Okay, I've learned my lesson and will be more regular with my postings. :) Thank you for hanging in there and looking at all these pictures!! I just want to share a bit about our lovely dinner last night and a new recipe I found earlier.

Joe and I are trying to refocus our Sundays and keep them more of a relaxed family day. It's so easy for my to go...Yay! A baby sitter, I'm going to clean!! But that just eats up the two days we have as a family so even if there are 10 loads of laundry to be done, I'm working on looking past them so that we can have a family day. :-P Yesterday we made a nice early dinner together...with only minor casualties to Joe's thumb, and a mere 4 false beeps from the smoke detector (from stuff that ran over in the oven, I didn't burn anything!!!), we had a fantastic dinner. Jenny went down for her nap right before so it was like a date. :) We had... (oh, and I would say just buy roasted red peppers...it's really the same thing for allot less work...or do what I did and just leave the peels on after you roast them...the texture was really good!)

Pasta with Bell Pepper Cream - - Pasta con Crema di Peperoni

INGREDIENTS:

12 ounces (350 g) corkscrews (multi colored are pretty!!)
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
A meaty bell pepper, ideally red
A small bunch chives, finely chopped
4/5 cup (200 ml) milk
A bay leaf
1/2 cup freshly shredded pecorino Romano
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

Set pasta water to boil, salt it when it boils, and cook the pasta. In the meantime, mince the garlic and simmer it in the milk with the bay leaf, stirring occasionally, until the milk is almost completely evaporated, about 20 minutes; when it is done remove it from the flame and discard the bay leaf.

While the garlic is cooking, cut the pepper into strips, discarding ribs and seeds, and run the strips under your broiler, skin side up, to blister the skins; peel away the blistered skin (this may be easier to do under running water) and set aside the best looking third of the strips.

Blend the remaining 2/3 of the pepper with a pinch of salt, the cooked garlic, and the olive oil. Dice the better looking strips.

By now the pasta should be cooking; dilute the sauce with a few tablespoons of the pasta water and stir in the diced pepper.

Drain the pasta when it is al dente and turn it into a serving bowl; sprinkle it with the chives and the cheese, and serve either hot or warm.

Note: if you prefer a more garlicky dish, simply peel and chop the garlic, and mix it into the bell pepper cream.

Here is our finished product:

It was SO delicious! It would be wonderful as a summer meal, but it was refreshing to eat while it was snowing too. I think next time Joe wants it with a white wine, and I think I'll add a salad to the table too. :)

Here's something I tried today...I've been wondering for a while if the little kitchen aid food processor would crush ice. So today I thought I would give it a "whirl" :) It does! I made one of these to share with Jenny...she loved it btw

STRAWBERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIE
Half of a banana 1 c. strawberries Milk (as much as you want for the smoothie) 1 ice cube 1 tsp. sugar (or no sugar, or more sugar) You'll need: a blender - get out blender and put in half of banana, strawberries, ice cube, and milk. Also optional sugar. Blend for a few minutes until smooth. Enjoy!

Here's our finished product: