Creamy Spinach Ricotta Pasta (from family circle)

Makes: 8 Prep: 20min.
Bake: 425 for 25 min.

Ingredients:



1 lb. Rigatoni
1 can (15oz)diced tomatoes with basil, onion and garlic
1 cup fresh chopped onions
1 box (10oz) frozen chopped spinach (drained)
2 1/2 c. jarred Alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cups of ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Hear oven to 425 and coat 13X9 in. baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta following package directions. Drain; return to pot.



Stir in tomatoes and chopped onions.
3. Cook spinach in microwave following package directions. Squeeze out moisture. Transfer to a bowl. Add Alfredo sauce, ricotta, garlic salt and pepper; stir to combine.



4. Transfer spinach mixture to pasta pot; toss to combine.

Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish.


5. Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan and oil. Sprinkle over pasta.



Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Gliders

So, one thing I know is a must have when having a baby, is a glider in the baby's room. It makes life so much easier to sooth a crying baby, feed, and get the little one to sleep?

Any mommies out there want/need one? Go check out Two of a Kind Working on a Full House's blog.

They are giving away an AWESOME Glider from Stork Craft

A Bridal Shower Activity.

Ok so I haven't shared any of the games with you that will be played at the shower on Saturday (at least not that I can remember). Here is an activity that just popped into my head today and I had the supplies so....

I created a journal. Everyone at the shower will have a page to write to the Bride-to-be. They can write words of wisdom and advice, sweet memories, blessings etc. That way the bride can always come back to this journal in times of need or every now and again, read the advice and words on encouragement her friends once gave her. Since there are several pages the bride can also come back to this journal and record her own thoughts, tips and advice about marriage that she may want to remember as she experiences them.

Here's the journal:

Front Cover:


Each inside page:


The back cover:

Gift List

Ok so I used some scrapbooking paper I used for the tags in my earlier post today and made a cute little Gift Giver List for my friend's Bridal Shower on Saturday.

Bridal Shower

So as I may or may not have told you before, I am hosting a Bridal Shower for one of my Best Friends on Saturday. There are 2 little girls coming... one 3mo. and the other a little over a year. I made favors for the grown ups that will be there, and I thought it would be cute to get them a little favor as well! Here's what I bought for them. I just made a cute little tag with their names on them.

Spinach and Feta Pita Bake

YUMMY,YUMMY, YUMMY is all I can say... It was quick and SUPER EASY to make!

I altered the recipe because I couldn't find regular sized pitas. However.... here is the full recipe. Thank you allrecipes.com .


INGREDIENTS


* 6 (6 inch) whole wheat pita breads
* 1 (6 ounce) tub sun-dried tomato pesto
* 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
* 1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped
* 4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
* 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spread tomato pesto onto one side of each pita bread, and place them pesto side up on a baking sheet.


Top with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper.




3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven or until pita breads are crisp. Cut into quarters and serve.

Simple, quick Chocolate Covered Strawberry Parfait!

Found this idea online and thought it was great! Here's my version:

*Vanilla Yogurt
*Strawberries cut in halves or fourths
*mini chocolate chips.

Layer anyway you want to!

OH SO GOOD Chicken Salad and Asian Slaw

Asian Slaw

INGREDIENTS
1 bag (16 oz ) coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
1/2 cup sweet-spicy French dressing
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper (1/4 medium)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts



DIRECTIONS
1. In 2-quart bowl, mix coleslaw mix and dressing.




Top with bell pepper, cilantro and peanuts.


2. Just before serving, toss salad.


****


OH SO GOOD Chicken Salad



INGREDIENTS

* 4 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
* 1 cup mayonnaise (I am not a mayo fan so I didn't use this much)
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 2 green onions, chopped
* 1/2 cup minced green bell pepper
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
* ground black pepper to taste
(I also added Greek Seasoning)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise with paprika and seasoned salt.




Blend in dried cranberries, celery, bell pepper, onion, and nuts.




Add chopped chicken, and mix well.






Season with black pepper to taste. Chill 1 hour.







Enjoy!

Lemonade

Today was lemonade day. The lemons on our tree in the backyard were calling to me.



So Sam and I went into the backyard with the silver bowl and picked some.



Look how good they look!



And soon after we had lemonade.



YUM!

Bridal Shower Layout I made...

Ok, so I’m hosting a Bridal Shower for one of my best friends. I decided as one of the activities to make each guest do a 2 page layout (don’t worry though it’s for an 8X8 album). On the left side will go a picture of the guest with the bride to be, and on the right will go the recipe card that I requested everyone fill out and bring. **I will be sending the guest an email reminder to fill it out and bring it and give them the reason why so they don’t forget.***

Here is the layout I’m going to use as mine for her album. I made a pocket for my recipe to go in, so she can take it out and use it or copy it down so she doesn’t have to keep pulling it out. I am also going to fill in the blank yellow areas with our names (on the left) and the name of the recipe on the right or maybe a cute little quote.

*Edit, I just realized you can only see half of it... I'll have to figure out how to show it all. If you double click on the image you'll get to see the full picture.

Humidifiers

When I was little I remember the humidifier that my brother and I had... it was loud noisy and for a little one kinda scary to look at. After traveling through Target I saw these really cute ones from Crane. They come looking as different animals (pigs, frogs, etc).

If you'd like to win one head on over to this blog: Two of a kind,working on a full house. and enter!

More Cookie Goodness

Another cookie recipe I made to give to the hubb's boss as a thank you were (chocolate Chip Cookies- but we all have a recipe for that) are these YUMMY...

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Ingredients:

12 oz. strawberries, hulled and cut into ¼ inch dice (2 cups)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ c. plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2c. all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon coarse salt

3oz. (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3c. heavy cream

Standing Sugar for sprinkling (crystal sprinkles)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Hull strawberries and cut into 1/4 pieces.

Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 7 tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and dump in bowl. Mix with hands until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

2. Using a 1 ½ ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto a parchment papered baking sheet. Be sure to evenly space apart the dough balls.

Sprinkle with sanding sugar and bake until golden brown (24-25 minutes).

Transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool.

Serve after cooled or store covered for a few days only (fresh strawberries remember) at room temp.

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

Going to a 4th of July party and my hubby's boss's house and I made her some cookies as a thank you. This is one of the types I made.

Pecan Rolls

Ingredients:

1c. (2 sticks) butter @ room temp.
1/2c. sifted powdered sugar (plus 1/2c for rolling dough in afterwards)
1tsp. vanilla extract
21/4c. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4c. finely chopped pecans

Directions:
1. Put pecans in food processor and chop until desired consistency. You want them finely chopped, but not over done.
2. In large bowl, beat butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy.
3. Sift together flour & salt, then stir into mixture combining well.
4. Mix in nuts.

5. Place dough in refrigerator for 1 hour.

6. After dough is chilled, knead dough for a few minutes and set oven to 375.

7. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, continuously kneading as needed so balls stay together.
8. Place on ungreased baking sheet & press down SLIGHTLY.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 11 minutes. DO NOT BROWN!
10. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
11. While dough is still warm, roll in extra confectioners sugar.
12. Let completely cool. Roll in confections sugar again.

Makes about 30!