Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper - Tomato Pesto

As you are all aware, I am up to my ears in boxes with moving into our house! Last night, I wanted to eat something healthy, but that could be made rather quickly between unpacking, work, and life!

Well, as you could guess, the easy fast thing to usually make is pasta! If you have more than 15 minutes to pull dinner together, then I suggest taking the route of making homemade, fresh whole wheat pasta!!! But, as you can imagine, time has not been on my side for quite a while now, so I had to go for the already made pasta. tisk, tisk, I know, I know! Scold me later, why dontcha?

Moving on from my laziness...

The real star of this dish is the sauce! I was able to throw it together with what I already had in my pantry/refrigerator. This roasted red pepper-tomato pesto sauce is absolutely delicious and light! Enjoy!


Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper-Tomato Pesto


1 lb whole wheat pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 roasted red pepper (either packed in oil, or have more fun and roast it yourself!)
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook your pasta!
2. While your pasta is cooking, combine the olive oil, pepper, and tomatoes in a food processor and grind them until well combined!
3. Serve over pasta!

Eat it and enjoy!

Chai Tea Oatmeal

Hold on, wait a minute, did you say chai oatmeal?!

Yes, sirs and ma'ams, ya read that right! Chai oatmeal... You put some tea in your oatmeal. Desperate for a fun change to your oatmeal? This is it, people! I had always wondered about doing this, but never got around to it. Well, this morning I finally did! It sounds a little odd, but it is actually delicious. Trust me!

Do you want to know why this is so great?! Of course you do, why did I even ask... It's fantastic because it is a calorie-free, healthy way to sweeten up your morning oatmeal

Chai Tea Oatmeal



Ingredients
2 cups dry oatmeal
4 cups of milk
4 tea bags of your favorite chai (I used Celestial Seasonings Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai)

Directions
1. In a soup pot, heat the milk over medium to low heat with the tea bags, stirring frequently.
2. Add oatmeal and stir frequently, cooking to your desired thickness.
3. Eat and enjoy!!!

Mac & Cheese Lorraine

Now that I am in the house, I am trying to keep my head above water with unpacking everything. The wedding is- dare I say it- one month from today. Hoorah, huzzah, woohoo!!! I'm ecstatic. Now, with that being said, there's a quite a bit on my plate with unpacking, and figuring out the last little important things for the wedding!

Although this recipe is not perhaps the healthiest of meals, I was in a pinch for time, and this proved to be an excellent 15-minute meal, with the help of Rachel Ray. I tried to use what ingredients I had already (without grocery shopping), run out for a handful of other ingredients, and create it within the hour time-frame I had to work with. It ended up being delicious, and a treat (considering the cheese and bacon), but it was excellent in a pinch, and I would recommend it to anyone, especially to parents of little kids, talk about a kid-friendly meal!

Enjoy!!

Mac & Cheese Lorraine
Courtesy Rachel Ray

*Oy to the flash, I know, it was dark by the time it was made!*

Ingredients
Salt
1 pound gemelli pasta or other short cut pasta
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded Gruyere
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Heat water for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

2. While pasta water comes to boil, heat extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add bacon and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add onions and cook 10 minutes until soft and beginning to caramelize. Add wine and cook out, 1 minute.

3. While onions cook, heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter, melt and whisk in flour. Cook 1 minute then whisk in stock and milk and bring to a bubble. Thicken a few minutes then season with salt and pepper. Melt in cheese stirring it in a figure-8 motion with a wooden spoon. Add nutmeg and mustard and adjust salt and pepper.

Drain pasta, toss with onions and stir in cheese sauce to coat. Top with crispy bacon and serve.

We're Back!

Heyyyyy!!!!

I have missed you all SO MUCH! I am so happy to say that I am FINALLY BACK! The house is a mess of boxes, but I am slowly getting my act together!! As I had promised, here are some VERY ROUGH before and after photos. I neglected to take any photos of the upstairs, since it's almost ALL boxes right now! But don't worry, they will be posted, too!

I apologize for the rough photos, I was in quite a hurry this morning!! ... oooh! and another thing to keep in mind, I still have yet to unpack anything in the decor region, like paintings, etc... so the walls are extra bare!! A work in progress, but I wanted to show all the construction done on the house!

Dining Room Before:


Dining Room After!!:


Living Room Before:

Say "hi" to Tim's little brother, Dan!! Hey Dan!


Living Room After!:

Daisy Mae is so elegantly rubbing her little face on the rug, caught ya, hound dog!


"Kitchen?" Before:



Kitchen After!:


It's a work in progress, but the start to a good home! And a place for many great recipes to be created!!

It is so good to be back!

Momentary Pause, but Major Things to Come!

Good morning all!

I'm sure you have noticed that I've been on a bit of a blogging hiatus these past few weeks. That is because, drum roll, I'm prepping to move into the house! *cue in the fireworks, cheering, clapping, and baby laughter* Yes, I am very happy to say that it is finally happening. It has taken six months longer than it was supposed to, but don't worry, I am still counting my blessings! There is a reason for everything, and I am not doubting for one moment that the lengthened process has had many positives!

I really wanted to take this time to send out a MAJOR thank you to my beautiful mother and my beautiful sister. ALL of my posts between October and the present were made possible by the kitchens of these two women, and for that, I am forever grateful! They allowed me to take over their kitchens, so that I could still do what I love to do!

Thank you so much, again. You have both helped me get through this stressful time so by allowing me to feel at home in your kitchens! I love you both.




Major things are to come for Cleanliness is Next to Godliness! The husband-elect and I will be married in 57 days! It is coming so quickly! It's crunch-time with wedding planning, as well as, getting together some awesome recipes for a hungry husband-to-be. Soon to come: some great "clean" and healthy, husband-friendly meals, as well as more dabbling in the baking world, since I am determined to learn how to make absolutely EVERYTHING from scratch.

Please stay tuned, my dear friends, big things are coming! Don't you worry neither, I will be posting before and after photos of the house. Talk about a FACE LIFT. Phew!


Happy-Almost-Friday and I will check back in with y'all soon! So stick around, ya hear?