Easy Pesto Pasta Recipe

Some nights in the winter you just want a warm meal but not the hassle of making it. Below is one of my favorite quick pasta meals with pesto sauce.

Ingredients: 

• Box of Pasta (can use any shape but I like farfalle, tortellini, or Rigatoni best)
• Jar of Pesto 
• Sliced black olives
• Sundried tomatoes
• Turkey or Italian Sausage in link form

Steps:

Boil pasta, strain, and set aside. 

Brown the meat using some olive oil in pan. 

Once browned, add olives (drained) and sundried tomatoes into pan. Cook for a few minutes to heat up.

Add pasta back into pan and stir together.

Add Pesto into pan and stir coating all noodles and until heated.

Once all ingredients combined and heated, simply plate and enjoy! 

Let me know in the comments below if you try this recipe and how it came out. Also make sure to hit the subscribe button and visit Youtube to cook along with me at: https://youtu.be/80zzkVJP2X4

Valentine's Decor

I went through my totes to see what I had to pull something together for a Valentine's decor centerpiece and found this was a holiday I was lacking in having items for. Every January I usually try to do a "no spend" month unless it is on necessities, and I think this may be why. Typically, it is in January you would be buying items for Valentine's Day. I do this each year though, to recover from all of the holiday spending that occurs at the end of the previous year. 

All I found in my stash was a table runner and garland my mom had made me. I did find some pink roses from an older arrangement though and had picked up some heart lights previously.  I also had some pearl strand lights that I did not end up using on a Christmas tree in the spare bedroom.... so, I improvised. I think it came out pretty cute though for having nothing to work with.

What do you think? Comment below... what did you do to decorate for Valentine's Day? Do you have a lot of decor for February? Do you curb your spending after the holidays? Also be sure to subscribe to receive notice of future blog posts. 

Easy Lasagna Recipe!

 For Befana last week, I made an easy lasagna dish that I make, and it was a hit. Thought I would share with you here. I also decided to venture into YouTube and posted my first ever vlog video. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/ZEm9XRN-rb8.  We can cook this recipe together; I make it in the video. It has gone live, so check it out and let me know how I did.

Lasagna recipe:

Need- box of lasagna noodles 15oz Ricotta cheese package of shredded mozzarella cheese (I used lower fat) sprinkle parmesan and Romano cheese mix 1.5lb ground beef 2 jars sauce (I prefer Del Grosso- Tomato Basil) Salt & Pepper to taste Steps- Cook the noodles and brown the beef adding salt and pepper to taste. Coat bottom of baking dish with thin layer of sauce to prevent sticking. Layer noodles on bottom, add sauce, ground beef, ricotta (spread out), mozzarella, sprinkle cheese, more sauce, layer of noodles, repeat through 3 layers. Use all Ricotta and ground beef before top layer. Finish top layer with sauce, end of Mozzarella, and sprinkle cheese. Cover with foil and place in oven at 350 for 1 hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Remove foil and leave in another 15 minutes to brown top. Enjoy!

Comment below and let me know if you make this recipe. Also don't forget to subscribe to the right to receive notices of future blogs and check me out on Youtube!

Celebrating La Befana!

 The story of La Befana may or may not be well known to all Italians but it is one well known in my family. Befana, or The Christmas Witch, coincides with the Feast of Epiphany, or Three King's Day, on Jan. 6th which is the visiting of the three wiseman to the newly born Christ. 

Celebrations of Befana vary depending on the region on resides in Italy but the main themes, are begging for food, small gifts to children, and bonfires.

The legend of Befana begins with a peasant woman so engrossed in her cleaning chores that she declined to travel with the three wiseman who stopped by her home on their way to Bethlehem. She gave them food for the trip but stayed to sweep. And she swept and swept and thought more about it.... Finally, she decided that perhaps if a savior had been born, she should've gone herself to see and bring gifts as well. 

She finished her cleaning and tried to catch up with the three wisemen but they had gotten too far ahead. She ran to catch up and bring presents to the Baby Jesus. She still had her broom in hand and somehow ran so fast she began to fly on her broomstick but was unable to find the three wisemen. Poor old Befana never saw the baby Jesus and presented her gifts. So, each year children are presented with offerings from Befana to replace the gifts she could not deliver to the baby Jesus. It is the flying on the broom that now has her depicted as a witch. 

We celebrate Befana as the ending of the Christmas season and a reminder to always make time for Jesus no matter how busy we may be. It is a simpler celebration for us only sharing in an Italian meal to celebrate.

Comment below.... how do you end your holidays? Do you celebrate Befana? Also be sure to subscribe to receive notices of future posts.