Creamy Pasta Bake

Cook 1 lb pasta (I used angel hair) and drain. Brown 1-2 pounds ground meat (I used straight beef this time - could use turkey, pork, or even beans), and add to sauce of your choice (try 1 jar + a can of plain tomato sauce or diced tomatoes if you want more texture). Season up with basil, oregano and rosemary. In a separate bowl, combine 16 oz sour cream, 8 oz cream cheese (I used light for both), 2 eggs, and 8 oz shredded cheddar. Mix well. Layer a bit of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan, and then heap on the pasta, cheese mixture, and sauce. I layered here, but you really can't tell. Top with a bit of mozzarella and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes (until it's hot and bubbly). Add salad and possibly bread, and you'll get at least 2 meals out of it.

Cabbage wraps with pork

This is a great meal for a hot summer's night - very little stove time required, and the leftovers are fantastic, too.

THM - this is an S meal

Remove approx 8 leaves from cabbage head. Trim out toughest part of stem, then cook for 1-2 min in boiling water, just enough to soften. Set aside.

In large bowl, whisk together: 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tb ginger (I used dried, but I'm sure fresh grated would be much better), 2 Tb white vinegar, generous 1/4 c soy sauce (overflow the measuring cup a bit, LOL), and 2 Tb olive oil. Add: 1-2 cucumbers (seeded and diced), approx 2 c finely chopped cabbage, 1/2 c chopped or grated carrot, and chopped cilantro to taste. Add 1-2 c diced cooked pork* and stir. Add a few shakes of hot chili sesame oil to taste.

Lay a cabbage leaf down on the plate, lay a line of filling down - we also added a bit of chopped roasted peanuts at this point - roll into as neat a package as possible and eat up!

 *(I used leftover grilled pork fajita - I had gotten a deal on some premarinated loin ends and I wasn't sure how the flavors could come together, but thankfully it was great) 

Adapted from Sandra Lee's recipe

Greek Salad

When we were up in PA, my SIL made a Greek salad that both hubby and I enjoyed, and she said it was a Barefoot Contessa recipe.  I got home, tracked it down, and tweaked it a bit for our family:

Whisk together in large bowl:

• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• black pepper to taste

Now start dumping - I used 1 cucumber (de-seeded ), 1 green pepper, 6 roma tomatoes, 2 c green beans (blanched), about 1/4 c diced onion, 4 oz crumbled feta cheese, and 1/2 c chopped kalamata olives. I'm thinking it would also work well with fresh zucchini or portabella mushrooms.

Tasted even better the next day :)

Warning: lots of recipes ahead

A local friend-of-a-friend started a "What's for Dinner" group on FB because she said she was bored with her family's dinnertime routine and was looking for ideas.  Basically, we take a pic of our dinner and share recipes.  Simple, and pretty fun.  I don't do it every night, and I'm being reminded about just how many people rely on prepackaged food ("I made roasted chicken and vegetables!  Go me!  What, a recipe?  Oh, I bought the seasoning packet for $5.99 that includes fresh marjorcurryam and 16 spice powder. Yummo!") Anyway, I do tend to try out a lot of new recipes, and I was scrolling back through posts, thinking, "Man, I wish it were easier to find my stuff!"  Oh, if only I had a place to record such things.

Well, duh.

Hubby went out for red snapper back over Easter weekend (friend's hubby has a boat - hooray!) and caught his limit in less than an hour.  Which meant we ended with a large pile of red snapper fillets in the freezer.  And while I consider myself a fair-to-middlin' cook, I'd never once touched red snapper simply because it's generally too expensive.  Anyway, I searched online and came across this really great recipe that I've now prepared a couple times.

