Beautiful sky

A couple nights ago, as I was driving back from basketball practice, I saw the sky and it was gorgeous. I was coming down the hill, that has a view of basically the whole town and it made me smile. And true to iPhone fashion, the picture doesn't do it nearly the justice it deserves!

I do love fall, but I'll sure miss these beautiful sunsets that seem to only happen in the summertime.

Skillet baked ziti

Yesterday, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across a post from Our Best Bites. I don't tend to try a lot of their recipes, because I rarely have the ingredients they use on hand. The picture looked absolutely delicious, so I decided to take a ganger.

I started reading through the recipe and looking through the pictures and I was getting more and more hungry just looking at it. I finally got to the recipe list and I was ecstatic! There were only two ingredients (that I felt were crucial) that I didn't have.

I immediately sent Ethan a picture and we decided we were going to have it for dinner. I had him pick up sausage and the cream so I could start it when I got home. It took about 30 minutes or so, but when I took that first bite.. oh my good heavens it was AMAZING! Seriously, I'm pretty sure I texted/called four or five people telling them they had to try it, within an hour of it being done.

I adjusted the recipe a tad because I didn't have something on hand, or I didn't want the added calories. A few things that were changed: I used a different sausage than asked for, I used canned crushed tomatoes in puree` instead of whole canned tomatoes that have to be pulsed in a processor, I used rigatoni, omitted the parmesan cheese and used dried basil instead of fresh.

The original recipe can be found here.

*I realized once I uploaded the picture to my computer how blurry the picture was, but I feel like you get the gist of how amazingly delicious it was. 

Here's the adjusted recipe:

1 pound turkey sausage U-shaped (I don't remember exactly what it was called)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes in puree`
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt
3 cups water
12 ounces (about 3 3/4 cups) rigatoni pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream
A heaping tablespoon of dried basil
ground black pepper
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Directions from OBB:

Note: This recipe is to be cooked in a 12 inch skillet.  I recommend using one slightly larger if you’re adding the sausage as well.  Make sure your skillet is oven proof (no plastic handles) and has a lid.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees.  

Heat 12-inch or larger oven-safe skillet to medium high heat and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.  Remove sausage from castings and cook, crumbling with a spatula until browned and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.  (If you’re not using sausage, just add a little more olive oil and start with the next step, sautéing the garlic and pepper flakes.) *My note: I just had the kind of sausage that's already cooked and kind of in a U-shape, so I just had to warm and brown mine. If you use other types of sausage, you may have to take it out of the castings).*  Add garlic and red pepper flakes to sausage and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.   Stir in the canned tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes no longer taste raw, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the water, then add the pasta.  Cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the pasta is tender, 15-18 minutes.

Stir in the cream and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the top.  Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and browned, 10-15 minutes (or just until melted, like, 1-2 minutes).  Serve.

It may sound a little time consuming and a lot of steps, but it's honestly SO easy. It will definitely be a meal that we do over and over again. I'm pretty sure Ethan said this is one of his favorite meals I've ever cooked. Happy and satisfied husband, check!

A little different

Over the years, I have come to a realization that I'm a bit of a different breed, a horse of a different color if you will. Things that people stress and freak out about, I don't bat an eye at. And then there are things that to most people aren't a big deal at all and those are the things that get to me the most.

I also have a bit of an obsessive personality. When I was younger, I would find a song on a CD that I liked and would put it on repeat for days, literally. I'm pretty sure I ruined a couple different CD's and CD players because of it. During college, I listened to one song on repeat every time I was studying, Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven . It had a good 300-400 plays and still remains my most played song in my iTunes.

It's about this time of year, when it starts getting colder and darker just a little earlier, that I start to get in my mood. My Christmas mood that is. And I become a tad bit obsessed. In fact, for the past few days I've already been listening to my Christmas music on Pandora. I can't help it. A few days before Halloween, I'll put on my Halloween station, but after that, it's game on for my Christmas music. I'm pretty sure it drives Ethan insane, but that's why I listen to it mostly while I'm at work. I'm usually by myself, so it's the perfect time to put myself in the holiday spirit! And what better way to do that than by cheerful happy music? There's not one, trust me. And to please my obsessive self, I will listen to it up until the actual holiday itself, and although it pains me, I then put it away until the next October.

I'm a little odd, but really, I don't think I would have it any other way. I can't speak for others around me, but I think I'm safe in saying, they had to have known, so they must still love me anyway.

I Love Lucy

I have recently, as in yesterday, found out that I really do love I Love Lucy. She is absolutely hilarious. I have seen bits and pieces of shows here and there, but yesterday our friends Leslie and Martin had us over to watch a couple episodes with them. It's one of those shows that you're literally laughing out loud because of how ridiculous and funny she is.

What's even more amazing is the fact that her husband in the show, Ricky Ricardo, is actually her husband in real life! Their chemistry is great and it totally makes sense now. I keep telling Ethan that he's my Ricky and I'll be his Lucy.

What's even better, is I found out today that all of the seasons are on Amazon Prime! I'm excited to see even more episodes and enjoy the classics. Maybe I'll have to look into some other shows like the Dick Van Dyke show!