Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Tortellini with Red Pepper & Peas

This recipe came from one of my dearest friends, Natali. We tried it here the other night and everyone LOVED it. So I'm sharing it with you.

Tortellini with Red Pepper & Peas
1 bag frozen cheese Tortellini (we used 2 small bags)
1-1/2 tsp olive oil
1-1/2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup of half and half (or no-fat milk)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Start water for tortellini and bring to a boil, add pasta.
Saute garlic & onion in olive oil until tender. Toss in red pepper. Remove veggies from pan.
add wine, and allow to reduce for 1-2 minutes. Add half and half/milk. Gradually whisk in Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper & basil.
Right before the tortellini is done (last two minutes or so), add peas. Drain and put back into pot. Add veggies and sauce to the tortellini and mix to coat. Serve immediately.

You've got some cotton candy on your face.

We went to the Charleston Riverdogs baseball game the other night (hooray for Military Appreciation Night and free tickets!!), and we splurged a whopping $3 and let the kids split a bag of cotton candy.

It may not look like it by her expression, but Sophia really loved eating spun sugar!

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Broccoli Salad

My sister in law made this salad while we were visiting her in New York this summer, and hubby LOVED it. It was one of a handful of recipes that he insisted I get from Debby and make at home. I made it over the weekend for a BBQ and it was a BIG hit!

Broccoli Salad

2 bunches of broccoli florets (5-6 cups)

1 medium red onion, chopped or sliced

1/2 cup raisins

10-12 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled

OR

Baon Bits/Bac-o's (these work really well!!)

Dressing:
1 cup mayo

2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Seperate florets. Combine florets, onion, raisins and bacon; top with dressing mixture and toss to coat. Chill & serve.

Sunny Sunday Afternoon

Today was a perfect day for playing in the sprinklers,

...falling,

...and mud monsters.

I have to say, she's the cutest mud monster I've ever seen. But then again, I'm probably biased.

Taco Bar

A few days ago I had an idea while I was making tacos. I get sick of dishing up everyone's food and then by the time I get mine, they're all finished eating. So I decided to set it up buffet style and let them each make their own tacos. The kids thought it was so awesome! They asked me to have Taco Bar Night every time I make tacos. And is this not the CUTEST condiment holder ever? It's little BBQ grills!

Okay, maybe I'm the only one who gets excited about kitschy stuff like this. But I love 'em!

K and 3rd

Today was the first day of school for my boys!

*insert Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "Messiah" here*

Of course there was the standard "stand in front of the house and smile becuase you're HAPPY to go back to school" pose. (Thanks for the new shirts, Aunt Meg!) Miss Sophia had to get in the action too.And off they went.

What you don't see is the rest of the event. It went something like this.

Jonah realized halfway to school that we didn't have his sleep mat for naptime. Meltdown #1. Hubby ran home and got it, and the tears were instantly dried up. Phew.

Then, since the boys are in complete opposite ends of the school, Noah went his way when we got into the parking lot. I bent over to give him a kiss and he said "Mooooom! Someone might see!!" and air-kissed me. Apparently 3rd graders are too cool for goodbye kisses. Sheesh.

Thankfully, bringing Jonah to his class meetup point was uneventful and he all but kicked us out the door. Kindergarteners think they're so big & bad.

I thought we'd made it through pretty much unscathed until we got back to the front door. Sophia cheesed it up for her "skoo pitcher" and then when I said that it was time to go inside she lost it. Meltdown #2. She was crying and saying "No momma...NO! Go back to skoo and I be in kee-go-in wif Shonah!!" Aww crap. I wrestled her into the house because I could feel the neighbors start to peek out their windows to see what the commotion was all about. And yes, I bribed her with chocolate milk.

Hey, I was desperate. Don't judge.

New Kicks

Can't go to school without 'em!

Ice Time

Tonight was my little monkey's first time ice skating. And yes, those are tiny hockey skates. She loves them and to say she was very upset when she had to take them off would be an understatement.

50 Years

Happy 50th Dad!

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Sweet Pepper Chicken

It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe. But honestly, we haven't tried anything new too much this summer. But I used a new crockpot recipe last night that was a big hit so I decided to resurrect the Mmmm Mmmm Monday posts and share it with y'all!

Sweet Pepper Chicken

6 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion, halved and sliced

1 medium green pepper, julienned

1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned

1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil on both sides. Transfer to a 5 qt slow cooker/crockpot. Top with mushrooms, onion and peppers. Combine the soups; pour over vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken juices run clear. Serve with rice.

Makes 6 servings.

So I have this shirt...

First of all, let me start off by saying that I am not one to be superstitious. Wearing the same pair of underwear during hockey playoffs becuase every game you wore them you won? Gross. Not washing your uniform because you're on a winning streak? Eewww. Purposely not wearing something becuase you feel it brings you bad luck? Never gonna happen.

That is, until I got this shirt.

I love this shirt. It's comfy, cute, and was on sale. I get compliments on it by random people when I'm out. It's my favorite. But every time I wear it, someone gets injured. The day I debuted it, one of the neighbor boys got hit in the head with a baseball bat and had to have stitches. I got some blood on it from carrying him to his house, and thought that was the end of my shirt. But by some great miracle, the blood came out. I took this as a good sign. But I was wrong. The next time I wore it, the same boy cut his foot and had to go to the ER. I put the shirt away in the closet for awhile and pulled it out a few weeks later when I had absolutely nothing else clean. This time it was Jonah that it affected. He tore all the skin off the tip of his big toe when he was running across the asphalt barefoot. I swore off the shirt yet again. But yesterday I put it on one more time because I was doing the laundry from our weekend trip and it was the first clean thing I grabbed out of the closet. Sure enough, the shirt's evil powers were at work again. Noah took a header off his bicycle and busted up his lip, scraped up his face, and got road rash all over his elbows and knees.

So I don't know what to do. Do I keep wearing the shirt because it makes me feel good, but in turn jinx every child around me when I do? Or do I just let it hang there in my closet waiting to be loved, and save it for a day that I'm sans children? I'm torn, I tell you. Torn.

My dear sweet Bad Luck shirt, why must you cause so much turmoil?

The "joys" of I-95.

We took a secret trip down to Florida over the weekend in order to help surprise my dad for his 50th birthday (pictures will soon follow). From our house in Charleston to my parents house in West Palm Beach is about an 8 hour drive. With 7 of those hours being on I-95. The most boring, empty expanse of the highway I think I've ever seen. And while we were on our trek, I remembered why I hated it so much. So here's my list of things that I just love about this particular interstate. And when I say "love", I really mean LOATHE.

* No matter what time of day, there is ALWAYS some sort of construction in Georgia. Never fails.
* Jacksonville. In the rain. 'Nuff said.
* Idiots who think that they need their left turn signal to merge right. I saw this more than once.
*Getting off at an exit because you think the gas price is really great, filling up, and then realizing that the exit a couple miles down has gas for 16 cents cheaper.
*People who come flying up on your butt in the fast lane and when you let them pass and get back behind them, they slow down.
*Kamikaze birds that think your windshield will make the perfect tool for committing suicide.