Curried Pasta Salad

I've always enjoyed cooking, but since I've been married I've really taken off with trying and even creating new recipes. I'm going to try to post recipes that I've tried and enjoyed on this blog (hopefully with pictures!). Some will be original recipes and some will be things I've seen or read that other people have created, but hopefully all will be delicious! (Otherwise, why would I bother writing about them?)

On Saturday evening I cooked an herb crusted roast (I'll post that recipe some other time.) for our dinner. It's a favorite for our little family and is always met with approval when I tell Josh what we'll be eating. (Makes me feel good that my husband loves my cooking so much!) Normally I bake potatoes in the oven at the same time the roast is cooking, but this time I forgot. Whoops! I looked through my pantry and refrigerator for a good starch option that wouldn't take an hour to cook and settled on pasta. I knew I wanted some kind of sauce to flavor the pasta, but wasn't really feeling a marinara sauce and we didn't have any white sauce in the house. We were completely out of butter (we don't eat it often) so making my own alfredo sauce wasn't an option. I remembered that I had half a tomato, a small chunk of cucumber and a half cup or so of leftover steamed peas in the refrigerator and decided to make a pasta salad. At first I planned to add olive oil and Italian spices to give  the salad a traditional pasta salad taste, but decided instead to spice things up and make it a curried pasta salad. It was a raging success! Josh loves it and has declared it one of my best recipes EVER! Win!

Here are the details if you'd like to try to make it yourself. It's super delicious and over all pretty healthy for you. If you are okay with eating pasta, that is.

Curried Pasta Salad

Wagon wheel pasta - I used half a box

1 medium onion, chopped small
Random veggie leftovers from your refrigerator - I used steamed peas, cucumber, mushrooms and tomato. Olives, zucchini, green beans or peppers would also be delicious additions!
Can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 Tbls. (roughly) Olive oil - next time I might try coconut oil
 1-2 Tbls. lemon juice - I probably used 1.5 Tbls.
Garlic powder - to taste
Onion powder - to taste
Curry powder - to taste
Salt and Pepper - to taste (Catching a pattern here?)


Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer drained pasta to a large bowl and add the vegetables (Stop and celebrate that you've just saved a bunch of produce from going bad in your fridge and being dumped down the disposal.) and beans. Put the olive oil, lemon juice, and spices in a jar and shake until mixed. Then pour over the salad and stir until everything is coated in the dressing. At this point you can refrigerate the salad until you are ready to serve it or dish it up at room temperature. I've had it both ways and can honestly say that I enjoy it lukewarm or cold! It really is delicious any way you choose to eat it! Here's a picture to see if I can tempt your taste buds..

I know I'm not a food photographer. Please forgive the amateur picture. :)

Also, I rarely measure the ingredients in my recipes. I prefer to opt for the "Throw all the ingredients together until it looks and smells good" approach. Obviously I don't do this for baked goods, but for stove top recipes I'm all about winging it!

If you try this dish please comment back and let me know if you liked it and if you made any changes. I'd love to have some new ideas for ingredients to add and spice it up a bit more!

Resolutions - Yeah, sure....

I don't make New Year Resolutions. There, I said it. I prefer to recognize that a change needs to be made in my life and make the change right then. Why wait until January 1st? At the end of 2010 I started mulling over some changes that I felt I needed in my life and made the decision to dive in and make those changes. Coincidentally, the New Year, resolution time, was just about to happen so this year I guess I'm making resolutions. Sort of.

Here's a list of the changes I am striving to make in my life:

1. Spend less time online. (I've fallen into a habit of playing way too many games on Facebook and way to little time tending to my housework and other hobbies.)

2. Get to bed at a decent hour. (I'm a night owl, but I know it's not good for me.)

3. Eat better. Make healthier choices with the foods I put into my body. (I feel like I got off the healthy eating bandwagon about a year ago and I can definitely see the change in my health and weight. It's time to get serious again!)

4. Blog more often. (Part of me really wants to be a blogger. Another part of me doesn't want to bother. I want to give it a shot and see if I like it.)

5. Get in some kind of physical activity at least once a week. (Could be the gym, laps at the mall or a walk around my neighborhood if the sidewalks are cleared of ice.)

