Paper Spaghetti with Newman’s Own Cabernet Marinara

 

I received a bunch of products (and a Flip camera!) from Newman’s Own as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.    As soon as I got the package I knew I’d have to have my lovely assistant, Miss Mora help me out.

You will soon see she’s really the star of the show.

Even though I am a control freak who won’t let the poor kid touch the spoon to save her life. :)

We had a terrific time making the video last night.   Thanks again to Dave for his fine camera work and direction and to Maddie and Alex for being so patient.

Dave and I once had Spaghetti al Cartaccio at Barolo in NYC.   Once I got these ingredients and was asked to make a quick and easy recipe I knew what I had to do. 

The video (at the end of this post) will show you step-by-step but here’s some pictures from the shoot to help you out.

    

I have to say the sauce was pretty delicious all on it’s own.  You could really taste the wine and to me wine is an important ingredient in my homemade sauce.  I would definitely use this again in a pinch.   This recipe looks fancy but is super simple and really takes less than a half hour all told.

  

 

Disclaimer:  The camera adds 10 lbs.   The sweater adds another 10.  Less Pinot Grigio and Girl Scout Cookies + more salads and Zumba will get me to minus 20.

PS: No comments on my corny jokes or my Long Island accent thankyouverymuch.

Hope you enjoy!

 

Almost all before – no after

My apartment smells out of control.

I can’t tell you what I’m making because Dave reads this and I told him dinner is a surprise but you will see tomorrow the deliciousness that is what I’m making right now.

I am definitely out of blogging practice my friends.

This weekend – I took pictures.  I took a lot of pictures.  But I always stopped taking pictures at the most pivotal point.  You’ll see what I mean in a bit.

Friday night Dave and I went to the opera.  Yeah.  That’s how we roll.

We went to the Met and saw Tosca.  

We went to dinner first at Vince and Eddie’s which I found completely charming.   I cannot wait to go back.

We split a salad – the picture came out blurry.  :(

I had the tilapia.

 

Dave had the Seafood Fra Diablo.

The next morning I made delicious breakfast sandwiches with the following ingredients.

Homemade bread. Cheddar that I got in my Hickory Farms box from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s BACON! And eggs. And a spread of this good stuff. What you will not see is the finished sandwich as I neglected to take a picture.

I also made potatoes.  I do have a picture of them.  Well.  The leftovers anyway.

Then we went out and walked a lot.

I mean….A LOT.

We walked to the Whitney Museum to see the Edward Hopper Exhibit.   You probably know this painting – which wasn’t actually part of the exhibit.  Here’s a link to one that we saw.

Half way there we stopped for lunch.

I had a Diet Coke. 

I also did not have a burger.  I had a baked potato with broccoli and cheese. 

I did not take a picture of that or of Dave’s salad.

After the museum we went to see The King’s Speech which was awesome.

Question:  Do you think Dave looks like Colin Firth?

 

Then we went for pizza.

This is all I have for you from dinner.

Then I took Dave to Rolf’s for a drink because the Christmas decorations are not to be believed.

No.

Really.

 

And that is just a minor sampling.

The next day I made French Toast for breakfast.   

That’s as good as it’s gonna get.

We met my mom and Jen for brunch at a place I’m going to go with the girls so I will save my thoughts on that for a later time.

And also because I didn’t take any pictures.

And that brings you up to speed.  We were all feeling a little blue because the best baby dog that ever was is no longer here but just like everything else this past year we’re taking a deep breath and going forward.

It’s the only thing you can really do.

Be back tomorrow with something scrumptious.

Mexican Rice (for lack of a better description) with Pace Picante Sauce. Also: sing it Gwyneth!

In an effort to make myself feel a bit better I ventured out to take in a movie last evening.  I was trying to decide what to see and settled on Country Strong.  It might not have been the best choice but I loved the music.

I have 2 songs by Gwyneth on my iTunes from the movie Duets.  A movie I never saw but I gotta admit – I really like the tone of her voice.  And I’m really digging this song.

