Chicken Marsala and getting out of my funk...

We all plan to start the new year out fresh, organized, and healthy. I had a list a mile long of things I wanted to start, continue, or finish; but nothing happened. We got back from Maui and I was in this rut that I'm still trying to pull myself out of. I don't know if its winter or what, enough is enough. I've had pictures to edit for a few blog posts that have been just sitting there. Content to organize, all of it collecting dust. This morning I pulled myself out of bed with a mission to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully I can keep on track with these 2014 resolutions...are you still doing your resolutions?

In the month of December I hardly made it into the kitchen, with so many parties and events going on it just didn't happen. I was so excited to actually get back and cook my butt off. So many recipes to try and test, its hard to pick which one first. I've been wanting to make Chicken Marsala for some time now. Liam loves Chicken Piccata so I had a feeling he would enjoy this recipe too, and was I right. He didn't care for the mushrooms, but the sweet sauce was right up his alley. 

Red Beans and Rice and getting ready for fall...

Hello everyone, hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Saturday we hit up Festival Italiano, it was my first time at this particular event and definatly won't be my last. We braved the horrible heat wave by drinking wine and Italian inspired cocktails, feeding our faces with wood-fired pizza, pastries, and gelato, and cheered Liam on as he stomped grapes to make some wine. It was awesome!

It has been so hot lately, and we are finally getting a break this week. I cannot wait for the change in season, its all about comfort food, sweaters, scarves and boots, and snuggling up with a warm drink with the one you love. Defiantly planning a trip up to the mountains to see some fall foliage, its my favorite time of year.

I was in the mood for something spicy today and Liam loves rice and beans, so I made Red Beans and Rice. I wanted low maintenance, therefore the crock pot made its first appearance this season. I forget how much I love me a slow cooker!

Black Bean Corn Salad and a thinking of Dad...

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you enjoyed your weekend and had an opportunity to spoil the great dads out there. My dad lives about 1000 miles away from us, so Liam and I sent out cards, pictures, and drawings last week for him. The last time we visited was during fall and we had the chance to go to the apple orchard, it was so fun and Liam still talks about our time spent there with Grandpa. We love and miss you Dad!

Flavor Packed Pasta and dealing with negative opinions...

Hope you all had a great weekend, mine was filled with lots of work and hanging with the Boo. He just moved into his first house, so lots of painting and decorating have been taking place. I love every single minute of it! 

If you all recall on Friday I posted a recipe for whole wheat donuts and a short story of Liam and his love for them. Shortly after that was posted I received my first negative comment as a blogger. In short I said that Liam would do anything for a donut, and as a reward for being good during my hair and dentist appointments, he will get a donut. I deleted the comment immediately cause I don't want anything negative on here ever, but after talking to a few people about it they said that I should have left it to see what others have to say. So here is what this person had to say... "this boy has sit through numerous dentist visits" I'm not surprised! If you are feeding him balls of dough smothered in regular sugar - then you are setting yourself up to be your dentists best friend. There has got to be a healthier way to bribe a kid that rot his teeth out of his head. 

My child is given sweets, only during special occasions or times when he deserves it for being good. He doesn't even drink juice, soda, or chocolate milk, mostly regular milk or water. He will choose broccoli over potatoes. So to the person that was so concerned with what I give my child, you should know the whole story before you give your opinion. My child is one of the healthiest kids I know or ever have known, and that's all my doing. 

OK now onto something tasty...

I'm eating really light lately since summer weather is here. I wanted a pasta that had a lot of flavor and some protein. So I came up with a whole wheat pasta tossed in some sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, lemon, and Parmesan cheese. There's also a little cayenne pepper for a nice kick! Its a perfect summer pasta dish.