Lots going on

I have not been sitting around much until this afternoon. Andy had a meeting here at the house on Friday night with his Sunday school teachers. At 7:00 pm - right when my bass guitar lesson was. He said I should still go. So I did. But before that, I planned the desserts and eats with the Sunday school super. I made cookies Thursday evening and she brought the rest of the treats. On Friday afternoon, I made sure the house was clean and picked up, made 2 pots of coffee, put on a tea pot and generally got ready for a house full of people.

Right before dinner, Dawn & Tommy stopped by to share their good news. Then we quickly ate and cleaned up from dinner.

My lesson was enjoyable this week and I am learning to play. That in itself is fun.

I returned home to a driveway and yard full of cars and a house full of people (15). The meeting went well and everyone had plenty to eat.

This morning, I got up early and made a loaf of applesauce bread and cinnamon chip muffins to take over to church for ladies that were meeting there to work on quilts to give away.
Speaking of food...
I have to tell you about Hurley's pasta. A couple of years ago, a friend from church died of breast cancer. But we had known her for a number of years, and she had invited us to her house several times for meals. She was an excellent cook. Some people just have the knack. She made a pasta dish for us, and I asked her for the recipe. She said she didn't really have a recipe, she just put a little of this and a little of that in the dish. (If I did that, no one would enjoy it!) But she obliged me by putting something together for me.

Here it is: Hurley's pasta:
Olive oil
5 garlic cloves
grape tomatoes, sliced
2 stalks broccoli
basil
kalamiti olives
curly pasta, 1 pound

Cover bottom of pan with olive oil. Slice garlic cloves very thin. Heat oil and garlic on low to flavor oil for 5-10 minutes. Turn heat to medium, add broccoli. Saute 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add tomatoes, basil and olives. Cover till ready. Cook and drain pasta. Return to pot, then add rest of ingredients. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
It's not only delicious, it's also beautiful with all those colors. Oh, and this time, I added some chicken.

Here's another meal that Andy & I really like: sweet potatoes, rice pilaf & zucchini souffle. Before you turn up your noses, just try it! The sweet potatoes are Christy's recipe and are so good that she is expected to bring them to every family gathering. The zucchini souffle is very good, too. The 3 dishes together make a very tasty combination. (sorry about the fuzzy picture...I need to improve on my photography.)
Sweet potatoes
8 cups peeled sweet potatoes (about 3 1/4 pounds)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup half & half
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs

STREUSEL:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Cook until tender in a pot with water. Drain potatoes, place in large bowl. Add all ingredients and beat with mixer until smooth. Spoon sweet potatoes into a 13 x 9 pan coated with cooking spray.

To prepare streusel, combine brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle streusel evenly over sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Rice Pilaf is easy. I use short grain brown rice and cook it like any rice - 2 cups water to 1 cup rice. When you have about 20 minutes before rice is finished cooking, add chopped onion, celery and carrot, along with your choice of spices (I usually use parsley, basil and oregano) and salt, pepper & butter.

For the zucchini souffle, cook 3 medium zucchini and 1 onion in water until tender. Drain well. Beat 2 eggs in blender. Add zucchini and onion. Mix with 1/2 cup bread crumbs, salt & pepper. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray, then add zucchini mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Andy is out all afternoon at choir/drama rehearsal, getting ready for our Easter program. The weather is so springlike today. Can you believe only 2 days ago it was literally freezing and we had all that snow. It was so warm today, I was able to do some sunbathing - to get my vitamin D. It felt so good and very relaxing to be lying in the sun.