A couple of weeks ago, my baby boy turned ONE! It’s incredibly hard to believe a year has gone by since he joined our family last October. He’s a fun little guy, full of personality. He’s also most definitely the baby of the family and I think he knows it. He certainly knows how to work his magic on us!

My daughter and I had a lot of fun planning his party. I wanted to keep it simple, but that didn’t happen and instead it turned into a Pinterest/Etsy/crafty mama wanne-be Curious George themed party planning experience for me. If you know me, then you know that this is not normally my strength, I love parties but I tend to focus on the food more than the theme and decorations. It was the total opposite this time and I have to admit – I had a lot of fun with it. I will say, most of it pulled together at the last minute (like 5 days before) thanks to my super creative niece Sarah who happened to have every thing I needed to add the finishing touches to our Curious Micah birthday bash.

Gosh, this little boy is so loved. Our house was filled with family and friends and it was wonderful.

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Earlier this summer my daughter requested I make a pasta salad. She didn’t have to ask me twice! I always love a good pasta salad and tend to volunteer to make them whenever invited to a potluck, but I have to admit I avoid making them for our meals at home because honestly, I don’t have a lot of self control when it comes to eating pasta. Knowing that more of that big bowl of pasta salad will be shared with more of my family gave me more incentive to make it for dinner a few times this summer (my husband and daughter will eat it, my older son is still not on board but I have a feeling our littlest guy will be a fan soon enough).

I used quinoa pasta for this pasta salad recipe (found a great big bag at Costco recently), but your favorite whole wheat or regular pasta would work just fine. I kept things simple and summery with sliced raw zucchini, shredded carrots and grape tomatoes. The bite sized pieces of chicken sausage made it a tad heartier (for those that don’t think pasta salad could count as a meal) but the sausage could easily be replaced with beans to turn this pasta salad into a vegetarian dish. And because I’m all about shortcuts these days I used a bottled vinaigrette – this one from Brianna’s was just recenly introduced to me by my friend Shari and I am absolutely in love with it (among a few of their others).

Since I know I have a hard time controlling myself around pasta, I try to bulk up my pasta dishes with as many vegetables as possible. I added a couple large handfuls of spinach and baby kale mix to a serving of this garden pasta salad with a couple extra splashes of dressing. It was perfect. My husband and daughter approved and agreed!

Hope everyone is having a GREAT summer! xo

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I’ve been on a granola making kick for the last couple of months. Apparently my kids are into it because they pretty much ask me for granola as a snack almost every afternoon as well as at breakfast. They love having it in a bowl with a bit of Greek yogurt and honestly it couldn’t make me happier to hear them ask for it, even when I’m not necessarily in the mood to make it.

I took the last couple of weeks off from making it but since this week is my daughter’s birthday week I decided to surprise the kids with a fresh batch when they get home from school today. When I make our granola I keep it on the counter in a pretty glass jar, it’s nice to look at as well as easy to serve – just spoon into a bowl for a quick healthy snack!

Making granola at home is super simple (if you haven’t tried it yet please do!) and each time I make it I try to add something a little different to it to keep things interesting. One thing that always stays the same is the nuts – my granola has to have plenty of nuts in it for texture, protein and nutrients. This time I used honey instead of my normal maple syrup and I added a little dark chocolate for fun.

It turned out seriously delicious!

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Growing up, my family’s version of “macaroni and cheese” was quite different than the norm. I did not realize this until I was much older. Our go-to cheesy pasta dish always consisted of macaroni with just enough ricotta and lots of Parmesan cheese and I absolutely loved it. Simple Italian comfort food at its best. (Though it wasn’t too long before we discovered and began to love the stuff that came in the “blue box”. ) 🙂

Ricotta was almost always guaranteed to be found in my family’s fridge growing up. We added it to pasta dishes, and even had it as a snack in a small bowl with a little sprinkle of sugar on top. When I buy it now it’s usually to when I’m making baked ziti or lasagna and I often wonder why I don’t pick it up more often to enjoy in other recipes – like this one I created for the McCormick’s Go4Gourmet Challenge.

The Go4Gourmet Challenge challenges you to work with and create your very own recipe using 4 pre-selected seasonal ingredients along with whatever else plays to your tastebuds. I’m always faced with ingredient challenges like this in my very own kitchen when I play the “use it up” game – which happens pretty often – so this was right up my alley. My round of the Go4Gourmet Challenge was to create a recipe using the ingredients pumpkin, cinnamon, Mediterranean Sea Salt and Marcona almonds. I immediately knew I wanted to create a savory pasta dish of some kind and my childhood ricotta pasta dish came to mind and tied it all together.

I incorporated the pumpkin and spices into a creamy ricotta and Parmesan cheese mixture to add to whole grain pasta, topping it with a crunchy Marcona almond, panko and Parmesan crumble. I absolutely loved the crunchy bits of almonds in the topping! And of course we already know freshly grated Parmesan makes everything better…

This Pumpkin-Ricotta Pasta Bake is really nothing like my childhood “mac ‘n cheese”, nor is it even close to my kids’ favorite version of baked macaroni and cheese – my daughter made sure to let me know that. Instead, this pasta is a wonderfully flavorful and comforting seasonal dish that I could not stop myself from eating after it came out of the oven.  It’s unique, in a good way, and if you are a fan of savory pumpkin dishes like I am then I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

If you were asked to come up with a recipe using pumpkin, sea salt, cinnamon and Marcona almonds, what you make? Better yet, cook up your idea and submit it the Go4Gourmet Challenge here for a chance to win some an amazing assortment of spices and ingredients (each round) as well as a Grand Prize of a Gourmet pantry refresh worth $1000! Good luck and happy cooking!

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Zombie Mom Pasta: Whole Wheat Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage, Sundried Tomatoes and Broccoli – an easy weeknight meal! #zombiemom #pastarecipe #healthypastarecipe #chicken #chickenrecipe #healthychickenrecipe #simplemeal #easydinner #dinnerideas #healthyrecipe #aggieskitchen

So it’s official. I’m a zombie mom. There is no other way to describe how I feel these days. Since it’s been about 6 years since my daughter was an infant, I can honestly say that I forgot how it felt to not be able to carry on a conversation in public without saying stupid or forgetting something like your kids birthday, what you need at the deli counter or even what day it is. This is the state of my condition right now people. It’s not pretty.

We have been in survival dinner mode in our house lately. I’ve been doing my best to plan ahead two or three days at a time, especially with what I have on hand since I don’t have the flexibility to run out to the grocery store for last minute ingredients with a newborn easily and often just yet. Between moving and having a baby all within the same month, I can honestly say we have had our share of takeout and sandwiches lately. Enough is enough. You know it’s enough when pizza used to feel like a treat, but instead has become the norm and even the kids are groaning about it.  All I have to say is thank goodness for pasta. I am finding that pasta is becoming my go to dinner when I feel like I really have to make something somewhat healthy and nutritious for dinner without too much work.

My freezer and pantry are my friends right now (thankfully I stocked up on some staples before baby arrived!) and after taking inventory of what I had I successfully put together a dinner for the fam I could feel good about the other night in record time. And bonus, there was plenty leftover for lunch (for me!) the next couple of days.

Being able to make a meal out of whatever you have on hand is something I have learned to do well over the years. I think I get it from my mom (and probably my dad and my grandparents too) because I rarely ever saw anyone in my family follow a recipe – especially when making dinner – unless they were baking something special. Food was something that was not wasted in my family, leftovers were constantly being reinvented into something for the next meal. My mom is the queen out of putting a meal on the table for lunch or dinner, whatever it may be, using up odds and ends of whatever she finds – and pasta (like this one) is one of those dishes perfect for just that.

This recipe is not meant to be exact. Play with your ingredients and adjust their quantities. Use what you have, fresh or frozen. And enjoy. 🙂

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I really can’t believe we are in the month of May already. The kids have started their countdown until summer vacation starts, and to be honest so have I. It’s always bittersweet ending another school year and watching your kids grow up right before your eyes – but I truly look forward to not having to set an alarm clock or pack lunches or being on any kind of schedule for a couple of months. Lazy days ahead!!

