April 24, 2012

Pasta Primavera

I just uploaded the last month of photos from my camera and found some pictures of the pasta primavera we made about a month ago.  It's so good- and fairly healthy too, since there are lots of veggies in it!

We used sea salt in ours, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.  We didn't realize though, how much it would make!  Aaron and I ate this for dinner the night we made it, and had the leftovers for lunches the rest of the week.

  •  3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
  • 2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
  • 2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
  • 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
  • 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
  4. Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste.
  5. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.
(I got the recipe from mom... but she got it from this site)

April 5, 2012

Finishing Work and Making (short term) Goals!

Tomorrow is my last day at my job!  (I know I was supposed to be done at the end of the month, but my replacement fell through and they couldn't get someone new to start until this week so I agreed to stay for this week to train the new girl.)  I actually ended up working a full 4 weeks since I put in my notice.  That was not part of the plan, but oh well!

I'm super excited!  I keep thinking about all the great things I'll have time for now- like getting in shape, writing, reading, scrapbooking, sewing, etc.

But I also worry a little bit about my self-discipline.  Writing is a lot of work and it takes a lot of time.  Setting aside that time might be tough.  Working out is so great and I always feel awesome after doing it, but being motivated enough to put on my gym clothes and head over there is not so easy.

So I think I need to set some goals for myself.  Here are my goals for the time I have between now and the cruise:
  • Work out at least 4 times per week/get back on track with weight loss
  • Read a book
  • Play around with the book ideas I have, and figure out which one to really work on
  • Get caught up with my scrapbook pages
  • Make dinner at least 4 weeknights per week (so Aaron doesn't have to!)
I think these are reasonable goals.  I mean, I'm sure I could do more (and I'll certainly try to do more than this) but I'm also excited to have some flex time that I can use for other things that come up.

And with regard to my workout goal... This is so true, and it's exactly why I hate using the exercise machines that face the mirrors:

Happy Easter weekend!

March 29, 2012

Turning 24

Well, I turned 24.

Not really a very exciting age when you think about it...

But hey!  I had fun anyway!

After work I came home to a bouquet of flowers and dinner on the table :)


My parents came over and brought cake and presents :)


Most of my presents involved our upcoming cruise and the summer- whoo hoo!


And that weekend, Aaron took me on a time traveling adventure to Medieval England (ish) where we attended the king's feast and a tournament of the knights of the realm.


So even though 24 isn't really an exciting age, I had a great birthday and I'm looking forward to a great year.