Cooking for one...

So I found this recipe online...I googled, "cooking for one". I know, kinda sad but it's ok...at least I dont have to worry about having a guinea pig suffer through all my cooking tastes test! But the funny thing is, I begin to make this last night and I am realizing its more like cooking for 5! Needless to say, I have enough pasta for lunch and dinner this entire week.

I pretty much followed the directions and it came out very yummy. It could have been a little creamier but I will need to figure out how to do that. I did not grate my own Parmesan cheese, which might have made a difference. I still loved it and enjoyed a nice glass of petite syrah with it =)

  

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 lb. spaghetti
6-8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 eggs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook spaghetti until al dente, about 8-9 minutes. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.In a large sauté pan, cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Drain grease from pan.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, Parmesan, pasta water, and pepper. Place pasta in large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Quickly stir in egg mixture and reserved bacon and toss to coat. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

A little string goes a long way...

I haven't cross-stitched in years and I decided to tackle a project to send to my Grandmama for her birthday. She was the first person to ever teach me to sew/cross-stitch. This actually was a tedious project since normally some cross-stitch patterns are shown already on the cloth. But this one...well, this one was blank. So I had to litterally count every groove on the cloth. But I enjoyed it!

Paula Deens Grilled Apple, Bacon and Cheddar Sandwich

Ingredients

2   slices sourdough, multigrain or another hearty bread
2   slices thick-cut bacon, cooked crisp
2   slices Cheddar
1/2  Granny Smith apple, cored, sliced thin
Mayo & Butter for Bread

Directions

Preheat a seasoned grill pan or griddle over medium heat. Assemble this sandwich just as you would a traditional grilled cheese sandwich: spread 1 slice of bread with some Mayo, then top with 1 slice Cheddar, the bacon, the apple slices, then 1 more slices of Cheddar, finishing with another mayo-slathered slice of bread. Butter the outsides of the bread and transfer to the hot grill. Grill about 3 minutes per side, since this sandwich is so thick. Remove to a cutting board and cut the sandwich in half on the diagonal to serve.

YUMMY AND GREASY AND GOOD!

Just Dance

I gotta say...lately I have discovered my dancing shoes. It's like I feel the music all through my body. Something about shaking and moving and just letting your body go does something for me. Whether I am dancing for fun, getting over a broken heart, battle dancing, slow dancing or just getting down, I love it.

The funny thing is, I used to not be able to dance. I was uber awkward and stiff. Then one summer I took bellydance lessons and started moving those hips. The thing is, it taught me to appreciate the way my body moved. It helped me loosen up. So since then, I've been letting it all go. I actually should probably look into trying other types of dancing. I've been wanting to try Burlesque. I think that would be a new sexiness to my moves, which can't hurt! ha!

Honestly, I don't know why I wanted to blog about dancing. But maybe it's just cause I have a new found appreciation for it. But I will leave you with my favorite quote -

"When I hear music, I just can't make my feet behave"  - Blanche from the movie Grease.

It's How I Go

Sometimes I wish I could just stop time
That I could sit and think of what used to mine
But life is like a river, it needs to flow
It's how things go, It's how I go

Sometimes I'm sorry is not enough
Too much as been said and too much time has passed
I must keep going even when it seems so tough
It's how things go, It's how I go

Sometimes you just have to keep moving
When the ground under your feet never stops
You gotta hold your head high and be seize what you got
It's how things go, It's how I go

Movement

Why is it so hard to just get back into the gym. I mean, I sit here and complain about my body and blah blah blah...and I KNOW that it takes me getting off my bootay and just working out. I try everything to go..."It's only an hour", "You can eat what you want", "That dress will zip up now".  What is it that makes me just want to sit on my couch, eat ice cream and watch Grease on a daily basis? 
It's called laziness! And starting today, February 2, 2011...I am saying NO to Ms. Lazy and YES to Ms. Sweat Machine! 


I started the day by searching for workout routines for "pear" shaped women. Not sure how I resemble a green fruit but hey, I guess I do carry a little extra junk in my trunk. Well, come to find out, I actually need to work out more than once a month...who knew? So, looks like my goal is getting to the gym 3-4 times a week and also doing some other sweaty things on the side (don't get dirty on me...I was talking about hiking or biking). I gotta get on those cardio machines and sweat it out and then start actually squatting up and down to work out these legs. Movement. It will be a new verb in my life.

Bring. It. On. 

Cherry Tomatoe Pasta

This was such a yummy, yummy dish to make! And it was just as good the next day for lunch =)

What you need:
2 baskets cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 lb. shredded mozzarella
1 lb. ziti or panne pasta
1 T. oregano
1 stick of butter

Butter a 13 x 9 glass pan and place 1/2 of split tomatoes face up on bottom of pan (cut the tomatoes in half). Boil pasta half way, drain and add breadcrumbs, butter and oregano. Mix all together. Layer pasta and Mozzarella  in pan until finished. On top place remaining split tomatoes face down on top of pasta. Dot the top of pasta with butter. Bake at 375F. degrees for about 15-20 minutes until mozzarella is melted.

Makes 4-6 servings