Pantry Pasta

Tonight, I taught Kelsie how to make a simple staple dish to use leftover vegetables and cheeses with ingredients you'll already have on hand in the pantry.  She's already coming up with a combo that sound delicious!

Here's what we did tonight, and I'll include info on how easy it is to adapt to whatever ingredients you want to use.

Pantry Pasta
8 oz. of your favorite pasta - we used radiatori - the shape helps scoop up the sauce!
2-3 cups of veggies - you'll want to mix it up
   Tonight Kelsie used about 1/4 chopped onions, clove of minced up garlic, cup of sliced mushrooms, cup of grated zucchini, and 1/2 cup of spinach.
1 can of cream of something soup - we used Cream of Mushroom
about 1/2 cup of milk
salt & pepper to taste - you can also experiment with spice mixes
1 cup of grated cheeses - again variety is nice!  Kelsie had some yummy Creamy Toscan soaked in wine leftover from Trader Joe's run that needed to be used up.  We also added 2 nice scoops of some ricotta cheese, and topped it off with some Parmesan.

This dinner comes together pretty fast.  Start noodles cooking, and then in a large skillet saute the veggies.  Since we're in Kelsie's apartment, she used a pan that's oven safe.  First she cooked onion and garlic, then added mushrooms and zucchini.  Once veggies were cooked through, she added the soup and milk.  As that's coming together, you'll add some salt & pepper (or spices) and the cheese.  She added the spinach last - helps keep it's beautiful green color.  Noodles were done cooking, so I helped add them to the skillet as she stirred everything up.  It's okay to get some of the pasta water.  The starches from cooking noodles will help bring this pasta together.  Scrape down the pan and smooth out the pasta dish, sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese.  Bake in the oven for about 15-20 min.  Doesn't this look great to eat?!?

Spinach & Summer Fruit Salad

Kelsie Time!
Ken and Kailyn dropped me off in Dallas for me to spend some quality & relaxing time with Kelsie girl.  Yesterday, after Ken and Kailyn headed back to Tulsa,we went to lunch at Tacodeli - so good! Before I forget the delicious and unique tacos we tried, I'm going to do my best to describe them. Who knows... might be trying my own interpretations in the future.
     Taco #1 - Special of the Moment - Taco Pierre
          This one had grilled shrimp with serrano peppers, corn, green olives, and a lime & soy sauce.
     Taco #2 - Papadulce
          Sweet potatoes are the feature on this taco.  Also had corn, peppers and caramelized onions with toasted pepitas and spicy chipotle cream sauce.
     Taco #3 - our favorite one! - Space Cowboy
          Taco had portobello mushrooms, avocados, roasted peppers, and queso fresco.  Yummy!

After lunch we headed to find parking and then to the Perot Museum.  Museum wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.  We both had fun, but wish directions/science explanations were a little better.  Also, they need to work on their flow!  Ended museum at the gift shop - of course!  Scored Kelsie an atom puzzle on the clearance shelf.

Walking back to the car, we decided to walk to Houston & Elm and check out the JFK Memorial and Texas Book Depository (famous 6th Floor).  Weather was nice and we got to see the perspective of The Zapruder Film.  There were several guys walking around with conspiracy papers, but we chose to move along.  Got some pictures of the Holocaust Museum, Old Red Museum, Reunion Tower, and Fountain Place.

Afterwards we headed back to Kelsie's apartment.  Made this quick and refreshing salad:

Spinach & Summer Fruit Salad
Spinach
Mandarin Oranges
Strawberries
You could add onion - our favorite is red - but we didn't
*Toasted Nuts with a secret!
Dressing - something light- we used Red Wine & Olive Oil from Trader Joe's

Lay out the ingredients and let people make their own salads.

*Here's the toasted nuts secret...  In a small skillet, add the nuts.  Cook on a low heat and watch nuts closely - they'll burn fast.  When the nuts start to get warm, add a little sugar. You can use brown or white sugar.  We used about 2 pinches. The sugar will start to melt.  As soon as this happens - work quickly! - and add some pepper.  The sugar will help the pepper stick to the nuts.  Now you'll get toasted nuts with a sweet and peppery kick.  You can even eat these as a snack!