pesto pasta anyone?...

pasta with pesto is one of our favorites and very simple to make.  simple when it comes to cooking...that's me!  if it's more than 6 ingredients i start to stress : ).  anyhoo, no measurements for this meal...just the ingredients and some directions.

some fresh bottled pesto. we get ours at costco but i've also gotten pesto at trader joe's and i'm sure they will have some at your local grocery store.

boil a bag of pasta, we prefer bowtie.  grill some chicken with your favorite seasoning and slice cooked chicken.

cook some fresh mushrooms in olive oil or butter. and cut up some tomatoes.

toss, pesto, cooked mushrooms, sliced chicken, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh tomatoes together in a pasta bowl and there you have it.  a very yummy and quick pasta with pesto for a meal!

 

bon appetite!

things i heart monday...

things i heart monday's!  i heart pasta! tonight i made shrimp and asparagus fettuccine.  i found the recipe at allrecipes.com and thought i would try it tonight for dinner.  excuse the poor photo.  i cannot, for some reason capture good quality photos of food.  it's still a work in progress : ).

day 116 of flickr project365

shrimp and asparugus fettuccine

photo via flickr by sonicwalker

i'm hearting this mixed mushrooms and spinach on pasta.

photo via flickr ilva-b

pasta with creamy turkey ragu

photo via flickr istellinad

crab pasta

(no recipe attached to this picture but it sure looks yummy!)

the first 3 photos each have a link to the recipes, if you care to try them.  i hope to try the mixed mushrooms and spinach pasta later on during the week.

bon appetit!

a little bit of this, this & this....

a little of this...

75/365 flickr project365

another picture of
the cherry blossom tree i park in front of everyday at work...

this time in full bloom.

a bit of this

my guy filling out applications for a job
 for everything and anything.

and a little of this...

i/we normally bake cookies from scratch

but sometimes we do cheat and

use the betty crocker 

cookie mixes : ).

we heart the oatmeal chocolate chip package but

today i thought i would try the 

double chocolate chunk and

it was the bomb!

if you haven't tried any of betty crocker's 

cookie mixes you should 

pick one up at the store next time you go

and try it sometime.

you won't be dissappointed!

bon appetit!

chili recipe

Mr. L made some chili 

for last night's superbowl party.

Everyone seemed to like it and asked

for the recipe.  I found

the recipe on allrecipes.com and

he just made a few revisions to it.

i know, i know,

you can't quite see the chili in the picture

because it's smothered with all the fattening

and not so good stuff 

like the cheese,

cornchips and sourcream.

shame on me but...

that's the way I roll!

Here's the recipe:

39/365 flickr project photo

1 pound of ground beef

1 diced onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of sweet corn

1 can of black beans

1 jar of salsa

1-2 tbsp of chili powder
corn chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with garlic and onion

Pour all other canned ingredients with their liquids 

in the pot.

(Do not drain liquids)

Simmer and enjoy!

Bon Apetite!

6/365 Chocolate Chip Cookies + a glass of milk = Bliss!

Tonight, my wanna-be pastry chef daughter... Maddie ...made chocolate chip cookies!  She enjoys and loves to bake.  I think watching Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes might have influenced and inspired her to maybe becoming a pastry chef some day.

Ok, so you cannot...I repeat cannot have chocolate cookies without milk.  There's just something wrong with that picture.  I know my family can't.  And wouldn't you know it...we were out of milk!  But guess who willingly offered to run to the store to buy a gallon of milk?  Yup, you guessed it! Our new driver, along with Meagan his partner in crime :-).

chocolate chip cookies + a glass of milk = bliss

I do have to admit that it sure was nice not to have to run to the store at 8:30 p.m.. Sweet-a-licious!  Oh, and one last thing, out of all the many chocolate chip recipes we've tried, tonight we've decided that the Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is the best by far!  But if there's anyone out there who would care to share an even better recipe email me!  We'd love to try it.  We are crazy for CCC's!  Here's the recipe for those who don't want to look it up.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups Nestle semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 375 F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels and nuts.  Drop by rounded tbsp onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Bon Apetite!