Tuesday, September 28, 2010

I'm Now a Stuffer of Shells

Last Monday (yes, I know, it's over a week later!) I invited my dear friends Megan and Jacquie (from Bread, Wine & Family blog) over for dinner. I decided it was time to go big in the kitchen and use the space!

So I ventured into the land of stuffed shells- that I stuffed myself. That's right world, Alyssa made a legitimate meal! We also had salad and garlic bread, but those are not nearly as interesting as the shells.

Here's how it went:

You will need 12 dried jumbo shell macaroni, 1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, 2 eggs, 1 8oz package of shredded Italian cheese, 1 cup of ricotta cheese, and 1 26-32 oz jar of pasta sauce.

Cook the pasta as the package says..duh. Rinse it with cold water and drain it. Then put those babies to the side. Like so...


Then you will want to drain the thawed spinach. To make the filling, beat the eggs (in a bowl). Add the spinach, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, and the ricotta. Stir, stir, stir. It will appear like this...yum!


Then spoon that concoction into those pre-cooked shells.
They should look like this...



Place them in a dish, cover with sauce, and bake those babies at 350 for 40 minutes. When you get them out, top 'em off with the rest of the shredded cheese. And then...pig out!

I was really impressed with my shell stuffing and the dinner as a whole. It was great to spend time with great people and eat good food and use the kitchen!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Tales of Joy

Some people say that they love their house but they don't really mean it.

When I say that I love my house, I am so not kidding for a second!

I love that right now I am sitting on my couch watching my new fave show (Design Star-it's the season finale) with my diet coke on the coffee table and the windows open. This sure beats sitting on my bed, balancing my snack on my pillow in an air-tight coffin of a room. (Although I loved it at the time, don't worry!) Also- I can walk into my kitchen if I want a snack or to cook myself some dinner. So great!

And did I mention-I have got the coolest bedroom ever. I have my own floor people! That's pretty banging. And I love my workspace and my bed and my nook. Did I mention the love I have for this house. Yes, it has some imperfections, some blank walls still, and unfortunately a few critters that like to enjoy the house too. But really who can blame them?!

I do need to work on a covering for my skylight. I have all the materials, all the ideas, but no time. That is not something I love.

Ok- my homework is starting to pile up. Guess I better start working. It's just so easy to not when you have things to do and hang out with people. Ahhh...the problems of life. :-D

With Love, from the Lane.