It Really Ties the Room Together

Hi guys, how was your weekend? Ours was productive. On Saturday we went to IKEA and picked up a few things for the house. We really needed a new rug for the living room. Monster had clawed up our old rug, so we didn't bring it with us when we moved. Olivia thinks we chose well.

After exhausting ourselves in a store the size of several football fields, we ate at an Indian buffet. I won't name the restaurant because it has gone downhill since we last lived here. The food was OK, but not great.

On Sunday, we took Monster to the dog park in the morning. Then I dropped off some sweets at the Vegan Bake Sale. I made chocolate peanut butter bars.

Later I went back to the bake sale with Jackson and let him pick out some goodies. He was a big fan of the strawberry mini-cupcakes that somebody brought. He ate them up before I could take a picture. Here are some pics from the bake sale. I heard that they made over $1000 - wow!

This morning I was cleaning up my folder of pics from April, and realized I had a bunch of food pics I hadn't posted yet. Here are a few recent creations.

Ziti with mushroom marinara and Field Roast Apple Sage sausage. Man, that sausage is good. Tony thinks it's one of the best faux meats he's tasted. I'll have to try making my own at home.

The marinara was a little spicy for Olivia's taste, so I made her a separate meal. You can't beat the versatile Cheezee Sauce recipe from Vegan on the Cheap for a quick bowl of mac n' cheese.

I guess we've been in the mood for pasta. Here is the Garden Rotini, also from Vegan on the Cheap. Chock full of cherry tomatoes, peas, radishes, chickpeas -- the perfect spring salad. The goddess dressing is so good. I ate this for lunch all week. Olivia loves pasta salad, too.

Did I mention I bought a griddle/grill pan? I wanted one for awhile, but our old stove was not compatible. I haven't tried out the grill side yet, but I love the griddle. Now I can make pancakes in half the time. I made some chocolate chip pancakes to feed the kids for breakfast all week. So tasty with fresh strawberries.

The other day, the kids and I made a quick stop at the Asian supermarket by our house. I stocked up on hot sauces and rice noodles. I see pad thai, pho, and spring rolls in our future! I'll go back soon and take some pictures of their unbelievable produce department. I've never seen so many different kinds of greens! I can't wait to bring some home and figure out how to cook them.

Next...you guessed it...more pasta. Here's the Pasta con Broccoli from Appetite for Reduction.  This one has a verrrry strong garlic flavor. That's not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.  

I wasn't loving the wine sauce, but I think the problem was the wine I used. It was a cheap wine that was on sale at the H-E-B. We are not big wine drinkers, so I didn't feel like buying something pricy. There is actually only one kind of wine I like. It's called 3 Blind Moose and you can buy it at Target. Such sophisticated tastes I have, haha! Do you like wine? What's you favorite kind? I've always been a beer or mixed drink girl, myself.

Continuing our Italian theme, one night I made a pizza with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and roasted garlic. This is my favorite "gourmet" pizza combination of all time. Who needs cheese?

 

For dessert, I made the kids some "ice cream" by blending up some frozen bananas, soymilk, and a big spoonful of peanut butter.

Last night I made a huge salad with some of my pizza leftovers. The salad had artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, radishes, and grated carrot.

This is the dressing I make whenever I don't feel like looking up a recipe for dressing. It's good on whatever veggies you happen to have lying around.

Sara's Sort-of-Greek Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Whisk everything together in a small bowl. Makes enough to dress a large, family-size bowl of salad.

Hope you have a great week!