Little to No Hassle Vegetarian Pasta

Hey All,

I actually originally made this about two weeks ago, but I used an industrial-sized can of marinara sauce and the left over bit was about to go bad, so I decided to make it again for y'all (and for us of course).

It's pretty simple. You gather together all of the veggies you want in it; cut them to the size you want; mix them all on a pan and do what I do almost every time, coat them in olive oil and seasonings (this time I went with garlic salt and greek seasoning); and jam them into the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Oh, and I also chose to steam some spinach in the top of my pasta pot, which took just about as long as the pasta did, so it worked out perfectly. 

Then, I mixed it all together in the pot and got this beautiful creation (pictured without pasta sauce because after the spinach, my camera died and my phone's camera couldn't pick up any decent pictures of the final product).

Now, I don't know about you, but dishes like this just make me simultaneously amazed at the beauty of nature and full of yearning to scarf down every morsel that'll fit in my belly. Maybe that's just me. I'm a sucker for color.

Anyway, it's time I head to bed. Happy Eating everyone and Enjoy!

Homemade Pasta

So today was one of those days you hate because the Internet is dead (and still is, I'm tethering to my phone to be able to post this), but love because you're thrown and have to entertain yourself. 

How did I entertain myself (besides catching up on all of the stray dishes around the house)? Pasta. I've always been interested in making my own and now that we've started eating better and trying to eat less processed stuff, I figured today was as good a day to start as any. I did a search for simple homemade pasta on my phone and boy, did I find a simple one. 

For three servings, you mix together:

1 cup of flour

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons of water

(I added a tad bit of oregano too)

Doesn't it just look....ummm...never mind

Yes, there were a few more directions than that, but this is me we're talking about. I just mixed it all together with a whisk in a big bowl, floured the counter, kneaded the dough for 3-4 minutes (that I did follow), and tried to flatten the dough as much as I could with a rolling pin. 

Then came the tricky part. Oh yeah, you're supposed to just cut it into strips or rolls, but I'm always out to make things too difficult for myself, so I decided to make some weird, stuffed, crescent shaped cousin of the ravioli (if they have a name, do tell...or if they're just ravioli, I'd still like to know).

I took one of my favorite tools of the trade, the outer ring of a mason jar, and cut out a bunch of circles, which I worked a little to make larger, filled with this cheese and spinach concoction I blended up (seriously, blend cheese, spinach, and the smallest bit of water together until you have something a preferable consistency)--only a dab will do--, pinched them shut, and rolled the edges with the ribbed portion of the jar lid to give them a nice scalloped look. 

It definitely got a bit messy at this stage.

After I was done with all of that I made another batch (because it just didn't look like enough, though it probably was) and stuck them in the fridge for a bit to take a breather. 

I boiled them until they were pliable enough, coated them in some marinara sauce, and mixed in some freshly steamed yellow, red, and orange bell peppers. 

Over all, I know there's room for improvement, but the consensus from the whole family was that they were pretty delicious. 

This is a recipe that I'm sure would be a lot less time consuming and a lot more fun with a partner, so find someone and have at it!

This was my cooking partner, but he mostly just putted around and smiled. I guess we could say he was my emotional support (until he started crying, that is.)

The Questionable Choice of Roasting Brussel Sprouts

Hey Everyone!

How were your holidays? I know this is a little bit delayed, but I needed a week to get back into the swing of things after a solid month of family time, visiting with friends, and just overall holiday craziness. I hadn't originally planned to go away for a month, but it just got overwhelming trying to plan to write a blog post too (also I was being totally spoiled by my grandma's amazing cooking, so there wasn't much cooking happening on my part to blog about) so, to catch up for my 99 in 999, I'm playing with trying to do two a week for a bit....or maybe a whole week of blogging every day... We'll see what I come up with/decide on.

Okay, on with the cooking...

Unlike most people (some may say, most sane people), one of my husband's favorite veggies is brussel sprouts. My dad had personally decided as a child that he hated brussel sprouts and would never make his children to eat them, so I never had them until a few years ago....let alone ever cooked them (until this last weekend) As a lover of all things (or at least most things) cabbage, I found these sizably challenged cousins of my beloved to be pretty tasty, if cooked properly.

Well, since we're trying to cut down on our meats (hopefully all except fish), Thomas decided it was high time I cooked some of these little beauts (something he didn't say outright, but more or less hinted at by going to the store and purchasing a huge bag of them for me, along with the veggies I'd asked for).

Now, since we're a little low on money from all of our holiday present-giving, I needed to make all of these veggies count for our little one too. So, I researched how to make brussel sprouts for babies and saved them to my mental hard drive (though I found out later there was one major glitch).

According to BabyFood101.com, it's actually best to cook the sprouts in the oven because, not only do they retain more of their nutrients, they also become a tad bit sweeter. I was like, awesome, I'll do this and just keep off the salt and pepper they suggest (for his portion anyway) and we'll be good.

Well, I did every thing they said:

We think the easiest way to enjoy Brussels sprouts is to roast them. Heat your oven to 350 F. Cut off end and any loose leaves and then cut in half. Place Brussels sprouts in a rimmed baking sheet and add a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix up with your hands and roast until fork tender - about 30-40 minutes.

Try to cut the leaves in small bits that are easy for baby to chew, or puree them and mix with rice cereal or yogurt.

Except, get this, (and this is where that glitch comes in) I thought I remembered it being 400 something degrees and not 350 (which is what I needed already for my fish bah), so I cranked it up and guess what? Every single one of the brussel sprouts I had set out for him were burnt, some to a crisp. Good job Alaina! Interestingly enough, most of the ones for us were only singed....I think it has to do with how much oil I did or did not coat them in. I've decided that the problem was that I had also researched cooking oils the same day as the brussel sprouts and I think I had in mind the smoking temperature of like Grape Seed Oil or something. Oh well, I know for next time. Such is the life of a new(ish) mom--juggling more at one time than is good for her.

Happy Eating!

(P.S. I know I said pictures, and I have some of another recipe, just not any from today. Sorry.)

(Also, except for being singed, the adult set were pretty tasty!)