Mushroom Florentine Pasta

I really can't say enough amazing things about this recipe. I found it on pinterest and figured I would try. We don't eat a lot of pasta... actually, we never eat pasta. Generally we're a meat and two veggies-type household. But one pasta dish a week OR month won't kill you, right? Even better- a pasta dish with no butter or heavy cream, etc. Really can't be bad.... 

I have never been a fan of mushrooms but I absolutely love cooking dishes with them now. When the garlic hit these babies, that smell was heaven! We ate this as a side (many leftovers!) with tenderloin tonight. It was so delish. We'll def add this in to the rotation sooner rather than later. 

I made only a couple of changes.. less oil, garlic powder (not minced), smoked gouda and skim milk. Enjoy! 

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces linguine pasta, uncooked (same amount of other pasta may be substituted)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 ounces Gruyere cheese (or Gouda), shredded

2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Begin cooking pasta according to package instructions.

Whisk together flour, chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper. Set aside.

While pasta cooks, in a large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil begins to ripple add sliced mushrooms, sauté for 6 minutes. Add minced garlic, sauté for 2 more minutes until garlic just begins to brown.

Whisk flour, chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper mixture into mushrooms and garlic, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 3-4 minutes.

Add shredded cheese, stir until cheese has melted.

Mix in spinach, allow to wilt.

Add drained pasta to skillet, toss to coat.

to die for Salmon.

One weekend I was cleaning out the kitchen and found our cedar planks... that I bought like 3 years ago to grill Salmon with. So I immediately went and bought Salmon, I committed! 

Last time we had Salmon we did this tin foil pack recipe I found on Pinterest, you cover the fish with a basil pesto, top with cherry tomatoes on a bed of green beans and stick in the oven. It was so good! So we used that and changed it up a bit. 

We did a grill basket of veggies-- I basically just added everything I had in the fridge. Carrots, red bell pepper, green bell, green beans and cheery tomatoes. Topped them with a little EVOO, salt and pepper. 

For the fish, I made my skinny basil pesto- basil, a little parm cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and a little EVOO. I also stole this from my favorite, Skinny Taste!  I know it looks super thick in the picture but it really wasn't. The flavor we got from the finished product, was amazing! 

Unfortunately, I  didn't soak the planks long enough so the fish caught on fire giving it the char below. And we ruined the planks! I've already had to go buy new ones. We loved this so much, we made it like a couple weeks later. Anyway, don't let the dark char fool you. This was SO good. 

We actually paired this with a red blend from Bright Cellars. We LOVE this wine. We actually bought some extra from them once we tried it. And we had a nice little dinner on the patio. This definitely had to be in like May. It's way too hot out for this now :) 

And just a quick plug for Bright Cellars, we love it!! It's a monthly wine subscription created by 2 MIT grads that takes things you like (from a quiz) and matches you with wines you'll love. We initially tried it because you get half off your first month. But we loved what they were sending. We've tried wines we never purchased in the store before. We got hooked on Malbec from one of our first boxes about a year ago. The next box hooked us on Red Zinfandel. Brian hates Riesling and they even sold him on a delicious but not too sweet bottle last month. We have a Rose now that I can't wait to try! 

Long story short, TRY IT. You get the first month for only $30 bucks and can cancel after that. But use my link, I'll get a free bottle! Then send it to your friends and you can get one too :) 

Click HERE!

xoxo 

up for a challenge

Last month a sorority sister contacted me about making her a door hanger. She wanted it to be the shape of Massachusetts. Immediately I googled it to see what I thought-- WOW. But I've never been scared of a challenge so I accepted. I actually cut the shape out before she ever purchased just to make sure that I could do it. She wanted to keep the design very simple but incorporate her home state of Texas just a bit.  I obviously think it turned out adorable. Thanks for trusting me to make this for you, Jessica! 

My Favorite Breakfast

I've told you before on this blog that I'm not a fan of breakfast. I know, how? I'm so un-American. But this... THIS I LOVE. 

I found this on my favorite food site-- if you read this blog you probably already know this too-- Skinnytaste.com. And it's only 6 WW points and SO filling! Please, just try it. 

