/4 to 1 cup Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a small ice water bath. Boil the snow pea pods for about two minutes, or until just barely cooked but still crisp. Scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and drop them in the ice water bath. Cook the peas for about 10 minutes (once again, this will be al dente, you can cook them longer if you prefer them softer), scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and plunge them into the ice water bath as well. Drain both peas. Cut the snow peas into thin slivers.

Add the pasta into the boiling water and cook it according to package instructions. Drain and let cool, then toss in a large bowl with peas and Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette, seasoning to taste.

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

Makes about one cup of dressing

1 red bell pepper, roasted, skinned and seeded or the equivalent from a jar, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped shallot (about 1 small)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds of black pepper

Puree the red bell pepper in a food processor or blender as much as possible, then add the remaining ingredients and running the machine until the dressing is silky smooth. Adjust the vinegar level and seasonings to taste.

The finished product (look how cute the peas are all nestled inside the shell pasta:)

I did add about a half cup of crumbled feta cheese and would highly recommend doing so. Our verdict? Danny was not to hep on the mass amount of peas. I thought it was a lovely dish. I felt very posh eating it, which is not something I normally feel when eating due to my close relationship with heavy whipping cream.

30 Recipes In 30 Days

Ok. I'm blogging again. This really is a new record for me! The reason why you will be hearing from me everyday for the next 30 days is because I am trying to knock out one of my 101 goals. I have a goal to blog 30 recipes in 30 days so I am going to start today! Ok, I'm counting yesterdays recipe post too! If any of you guys have seen the movie Julie and Julia(Great movie!) then you will get a handle on what I am trying to accomplish... It will be very challenging considering I have trouble blogging once a month let alone once a day! Keep me in your prayers! Now, on to recipe #2.
I have made this one about a dozen times before and I LOVE it. It's Danny favorite meal I make as of right now actually. This can change at any moment so I'm not sure that's a legitimate way of proving to you how scrumptious it really is. I guess you will just have to try it for yourself! I got this idea from a magazine and can't really give you the exact recipe. This one just comes straight from the mind of Christie....scary.

Zucchini Ravioli

This is what ya gonna need....
3-4 small zucchini
1.5-2 pounds ravioli (I use half a bag of the frozen ravioli from Costco)
2 T olive oil1 t minced garlic
1/2 t salt1/4 t fresh ground peppa (yes, peppa)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
First you need to prepare your ravioli according to package instructions. BE CAREFUL! Usually they are very generous in the cooking time. Take care not to overcook your poor ravioli's or this dish will be a lumpy, clumpy mess. So once you get them Just barely cooked through set 'em aside.

Behold, the ravioli of choice

While you are waiting for the water to boil for your ravioli, you start working on your zucchini. Wash 'em up good and then slice them in half lengthwise. Then chop them into little moon shapes like so.....

Look at the cute little moon shape zucchini!

Once you have a bowl full of zucchini moons like this...


Then you are ready to rock and roll! Heat your oil in a pan over medium high heat then add your zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook it for 2-3 minutes till they start to get soft. (Go ahead, test one, or two, or three...) The add your garlic and cook for another couple minutes

Looking good!

Now add your perfectly cooked ravioli and grated Parmesan cheese and gently toss it to get everything all over each other... Voila!

Yummylicious!

Now, it looks a little more oily here than its supposed to because I got a little to excited with the olive oil. So, I just make sure I have extra Parmesan on the table to sprinkle on my plate and it soaks up that oil like it was never there!

A Boy and His Rocket

Henry's grandma Pizza got this for him for Christmas and he didn't do much with it other than push the buttons on it untill a couple of days ago.... He finally decided to ride it! Haha! here's a video of his first real ride!

Henry is One!!!!

My little boy turned one on the 16th April. I love him so much, and he really makes me so happy! We had a little party for him on the 17th. My cousin Sarah and her family came. Along with some friends from church. It really was a nice time. Henry had a blast and loved all his presents. The cake eating was not as exciting as i thought it would be. He didn't eat much of it, well, you know, I'll just let you see the video.

Well, you can't really see in the video but he ended up just smushing it all over his tray and not eating much of it at all. Silly boy. Maybe this is a sign that he won't like sweets at all. I doubt it... Then it was on to presents.

Henry and his sweet ball he got from Nanna!

Standing up all on his own! Such a big boy!

He LOVED his books from the Giffords

The group. He got a music set from the Rheads and one from Great Grandma Gladys! My is there going to be a lot of noise in my house from now on...

A party aint a party without BUBBLES!

We had a great time. Thank you to everyone who came!