excited to share all the stories from our house and my creative endeavors! I hope this blog will inspire you to find that Creative Diva that is in all of us!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Comfort Food!

Yes my friends it is snowing AGAIN!!!! oh my golly!!!! Today is Snow Day ELEVEN of missed school days due to snow---YIKES! They are scheduled to start tomorrow with a 2 hour delay and I am just keeping my fingers crossed!

I made it to the Grocery store today- HOORAY! And I could not believe there was a line waiting for it to open! I know I will not forget this stretch of winter EVER! It is one of those stories for the ages! When your area beats a historic record of Winter Snowfall dating back to the 1800s you know you are experiencing something eventful first hand for sure!

I have my monthly book club meeting tomorrow(again Fingers crossed!). We read Time of my Life by Allison Winn Scotch. It was a quick read. I read it back during the first 2 feet of snow we received(funny how I can just refer to that period of time). I will be interested to see what my fellow book club members say about the book. I will say that the heroin character was not my type of gal. She is a person that wonders about the past and if she had made other choices how would her life have turned out. I get that she was disillusioned with motherhood, had a troubled childhood and is trying to find her path but I don't like to see or reflect on life the way she did in the book. I found myself getting frustrated with her like you would a child. I wanted to yell at her and say GROW UP! I am a realist and not a dreamer- there would be the big difference between us. I am also a person that thrives on having my life experience help shape and grow me- I would not be me without them. I also believe in OWNERSHIP...own your feelings, your dreams, failures etc....don't try to dismiss things, you will never be happy in life.

Like I said tomorrow...will be interesting( and don't get me started on the two men she has to choose from in the book! why did she even think there was something to go back for?????).

We are having a Soup Potluck luncheon for our book club! The list of food sounds tremendous- perfect for Fat Tuesday! My contribution is Pasta E Fagioli! I love Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli and years ago I stumbled upon a recipe to recreate it and it has been a Keeper ever since! So I thought I would share with you too!


1 pound Ground Beef
1 small onion diced (1cup)
1 large carrot julienned (1cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 14.5 diced tomatoes
1 15 oz Kidney beans with liquid
1 15 oz Northern beans with liquid
1 15 oz Tomato Sauce
2 12 oz V-8 juice
1 can Beef Consumme
1 T White Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 pepper
1/2 tsp

1/2 pound Ditali Pasta( half of the box)

Brown Ground Beef in large Saucepan over med heat. drain fat

Add onion, carrot and garlic- saute for 10 minutes

Add remaining ingredients except for Pasta, simmer for 1 hour

50 minutes into simmer time, cook pasta, cook 10 min- al dente, then drain

Add pasta to large pot of soup simmer 5-10 minutes... it is ready to serve! sprinkle some parmesean cheese on top!


- ENJOY!!!!! my house smells super yummy!!!!

~Jennifer :)

4 comments:

  1. May I just say, "I AM SO EXCITED!" Pasta e Fagiole is our FAVORITE! I can't wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.

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  2. oh so glad I can spread the LOVE! hope you LOVE IT TOO!

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  3. Soup looks YUMMY! I've always gotten the Minestrone at Olive Garden. Will have to try this one.

    Did kiddos go back to school today?

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  4. I am reading Inkheart...one of the things Meggie says at the beginning of the book, A book is like a journal and you always remember what your were doing or what was going on by a book. So, like you said you read this book during the first two feet of snow...you will always look at this book and think about those first two feet of snow!

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