Warm weather dinners, the kind where most of your food is cooked out on the grill or prepped ahead of time and served chilled, are my favorite. I love the early evenings of summer where the kids are jumping into the pool while I’m getting the grill ready for dinner. We had one of those nights recently, though it was a school night it felt like a carefree summer night. The kids were getting into the pool to swim for the first time this season, and although the water was still a little chilly, they hung in there for a good hour or so going back and forth to the hot tub to warm up every now and then. Seeing them outside having so much fun instantly put me into that summer mood…the one where if I wasn’t pregnant I would have poured myself a glass of chilled white wine or made myself a Captain & (diet) Coke with extra lime and sat in the lounger to watch them play. I settled for a glass of ice water instead. 😉

Grilled chicken (like this Italian Herb Grilled Chicken) and veggies always come into play when that summer mood hits and it just happened to be on the menu that night. That and this unbelievably fresh and delicious Herbed Wild Rice Salad. I actually prepped it earlier in the day while the kids were still at school using leftover rice from the night before’s dinner (glad I made a double batch!) and fresh herbs from my little garden. I swear, I could not stop eating this stuff. It’s dressed very simply with a good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt and pepper. But the toasted pine nuts paired with the fresh herbs put this leftover rice over the top.

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I experienced a bit of a meal plan fail this week (nothing new, really). I had good intentions going into the week, stocking up the fridge with fresh fruits and veggies for lunches and dinners like I normally do, with a loose plan. But as the week went on, nothing I had planned sounded good anymore or fit into our evening schedule. As I saw this all unfolding, I had to regroup – and make something out of the packed veggie drawer that was easy and easy to eat within our schedule.

It doesn’t get easier than pasta salad in my opinion.

It took a little prep, yes – but I spent a few minutes yesterday afternoon chopping up the three packages of asparagus, zucchini and squash that I was afraid would go to waste if I didn’t do something about immediately. I tossed them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and filled two baking trays to roast up. I didn’t fuss over any special vinaigrette – though I did start to brainstorm for another time – instead just simply using balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to dress the pasta and veggies once everything cooled down. Oh my goodness, this turned out so delicious.

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There was a time, just a short couple of weeks ago, that I thought I may never eat a veggie again. I think these things happen during your first trimester, I know, but I was starting to get concerned when days (a week?) would go by and I may have only munched on a single baby carrot – mostly out of guilt. I missed my veggies, but not really. I loved the crunchy kettle chips or cheese and crackers better.

I think I’m starting to make up for lost time. I’ve been a little obsessed with eating healthy salads again (as long as I don’t have to make them myself) and craving a few old friends. Some of these old friends came together randomly in a bowl one afternoon last week and became my new favorite lunch/snack to munch on. It feels good to know that it’s nutritious (and possibly cancels out the plenty of potato chips that were in it’s place not long ago) and it’s incredibly easy to make and keep in the fridge for a few days.

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Click here to pin this Tuna Pasta Salad with Greek Yogurt recipe!

I have always had a habit of finding ways to “healthy up” recipes that catch my eye. For the most part, I’m successful in my attempts – though I wish I could say that success carries over to my baking adventures. As much as I would like to think there are ways to healthy up certain baked goods, I think it’s safe to agree that some desserts are best left alone to enjoy as they were meant to me.

My friend Julie posted this tuna pasta salad recipe way back in 2011 and I remember having an instant craving for it when I saw it. Since she first posted it, I’ve actually made it several times – but with a few changes based on what I normally have in my fridge and pantry that makes it a little extra nutritious and perfect for a go-to lunch or dinner pasta salad that can carry you over a couple of days. Pasta salads are so good like that aren’t they?

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I’m a sucker for anything lemony. Bonus if it’s Meyer lemony. This pasta dish tastes so fresh and springy, I pretty much insist you make it if you are having any kind of spring fever these days (apparently a lot of you are according to all of your comments on my Brookside Chocolate giveaway – last day to enter tomorrow btw).

Yes, I have spring fever. Although I live in Florida and have barely experienced a “real” winter this year (best winter ever as far as I’m concerned), I still find myself craving spring. For me, spring isn’t just about the temperature or the weather, though I would probably not be feeling that way if I was getting snow piled on me right now like some of you (if you’re over it, I am so sorry!!). My spring fever hits when I’m ready to get my hands dirty planting up my herbs and veggies. I love seeing and smelling everything green, I love pops of color from budding flowers, and I love hearing birds chirping away (I heard some this morning as I was waking up and that’s when I realized I’ve been missing them!). I’m ready for the pool and ocean water to warm up for some swimming. Some new flip flops and a pretty pedicure are on my radar too. Spring is most definitely my favorite time of year. And for us Floridians, we know “spring” tends to be short lived before summer temps creep in around April…so for the next month, I’ll be savoring every outdoor moment.

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