Recipe: Caprese Pasta Salad

Hurry up and wait.

That seems to be the theme this week.  Carson's been having tummy troubles for the last several weeks so we're getting him tested for gluten intolerance amongst other things, so we're waiting on those tests.

Last minute I decided to bake some sandbakkels from an old family recipe (I'm half Scandinavian, in case you didn't know) but I don't have the tins so I ordered some...still waiting.

Then I decided to make some pasta salad, and we all know it tastes better after you let it refrigerate for a bit (and even better the next day) so more waiting.

I'm not a very patient person - unless it has to do with kids because let's face it, if I were impatient with them I'd lose my mind.  My kids are the slowest moving creatures on the planet...at least until they're in trouble that is.  I'm working on it.  It's not easy - but I guess nothing worth learning is easy, right?  Meh, it still sucks.

Anyway, I LOVE Caprese salad.  I usually just make my version of it with tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt/pepper - but being that my ingredients were a little spendy this time since I used an heirloom tomato and bought pre made pesto because the stores basil looked gross and my plant is dead, I decided to add in a $1 box of pasta to stretch my money a little further.

Fresh and Easy used to sell a Caprese salad, which was actually a lettuce salad topped with basil, tomato, mozzarella, etc...it was deee-vine.  But then they stopped selling it for whatever reason.  Worst executive decision ever, if you ask me.  Now they sell a Caprese pasta salad which is alright, but there's no comparison.  I wasn't really a fan of the pasta salad version (it tasted funny) and it was a little pricey....so I figured I'd try my own.  It was actually pretty tasty for wingin' it, and it tastes even better the next day, so you could definitely make it ahead of time.

Here's what you need:

12 oz pasta, cooked according to directions
1/2 lb tomato diced (approx. 2 romas worth, I used half of a huge heirloom that was a one-pounder)
8 oz mozzarella cubed
4 tbs pesto sauce
4 tbs olive oil
4 tbs balsamic glaze (a little sweeter than the vinegar, so use less if the vinegar version is all you got)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook Pasta. After draining run cold water over it so it stops cooking.  Put bowl in the fridge to cool while you're cutting everything up.

Dice your tomatoes and mozzarella.  Sneak a bite because heirlooms are delicious, then add to pasta.

In a separate bowl, mix together olive oil, balsamic glaze (or vinegar), pesto, salt and pepper.  I was going to post a picture of the sauce after it's mixed, but to be honest, it does not look appetizing -trust me on this. Oh, and I don't have a fancy salt shaker, so I left it out of the picture. Just pretend it's there.



After the sauce is mixed pour it over the pasta mixture and toss until everything is coated.  Let it refrigerate until chilled (or better yet, overnight) and serve.  YUM.



That's all you do - it's very simple and you can add in whatever extras you want for more flavor.  I'm thinking this would also be good with some bell pepper or kalamata olive tossed in.  Yerm.

Elf on the Shelf 2012

Heeeyyyyy! Guess who's back?

It's Ferdinand! 

He showed up late again this year on the 2nd, but I think a little unpredictability makes it more fun! 

Here's where we found him today!

Just a little light reading...

I thought Ferdinand might like some books to read so I made mini ones out of cereal box cardboard and paper, using Photoshop to Elf-ify the titles (except for the Short Guys book, that's actually an existing title.)

Elf on the Shelf is in full swing once again!

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Disclosure: I won't be posting an Elf picture every day.  Some days we find him in just a regular ol' spot so I'm not going to go crazy with the picture taking.  Every so often though it's fun to get a little creative so I'll definitely let you in on the action - I just don't want anyone to be disappointed if there's not a new picture every day.  

That's P, as in Pneumonia

Ugh.  Can I throw a pity party for a sec?  I was diagnosed with pneumonia last Monday after having some radical chest pain that I was sure meant I was having a heart attack.  Nope.  Just pneumonia.  I thought I was being crazy for going to the ER (the last time I was there for myself was my accident) but it turns out I was completely valid in my concern especially with my heart rate thumping around 130.  My wonderful husband took the next two days off so I could stay in bed, which meant that he really had the next 6 days off because of the Thanksgiving holiday which afforded me a week staycation in bed.  The first two days you would have thought I was on my deathbed so I didn't really care about being stuck in a room all by myself with nothing but Netflix, but once my brain started functioning past the pain it felt like a prison.  Moms, you get it - you want (need!) to get up, DO things, but I knew that this was the best place for me to be.  I didn't want the kids to get sick, especially Landon since he has had pneumonia before and you're more susceptible to get it again once you've already had it.  Thanksgiving was eh...it sucked. I was thankful to at least feel well enough to sit with my husband and kids at the table, even if it was only for 15 minutes before I felt like passing out (which Carson actually accomplished, into his sweet potatoes no less, poor guy was sooo tired.)  I'm actually pretending that Thanksgiving never happened because it makes me sad to think that I missed family get togethers, especially with everyone on Facebook talking about how much fun they were having.  I'm completely aware that blocking it out probably isn't healthy, but onward and upward I say, Christmas is nigh!

I am feeling better, though I still feel like passing out or tossing my cookies if I'm up for too long, but there's definitely a light at the end of this tunnel.  Plus, I got to catch up on Glee which meant that I got to witness Matt Bomer guest starring in all his excellence (Season 3, Episode 15 "Big Brother")  If you don't know who Matt Bomer is, check this out, I know I just did.  Whew! Is it getting hot in here?! No? Just me then...must the meds.

Anyway, I'm going to really try my hardest to get back to posting some projects, there's a few things I'd love to share some tutorials on.  My cousin pointed out some kid aprons to me after all the ones she found on Etsy were too frilly, and that got me thinking that Landon might need one since he likes to help me in the kitchen.  Hopefully I'll be able to turn out a basic tutorial for you fine folks, as well as a Transformer t-shirt I have in the works for my little dudes.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving (that didn't happen, remember?) and are gearing up for Christmas because it is going to be here before we know it!