Red Snapper, linguine with olive sauce

Cover red snapper with approx 1 tsp soy sauce and 1/4 c olive oil - marinate for 30 min (mine sat for probably 15, and was still good). Bake at 400 for about 8 minutes (depending on how thick the fillet is) and finish off under the broiler to desired crispiness. Cook pasta. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1/4 c olive oil. When it's hot, toss in 2-3 cloves minced garlic. Allow to cook only for a minute or so (you don't want it too sweet) then add 2 - 4.25 oz cans chopped black olives, 1 - 6 oz can tomato paste, 3/4 c white wine (I used one of those little 187 ml bottles, could sub low sodium chicken broth), 1 tsp lemon juice and approx 1 c water. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring. Season to taste (I added garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper). May also add a bit of the pasta water if you want a looser sauce.  Spoon sauce over pasta and fish, then serve! (I know the sauce isn't on the fish in my picture, but I did eat it together ;)

*If any of my "real life" FB friends would like to be added to the dinner group, just let me know!

Cousin Fun

Just a few pics to share from our trip north... will try to get more posted later, but this should hold the grandparents over in the meantime :)

LIttle blessings

Just wanted to document this, a reminder of how out of God's infinite grace He sometimes grants even the smallest wants.

Last night as I was washing dishes, I commented to my hubby that my spatulas were in really rough shape, and I was going to have to replace them soon.  I have a set of 3, earned with hostess benefits from a Pampered Chef party probably sometime in 1999.  Yeah, you could say I've gotten my money's worth ;)  In my head, I was thinking that I'd really like to find something solid (so that junk doesn't get stuck between the head and handle), and preferably the "scooper" type that are so amazingly convenient.

I dropped the kiddos off at a day camp this morning, and stopped at Walgreen's to pick something up.  These were sitting on the clearance cart by the checkout.

Delivered: two molded scoopy spatulas for less than a buck total.

Seriously, how awesome is that?!

Pondering the Path

The past few weeks have been a bit crazy. I didn't say anything here on the blog, but through a bizarre set of circumstances, we were able to visit Pennsylvania for four glorious days.  I had been *longing* to get back up there to see friends and family, but the expense and time involved kept preventing the trip from happening... until a strange (nearly-forgotten) circumstance from 5 years ago meant that my hubby needed to go up there for a few days.  Oh, and the expense of his 1 plane ticket = enough gas to get us there.  So yes, we piled into the car and drove until we were beyond tired.  There are some funny stories, too, but we'll save those for another day.  What it boils down to, though, is that God gave me the desire of my heart in a totally unexpected way (additional side note: we were hoping to send D to a really cool church camp up by Austin this summer in conjunction with the church where the kiddos go to AWANA.  I took the paperwork in the last week of school, but their roster had filled up the day before.  I was so disappointed!  Know what, though?  That camp was taking place while we were up north.  Just another reminder that God's working it all out, even when I don't think it's "good"!)

While we greatly enjoyed our time up there, I was reminded of how many connections we have in eastern PA.  And how after four years in south TX we are still fighting for tenuous threads.  We were able to hang out with friends that truly are more more like family.  Our kids got to play with their cousins. We soaked up the glorious beauty surrounding us (GREEN!!!! - the photo was taken in a county park).  Yes, I had tears in my eyes as we crossed from PA into MD.

The trip also brought some of the issues with hubby's job to a head.  He was on the phone way too much.  He's been with this one company nearly twenty years - hired straight out of college and steadily working his way up.  There have been many bumps along the road, and we've debated about pursuing another position at times, but he's still there.  I can't help but feeling that time is now drawing to a close, though.  And now the question is where will that take us?

There are many good things about south TX, and while I would miss a handful of friends, the balmy winters, the affordability and constant access to tacos, frankly I feel like our whole family could pack up and leave in two weeks without too much difficulty.  That's sad to me.

So we're praying about what the future will hold.  We got back super late last Saturday night, and went to church on Sunday.  I was pretty tired and honestly I can't tell you all that much about the service, but the text for the sermon was from Psalm 119, and once again I was comforted in knowing that God was reminded me HE has it all under control.  We'd appreciate your prayers as we seek His path - and the grace to accept whatever answer we're given.

Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. 

Psalm 119:29, The Message