For my birthday my hubby gave me a pasta press for my kitchen aid mixer. I finally got a chance to try it after our trip to Hawaii. The pasta was so good and so much cooler than rolling it out by hand. It had such good flavor that I didn't want to pile it with a rich sauce. I started searching online and ended up finding this recipe for Capellini Pomodoro on Olive Garden's website. I was so excited because it is one of my favorite things to order there.

It turned out even better than I imagined it would. You must try this! It is so easy and very light and fresh tasting. It is a meal you feel good about eating.

Capellini Pomodoro

8 Medium Tomatoes
11 Basil leaves, fresh chopped
14 oz Dry Capellini pasta
2 1/2 clove(s) Garlic
6 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshley ground pepper

Chop tomatoes, season with salt, pepper, chopped basil, garlic and oil.Cook the Capellini in salted boiling water and drain. Toss with tomato mixture.

To see what other people are making visit Good Cheap Eats.

These are not the most beautiful things you will ever see but man are they good! My husband grew up eating them and when he saw all the zucchini growing in our garden he said we had to make zucchini pancakes. Since I had never heard of them he had to call his mom for the recipe. I am so glad he said we needed to make these. I think this is my new favorite way to prepare zucchini. Delicious!

The measurements for this are not exact. I know that is scary when it comes to a new recipe but trust me it is easy to figure out the amount you need. You are looking for a consistency that will hold some shape for making patties. If your zucchini is really watery you will need more flour and if it is less watery you may be able to get away with less. Even if they are not perfect they will still be AMAZING!

Zucchini Pancakes
1 Egg
4 Tablespoons Flour (+/-)
1/2 Onion Finely Chopped
3 Cups Shredded Zucchini
Seasoning Salt

Whip egg and then whisk in flour. Add the shredded zucchini and onion. At this point you can decide if you need more flour. After it is all mixed together form patties in your hand and set aside. Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet. Once the oil is hot fry the zucchinis on each side until golden brown and crispy.

Once cooked, remove from the heat and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Enjoy!

It is time for another Menu Plan Monday posting. I am feeling so much like fall this evening with the rain and fire burning in our fireplace. I have spent most of the day cooking if you can believe it.

I went to my Grandma and Grandpa's house after church to make our annual large batch of pesto for freezing. We had a good time chatting and sampling our hard work.

When I got home I chopped onions and peppers to fry with ground beef and add to the 13 Bean Stew I had working in the crock pot. It smells really good so I am hoping it turns out. I also whipped up some pumpkin pie tarts (amazing from the one sample I had so far), made cornbread to go with dinner, and chopped lots of veggies to freeze.

Now my legs hurt and I am ready for rest but I have one last project to finish before the day if over....putting all my fall clothes in the closet. I have been working on that between cooking today. Almost done.

For this coming week I am trying to use up beef from our freezer. We purchase a portion of a cow every fall and I know our beef will be coming in soon. I don't have much to use up but I want it all gone before I put the new stuff in the freezer.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Dinner

Monday: Mom and Dad's

Tuesday: Fajitas, homemade tortillas, fruit

Wednesday: Stuffing Pork Chop Apple Bake, zucchini

Thursday: Hubby has an evening meeting so I am off the hook for dinner

Friday: Meatballs, pasta, fruit, and broccoli

Saturday: Out to Dinner

Sunday: Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Pumpkin Dinner Rolls, broccoli


Breakfast

Monday: Pumpkin Muffin

Tuesday: Cinnamon Roll

Wednesday: Monkey Bar

Thursday: Zucchini Muffin

Friday: Biscuit and Egg Sandwich

See more menu plans at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

I wanted to make a quick dessert to serve with our dinner so I started to dig through my pantry to see what I had to work with. I found a bag of Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie Mix and decided to search online to see what I could do with it.

I found this recipe for Southern Apple Crumble on Betty Crocker's site. I thought it would be a perfect way to use one of the bags of frozen apples I have.

The overall result was something more similar to a cobbler I but super easy and very delicious. I served it with a little vanilla ice cream which melted perfectly into the warm apples and crumbly topping.

Now I am thinking I need to find a delicious way to use my Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix.

Happy Eating!

See more of what people are eating at Good Cheap Eats.

For me what always comes after a vacation is vacation food photos. I have selected my favorite food shots from the 400+ photos we took from our vacation. You are just lucky you are not at our house where I would want to show you all of them.

Our first meal of the day is always simple but how can you beat the view? We eat cheerios and OJ on our Lanai.


My favorite afternoon break is a smoothie along the waterfront. Look how fancy they are!


The best dessert of our whole trip was this pineapple upside down cake from Pineapple Grill. AMAZING! We had a friend tell us how good it was and I was skeptical but now I am a believer. Worth the trip to Maui just for this dessert.


This was one of my favorite appetizers prawn and basil won tons at Pacific 'O. The view from that restaurant is incredible! You are practically eating on the beach.


My other favorite appetizer was the crab won tons at Hula Grill. Perfect with my smoothie snack. They serve them with a mildly spicy chili water-perfection!



One breakfast that we did eat out was at The Plantation House. I know I keep saying this but the view from here was incredible too. You are up high looking our over Maui down to the water. The french toast I had was also amazing made with sweet Hawaiian bread.


One of our favorite lunches was at Bubba Gumps. We shared a shrimp platter that came with so much food! All of the different shrimp varieties were amazing but my favorite was the coconut shrimp.




And that is the end of the food photos from Maui. Oh how I wish we were still there. It must be mentioned, however, that at one point my hubby said he missed my cooking! I must be doing something right than-at least in his eyes.

It has been forever since I have been at my computer! We were in Hawaii for 9 days and coming back to reality has been the hardest thing ever. Wrapping my mind around menu planning today and getting back into a routine has been next to impossible. I shouldn't have given my mind such a break. So here it goes...

Monday: Mom and Dad's---Thank goodness!

Tuesday: Stuffed Peppers, pumpkin muffins

Wednesday: Zucchini Casserole, Garlic Cheese Biscuits, fruit

Thursday: Stuffed Tomatoes, leftover biscuits, fruit

Friday: Pork Chops, zucchini pancakes, applause

Saturday: Garden Veggie Calzones

Sunday: Crock pot something but not sure what....I am open to suggestions if you have any.


Have a great week and I hope your menu planning was easier today than mine was.

See more menu plans at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

After three days of following my vacation food photos we finally made it to the actual shower photos! It was such a fun shower. I really enjoyed meeting Seanna's friends and family. It was also fun to visit Sacramento and see all the places I have been hearing about.

Seanna's shower was held at La Provence Restaurant and Terrace. When we walked into the private room at the restaurant the tables were decorated so beautifully with roses, butterfly bookmarks, and pens wrapped to look like flowers. So much thought was put into all the details.


After we were seated bread with butter and hummus was delivered to our tables. I am a bread girl so a bread starter is always welcome :)


The meals were different based on what was requested on our RSVPs and what I chose was the open face shrimp salad sandwich. So so good! What a simple but delicious meal that really hit the spot. My mom had the turkey sandwich on brioche which was also very good (from the sample I had). The bread on it was soft and slightly sweet.


The meal and shower ended with this amazing cake. It was so perfect looking. Hard to believe the flowers on top were edible! The cake was one of the best I have ever had. I am not a cake fan but I found it hard to put the fork down with this one.


Overall the weekend, the food, the company, and weather were all perfect. I had so much fun and am so grateful to be adding Seanna to our family.

And with that I end my "mini series" on Seanna's California Shower. I hope you enjoyed seeing Zocalo, Crepeville, and La Provence Restaurant and Terrace.