6. Try to get my handmade jewelry business off the ground and make a little money from the hobby I love.

7. Reconnect with my inner child and re-learn how to play with toys, pretend and imagine. (Evan is getting to the age where he really enjoys having someone play with his toys along with him. He tries to get me to play, but I get bored really quickly because I just can't get my imagination engaged like I did when I was a kid. This year I want to relearn how to have fun!)

There. Hopefully getting all of this typed out will keep me motivated to keep at these necessary changes until they become my new habits.

Random

I'm one of those people that keeps many tabs open in my browser until I've had a chance to write about them, forward, save, etc., etc. Josh thinks I'm nutso and that it's my own fault when my computer slows down or goes wonky. I say it's the price I have to pay for saving such valuable information. I'm a real martyr like that. No need to thank me.

One of my Facebook friends posted a status update that I really thought was inspiring. I'll copy it here:

On this day, God wants you to know

... that the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang the best. Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right'. Start where you are, work with whatever is at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

How awesome is that?! The day I read this I was feeling pretty down on myself about my jewelry design because I had shown it at a festival and didn't sell a single piece! Many people loved the designs and commented on them, but not one single person made a purchase! I understood that it was more of a family festival and not a craft festival and that most people weren't looking to spend a lot of money, but I still felt pretty down about not making any sales. Then I read this and I realized that the festival was a learning experience. (I already knew that, but this quote really made me think about it.) I didn't have a wide range of prices on my products. Maybe if I had some lower priced items I would have sold some things. I'm thinking that I will try to add some inexpensive (but still quality) earrings, bracelets and necklaces to my designs. That way when I'm at an event like the one last weekend I'll have jewelry to appeal to a wider range of people. I'm taking this bit of knowledge gained as one of those "better tools" found as I go along.

Yummy New Pizza Recipe!

This pizza is TO DIE FOR! (Yes. All in caps. It's really that good!) My friend Stacey and I split a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share. Sometimes we get something like just one butternut squash, just as we did this week. Rather than slice the squash in two and each of us only get a small piece we decided to share a meal together. I found this great recipe for Butternut Squash Flatbread with Cheddar and Pine Nuts (Oh, heaven!) and we decided to try it. It was wonderful! We made a few changes to the recipe to customize it to our taste (Read: MEAT). See below for the recipe and a picture that Stacey took of the finished product.

Butternut Squash Flatbread with Cheddar and Pine Nuts
(& CHICKEN TOO!)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced (We added the chicken  because we didn't want a pizza without meat, but if you prefer a vegetarian pizza you can leave the chicken out of the recipe.)
garlic powder, minced onion, onion powder, salt, pepper, thyme, olive oil

1 pound store-bought pizza dough, thawed if frozen (we used Trader Joe's herb dough)
1 pound butternut squash - peeled, seeded and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (we used yellow onions from the CSA)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (we also got these fresh from the CSA)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper (we used fresh ground pepper)
1 1/2 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shape the dough into a large oval (we did round pizza shape) and place on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet. (We skipped the cornmeal.)

In a non-stick pan cook the chicken with the olive oil and spices listed on the second line of the ingredients list. When the chicken is done, set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the squash, onion, pine nuts, thyme 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. (We didn't measure the oil or any of the spices. We just added to taste - we both like LOTS of flavor!) Scatter over the dough, add chicken, and sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake until golden brown and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.

Stacey and I both really enjoyed this pizza. My husband said he enjoyed it and then admitted later that he thought it was the worst pizza he's ever eaten. (????????!!!!!) But then, he's not a big squash fan so you can't base your decision to try this recipe off of his judgment. Evan ate and loved the pizza so that's something. Right?

Loving My Reality

Lately I have been resenting my job as a housewife/mom. Not the loving my family part, but the work part. Ugh! Then I came upon this post through online linking from one blog to another and I am beginning to see it another way. I need to "fall in love with my reality." The author described very clearly some of the things I struggle with. The endless cycle of laundry, cooking, cleaning up from cooking, feeding Evan, cleaning Evan up after eating, changing diapers, disciplining him when needed, taking him out of the house, grocery shopping with a toddler in tow.... I need to stop fighting it and accept that this is my life and see it as a blessing. I GET to do laundry for my family, I'm PRIVILEGED to cook and clean to keep us eating healthy meals and living in a clean house. I'm BLESSED to have a son and to change his diapers, feed him and keep him happy while at the grocery store. (And if you know anything at all about my pregnancy and the struggle that we had to stay pregnant you would wonder how I could even forget that Evan is a blessing. A miracle!)

