I'm back! Road Trip and Cherry Tomato Pasta

Hello all!! I am back.  How has everyone been these past couple of days?  I have been great. I took a small road trip, hence the reason I did not post anything. 

If you’re wondering what the road trip was well it’s a little thing called “The Longest Yard Sale,” and ok it’s not such a little thing.  It is 675 Miles and is from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama! It’s so cool!!! I already miss it.  This was my fourth year going on it and I didn’t think It was going to happen due to my recent move (well four months ago, but still pretty recent).   All along the road people are set up with garage sales or big fields are filled with people selling stuff.  There are a lot of high end antiques, but if you search you can find some pretty good deals.  

You have to be ready for this trip too with the sun and the hot weather and not to mention all the walking, getting in and out of your car, lol I’m not making it sound fun am I?? It really is fun and I hope to be doing it for many years to come. 

Thankfully when I was gone my neighbor watered my plants and they were still alive when I got home. I am thinking of baking her something.  Any suggestions? I had a ton of cherry tomatoes waiting and ready to be picked which lead me to tonight’s dinner. I am sure I saw this technique from somewhere aka Rachael Ray, but in my mind I had it all planed out.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt and pasta (I used whole grain). Cook shy of al dente, save a cup of cooking water and drain pasta.

While the pasta water is coming  up to a boil, sauté a small to medium white onion with some garlic (I am out of garlic so I had to use powder) a fresno pepper for heat (you can skip this) salt and pepper in two TBS of EVOO until slightly translucent.  Add about a pint of cherry tomatoes, you could use two if you want more tomatoes and cover.  Let the cherry tomatoes burst and then uncover.  Add a half a cup of white wine (no wine, don't cook with wine, use chicken stock) and let cook out. Once cooked out add your pasta water and pasta.  Stir around until the water is absorbed. Add ¼ to ½ a cup of Parmesan cheese mix in.  Add a little cheese on top and serve.  

Guys this is a great dish to use up your cherry tomatoes or if cherry tomatoes are on sale.  It is super easy, super inexpensive and really delish.  Let me know if you try it. 

I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Quick Easy meal on a HOT summer day- Ravioli with Arugula, Tomatoes and Pancetta

Hello everyone how are you?  Has your week been going fast? Mine has gone way to fast. I didn't have many hours at work and had a ton of things I wanted to do at home and never got to it.  Don't you hate that feeling?  It is like a stay home vacation where you want to do a ton of stuff but never get around to doing it.  Well I have the majority of today to get things done and then tomorrow before I finally have more hours again.

So if you live where I live we are under a major heat wave.  We need rain really bad.  Its so hot i don't want to even grill outside, and me and the grill are a scary thing.  I will tell you that story at another time (it's really not that bad). 

Here is a simple and quick dinner for a hot summer day.  It is from Giada De Laurentiis.  This recipe is a revisit to a recipe I already had on here, but it was so long ago I wanted to share it with you again.  You need one skillet and one pot to make these.

Brown the pancetta, add your canned tomatoes and arugula.

 Wilt your arugula with the canned tomatoes

 And your done! I had roasted cauliflower on the side, don't worry about turning on the oven, its wayyyyy to hot. Buy a nice loaf of bread from your store's bakery and have that with it.

I didn't really change anything.  Arugula has a bite to it, so if you don't think you would like it, swap it out for spinach it will be just as good! Also if you cannot find pancetta you can either swap it out for bacon, or just leave it out.


Since this is from Food Network and due to copyrights I will post the link for the recipe. I hope you all are staying cool and enjoy!
Ravioli with Arugula, Tomatoes and Pancetta