As I mentioned yesterday, LG and I are learning about pumpkins this week, and so for a snack this morning we had a Banana Pumpkin Smoothie. You take 1 cup milk, 1 sliced up banana, 2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin and a pinch of cinnamon, throw it in the blender, mix it up and you have a yummy autumn-themed smoothie!

Today was grocery day and as usual, I asked Mike what he wanted to eat during the next week, and for a change, he actually gave me an answer besides “I don’t know - whatever”. I made this recipe for our anniversary and he absolutely loves it. The two best things about it are that it actually gets him to eat veggies (like spinach and tomatoes - which are technically a fruit but we use them like a vegetable don’t we so hush) and it’s not as messy as red sauce so LG doesn’t have to eat sans her shirt. ;)

Prep: 5 min.
Total: 20 min.

2 cups penne pasta (7 oz) uncooked
1/2 lb hot or mild Italian sausage, casing removed
1 pkg (6 oz) baby spinach leaves (7 cups)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1 cup shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp 100% grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, crumble meat into large deep skillet. Cook on medium high heat until cooked through, stirring occasionally; drain.

Add spinach and tomatoes; cook 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.

Drain pasta; place in large serving bowl. Add meat mixture and cheeses; mix lightly.

Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each.

Recipe from Kraft food & family Winter 2007

It’s been so long since I’ve done any Christmas baking that all my recipes are stashed away somewhere. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to get my kitchen organized including finding all my cookbooks and recipes and putting them where I can actually use them on a regular basis. In the meantime, here are some recipes that look interesting: (Read on …)