Halloween Fun!

Yesterday, I went to a neighborhood Halloween party with Anna. The party was hosted by one of her friends. You know me lately...with the hubby gone, I'm constantly looking for stuff to do to keep me occupied and this was exactly what I needed. It was fun and there were tons of goodies, which I was able to capture on film. My apologies...there are only pictures. I really didn't want to have to bother the hostess for recipes. On the other hand, these goodies don't look like they'd be too hard for any of you to whip up on your own. I was able to devour my very on caramel apple--one of my Halloween faves, if not the fave.

If you're wondering what the heck I'm wearing...I was one of those 50's (or 60's?) sock hop chicks--complete with my husband's high school letterman jacket/sweater thingy. I couldn't find one of those small neck scarves, so I had to settle for one I had in my closet. Whatever, it's not like I was out to win first prize or anything. Now, pictures of the good stuff:

Carmel Apples....divine!

Look at these cute witch hats! Gotta love those Keebler chocolate cookies!

Cute little lady bugs made out of refrigerated crescent rolls and mini-sausages!

i think these are snakes. what a cute way to do up some hotdogs!

aww...a little spidey cake. I'm guessing a Wal-Mart Specialty. it was actually very moist and tasty!

i totally heart rice crispies treats...in any shape or form!

And there you have it! If you're hosting a Halloween party this weekend, I hope these made for some really inexpensive and easy ideas for you to WOW your guests with! Happy Halloween everybody!

Another Award!

You guys, I am so honored! Sarah and Alex of brokenyolks nominated me for the Premio Arte Pico award, my second award for this blog. I didn't even know they'd taken notice of my blog and I'm so touched at their generosity.

This award was created in Uruguay by a fellow blogger who makes dolls exclusively from recycled materials. Her blog can be reached by clicking here. The rules for this award include the following:

1. Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
2. Advertise name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone
3. Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Share these rules.

As such, I am first and foremost passing this award to Melissa Devoe of Love at First Bite. I feel that she is more worthy than I of the award because, truth be told, I use her recipes all the time. If I wasn't a member of Tuesdays with Dorie (which actually joined because of her), Barefoot Bloggers, or Operation Baking Gals I would only have her borrowed recipes on my blog! So Melissa, thanks so much for everything. There's no one more deserving...and check out her blog. She's got some great stuff!

And I will pass the award to these remaining, wonderful bloggers (and this is in no particular order)! These are the ones I have kept up with the most in my short time as a blogger. Actually, one of them I just found, but her blog is just awesome...and she's my Round 4 host for Operation Baking Gals! Actually, ALL of these blogs are fantabulous! These ladies are so creative and fun, I wish I had even an ounce of that talent!

1. The Dogs Eat the Crumbs
2. Madam Chow's Kitchen
3. Cookies with Boys
4. Angry Asian Creations

Now go on and spread the love ladies! Again, thanks to Sarah and Alex for totally making my weekend!

Pasta a la Vodka Casserole

I didn't have a chance to make this week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe, but earlier this week my friend Anna and I whipped up some Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. The recipe was borrowed again, from my friend Melissa's blog, Love at First Bite , and is really named Penne a la Vodka Casserole. However, we didn't have any penne on hand, and just used a mixture of different kinds of pasta, hence the Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. We were both so excited about making this recipe. She's Italian and I love, love, LOVE Italian food! Plus, Anna had taken a peek at Melissa's blog through mine and called to tell me that she wanted to make it. So we did, and let me tell you, it is wonderful! Can't you tell? Even Anna's dog, Howard, was itching for a taste. Isn't he cute?

Although preparing the dish took a long time, it was all worth it. Everything worked out really well. I had about half the ingredients and Anna had the rest, including the main ingredient--the vodka! The recipe calls for both hot and sweet Italian sausage, but I was only able to find sweet Italian turkey sausage, as seen below. I tend to prefer sweet over spicy anyway.

Here, we sauted the sausage and about 4 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions together. We added about two cloves of garlic to this mixture and the aroma was just so invigorating!

Here, we later added whole tomatoes and heavy cream and the resulting sauce was mixed with our pasta. We had enough of the pasta mixture to fill the entire baking dish and then some. So we were each able to help ourselves to a serving. The pasta mixture could very well be served without baking it. I actually preferred the unbaked pasta to the baked version, but you find out which version works for you!

The baked pasta came out looking like this....cheese all bubbly and just downright yummy! Again, the dish took a while to prepare--about 40 minutes to make the sauce and then the same amount of time to bake. But you will find that it was time well spent! Here is the recipe below, which Melissa adapted from Emeril. And thanks again Melissa for another great recipe!

Penne A La Vodka Casserole

(recipe adapted from Emeril)

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

1 lb. hot Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

4 cups thinly sliced onions

1 and 3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup vodka

Two 16-oz. cans whole tomatoes, crushed in their juices

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pound penne pasta

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

1 and 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over high heat. Add the sausages and cook, stirring, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, 3/4 tsp. salt, and the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are just soft, about 4 minutes. Add the basil and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the vodka and tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Add the garlic powder and heavy cream, stir to mix, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. To cook the pasta, combine 4 quarts water, the olive oil, and the remaining tsp. salt in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain well. Combine half of the ricotta cheese and half of the Parmesan-Reggiano with the remining 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the pasta and toss to coat evenly. Add the sausage mixture and mix well. Add the remaining ricotta cheese and the remaining Parmesan-Reggiano and mix well.
3. Transfer the mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Delicious! Just you wait and see!

