Pasta Salad

I am super picky about my pasta salad. I don't like a lot of other things in it besides the pasta, really. I always pick around the tomatoes, olives..etc. I like those things by themselves, but I'm not a food mixing person.

Last night I went to Publix and all of their boxes of pasta were $.89. I got the tricolor rotini and got in a pasta salad mood! Usually I put only italian dressing in it, which sort of grosses me out as I type this. It leaves a weird metallic aftertaste if that is the only thing in it, so I added a couple more things. After I cooked the pasta and cooled it, I put about half of the usual amount of italian dressing I normally would and then added italian seasoning and parmesan cheese. I was trying my hardest to re-create this pasta salad that I eat from one of our local restaurants, but it's still missing something. I like it, but I will still tweek it a little bit next time. While also at Publix last night, I bought one little green plum that was labeled "pluot" and "dinosaur egg." Can they not just call it a green plum? Curiosity bought one. I don't usually like the less ripened plums, so we will see how it goes.

I discovered Groop Dealz, for the first time yesterday. And that might be a good thing because I got this necklace that is very similar to one I have been eye-ing at JCrew, but couldn't break down and spend $70. This one on groop dealz is $19 bucks! I was so excited!!

I got the turquoise one, like the one I borrowed from a friend for a rehearsal dinner!

Hope you have a great Tuesday! Maggie

Lately...a collection of random thoughts

Oh, I have a blog? Talk about neglectful. I have lots of stuff to share, though!

-Back in April I got a cookbook for my birthday, Weeknights with Giada. It's a great book, it's written well and very descriptive and the pictures are gorgeous. So far I have made the salmon cakes with lemon-caper yogurt sauce {my favorite}, grilled creamed corn with spinach and broiled tilapia with mustard chive sauce. This book is one of those cookbooks that you read through and want to make everything!

-Recently, my boyfriend moved cities, down to the coast of SC and while I was visiting last week we went to River City Cafe. He enjoyed a HUGE "doritos burger" and I had a reuben. His looked amazing, and was totally gone before I was done with half of my sandwich. Be sure to check out their menu online and see what awesome burgers they have!!

-I was craving a rum cake last month and found this recipe...it was so moist and you know it's a good rum cake when your nose burns! :)

I think what also makes it great was my grandmother got hand shucked pecans from her "beauty parlor" that were picked locally. -We have a local road side market in the 'burg called Bellew's Market. I love going in there, mostly for the boiled peanuts, but also the smell. It is a mix of fresh picked produce and old wood, and I love it! I saw these gorgeous eggplants when I was browsing...

I ended up with boiled peanuts {duh} and some homemade Bellew's chow chow, which I dropped on the concrete outside of my house...fail. The sweet lady at the register also told me to grab a canteloupe on my way out, gotta love free stuff! I was tempted to buy a very strange item I saw, moonshine jelly...anyone had it? I can't imagine it would be good at all. -At the beach this past April my friend introduced me to his version of baked beans, which includes bacon, so of course I love it. He uses a large can of regular, Bush's baked beans, puts it in a baking dish, adds ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. Stir all of it together, and lay uncooked bacon on top. Bake until the bacon is cooked to your preference! It's so good, and so bad for you :)

-Lastly, one of my blogger friends Christina, from Hungry Meets Healthy, put this goat cheese + honey + cinnamon + peach concoction up on her blog and I HAD to try it. I am pretty sure I will eat anything that includes goat cheese. It was so simple and so delicious!!

Happy Fourth y'all!!

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops | Good Housekeeping

Holy cow, this recipe took no time at all and it was so good! I made this recipe for 4 pork chops where the recipe calls for 8, but kept the sauce the same. And thank goodness I did because it was out of this world!

Here's what you need...

8 boneless pork chops - 1/2 inch thick
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp EVOO - used a little more, about 2-3 times around the pan with your bottle
3 tbsp shallot or onion chopped fine
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Here's how you do it...

Pat pork dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat until hot. Cook pork 4 minutes on one side; turn and cook for 3 minutes on second side. Transfer pork to platter and keep warm - I just put it on the eye of the stove close to other things I was cooking.

Then, increase heat to high and toss in shallot/onion into pan juices. Cook 1 minute. Stir in vinegar and brown sugar. Cook 1 minute longer. Pour sauce immediately over pork and serve!

