Pasta with Asparagus

Where did March go?!?!  Things have been a little nutso around here.  We bought a house and sold our house in the month of March.  The week that we listed our house we had three showings and the week after that we had three or four (with three little kids that turns into an all day event).   However, that paid off because in just two weeks we accepted an offer!  We still have some inspections to wrap up, but so far so good!  Given this economy we really saw God's hand in all this!

We also have a great realtor if you're interested click here!!

Ok, so what does this have to do with pasta and asparagus???
It's quick, easy, and healthy.   Three key words I craved this past month! ;)
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces 1/4 cup chicken broth (or beef broth) 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

8 ounces angel hair pasta 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.	Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2.	Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Saute asparagus (crushed garlic - 2 cloves) in the pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and mushroom slices; cook 3 minutes more.
3.	Drain pasta, and transfer to a serving dish. Gently toss pasta with asparagus mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan and crushed red pepper.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 4/4/2011

This recipe is from the allrecipes.com website - which I love!  I enjoy reading the reviews and seeing how people adapt the recipes to their own style and I usually find people out there that think like I do!  In this case, someone added garlic.  I. Love. Garlic.  I also added the noodles to the saute pan and let them cook for a minute or two with the veggies.  It really made them soak up the other flavors.  I did not have parmesan cheese on hand, but I did have an enormous block of pecorino romano cheese from Costco (everything from Costco is enormous, I like that place).
I also added the crushed red pepper in during the cooking time and I only used a dash or two and that was plenty!
This whole meal took about 15 minutes from start to finish and it would have been quicker if I wasn't waiting on the bread.  That is faster than you can get through a drive through restaurant! 

TJ Maxx, cookies, and other loves...

The girls and I ventured out yesterday and after contemplating the possible reasons why TJ Maxx has two "x's" in its name we decided we loved the place anyways.  Olivia reminded us of the phonics rule she just learned.  When a word has two consonants at the end we only say it once.  She pronounced it flawlessly...see shopping is practically a field trip.  My conscience is eased.  In all fairness, I venture out very little these days...loading and unloading a squirmy 20 month old is a less than desirable shopping condition.   Not to mention the need to down three children for arctic weather conditions only for them to get piping hot the minute we are in the store.  I end up holding three huge winter coats while sweating in my own...I am so ready for spring!  That being said...yesterday was great.  We did my three store limit (anything more than that is just asking for a meltdown, by me and/or the children). :)  Our first stop:  The Maxx
Why do I love  TJ Maxx you ask?  Let me show you the awesomeness that a mere $14.99 brings:

 It matched my existing Walmart lamp perfectly!

The canisters are semi-new and came from a friend called Target...I really like that place too!

This is a great cookie recipe that only requires 5 ingredients!  They are ingredients you almost always have on hand too, which makes them a good last-minute, desperation-type dessert.  Another bonus: they are flourless!  I know a lot of people these days who are sensitive to gluten/wheat, my grandma is currently restricting her gluten intake.  Here is the recipe:

5 Ingredient Choc. Chip Cookies

1 c creamy peanut butter
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c semi sweet choc. chips

350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients except choc. chips add in chips after dough is well blended.  Form    1 1/2 inch balls (dough will be sticky) place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 9 min.  Let cookies set for 1 min before removing.

Banner of Love

Jesus is the rock of my salvation His banner over me is love...does anyone remember this song?  I remember many a children's church singing that song.  It has a gazillion verses and I didn't appreciate it then, but those words came flooding back into my memory today.  How beautiful and comforting are the words!  "The Lord is mine and I am His"  What a perfect Valentine's song.  You know those candy's that say "Be Mine"...the Lord is mine!  What a thought!


I highly recommend giving it a listen...it is sure to bring a smile to your face! :)

For Valentines I wanted to make some kind of decoration that I could use again.  After searching other blogs I got some ideas and headed to Hobby Lobby.  Love. That. Store.    I found this ribbon at Costco that I love:

Since it is a ginormous roll I have plans to use it at Christmas too.

There it is...our Banner of Love; however, secondary to our First Banner of Love. ;)

My friend made these...aren't they the cutest Valentines?

Tea for Two?

Her shirt says it all!

Valentine #1

 I MUST insert a story regarding the beautiful bouquet of flowers that is on my dining room table (in the picture below).  We had a warm streak of weather this week and the girls were able to go get their bikes out of Gma and Gpa's garage.  Also in their garage is a pile of leftover garage sale goodies that Mel Trotter never got around to picking up....SOOO, Olivia comes bearing this gift for me  and says "here you go mommy, Happy Valentines...Chloe said you wouldn't want them, but they are for you".  Her thoughtfulness was precious.

Valentine #2

The littlest Valentine

My Valentine

Valentine package from Grandma B.

Valentine Topiary

I saw this idea to make a rose topiary out of crepe paper/streamers.  It is SO cheap, but I don't think it looks cheap.  I have always loved roses bunched together.  My wedding flowers were just like this, but in soft pink and cream colors. Sorry....rabbit trail, but hey it is the season of LOVE after-all!