I wasn’t cheered up by the movie but spending 2 hours with my new boyfriends Garrett and Tim wasn’t torture either.

I promised to show you my leftover creation the other day didn’t I?  Well – here it is.

I had leftover chicken and wanted something – well – just not Italian was my only thought.  I had planned on chili earlier in the week but changed my mind.

Mexican sounded good.

I put together a spice mix of cumin, chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, a pinch of cinnamon and some fresh ground pepper.   I tossed some leftover chicken with the spice mix.

I grilled some orange bell pepper and onions and then added the chicken.

Plus 1 can of black beans and 1 bottle of Pace Picante Sauce that I remembered I had from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.  I had planned to use a can of TJ’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes w/Green Chiles but this sounded like a better idea.

I also added a bag of TJ’s frozen brown rice, tossed it together and topped it with cheddar and light sour cream.

   I had a mug full of leftovers for lunch yesterday.In other news - I’m loving eggs lately for some reason.  The other day I made myself a little breakfast sandwich and today made myself a little casserole with an EM on the side.   

Today I’m going to get some sort of workout in and enjoy the snowy scenery.   Hope you’re staying warm where you are!

Day One – Done.

I had a very good day yesterday.

Despite the fact that I’m sick…again.  I have a stuffy nose and a cough that I can’t even blame on my boyfriend or his kids.  :(

Yesterday I ate and behaved like I used to not so long ago and survived.  I not only survived – I wasn’t so hungry I wanted to gnaw my own arm off.

You laugh but this was a definite concern.

I broke a big rule and ate breakfast late.  I had an English Muffin with some Three Cheese Onion Blend from Hickory Farms.  Before the holiday I received a box of goodies from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.   I received the Deluxe Hickory Selection.  I took pictures but it’s been a while and the pictures are on my point and shoot and I seem to have misplaced the cord. :(   I just ordered a new one because I am not confident that I can find it through all my travels.

Here’s what it looked like.

I brought some of that box over to Dave’s.  I brought some with me when we tailgated at the Penn State Game.  I’m not a big sausage fan (That’s what she said) but I have more of the cheese in my fridge for future use.

For lunch I had a cup of Lipton Ring O Noodles Soup.  Did you know that you are supposed to get 4 servings out of that sucker?  I added some egg noodles too.

Sidenote:  That link brings you to Wegmans.  My idea of paradise is to live inside a Wegmans next to a Trader Joe’s and a Barnes & Noble while eating peanut butter for breakfast, salads with goat cheese for lunch and hot pretzels with mustard for a snack and burgers and fries for dinner.  I would also require Diet Coke and Pinot Grigio.

For exercise yesterday I didn’t want to go out again so I did the stairs.  There are 8 flights in my building and I did them 3 times up and down.  Probably took about 15 minutes.  My heart rate got up to 169 at one point (thank you Dave for my awesome new watch thingy) and my legs are KILLING ME today. 

I forgot how good that feels – to work out muscles that you normally don’t.  Today is a gym day.  I’m going to walk for 45 minutes after work.

Dave came over for dinner.   I made pasta primavera with chicken.   Dave’s mom was ridiculously generous to me this Christmas and gave me a Le Creuset Grill Pan.

If I wasn’t already in love with her son I would date this grill pan.  That’s how much I adore Le Creuset.  I marinated the chicken in Italian dressing and grilled it with a little onion.I sautéed some garlic, yellow bell pepper, roasted tomatoes and onion.

I added steamed broccoli, whole wheat pasta, spinach, basil and parmesan.  Spices were some black pepper, crushed red pepper and lemon pepper.  Sauce was some white wine and a cup of the pasta water with a drizzle of olive oil.Ta da!!!   

I measured 2 cups of dried pasta. There’s about a cup of leftovers in my fridge right now. I drank Diet Coke and had a TJ’s Mini Mint Mouthful and this guy for dessert.

I don’t feel overly full.  I feel accomplished and productive.  I still need to do some laundry and mop the floor but my place looks pretty presentable. 

It’s a good day.