Simple pasta salad

I decided to make a cold dish to bring to a family whose mom is sick. They really enjoyed it and it was so easy to make. I decided to make another one for my husband to take to work for lunch. Again, super simple and easy to switch up ingredients. The first time I kept it really simple but the second time I added a little more adventure to it. This recipe is great because you can really do anything with it. Have leftover chicken? Toss it in! Hate olives but love red peppers? Go for it!!! It's perfect for a potluck, lunch or a quick meal to take with you.

Ingredients:
1 box rotini pasta
1 bottle Italian dressing (I used zesty)
2 or 3 small tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 can olives halved
Parmesan cheese, grated 1/2 cup

Additional ingredients:
Onion
Mozzarella cheese, cubed
Sausage, cooked and sliced

Directions:
Boil pasta according to directions. Drain, set aside.
Chop tomatoes and cucumber into bite size pieces.
Drain olives.
In a large bowl put in all your veggies, pasta, cheese (and sausage if you want that.)
Add bottle of Italian dressing. Toss all together and mix well. Serve immediately. Keep chilled in the fridge
*if you are going to let it sit in the fridge awhile toss again before serving so dressing is mixed well.

Pumpkin Seeds Roasted Right

Whoops I'm a little late, I was hoping to post this for Halloween but hey...less than a week after and I still have tons of candy left! My husband and I carved pumpkins in anticipation of the holiday...cute right?

Well if you've ever carved a pumpkin you know how many seeds are inside. We set ours aside (most of them) in a big bowl. I rinsed them and dumped them in a colander. I continued rinsing them until all the pumpkin pieces were off.
Next I boiled water with a little salt (1tsp) with the pumpkin seeds. Once it's boiling turn the heat down to medium and allow it to cook for ten minutes.

Then drain the water. Set the oven to 350. 

Pat the seeds dry with a paper towel. On a cookie sheet spread 1tsp of olive oil. Spread the seeds out and toss them in the oil so they are covered.

 Sprinkle the seeds with your favorite seasoning (I did 1/3 of them with sea salt, 1/3 with garlic salt and the last third with Lowry's seasoning.) 

Bake in the oven for 12-20 minutes depending on the size. Mine cooked for about 17 minutes but they were pretty decent sized.

Enjoy!!!!

Feel free to try different seasonings depending on personal preference. I had someone tell me she loves to make hers with cinnamon sugar. 

We ended our evening with an semi thanksgiving dinner: roast chicken with stuffing, green bean casserole and Pillsbury crescent rolls!

Tuesday Treats

Until Christmas is over I find it totally acceptable to indulge in all things pumpkin! I found Ben & Jerry's pumpkin cheesecake ice cream!! What an awesome idea. I also indulged in some Olive Garden pumpkin cheesecake which has amazing ginger crumbs sprinkled on top. I want to make some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins in the near future so perhaps I'll share a recipe if it's good.

Saturday Sweets

I can't believe it's already November! Time really does fly fast. This week I made some delicious apple crisp along with some pumpkin muffins (courtesy of trader joes)

Apple crisp served hot with creme brûlée ice cream...heavenly!!!

This mix was so delicious my husband who "doesn't like pumpkin" still ate about 12.

You can't forget about the day after Halloween candy splurge. We should be all set for quite awhile. Maybe I can find a fun recipe using mini candy bars!! 

Friday Fun

Since I forgot to share my Tuesday treats this week I'll share some sweets to start off the weekend. Since we are nearing the end of October I am eating everything pumpkin possible. Pumpkin bagels with pumpkin spice cream cheese are so delicious it's practically dessert.  For an actual pumpkin dessert I indulged in a pumpkin roll.

 Remember these candies? I found some of them recently and they took me back to my childhood!

Shrimp Scampi

We decided to switch up our normal chicken dinner routine for some shrimp! I made my own scampi sauce and served everything on top of a pile of whole wheat thin spaghetti. It was absolutely delicious! The only thing was it wasn't super saucy. I add a little olive oil to the spaghetti but next time I think I will add a little more liquid to achieve my favorite super saucy finish.

Ingredients:
1 lb uncooked shrimp (I peeled mine to make it easier)
1 tbsp garlic minced
1/2 lemon squeezed for juice
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup white wine
Parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat the butter over medium heat. When it becomes foamy add the shrimp.
Cooke the shrimp for a minute on each side. Then add garlic and continue to cook. Add in lemon juice and white wine. Stir until everything is mixed well.
After about two minutes add in the parsley and salt and pepper. Cook until done and then serve over pasta. Enjoy!!!

Mini baked apples

With all the recent hype of crescent rolls I decided to jump on board and try something new. The result? An absolutely scrumptious dessert. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes which made it even better!!! We served ours with creme brûlée ice cream which was the perfect finish.

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls ( I used the smaller 4 roll one)
1 apple ( go with your favorite, I used golden delicious because we had some)
1 tbsp melted butter
Cinnamon sugar (about 1/3 cup)

Directions:
Peel the apple then cut into four pieces (make sure to cut around the core)
Roll the apple pieces in cinnamon sugar.
Roll the crescent roll over the apple pieces and place on a cookie sheet.
Once they are all rolled up brush melted butter over them. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Serve hot with ice cream and enjoy!!!