To make these balls you will need:

Streamers (cheap at the Dollar Store or Hobby Lobby has the huge rolls for .99)
Scissors
Hot glue gun
Some sort of ball object (those crafty styrofoam ones would be great).
*It just occurred to me that if you really wanted to do this cheap, you could wad up a bunch of newspaper into a ball shape and put some masking tape around it.  Nobody will be able to see the ball in the end.

Miss O was my helper and we learned about measuring.  She measured two feet of crepe paper into strips for me.  Then the fun part, you get to crumble them up to give them a softer look.

Then lay the strips out flat.  Fold over the top portion a third of the way down like this:

 Starting at one end roll a few times

 Continue to roll it, but start twisting your crepe paper to make it more "bushy" for lack of a better term

 I added a dab of glue at the end of it to "hold" it together.  The end product will look like this:

 Glue the rose to your ball

Once you are all done, and yes this is time consuming...that is a LOT of roses to  wrap, but so pretty in the end!  This would be a good project to do while watching TV or listening to your kids read to you.

You could add ribbon and hang them or make a bunch (different sizes and colors) and put them in a basket or tray...the possibilities are endless!

This is the first of our Valentines craftiness.  More to come will include Valentine's frames, suckers, and a felt banner.

Bon Appetit

I'd like to give a shout-out to my brother and sister-in-law for an awesome Christmas present that came in the mail today...a subscription to the magazine Bon Appetit!  It has some amazing recipes.  Definitely going to stretch me "out of my box".  I was browsing through it today (bad thing to do on an empty stomach), and found a recipe that sounded amazing and I had all the ingredients on hand.  This is a miracle in itself seeing as I desperately need to go grocery shopping. 

Honey-Marinated Pork
There was also a gremolata garnish that went with this; however, with our frozen tundra I do not have all the herbs that it required...will definitely try it someday though.  I am going to go out on a limb right now and let you know that I did not know what gremolata was...my first thought a cheese? an olive? what in the world?  Thank goodness for google! ;) 
Back to pork.  Here is the recipe:

3 lb pork tenderloin
1/3 c honey
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS orange juice
1 tsp sea salt/ 1/2 tsp pepper
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 c dry white wine (I just used cooking wine)

Place pork in a 11x7x2 glass baking dish.  Whisk honey, garlic, and orange juice in small bowl.  Pour over pork; turn to coat.  Sprinkle pork with 1 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper.  Cover and chill for at least 2 hrs. Great make-ahead meal!  Can marinate up to a day. 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Heat oil in large skillet (I used a cast iron so it transferred right from the stove top to the oven to finish cooking).  Add pork to skillet.  Reserve the juices that it was marinating in.  Brown pork on all sides, turning often.  Transfer to oven; cook until done (150 on the inside).  It took me about 25-30 min.  Transfer to cutting board; let rest 5 min.
In the same skillet, pour the reserved marinade and add wine.  Boil gently until reduced to 1/2 C (3-4 minutes).  Season with salt and pepper.  Slice pork and pour sauce over it - Enjoy!!

  The green bean recipe can be found by clicking here. 

Flowers...

The girls wanted to have a tea party this afternoon.  They got out the candles, the tea cups, and the vase.  They asked if we had any flowers *sigh* I did not.  I have had a thing for fresh flowers lately and will occasionally treat myself to a bouquet if they are on sale.  A few minutes later I hear a loud "Never mind Mom! We got flowers!!" coming from upstairs.  Seriously?  You have a secret garden upstairs that you aren't filling me in on?  It just so happens we do...in our bathroom where I keep our hair "pretties".  LOL  It just so happens that these fabulous hair clips can double as a flower bouquet for your next event.   The girls clipped them to the side of the vase and voila...

You can order them from this fabulous company called Posh Perfect.  The gal that does them has great attention to detail and will do custom orders.  The prices are also great!
Here is a picture of my girls and my sister's girls, they are sporting their Posh Perfect hair clips.

 And at Christmas...

 

Random Messages

In our house, ever since our oldest daughter could write a sentence, you never know what note you may find.  Sometimes it surprises me, sometimes it melts my heart, every time it makes me smile or laugh.  Here is a note from Bunny (C's friend from toddlerhood) I found on my washing machine:

It reads: Can you please wash me. C wants you to Please!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this week I went to use the
bathroom and was greeted by a lovely sign and soap options.  Me oh my, did I feel pampered. :)

It reads: Choose any one or choose both, that means mix.  I love the "fine print" at the end...in case you didn't know that if you did in fact choose both that would mean you were getting a mix! lol  She is too much!

 

I also got a VERY sweet note this past Saturday night...C and her sister had gotten into trouble for being rowdy and sent to bed early.  The note I found on my bed said: To: Mom, From: C I will give you a quiet day tomorrow, I promis."  That would be one of those heart melting ones I mentioned earlier.