The next time I start my inner griping and mentally fight the list of things I have to do I'm going to try to remember this post and approach my reality with a thankful heart. Maybe if I change my attitude those tasks won't seem like work anymore, but really be the blessings that they are.

Funny how God has a way of putting a mirror in front of me so that I'm forced to examine my own heart. I'm so grateful that He loves me enough to bring me face to face with conviction.

Strawberry Picking

*UPDATE - Pictures finally added!!!

*NOTE - I've been holding off on publishing this post for a week or more because I want to add pictures. Now I'm worried I'll never post because I'm terrible about getting pictures off my camera. I'm just going to publish now and hopefully add pictures soon. Sorry!*

I'm really making an effort to write more often. I think it's important to have a record of Evan's baby/toddlerhood that is more solid than my memory. I haven't been very good at taking pictures (We have them, just not tons.) so I'm attempting to keep a record here.

This past Tuesday we went strawberry picking with a group of friends. When I first heard about the trip I was excited because this is something I've been looking forward to doing with Evan. Once I started thinking about it I got a little worried that maybe Evan wouldn't behave and that it would be too difficult to try to pick berries and keep an eye on him. (He's been in a bit of a tantrum stage lately.) I decided to brave the trip and we would just leave if he got cranky and I was too stressed. Well, the day turned out to be an awesome experience! I'm so glad I decided to give it a try! Evan behaved so well and he had a blast eating strawberries straight out of the box as I picked them. 

There were many other moms and kids who went with us and Evan had a blast walking back and forth between the different groups of people picking berries. He's such an independent little man! We picked for an hour or so and then all decided to stop and have lunch. As I was loading up the car to drive to the picnic area I left Evan in the stroller on the drivers side of the car while I was loading the strawberries into the passenger side. I heard him start to scream like he sometimes does when I go out of his sight. I finished what I was doing and walked back to the other side of the car. The stroller was not where I left it! It had fallen over and Evan was strapped in, upside down with his face in the grass. He was screaming his head off and I could tell he was scared. Poor kid! I got the stroller back up and took him out and hugged him and the little dude just hung onto me and cried. My heart nearly broke. Once he was calmed down I strapped him into his carseat and finished loading the car and we made the quick drive to the picnic spot. The farm had a nice grassy area between some barns and that's where we ate. I, of course, didn't think to pack a lunch for myself, but had a sandwich for Evan. After eating he went and played with the other kids as they fed weeds to some goats. He LOVED them!

Since we were on a farm there were trucks that would drive by and Evan tried to take off toddling after them whenever they passed. It kept me busy going after him and bringing him back. I love him so much, but boy does he keep me on my toes!

It was a great day and I'm so excited that he was well behaved. I won't be nervous to try this type of outing again! I love my boy!

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from the day.

You know that feeling when...

Someone links to your blog and you haven't updated in MONTHS? Yeah, me neither. I just won a giveaway from Becca over at The Paro Post and she linked back to my blog so I figured I ought write something here. You know, in case anyone follows the link. I wouldn't want you all to think that I don't write here.... yeah... right... :)

In an effort to update the two of you who haven't given up reading my blog, here's the scoop on what we've been up to.

The G family has been having a busy few months. We decided that we want to try to sell our two level condo and buy an actual townhouse (or even a single family home if we can find one in our price range). We want to have more children (None started yet!) and feel like more space would be important to have before we do that. We could fit another baby in this house, but it would be tight and both kids would have to share E's current room. Doable, but not easy. To get the house ready to list we've done a lot of updates including painting the hallway and two story stairway, sanding and painting the kitchen cabinets (WHY didn't we do this years ago?! They look like new!), putting a new subfloor and flooring in our bathroom, stripping and repainting the front door and a whole host of smaller jobs. We've also ordered new counter top for the kitchen, but it won't be here for at least another week and maybe a bit longer. When you combine all of that with keeping up with housework, spending time with E and each other and the various out of town trips we've taken the spring has just flown by and we are already welcoming summer! Hopefully we'll have the work done in a few weeks and can start looking at homes we'd like to buy once ours is on the market.

I need to get off the computer now. E and I spent part of the afternoon at the neighborhood pool and while he is napping I need to start a load of laundry with our swimming stuff and get his toys cleaned up and dinner started.

Happy Summer! Maybe I'll post again soon. Somebody link to my blog, please, so I'm forced to update!!!