simply homemade sunday dinner

With all of the studying and working and progress report writing and holiday preparation and housework and, well, you get it... going on around here, there hasn't been much opportunity for me to invest the time into making the really delicious, carefully crafted meals that I am accustomed to making.

Cooking is often a stress reliever to me. The experience of putting on an apron, getting out some good knives and a cutting board and some fresh ingredients and chopping and dicing and creating something to be savored is both calming and fulfilling to me. I am looking forward to getting back to it more often once this semester is over.

Yesterday I decided that enough was enough and that whatever it took, I was going to make us a nice homemade meal. With yesterday being Sunday, the natural decision was to throw a sauce together and make a lasagna out of it. Just the aroma of the slow simmering sauce drifting through the air was enough to make the chores seem more pleasant while memories of being a little girl sitting in my grandma's kitchen conjured in my mind.

The end result was totally worth the time it took to prepare this meal. I will never use store bought noodles in my lasagna again.

Some images: 

(I make a simple marinara in a separate pot for myself...)

 

 

 

 

whoops!

  

 

 simply delicious!!

Simple Homemade Pasta Recipe:

2 1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1/2 c. water
1 tsp. olive oil

On counter or in mixing bowl stir together 2 cups flour and salt.

Make a well in center.Combine eggs, water and olive oil.
Add to flour.
Mix well.
Sprinkle kneading surface with flour. Knead until dough is smooth, 8 to 10 minutes.
Cover; let rest 20 minutes.

 Roll out to desired thickness using pasta machine or rolling pin.

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling simmer and cook noodles one at a time.

I love Sunday dinners.

If you do too, give this recipe a try. You might just find yourself loving it as much as we did.

what i'm loving wednesdays 11.25

Today's Edition:Thanksgiving Eats
Here in the US, tomorrow is a day to gather with loved ones, reflect upon what we are grateful for and enjoy some really delicious food together. For me it is the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season. I am so looking forward to it!

Please enjoy these delectable recipes that I am loving today!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

{recipe from Annie's Eats}

CARAMELIZED ONION CROSTINI

{recipe from for the love of cooking}

FALL PANZANELLA WITH POMEGRANATE DRESSING

{recipe from fresh365}

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

{recipe from Martha Stewart}

MEYER LEMON AND CRANBERRY SCONES

{recipe from Smitten Kitchen}

Don't they look simply delicious?

Hope if you are celebrating Thanksgiving Day tomorrow that your preparations are going well :-)
What will you be cooking?

what i'm loving wednesdays

Welcome to another edition of "what i'm loving wednesdays". I am trying out something new and posting 5 things from one genre that have been catching my eye. Please be patient with me while I figure out just how to go about this :-)

This weeks topic: Good Eats.

(prepare to get hungry...very, very hungry)

Maple Pumpkin Pasta with Blue Cheese and Sage. Are you KIDDING me?!? Nothing says fall like this delicious dish. I found this over at {fresh365} which is an amazing cooking site that offers the most mouth watering and delectable vegetarian dishes I have ever seen. With tastebud awakening meals like this, not even my carnivorous boyfriend misses the meat.

and check out these delicious looking {Black Bean & Sweet Potato Quesadillas}, yet another fantastic find from {fresh365}.  Who doesn't love a good quesadilla? You better believe I will be using this site to help plan the weekly menu from now on!

Here's a delicious soup I am trying out this week (no kielbasa for me though, thanks). I think you could probably also sub out the chicken broth for veggie broth and it would still be yummy!

Check out {For the love of cooking} for this recipe and many, many other tempting treats you will want to try.

oh, oh, oh! I am not really a huge dessert person, but I do love a good treat once and a while and I have a feeling that if I made these fabulous looking {pumpkin spice whoopie pies} that I would be about 5 lbs heavier by the end of the week...unless I could reduce the recipe to only make a couple, but really....how irresistible do these look?

Do these cupcakes not look delish? I hardly ever drink soda (usually only on one of my late night crafting and/or studying binges), but if I do it is usually Cherry Coke or Dr. Pepper. Check out {Annie's Eats} for this recipe and many other scrumptious eats.

Hungry yet?

And just one more unrelated thing for this particular Wednesday. It's Veteran's Day here in the US, please take the time to remember the sacrifices that so many have made to fight for freedom and human rights. If you have the chance today, thank someone who has served or is now serving. They make sacrifices for us all that often get taken for granted. Remember those who have fought, the many have made the ultimate sacrifice and those who are fighting now.

You don't have to support the war, but please support the troops.

(you will need to press pause on the sidebar playlist to pause music in order to hear the video)

And just in case you might be having a hard time separating "the troops" from "the war" take a look at this link. It's a touching reminder of how we need to remember to step back from the way that the media has desensitized us from even the word "troops" and think of them as people. These people are human and are loved and missed by many. Today, think not only of the people who are serving, but also of those whose lives are directly touched by their absence and their work.