creamy avocado pasta.

i didn't plan on cooking dinner the other night but i ended up not going out with a friend so i had to fend for myself.  i needed something quick and easy because i got a home a little later and i was hungry after working out!  nathan was fine for making a sandwich and eating chips, but i wanted something a little more substantial.  i found this recipe on pinterest and wanted to try it out.  it sounded good but i wasn't so sure about it.  however, it turned out better than expected and will probably make it again sometime soon!

creamy avocado pasta

ingredients:

1 avocado, pitted

1/2 lemon

2-3 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup basil

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

6 oz pasta

dash of pepper

bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot.  add in pasta, reduce heat to medium and cook about 8-10 minutes or use the exact directions on the pasta packaging.

meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves (i did not use fresh), lemon juice, and olive oil  into a food processor (i used my ninja).  process until smooth.  now add in the pitted avocado, basil (i did not use fresh), and salt.  process until smooth and creamy.



when pasta is finished cooking, drain and rinse in strainer and place pasta into a large bowl or back into the pot.  pour on sauce and toss until fully combined.  {i didn't do this but you can garnish with lemon zest and black pepper}

yummy!

i'm a green-bean-casserole-making-machine

so i'm not really a green-bean-casserole-making-machine, but considering this was my first time making this dish, it turned out pretty well and i plan to make it in the future.  i got the recipe from my dad who makes this casserole all the time for family events.  i needed something quick and easy to take to my in-laws so this was the go-to side dish.  so here ya go...

green bean bake
ingredients:

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup of milk

1 tsp soy sauce

dash of pepper

4 cups cooked cut green beans

1 can french-fried onions

in a oven-safe casserole dish, combine soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, green beans, and 2/3 cup onions. 

bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until hot. then sprinkle with the remaining onions.  bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

and enjoy.

a fun-filled weekend

what a great, long weekend!  friday started with the washing machine man coming to look our washer that has been acting up.  well of course, the washing machine worked perfectly for him! but he said that the "suds error" was showing up; meaning there are lots of bubbles from all the laundry detergent.  i don't use a whole lot at a time but i have been using a new detergent lately so we believe that may be the culprit.  for those of you that don't know, tide produces lots of suds which could in turn create a problem.  i am sure glad that it was only a "suds error;" i can handle buying new detergent rather than washing machine parts!

this little one came to visit me while waiting for the repair man... i love being auntie rox.

uncle nathan was super jealous when he heard that baby ainsley came to hang out with me while he was at work.  when nathan cut grass saturday morning, i went antiquing with some friends.  found these little gems that will one day look great at our handmade dining room table!

they need a little work, but man, can i see the potential!

saturday afternoon was then dedicated to watching the grizzlies game; nathan is a huge fan!  they are in the nba playoffs right now and doing a really great job. this is nathan watching the game...

of course, with twitter in close reach!   i tease him because when he "watches" a game, he is constantly on his phone or the computer looking at twitter.  it doesn't make much sense to me, but he feels as though he is "on the sidelines getting first-hand sporting reports."  i guess its a guy thing or maybe a twitter thing. as you can tell, i'm not into twitter.

i'm much more into the PEACH SWEET TEA from sonic that he brought me. yes, that's a route 44!  can't beat such a deal when it's happy hour.  it's my favorite summer sweet treat!

after prying nathan from the grizzlies game, we headed downtown for the redbirds game.  it was such a beautiful evening to be outside with great friends.

and it was fireworks night!

sunday was mother's day and oh, how i love my mommy!  she is the most amazing woman in my life and i love spending as much time with her as i can.  my dad says that my mom and i are identical; we even walk alike (as we are walking through lowes)! haha i have always been a momma's girl and well, some things never change!  we gave her a james avery bracelet as a gift and she absolutely loves it!

{i would post a picture here of my mother and i on mother's day if i would have taken one, but sometimes we are just having so much fun that i forget to photo document our times spent together.}

not only do i have a fabulous mother, but God has blessed me with a marvelous mother-in-law as well.  we went over to nathan's parents house sunday evening to celebrate mother's day which is always a good time. (i always know i will be eating good when i go over there!)  all the kids and spouses came over for dinner and opening gifts. this is her with the newest and first grandchild...

{when the baby is around, i always take pictures!}

i used  tulle from a gift to make a bow headband which matched perfectly!

can you tell that i have baby fever!?!

no one get their hopes up though, we have a few years until that happens!

well that was our fun-filled weekend... i hope you had one as well!



not-so-OMG chicken.

after a great day of signing paperwork for my new job, doing some LONG-overdue-ironing, and beating the storm at shelby farms with a friend, i came home to cook dinner.  callie, my friend from school who went to shelby farms with me, came over for dinner.  {we knew it was going to rain yesterday afternoon but we still wanted to go walk/run (mostly walk because we are out of shape) because it felt so good outside and it's going to rain the rest of the week.  as we were walking around patriot lake, we could see the huge storm clouds heading our way but we still made it around the lake once and left before it even started raining.  it was kind of neat because i had prayed earlier that day for the rain to hold off so we could get a little exercise in and it did just that!  God even answers the "little" prayers in life; i think He knows just how much the little things matter to me.

ok, back to my dinner story.  i planned to try this pinterest chicken recipe for dinner and needed to use the chicken that i set out to thaw.  so i invited callie over but warned her of the potential disaster that could follow.  either she is a really good friend or extremely brave (i think both!).  without hesitation she accepted my invitation and came over.  {side note: i didn't leave the apartment tidy before i left but luckily nathan beat me home and was able to straighten up before we got home!}

when we got home, i started to prepare dinner: get the chicken in the oven, put the corn on the stove, bake the rolls, make the veggies (and by that i mean, put them in the microwave to cook.) nathan, callie, and i were just chatting, carrying on some good conversation. i just love having company when i make dinner; it makes it far less torturous!  as i prepared the chicken, i hoped that it would turn out as good as the pinner said.  this is what i saw on pinterest...

reading this description, i thought "oh wow, that's so easy i could do it, it sounds/looks good, and nathan would even eat it.  let's try it." 

so i made it but i didn't follow the directions to a "t."  and that's where i think i made my biggest mistake!  i like things saucey (i was even called saucey in college for loving to have my bbq swimming in sauce) so i decided to put more sour cream, yogurt, and parmesan cheese. needless to say, this was a bad idea.  my chicken looked nothing like this and for that exact reason, there is no picture to show my failure.

while the chicken was very tender, it lacked any flavor.  i apologized to callie numerous times for the awful main entree.  she politely said it was fine and better to have a home-cooked meal than a hot pocket. 

even though dinner didn't turn out as well as planned, it was nice to have a dinner guest who kindly ate it anyways. good company, somewhat-good food, good times.