Baked Penne with Italian Sausage

This is one of mine and Brett's favorite recipes! It's such a nice change from spaghetti. I got it off of allrecipes and then made a few minor changes. We like it a little spicy, but if you don't, you can go with a mild sausage. I love recipes that call for wine too....so I can have a glass while I cook. I wouldn't want to waste it!!! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1 (12 ounce) package dry penne pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onion

1 package sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup wine (red or white...I use whatever I'm drinking at the time)
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Place sausage and onion in the skillet and cook over medium high heat until almost brown. Add mushrooms. Once meat is browned, drain excess fat. Pour in wine, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to deglaze the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes , tomato paste, and seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with cooked pasta, and place in a 9x13 inch greased baking dish. Mix in 1 cup of the mozzarella then sprinkle the rest on top. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Picture from allrecipes.com

Beginning Week 4 of 16 on Running Plan

Wow...I'm in the fourth week and sticking with it! So far, so good. I was wrong about how many weeks it is though. It isn't 10 weeks, it is a 16 week program. For me, the slower the better. The only way I'll stick to it, is if I can actually meet the weekly goals. I'm doing really good so far, but I'm currently only having to run 6 of the 30 minutes. Hey...you gotta start somewhere! I found the plan online at a site called beginner triathalete. Here is the plan if any of you other non-runners out there are interested in giving it a try. I am currently in my last week of Phase 1! Also, if anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!
I still hate running though......that doesn't seem to be changing.

Stories from our September

Another busy weekend. Wednesday was Einstein's Homecoming Dance at doggie daycare. He wore a little bowtie and looked adorable. And, guess who got homecoming king? That's right. My little demon ball of fur.

Thursday I did another sips and strokes class! I'm officially addicted. I love it. This time we did a Fleur De Lis.

Saturday morning before the USM game was Miss's birthday party. Miss is a pit bull who belongs to my friend Sam and is even more spoiled than Einstein believe it or not! She made a homeade doggie birthday cake from scratch and the doggies loved it! My friend Kelly brought her two pugs and her pit bull and one of her pugs just fell in love with Miss and that had several intense make out sessions. It was hilarious. I wish I had pics of that part but unfortunately it was raining outside and I didn't want to get my good camera wet. Of course Einstein was in attendance and he was soooo bad. I really think he wanted to eat my friends toddlers. We may have some major hurdles in front of us when our own kids come along! Bad dog!!!

Liven up your lumpy leftover mashed potatoes!

I found this great recipe on allrecipes to make those leftover lumpy mashed potatoes yummy again! I made a few minor changes and included them below.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups mashed potatoes
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup diced fully cooked ham
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup whipping cream
Fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Combine the potatoes, garlic salt, 1/4 cup ham and 1/4 cup cheese in a mixing bowl (add a little milk if it's too lumpy). Spread into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining ham. Fold remaining cheese into whipped cream; spoon over ham and top it off with some fresh ground pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Picture from allrecipes.com

They tasted like some creamy au gratin potatoes when all was said and done. Way better than second day mashed potatos. You could also add some onions if you like. Great recipe to play with. Hope you enjoy!

I believe hell is lined with treadmills set at 7.0 mph....

Okay, so I TRY to workout on a semi-regular basis but just don't seem to be getting anywhere so I have decided to attempt to train to run a 5K. Note that I absolutely despise running and believe it is truly Satan's chore! I found a training routine online called Couch to 5K in 10 weeks and will update you on how well it works. It seems pretty simple, but we will see. Now I realize some people can just jump up and run a mile even if they haven't worked out in year.....yeah....I'm not one of those people. Literally, I have to build up to be able to even run a quarter of a mile. It's that bad. This plan begins with walking for 30 minutes a day for the first week....so this is a good start for me. I can handle that! I did my 30 min walk 3 times a week last week. Yay me! This week....the running starts. I'm avoiding the treadmill because I had built myself to run a mile on the treadmill then tried to run on the street and it was a no go. Apparently it is waaaayyyy easier on a treadmill so I don't want to get spoiled. I'm going to tough it out and do this baby on the road. Week two you walk for 27 min and run for 3 minutes (not necessarily consecutively) three times a week. Last night I walked a while....ran for 2 minutes...walked one minute ran one minute then finished out my walking minutes. Yay me! I did my three minutes. Is this sad or what? How am I ever going to be able to run a 5k by Thanksgiving? Ugh! Oh well....10 weeks and I am going to give it my best shot! I will be doing my 27 walk/3 min run again tomorrow. Go me!

Happy Birthday Darlin'

Well I turned 31 this Saturday. I'm definitely at the point where birthdays just suck now but if you discount getting older.....I had a really fun weekend! It started on Thursday night where we did a Ladies night 'sips and strokes' class at Paasche's. We had such a blast. The owners are super friendly and they do an amazing job! We painted flowers and had way too much wine. I highly recommend one of these classes for your next girl's night. All of our paintings turned out very nicely too! I'm hooked!Saturday consisted of sausage bread from Jody's for breakfast (mmmmmm), a little shopping, a little 'craftiness', and a surprise trip to NOLA to the melting pot for dinner!!!! We had the whole shabang... cheese fondue, lobster, filet mignon, and the yin yang chocolate for dessert. Delish!!!!
















Sunday we went to Gulfport with my parents for lunch at Emeril's fish house (shrimp and grits, of course) and then my mom and I hit the outlet mall while dad and Brett played around at the casino. Very fun weekend! Is it bad that most of the weekend revolved around food?