Did I mention how insanely easy this is?? Brian asks for it almost every single weekend now. I think yesterday was my 4th time to make it and I finally grabbed a snap! 

Avocado Toast with Sunny Side Egg

Ingredients:

1+ slice whole grain bread, toasted

1 mashed avocado

cooking spray

1+ large eggs

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

Mash the avocado in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a small nonstick skillet over low heat, spray with oil and gently crack the egg into the skillet. Cover and cook to your liking.

Place mashed avocado over toast, top with egg, salt and pepper and hot sauce if desired!

YUM. 

XOXO

Happy Bachelorette Therese!

Last month we celebrated Therese's bachelorette party in Branson. It was so much fun!! The first night we went to "Top of the Rock" which is part of the Big Cedar Lodge right outside of Branson. We did the Lost Canyon Cave Nature Trail by golf cart and it was so cool. So pretty! You can even stop in the cave and grab a drink! 

Post cave drinks :) 

They have a really neat store where I had to practice major self control. I did come home with a couple cute home things. After shopping we went to the awesome Wine Cellar and split a bottle pre-dinner reservation. So cool! The bartender took us outside to grab a picture and this was the backdrop. Beautiful! 

 We had dinner at Osage Restaurant. Everything sounded (and smelled) amazing. I went with the Scallops and they were so darn good. Like my mouth is watering right now just thinking about them. 

The next day we rented a boat and hung out on Table Rock. We stopped at this place for lunch and they had these fun swings at the bar! 

We finished the night by throwing Therese a super fun shower and closed out the weekend with a Branson show. We even met Elvis! 

Such a fun weekend for such a sweet friend. Therese and Ethan actually got married about two weeks ago. I was extremely sick during the whole thing that I didn't grab a single picture. :( 

BTW-- if you have never visited "Top of the Rock," I highly recommend it. Especially for a fun girls weekend! 

Cheers!

I got so much done on my day off Friday! Last week Brian brought back all sorts of crystal glasses from his grandparents house. They are beautiful! I spent some time on Friday moving around things in my china cabinet to make room for them.... and cleaning everything. We've been saving wine corks in our ice bucket for a few months and we've finally run out of room. So I took some, put them in this bowl and in the process came across some of the ones I wrote on. I don't do it all the time but sometimes I remember to make notes/dates on corks. It was really fun looking over the ones I did log :) I also found a ridiculous amount of Montes corks. I do believe we like a good Malbec. I'm going to try to remember to do this more often. Try it! 

Giant Monogram.

To say I wasn't really darn proud of myself after I did this... that would be a lie! I put this project off as long as possible. Honestly, I was a little overwhelmed with the thought of cutting giant letters for a sweet new baby room. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off and make it look good. 

After cutting the first S-- I did the 3 footer first-- I stepped back and was said DAMN! I was so proud. It looks so good! I might be partial but gracious I was happy. I was more happy that I didn't screw it up and have to call the girl and tell her thanks- but no thanks. 

These were actually ordered to be left blank. I haven't seen a finished product but I believe she was just painting them a glossy black. I'm sure they look fabulous in their new home. 

Until next time... 

That Charcuterie Tho...

I really love a good charcuterie board! Brian and I have gotten to where we'll fix one for lunch or dinner sometimes and we switch up the meats and cheeses. I quickly put this one together one Saturday afternoon and had to grab a quick picture of it. It was almost too pretty to eat, then we devoured it. This one includes: pickles, stone ground mustard, salami, sharp cheddar, blue cheese, bread and prosciutto. We might have had my favorite, Mediterranean hummus and pretzel chips to the side. Sometimes I add apples or other meats. I kind of stick to these cheeses unless Brian comes with me to the store and picks the others out :) 

It's so easy and so delicious. Try it with a glass of wine. And if you have it for lunch with the glass of wine, I won't judge you ;) 

XOXO

Another Skinnytaste Recipe... Another Homerun!

I don't really care for looking, touching, really anything related to raw meat. But the mouth watering that this picture brings back. O.M.G. This was sooo good! I got it from the Skinny Taste Cookbook. Seriously, if you don't follow her blog, snapchat, instagram and buy her cookbook.. you are missing out on life. I love everything she does! 

