Excellent Recipe – Pasta Primavera by McCormick

Ok so I’m kind of an iPhone app nerd – nothing new there.  I am ALWAYS trying to figure out what to make for dinner…. I like to try new things and new recipes.  My dilemma – all of my cook books are at home along with my Mac Recipe software.  So I’ve downloaded the McCormick iPhone app to help me out.

This way I don’t have to drive home from work, find a recipe and THEN drive to the store.  I don’t usually get home from work until around 6:30pm so by the time I get dinner cooked and ready to eat it’s usually 7:30 or 8 o’clock and that’s IF I cook dinner as soon as I get home.

I do have some staple meals like spaghetti, or patty melts that I can always fall back on, but hey I’m an A.D.D.-er and I LIKE change.

I tried this recipe about a month ago and absolutely LOVED it.  I added a little bit of chicken to it for more protein.  A warning on this one though… and it could have been a mistake I made somewhere but the sauce was REALLY runny.  I don’t know that the sauce for this particular recipe is supposed to be thick.  I say this because I have another really good (LOWER CAL AND FAT) recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara and the sauce is pretty runny too – but you’re supposed to just douse the noodles in it so they get some of the flavor but they noodles and other ingredients aren’t supposed to be swimming in the sauce.

The flavor was great on this though and I absolutely love anything with fresh dill in it!

This restaurant favorite is easily made at home. Your favorite vegetables cook in the same pot as the pasta.

Makes 6 (1-cup) servings.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

8 ounces linguine

4 1/2 cups assorted cut-up vegetables, such as broccoli florets, sliced carrots, red bell pepper strips and peas

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon McCormick® Dill Weed

1 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Salt

1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Thyme Leaves

1. Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding vegetables during the last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking. Drain well.

2. Place cream, cheese, broth, wine, butter, dill weed, garlic salt and thyme in same saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta and vegetables; toss gently to coat well. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Shrimp Pasta Primavera: Prepare as directed. Add 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with vegetables during last 3 minutes of cooking.

per serving

Calories: 390

Fat: 22 g

Carbohydrates: 36 g

Cholesterol: 74 mg

Sodium: 662 mg

Fiber: 4 g

Protein: 12 g

ENJOY!!

xoxo

Maru the Cat!

My lovely co-worker Jessie told me about this adorable and funny cat she loves on YouTube.  I had to go and watch the video and it was totally cracking me up.  I am a cat lover and think this guy is just too cute for words!  Check out Maru the Cat!

xoxo

Portraits into paintings

Another fantastic A.D.D. project!  I say that just because it was something I was able to hyper-focus on that kept me stimulated for a full day…. needless to say I didn’t get much else done around the house, but I actually FINISHED this artwork so I felt like I had finally accomplished something

I’m working on a new “take” for my photography business.  To create ART, not just photographs.  I know, I know, most would argue that a lot of photographs ARE indeed art by themselves and I would not dispute that.  I guess what I’m talking about is a way I can combine some of my talents such as my digital painting and illustration talents with my talent for photography   And hopefully I can carve out a “niche” for myself in the photography world.

So…. I’m not exactly a wedding photographer…. I’ve shot a couple of weddings but I specialize in portraits.  So I found a great STOCK image on DeviantArt and decided to turn it into a painting digitally.  Let me just say before-hand that this is not created with a Photoshop filter or action.  I created each and every brush stroke in the image by hand   It took about 6-7 hours total.  Now THAT’s hyper-focused!  And yes, I did take breaks to stretch my legs and use the bathroom and eat meals too!

I am sorry that it’s hard to see the brush strokes in the full image.  That’s kind-of the way it is when posting images on a blog.  But here is another picture with some detail sections to show you the brush strokes of the actual image.

I would like to start doing commissioned work of this type too, where people can submit photos to me and I can turn them into paintings and then prints or gallery wraps.  I would obviously prefer to photograph the people myself where I would have control over composition and lighting, but if I offer this service over the internet it opens up my market quite a bit

Please feel free to comment and give feedback.  I’d love to hear what you think.

xoxo

The Lovely Miss “E”

So I went to my nephew’s last flag football game this past weekend and took 400+ pictures of all the little guys running around on the field.  I will probably post those pictures later…

I spent some time with family and was asked to snap a few pics of the the lovely Miss “E”.  She’s cute as a button and almost old enough to get her driver’s permit!  I’ve known this young lady since she was a baby and man how time does fly!!

I’m hoping her parents ask me to do her senior portraits when the time comes in a couple of years.  We were actually talking about her becoming a senior rep for my photography business which would be just fabulous!

Anyway I hope you enjoy the pictures.  I’m sorry that I’ve been a slacker as of late, I don’t really have an excuse for that other than the fact that I DO have A.D.D. and I am easily distracted by life

I DO plan on posting some pictures of my nephew’s flag football game though and I should have some artwork to post in the near future as well.

xoxo