December 24, 2011- Noodle Bake

Noodle Bake

This is our Christmas Eve tradition Nick and I have established. It is also a family tradition meal in my (Becca's) family. Although Nick and I have altered the recipe a bit. It is a really yummy noodle dish that consists of layering noodles and making a mixture of cream cheese and sour cream and putting that in the middle. You use a marinara sauce on the bottom and I put it on top of the cream cheese/sour cream mixture to make sure the bake is extra saucy. You put noodles on the top, sauce over the noodles, and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. The original recipe calls for ground beef and green onions. We obviously don't use the ground beef and Nick doesn't like green onions. It is a really delicious bake that we love eating.




































We also made some scones to bring over for Christmas tomorrow at Nick's parent's house. They are peppermint chocolate scones. They have peppermint extract and chocolate chips on the inside as well as a chocolate drizzle and crushed candy canes on top. We hope everyone likes them!

November 30, 2011- Tofu Parmigiana Over Pasta

Tofu Parmigiana Over Pasta

This is a really yummy dinner. It is tofu that is breaded and fried for a little bit then baked with marinara and mozzarella like chicken parmigiana would be and served over spaghetti. It doesn't taste exactly like chicken parmigiana but it is close enough. It is really quite delicious and easy enough to make. We had it with a simple salad with olive oil and a raspberry and black pepper balsamic vinegar that we purchased in Paso Robles. Unfortunately because it was such a busy and stressful day we forgot to take a picture of dinner...boo. What is the point of a blog if you forget the pictures? I'm sorry...Tomorrow is a repeat too so the picture will be boring. Friday's dinner will be exciting and yummy though! But for now it has been a...well...not the best November I have had to say the least. It has probably been the most stressful November of my life. So here is to a better December, if that is possible. Here is to finishing the semester and getting some peace in life. Because as John Lennon says, and in memory of the 10th anniversary of George's death, a new year is almost here, let's hope it's a good one, without any fear. Yes please, I am hoping it is a much better 2012, or at least a better December. Anyway...Goodnight.

November 24, 2011- Thanksgiving #1-Becca's Dad

Thanksgiving #1- Becca's Dad

So Thanksgiving is being split into two this year. Thursday is with my dad and Friday with my mom. We had dinner with my dad and we went to a restaurant in Malibu called Gladstones. We used to go to this restaurant all the time growing up. They serve mostly seafood here but Nick and I were able to find/customize some things on the menu for ourselves. We ordered a vegetable flat bread that has portobellos, spinach, tomatoes, and marinara sauce. We also ordered the shrimp scampi minus the shrimp. It has some spinach, asparagus, and tomatoes in it as well. The sauce was so delicious, it was like a buttery garlic white wine sauce. We had a side salad to start. It was a really nice meal to share with my dad and brother. We all ordered pasta so clearly even on Thanksgiving we are all still Italian at our roots :) Unfortunately, I have no picture to post for today. I did make a homemade apple pie and pumpkin pie to bring over and share with all of us. They turned out well! Will post the pictures of those on tomorrow's post.

Happy Thanksgiving!