So I went to the store to buy the lamb. I think the recipe called for like 1 pound, maybe 1.5. All they had was 3.8 pounds. So I bought it and thought about how wasteful we would be. I ended up doubling the recipe, boy did we have a lot of lamb skewers! We had leftovers for a few days but it was so good... we didn't care! The dipping sauce was amazing. This is so easy!  

I also made the Quinoa Tabbouleh from the Skinny Taste cookbook. I loved it! Brian didn't because he is unamerican and hates cucumbers. We also did a medley of veggies on skewers which were delicious as well. The best part? 1 skewer is 3 WW smart points AND one serving of the quinoa is also 3 smart points! 6 point dinner... means I can have a glass of wine! 

Please forgive the screen grabs from my snapchat.. I always forget to take pictures. Don't let the quality of the pictures keep you from trying this. It's so good my friend Jennifer (what up I have a follower) requested that I blog this. And gave me a nice little pep talk to blog since I've been MIA for a quick second. So this is for you Jenn-- and I think it's dairy free! WHAT! 

Grilled Lamb Skewers with Harissa Dipping Sauce

Lamb:

1.5 lbs trimmed boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 T olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 T finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 1/4 t ground cumin

1.2 t sweet paprika

3/4 t kosher salt

12 wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

1 medium red onion, quartered

Harissa:

1 T olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 (12 ounce) jar roasted peppers in water, drained

1 t fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 t kosher salt

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t sweet paprika

For the lamb:

Place the lamb in a bowl and rub it with the olive oil, garlic, and cilantro. In a small bowl, combine the cumin, paprika, and salt and rub the mixture on the lamb. Marinate for 3 to 4 hours. Thread the lamb onto the skewers, 3 to 4 per skewer, with onion slices in between. (We also added green and red bell peppers)

For the harissa: 

In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a blender and add the roasted red peppers, lemon juice, salt, pepper flakes, coriander, cumin, and paprika. Blend until smooth. 

Preheat a grill to high (or preheat a grill pan over high heat). 

Grill the skewers 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with harissa on the side. 

 Enjoy! 

I love a good carb!

Who doesn't love carbs? Particularly, pasta.. I LOVE PASTA. I try my very hardest not to eat it, so when I do.. I go all out! Enter- Paul Prudhomme's Shrimp Diane. I actually ordered this at Faded Rose a couple months ago and it was heaven on a plate. SO. MUCH. BUTTER. I mean I dipped bread and ate it and then ate pasta and felt no remorse. We actually took an hour long walk that day AND the day after. So basically I ate nothing, right?

Anyway, Brian tried it, loved it and decided that was our next Paul dish to try! We actually toned down the butter when we made it at home and didn't use as much as he did... it was still so dang delicious! I snap chatted it and grabbed a still. Just try it! I know I say t his about all my recipes... but they are all so good if I take the time to blog them :) 

Shrimp Diane by Paul

1 and 3/4 pounds medium shrimp with shells 

6 tablespoons shrimp stock

1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (we used less!)

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/8 teaspoon oregano

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick pieces

3 tablespoons very finely chopped parsley leaves

Pasta, French Bread or hot cooked rice

Rinse and peel the shrimp; refrigerate until needed. Use shells to make shrimp stock by boiling them in a pot of water.

In a large skillet melt 1 stick of butter over high heat. When almost melted, add the green onions, garlic, salt, cayenne, white pepper, black pepper, basil, thyme and oregano; stir well. Add the shrimp and saute just until they turn pink, about 1 minute, shaking the pan (versus stirring) in a back and forth motion.

Add the mushrooms and 4 tablespoons of the stock; then add the remaining 1/2 stick butter in chunks and continue to shake the pan. Before the butter chunks are completely melted, add the parsely, then the remaining 2 tablespoons stock; continue cooking and shaking the pan until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly and butter sauce is the consistency of cream.

Serve immediately. I like it best over pasta, but its also good over rice or french bread.

xoxo