Tuesday, February 11, 2014

{Recipe} ~ One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

I'm curled up in yoga pants and fuzzy socks, with a cup of coffee, watching the snow fall. I'll say it once and I'll say it again: I never want to live in a place where snow isn't simply magical.

I'm hunkered down for the next few days with this amazing pasta to keep me warm. There is seriously nothing better than a comforting bowl of this one-pot pasta. Southern Living has the best recipes, hands down. I'm typically not a fan of leftovers and I ate this dish for lunch and dinner for at least 3 days without complaint. The best part about this recipe is that you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry and fridge!

One-Pot Pasta with Tomato-Basil Sauce
from Southern Living

  • Ingredients
  • 12 ounces casarecce or fusilli pasta
  • (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 medium-size yellow onion, sliced
  • garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/3 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (optional)
  • (6-oz.) package baby spinach
  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions

  1. Place first 9 ingredients and, if desired, dried crushed red pepper in a Dutch oven in order of ingredient list. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (about 12 to 15 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, 10 to 12 minutes or until pasta is slightly al dente, stirring at 5-minute intervals.

  2. Remove from heat, and stir in spinach (I saved the basil for this step and added it with the spinach). Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Stir just before serving. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Bar Carts

Bar carts have become a recent trend, and while I was planning to stock my bar with something other than wine, I thought it would be the perfect addition to our apartment! We have a lot of underutilized space in our current apartment due to the layout, and because we're renters, that means we have a lot of white walls.

I took to Pinterest for some inspiration as to how I wanted to decorate my new bar cart, and these were some of my favorites:
{all images via}
It took me awhile to gather a collection of liquor (essentials include vodka, rum, gin, tequila, bourbon, and whiskey) plus some extras, so now we're ready for a party at a moment's notice!

The bar car is still a work in progress, but it adds a nice flair to our place!
And in the meantime, I happened to find my signature drink, too: a moscow mule!

Lauren gave me a copper mug for Christmas so I can have my favorite cocktail anytime I want!

1.5 ounces vodka
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 cup ginger beer
Lime wedges for garnish

Enjoy!

(Disclaimer: This post has no other point other than to say I've been working 65 hours a week and need to drink heavily to otherwise survive.)