Thursday, March 11, 2010

Boxes of Wine

March 11, 2010

You realize just how much stuff you have when you start packing for a move, tonight’s realization was just how much wine and liquor we have! For starters, we don’t even really drink hard alcohol but somehow we had two full boxes of it. The third box we had gotten from the liquor store just started our wine collection. There are still about 30 bottles in our wine cabinet and a full mini wine fridge. That is a lot of wine to move ;)

 

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Night three this week for making a big dinner! I love cooking at home and its nice to do so when Mike is home. As we paged our way through the Cooking Light this was the last recipe that we knew we had to try. Now that our local grocery store carries ground lamb we figured it would be easier to make the Lamb Farfalle with Mint. We don’t eat a lot of pasta but when we do I want it to have that super homemade taste and be hearty. This recipe hit the spot, great sauce and the noodles really paired well with it. This will go in the make again pile :)

 

Since the recipe called for white wine we served a Vouvray, one of the few white wines I like. It is not oaky like a Chardonnay and has just a bit of sweetness that would stand up to the acidity of tomatoes and the full flavor of lamb. Vouvray will always be my go to white (besides something sparkling)

 

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Ingredients

 

  • 4  teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 8  ounces  lean ground lamb
  • 3/4  teaspoon  kosher salt, divided
  • 1/2  cup  finely chopped onion
  • 1/4  cup  finely chopped carrot
  • 1  teaspoon  minced fresh rosemary
  • 2  garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2  cup  dry white wine
  • 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2  cups  canned crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 8  ounces  uncooked farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
  • 1/2  cup  part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1/4  cup  small fresh mint leaves

 

Preparation

 

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb; cook 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. Remove lamb from pan with a slotted spoon; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Discard drippings from pan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 2 teaspoons oil, onion, and carrot; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add rosemary and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

2. Return lamb to pan; add wine. Increase heat to medium-high; cook for 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes and broth; bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. While sauce simmers, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; return pasta to pan. Stir in 1 cup sauce and remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Spoon 1 cup pasta mixture onto each of 4 plates; top each serving with 3/4 cup remaining sauce, 2 tablespoons ricotta, and 1 tablespoon mint.

 

 

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The Return of Oatmeal

March 11, 2010

It has been months since I have had a bowl of oatmeal and I was really craving it. I packed up a container of oats and a separate baggy of add ins this morning and headed out the door. I was happily making my first bowl of oats in months and then the WHOLE container blew up in the microwave, I rushed over to find a mess of melted plastic and oats ALL over the inside. Sigh. On to Plan B!

Thankfully I remembered that I had an “emergency” packet of oats in my desk, my add ins were still safe and I had an extra container in my drawer as well. Breakfast success on the 2nd try! I am not sure why but microwaving oats just does not work for me, I have tried covering, not covering, using a paper towel on top and they always blow up. What am I doing wrong?

This definitely hit the spot, a big bowl of oats with dried cranberries, almonds, a packet of Barney Butter and some Salba Seeds that were in the Blogger Meet-Up Goody Bag

2 weeks from today we are closing on our new house,  I am so excited!!!

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