Monday, February 05, 2007

What? Monday Again?


This past weekend has been a blur of activity! And suddenly it is Monday again. How does that happen? It was a very good weekend, just very busy! Friday night we spent baking cookies and getting ready for Kirstin's 2nd Blood Drive that she organized for Saturday. We had trays of yummy homemade cookies for those who donated (and those who couldn't donate!)



She had a good turnout in spite of the crazy cold weather!! (The high today was zero degrees!!) Who wants to give blood when it's THAT cold out? 36 people came, which was great. Both of her brothers did a great job recruiting their friends to come give. Aaron even came home from college and brought his roommate with him! I was able to give, but barely. It took 3 attempts at my blood pressure to get one that was above the requirement. (I have very low blood pressure). I spent a little time in the 'recovery chair' afterwards when I mentioned being a little dizzy.....

Sunday was filled with church, dinner, a LONG game of Phase 10 and, of course, the SUPERBOWL!

Had a small group in for the game. Half Bears fans; half Colt fans just to keep thing even!!

I had no real vested interest in the game...but decided to cheer for the Bears. (Steve chose the Colts). He was right.

Sumo didn't really care who won... he just loves being a part of the action!











Lots of time in the kitchen this weekend. For Sunday dinner I made a family favorite:

Penne with Tomatoes and 2 Cheeses


6 Tbsp Olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
3 28 oz cans Italian Plum Tomatoes, drained*
(*I use regular Italian style tomatoes with basil. I chop them in a food processor first.)
2 tsp. dried basil
1 -1 1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
2 cans low-salt chicken broth
1 lb. penne or rigatoni
2 1/2 cups packed grated Havarti Cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix in tomatoes, dried basil and red pepper. Bring to a boil.
3. Add broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until mixture thickens to chunky sauce and is reduced to 6 cups - stirring occasionally. (@ 1 hour 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cook pasta. Return to pot and toss with 3 tbsp oil.
5. Pour sauce over and toss. Mix in Havarti. Transfer to 13 X 9 dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Sprinkle with fresh basil, if desired.


Not much on the knitting front. I only knit about 4 rounds on a purse I am working on. That's it! Hopefully this week I can cast on my next pair of socks. Speaking of socks, I am now an official 'LOOPY GROUPIE'!!! This is an exclusive club for people who have ordered 6 times from the Loopy Ewe. I wanted to share all of the fun goodies that Sheri sends... but didn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone who has not yet achieved this fun status. I can show you the fun items I ordered tho. The first is some yummy yarn from All Things Heather. (Phlox). But it is the stitch markers of Sister Louise and Brother Black Bart that I am really excited about. Aren't they the cutest? Sheri can't keep them in stock, so I snatched them up as soon as I saw she had them again! Yep. I really need to squeeze some more knitting time in!!

9 comments:

Bonnie O. said...

Shoot, Blogger ate my comment.

I love your Loopy Ewe order! I'm trying to curb my yarn buying but I'm anxious to order some sock yarn from her!

Pasta and cookies look awesome. Congrats to Kristen on another successful blood drive.

Samantha said...

I love the yarn and stitchmarkers. Very nice. :) Glad to hear the blood drive was a success.

Happy Knitting.

Robin said...

I love the Loopy Ewe and I have you to thank (or hate I am not sure LOL) for it. I just placed another order this morning since she put up new yarns. Glad to hear the blood drive was a success. So have you finished the pair that you were working on or are you just going to start another pair?????

AR said...

Oooh, pretty yarn and stitch markers!

Yay, Kristen!

:)

rohanknitter said...

That's great that your daughter has done another blood drive!!
I made your calico beans for the superbowl and they were a big hit!
Cute stitch markers!

hakucho said...

Your pasta dish looks delicious! Great sock yarn...will be watching to see what kind of socks you knit up :)

happy knitting :)

Unknown said...

Sounds like a truly busy weekend. Fun, but busy. =)

Dinner sounds DELICIOUS! Ever think of opening a restaurant?

The Loopy Ewe order is so pretty. Looking forward to project pictures with that.

Shelley L. MacKenzie said...

I see monster cookies!!!

Sounds like another successful blood drive!

Love that yarn and stitch markers! I'm going to have to check out her site...

Heidi said...

Darn a lot of the pictures won't load for me, I blame it on blogger. Any ways, the recipe looks great. I could sure use some new recipes.

Thanks for your comment on my wheat yellow bag. I was so pleased with it and it sold it 2 days. It's on it's way to New York City.