Needless to say, there are no leftovers. I could probably eat that sauce on anything!

Happy Eating!
Maggie

Easy Tomato Basil Sauce

New recipe that I made tonight...

2 ripe tomatoes, sliced thin
1/2 clove garlic, chopped, plus jarred garlic (or fresh if you please)
3ish tablespoons EVOO
salt and pepper
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drain halfway
white wine
1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
any type of pasta, I used spaghetti rigati, the ridges on this type of pasta hold the sauce perfectly!
fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, put sliced tomatoes on a nonstick pan or do as I did, foil lined plus Pam. Lay out tomatoes in an even layer, distribute garlic cloves over tomatoes, then drizzle EVOO over them, as well as salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the tomatoes for about 25 minutes, or until they have lost some moisture and the skin begins to dry up a little bit.

Boil the pasta.

Saute onions and jarred garlic (about a tablespoon) until onions are transparent, add the can of tomatoes, and bring to a bubble. When the oven roasted tomatoes have finished, add them to the saute pan. I used a potato masher to make it more of a sauce consistency. I also added about a 1/2 cup pasta water to the sauce to thin it out, along with the 1/4 cup of white wine. Let this reduce for about 5 minutes to burn off some of the alcohol taste.

After the sauce has reduced and the pasta is al dente, add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Plate the pasta and put desired amount of fresh basil on top.

Fresh. Simple. SO GOOD!

No picture unfortunately...took hardly any time to make and this girl was hungry!

Happy Tuesday!
Maggie

Happy New Year!

Apparently one of the numero uno resolutions needs to be BLOG MORE! It seriously is up there on my list but here are a few others:

* Be a better listener
* Go to church more
* Cook more!
* Study more, if that is even possible
* Stay in touch with friends

What are some of your resolutions for 2012?

E Tells Tales had an amazing post the other day that kept me coming back to read every few hours. E asked folks to post anonymously if they chose and the resolutions posted were touching. It really is amazing how many people have so much going on in their lives that are so similar to mine and I'm sure a lot of other's.

What I'm pinning:
Lately I have been all about some chevron stripes and actually have taken on a few pinterest projects! When I was planning out my curtain project I really wanted some cream/black chevron fabric however, when I couldnt find that I had to settle for green linen,which was 30% off of $8 and I'm on a budget which is fine, but if I ever do find that fabric, it will get replaced ASAP! This was my inspiration:

Here are mine:

I also found some super cute, super thick fabric that was on sale at hobby lobby, so I plan to make pillow slip covers, only thing is I need to find another print to put on the reverse of them.

What I'm eating:
Poached eggs! I recently made eggs benedict for the first time and found a ridicuously easy recipe that makes hollandaise sauce in a blender...so much faster!

I am also trying to eat a lot better than I have been over the holidays, which leads me to this wrap I created, it's nothing pretty but it's actually really good! I use a whole wheat wrap, a smear of roasted garlic hummus, half a cucumber sliced thin, and a generous amount of alfalfa sprouts.

My friend Kristen, my go to gal for health food info, gave me this green smoothie recipe I tried for the first time yesterday, and it's reallllllly good...
2 handfuls kale
1/4-1/2 bag of frozen mango
1 8oz can of pineapple chunks in its juice, not syrup
about 4oz of water
2 sprigs of parsley

Don't let the picture fool you, try it, it tastes great and it's great for you!

What I'm planning:
Hopefully to figure Photoshop Elements out! Talk about complicated...and it didn't come with a manual of any kind! AHH! This picture sums up my fav christmas gifts this year..my amazing photoshop and the eagerly awaited 50mm lens!!

I also have BIG plans with the kitchenaid mixer this week...homemade pasta with my attachments!!

What I'm listening to:
Anything that gets me moving at the gym! This week it's been a little 90s pop and a LOT of rap...it's the only thing that I like to jog quickly until I feel like passing out run to.

What I'm watching:
I used to be sick to death of watching House, but marathons have been on like crazy lately so, it has sucked me in.
When I remember that Grey's comes on Lifetime, I watch it, but my memory...not great.
I bought The Help over break and have already watched it 3 times. LOVE IT!

I also bought Soul Surfer, it's so pretty in high def and the soundtrack is pretty awesome. Carrie Underwood is NOT good at acting but the rest of the movie makes up for her shortcomings.

Here's to blogging more! Happy New Year everyone! xo
Maggie