Barefoot Bloggers--need to postpone!

Hey all! I'm going to be postponing this week's BB recipe--vegetable pot pie--to another day; most likely this weekend. I wasn't able to get all the ingredients in time, but I'm definitely looking forward to doing it! Stay tuned, it'll be on here before the 31st!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Pumpkin Muffins

I love fall! This recipe was the perfect recipe to ring in the fall season. There's nothing like the sweet aroma of pumpkin, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg all mixed together in one concotion that made up Dorie's Pumpkin Muffins--a recipe chosen by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp. If you share my love for all things pumpkin--pies, muffins, rolls--head on over to her blog for the recipe! The recipe called for sunflower seeds and golden raisins, neither of which were in my pantry. I did have red raisins though and if I had done a little bit more thinking, I would have done what most TWD'ers did and added the chocolate chips I had on hand. Next time! When Rosie (my Kitchenaid) mixed up the batter, it was quite thick. Not surprising since I piled on the raisins and chopped pecans.

I used my cookie scoop to distribute the batter evenly (and with minimal mess!) into my muffin cups. I really packed the batter in. The recipe calls for about 20 minutes baking time and it's a good thing I thought to check in on the muffins a little early. Around 17 or 18 minutes, they had reached a very golden brown. I immediately pulled them out!

And this is what I got. I immediately took a taste test...well, both Lucy (my dog) and I did and we agreed that these muffins truly rock! They were warm, moist and so flavorful!

Since I didn't want to get stuck with a butt-load of muffins for the next week, I bundled the muffins up and took them to my Auntie's house for her potluck. I guess they were a hit because I didn't have any left over. I am definitely going to make these again...probably on Halloween because I plan on having some company over and the goal for that evening is to pig out on a smorgasbord of junk food! I can't wait!

By now, you should be dying to try these muffins! Then get on over to Kelly's blog for the recipe. And Kelly, you are to be commended for choosing it!

Pasta! Pasta!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore! And I LOVE Italian food. In the last few weeks, I've whipped up a few pasta dishes; two of which I'm able to share with you. They're so simple and so delicious!

One recipe I borrowed from Melissa of Love at First Bite. It's a spaghetti pie! Who knew that spaghetti could be mixed with a few ingredients, smushed into a pie dish and topped with mozzarella? It's the perfect dish to make especially since most of your cupboards or pantries already have the ingredients. It's also great because it's something that can be put together at the last minute and stored as leftovers. I actually thought it tasted better the night after, when my friend Anna dropped me off from school (we carpool). Anna is an international student from Germany, but her father is Italian and a wonderful cook. I was actually nervous to hear what she thought of the dish. And she said it was great, so I must be! Here's the recipe (taken from the Good Housekeeping magazine), and thanks to Melissa for sharing!

Baked Spaghetti Pie

1/2 pound spaghetti

2 large eggs

1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta cheese

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9-inch pie plate. In large bowl, with fork, beat eggs. Stir in ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan until blended.

3. Add spaghetti to ricotta mixture and stir until well coated. Transfer spaghetti mixture to prepared pie plate; top with marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 Tbsp. Parmesan.

4. Bake pie 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes for easier serving. Cut into wedges to serve.

Then, this past Thursday, I was dying for something somewhat homemade, rather than the TV dinners (SmartOnes) I've been heating up in my microwave. So I whipped up a quick pasta dish, again, with a few ingredients already in my pantry. Malu and I have made this a few times before and it's very good! No official name, but I think I'll call it Bacon Pasta Toss.

Bacon Pasta Toss

6 to 8 slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic

14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (any kind)

6 oz. can of tomato paste

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 bag of frozen peas

1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta (or any pasta)

Sugar, to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

2. Saute garlic in oil for about 2-3 minutes and add onion. Saute until onion is transparent. Add bacon and saute for about 5 minutes.

3. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. In the last two minutes add the frozen peas then drain.

4. Add diced tomatoes to onion mixture; then add the tomato paste and mix until well incorporated. I like my sauce sweet, so I added about 1 tablespoon of sugar.

5. Once sauce is heated through, add drained pasta and toss well.

Yummy in my tummy! This dish also tastes tons better the next day...or the next! Oh, and if you're wanting to make the dish sweet without adding sugar, then try maple bacon. I like it better that way!

My First Blog Award!

I am so flattered you guys! Pamela of Cookies With Boys gave me my first-ever blog award for excellence! I met Pamela when I first joined Operation Baking Gals about a month ago. She has a wonderful blog with great recipes and pictures and sends me encouraging messages almost daily. I truly appreciate her and the award that she's been so kind enough to share with me.

Most of the people that I would like to share this award with already have one (i.e. my great friend, Melissa of Love At First Bite), but I've found a few others whose blogs I browse through on a regular basis (whether they know it or not) and couldn't tell whether they've received the award or not. I want to thank these bloggers for the joy they bring me through their great stories and recipes. Because of all of you, I have something to look forward to each and every day! And if I'm mistaken and you already have this award, well, now you have another one!

• Madam Chow's Kitchen
• Mischief by Misty
• Del Sisters Kitchen
• Superfluous
• Pink Stripes

Again, thanks to Pamela for the recognition! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!