Archive for August 2017

My stepmom-in-law gave hubby and me a pasta roller attachment for our KitchenAid mixer a few months ago for helping with a family reunion, and I've been looking for a time and opportunity to bust it out and try it. I felt the weekend lull creeping in Saturday - feeling restless and bored yet not wanting to do several "necessary" chores. So I rationalized that a complicated dinner project would be appropriate!

I wanted to make some kind of ravioli, so I pulled up this basic recipe from Served to Scratch to know where to start.

For the filling, I used lowfat ricotta cheese, some thawed frozen chopped spinach (drained in a kitchen towel), some fresh parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.

I can definitely see myself making tons of my easy homemade crackers with this guy!

I put teaspoon-sized amounts of filling on the sheets and used an egg wash to seal the edges before crimping with a fork.

I had a little bit of leakage on some, but for the most part they kept their shape and innards intact. While I worked on the ravioli in batches, I put the finished ones in the fridge to firm up a little so they'd be easier to pick up.

I boiled them until they floated, according to the directions, then I sauteed them with some cooked mushrooms in a pan with some EVOO, butter, and red wine. This gave them a little texture and more flavor!

I served them alongside some storebought meatballs I baked in the oven on top of a pyramid silicone mat - this is a great way to drain fat while cooking the meatballs evenly. Jarred pasta sauce is another shortcut - I knew the ravioli would be labor-intensive enough and wanted to cut corners where I could!

I also roasted some zucchini for a little variety and nutrition.

This satisfied my desire to put some elbow grease into dinner. I don't have the patience and energy to drag out equipment like the pasta roller every night, but every now and then I do enjoy the challenge of something semi-complicated like this!

The pièce de résistance!

Do you have a nifty piece of equipment that takes some effort but is well worth the work? It's fun to roll up your sleeves and get creative from time to time!

It seems that lately, routine has won over novelty for sake of ease when cooking dinners. Tuesday night we found ourselves with a night at home, and I decided to try something a little different in the kitchen. As much as I love perusing ink-and-paper cookbooks, I have to admit that Pinterest makes finding recipes a breeze.

We hadn't had fish in awhile, so I went to Fresh Market and picked out some wild-caught Alaskan cod without knowing exactly what I'd do with it yet. I also grabbed some cabbage (I had forgotten how cheap that stuff is!) to roast according to this recipe I'd been wanting to try from An Oregon Cottage.

After searching for a cod recipe that sounded light and flavorful, I settled on this one from Foodness Gracious, and boy did it deliver! I only had one whole orange on hand, so I used its zest and juice while supplementing with some bottled lemon juice for the marinade. It was light and flavorful and exactly what I was looking for!

Along with a tasty yet ugly heirloom tomato, this meal was exactly what we needed to shake things up a bit!

Do you like to go grocery shopping without a recipe or menu in mind? Sometimes it's like jumping without a net, but sometimes it can be fun!

This past week(end), hubby had some work to do in his company's Raleigh office that would be easier done without other employees around, so we decided to make a weekend getaway out of it!

Soon after we got checked in and settled in the room, we decided to check out the bar on our hotel's 20th floor - it offered great views of the city (kicking myself for not going back for a photo opp).

Bourbon, neat, for him and sauvignon blanc for her.

We asked family and friends for recommendations to check out while we were in town, and we heard good things about Whiskey Kitchen. Look how charming!

THIS is the atmosphere I want for our deck and backyard! SO charming!

Hubby got an Old Fashioned (his standard), and I got a Sazarac. Both were amazing, natch.

We split dinner (pork chop and veggies, smoked mozzarella salad) and a beer while waiting out a random summer downpour.

There were tons of cute murals everywhere you turned!

I had really wanted to see the Postmodern Jukebox concert that evening at Red Hat Amphitheater but we agreed we might not get into town in time and didn't want to be panicked trying to make it. When we finished at Whiskey Kitchen, I wanted to take a stroll around the amphitheater where the show was to see if we could hear any tunes. I overheard the announcement that Straight No Chaser was about to take the stage, whom I wrongly assumed were the opening act, which made me wrongly assume that the entire show was delayed due to rain. Under these assumptions, we decided to head to the box office after all, and under some serendipitous circumstances, we found ourselves with free tickets and headed inside to enjoy Straight No Chaser's set...woohoo!

Freshly seated, before a small rainstorm.

I'm an a capella superfan!

Once they finished, the audience started getting up and leaving...and I was totally confused. I asked a security guard if Postmodern Jukebox wasn't playing because of the rain (it had rained once or twice during SNC's set), and she looked at me funny before telling me that PMJ was the first act.

We missed them after all.

Oops.

After the show, we stopped at Poole's - a retro diner with a hipster vibe. It was such a neat atmosphere and seemed to attract all sorts of people - a great place to round out the evening with a nightcap cocktail and a peach and cherry cobbler for dessert.

The next morning, hubby and I met a coworker for breakfast and to get keys to the office before heading in for several hours of work for him (I helped a bit) and reading for me.

We left the office after packing the car full of computer hardware to bring back to his home office, and we stopped for a photo op along the way (that's our hotel in the background).

Clouds Brewing was our next stop for a late lunch, with pour-your-own taps and some pretty great food. We split a burger, fries, and a wedge salad - great choices!

After lunch, we visited the Museum of Natural Sciences and rushed through its last 30 minutes before closing. I'd definitely want to check this place out again - we didn't make it to all the floors, and really weren't able to give the exhibits the attention they deserved! We went geocaching "on the way back" to the hotel - taking the long way around the city to see what we could see.

After freshening up at the hotel, we checked out Boxcar Bar & Arcade. VERY fun but also VERY overwhelming. There were several birthdays and bachelorette parties going on, in addition to a whole mess of regular folks just like us.

I tried two really good beers there - Milky Way by Trophy Brewing, and Summer Basil by Fullsteam (I like the weird stuff).

Once we ran out of tokens, we headed closer to the hotel to State of Beer where we sat at the bar and enjoyed a couple of dishes - bean dip, salad, and a sandwich.

We rolled home and were pretty worthless the rest of the evening - full of beer and good food. I still woke up around my usual time, though, and was glad to see such a beautiful view!

We snarfed a protein bar for breakfast and ran out to Morning Times for an iced coffee and a wake-me-up ginger juice shot from Humdinger Juice. Hoo boy....I've been battling an upper-respiratory thing for a few days, and this spicy shot was simply medicinal (in a good way)!

We walked around some residential areas near NC State's campus and did some more geocaching and yard-lurking. This fella kept a keen eye on us.

This weekend was good for my soul. Sometimes you just need a quick getaway to shake up your routine and appreciate some of life's simpler pleasures. We had a great time being tourists and taking notes about places to check out next time we're in town!

Where are your favorite places for a quick weekend getaway?

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