0 Meatless Monday: Spinach-Artichoke Pasta

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1 (13 oz) box shell pasta
1 tsp butter
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 8 oz package reduced fat (not fat free) cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1T lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts (packed in water), drained and chopped
10 oz chopped, frozen spinach, thawed, with as much excess water squeezed out as possible
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped cooked chicken (optional)
Additional Parmesan for serving

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Slowly stir in milk, then add lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir in artichoke hearts, spinach, Parmesan cheese and chicken (if using). Drain pasta and add to artichoke mix. Toss and season to taste with salt and additional lemon juice as needed. Serve with additional shredded Parmesan.

My Review 

SO GOOD! Husband couldn't stop complimenting how good this recipe is. If you like spinach artichoke dip, then you'll love this recipe because it's basically that over pasta. Who knew vegetarian dishes could taste this good.

And a side note: Visit this website to find out what Meatless Monday is and why it's so important.

0 Thursday is Our Date Night

Nick's been really busy with grad school and we don't get much time together on the weekends because he's either working/studying so we found Thursdays to be our date night. Last night I surprised him with a candle lit swing out on our porch swing with hot chocolate. It was a quick date before he had to get to reading his text books, but just what we needed to get us through the rest of this week. Happy Fall officially!

p.s. This weekend is going to be full of crochet, painting, reading, sewing, and recipes. Stay tuned!

1 Red

{shirt: cozy, skirt: thrifted, shoes: payless, necklace: UO}

Red is one of my favorite colors. It's bold and beautiful. That's why I fell in love with this skirt, especially for only 4 dollars. I was going to cut it shorter, but I'm loving the long skirts these days. Especially with the little bug running around so much. I just wish I was brave enough to wear red lipstick...maybe one day. 

2 Meatless Monday: Black Bean Burger

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(Serves 4)

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 
  
• If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

My Review 

These were delicious and filling. Definitely one of my favorite vegetarian meals so far. Next time I'm going to get adventurous and add some garlic, A1 sauce, and what ever else I feel like. These are a definite must try.

1 Too Cute

{jumper: Macys, headband: mommy made}

Seconds after taking this picture she started tearing every book out of the bookshelf. She's really into pulling everything out and bringing it all to me. It's my favorite. We painted our toes green with sparkly butterfly stickers. And we tried going to story time at the library, but Kenzie had a melt down when I wouldn't give her smarties, so we left early. Don't get between that girl and her sweets!

0 Yes I'm still crocheting

My crafts come in phases. Right now (if you can't tell) I'm obsessed with crochet. I've been watching a lot of Cosby and crocheting. And making lots of baby headbands. Is everyone pregnant or what? I couldn't stop laughing about the beginning part of this Cosby episode. I love how the wife says her husband can remarry and then when he says he would she gets mad. That's pretty much how our conversation on this topic  ends too. I just hope we never have to worry about that! 

0 Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events

I finished The End last night. It only took me about 2 1/2 months to finish all 13 books in this series. I love young adult fiction and this series is so great. It's funny, it's random, it's educational, and it's very unfortunate. Snicket tells of the sad lives of the Baudelaire orphans. Each book they are placed in a new home and face a new unfortunate event. Violet is an inventor, Klaus is a reader, and Sunny is a biter. The books are somewhat repetitive, but hilarious. Here is a quote from the last book (it won't give anything away)

Chapter 9

"The phrase "in the dark," as I'm sure you know, can refer not only to one's shadowy surroundings, but       also to the shadowy secrets of which one might be unaware. Every day, the sun goes down over all these secrets, and so everyone is in the dark in one way or another. If you are sunbathing in a park for instance, but you do not know that a locked cabinet is buried fifty feet beneath you blanket, then you are in the dark even though you are not actually in the dark, whereas if you are on a midnight hike, knowing full well that several ballerinas are following close behind you, then you are not in the dark even if you are in fact in the dark. Of course, it is quite possible to be in the dark in the dark, as well as to be not in the dark not in the dark, but there are so many secrets in the world that it is likely that you are always in the dark about one thing or another, whether you are in the dark in the dark or in the dark not in the dark, although the sun can go down so quickly that you may be in the dark about being in the dark in the dark, but in the dark in the dark nonetheless, not only because of the dark, but because of the ballerinas in the dark, who are not in the dark about the dark, but also not in the dark about the locked cabinet, and you may be in the dark about the ballerinas digging up the locked cabinet in the dark, even though you are no longer in the dark about being in the dark, and so you are in fact in the dark about being in the dark, even though you are not in the dark about being in the dark, and so you may fall into the hole that the ballerinas have dug, which is dark, in the dark, and in the park."

So you see, the books are funny and you should read them. They're going on my Christmas wish list. And if you're not already following me on goodreads you should.