Family and Friends.
Despite being sick all week, I couldn't be more excited that I have had so many visitors. Andrea came into town on Wednesday, I can't believe how long its been, to spend a few days in the cities before heading home for an early Christmas. I forgot how much I missed seeing her more frequently. The best kind of friends are those that can go months without seeing, talk sparingly, and still be best friends throughout. I'm blessed. I always find it fun to sit around and reminisce about old high school stories, especially when they involve Wally.On top of this already exciting visitor, Jarrod (my brother) and Danielle are visiting this weekend! The last time they visited the twin cities was January. The weather was awful that weekend and caused many flight delays so I'm happy that we had the big snow storm last weekend. Having a 10 year age difference, my brother and I rarely lived in the same place. I'm so happy how close we are now as adults.
Arugula Caprese Pasta
What you need:- 1 Box Multigrain Penne Pasta, cooked al dente
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 6 oz container Mozzarella balls
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz arugula
- Handful of basil
- Salt and pepper
Reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water from the boiling water. Saute garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and reserved cooking water and simmer for 2 minutes. Toss sauce with pasta and stir in mozzarella, Parmesan, arugula, basil, salt, and pepper.
Lightly adapted from Barilla
Barilla sent me a bunch of products to try from the new lines they just released. This recipe is actually a version of one that I found on there website. I used a mixture of the multigrain penne and regular penne for this dish, Damian has a weird aversion to multigrain pasta. I didn't think it tasted much different than the regular, so why not get the added protein and ALA Omega-3? I'm really excited to try out the veggie farfalle because I think it would be a great addition to a baked pasta dish, hint hint.
I really love that Barilla is making a huge effort toward adding more variety in there pasta lines. As you probably have noticed, we eat A LOT of pasta. Damian would eat it every day if he had it his way. In fact, before we met, he did eat it everyday! I'm going to start sneaking a little variety in and see if he notices.
Whether you are a college student, post college student, or any other life title, Barilla really does make it affordable to eat well, just make sure you are pairing it with the right ingredients ;)
* These are all of my personal opinions and I was not compensated for them.
Christmas Blogging Challenge Day 15:
The best gift you given? This is tough because I think the best gift I have ever given might be this year. I won't write exactly what, because I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I made it a point this year to get everyone something they truly want or need. Sometimes it's not about what you think they would like, but what they would actually like. It's a nice lesson to learn.
