New food, among other things.

So lately, Matthew and I have been really working on expanding our cooking expertise. With Matthew being so busy with his classes, I've really tried to step it up in the kitchen. Matthew has almost always been the only one to cook in our house, except for a few recipes that I got from my mom. But he has physical training three times a week and at least an hour of homework every single night. I don't think it would be fair to expect him to come home and cook every single night - especially because some meals take a bit of time to cook. And living off Hamburger Helper just isn't healthy.

One of the ways that we really work on this is by creating a menu every week. Every Saturday I sit down and make a menu and a grocery list to go along with it. This not only takes the stress out of trying to decide what to eat every day, but also helps us save money. We go shopping only once a week, rather than a couple different times. Having a grocery list that contains only ingredients for our dinners and then some stuff for lunches really saves money. It also saves time for us because we don't just wander the isles trying to decide what we may want four days from then. Here's our menu for this week:

Sometimes we end up moving stuff around.. and we are this week, but it all gets eaten in the end :) A few friends have been asking for recipes, and I figured rather than send them out individually every single time, I could start collecting them here! So today I'll put three different ones on here - Creamy Tomato Spinach Tortellini, a green bean casserole, and pumpkin bites.

Creamy Tomato Spinach Tortellini

 Ingredients

1 bag regular sized Barilla three cheese tortellini (8 oz)
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon onion flakes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Boil tortellini until it's done.
2. While the tortellini is boiling, chop the spinach roughly.
3. Heat a large skillet using medium heat and put the two teaspoons of minced garlic into it. Sautee it briefly until fragrant.
4. Add into the skillet the can of diced tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, dried basil, and onion flakes.
5. Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture begins to bubble.
6. In another bowl, combine the flour and half-and-half. Whisk until smooth.
7. Add the mixture into the skillet along with the Parmesan cheese.
8. Heat through and reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook until mixture thickens, about five minutes.
9. Add in the drained tortellini and mix together. Then serve.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/3 cup French's French Fried Onion
2 cans green beans, drained

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix soup, milk, and pepper in a bowl.
2. Add in green beans and 2/3 cup onions. Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. 
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Top with remaining onions. Bake another 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Bites

Ingredients

1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup water
1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin
3/4 cup cinnamon chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
3. Spray mini muffin pans and fill with the mixture.
4. Bake for 18 minutes.

I, sadly, did not think to take a picture of the pumpkin bites last night as I was making them. So next time :) I will say that none of these recipes are of my own making. I find them on Pinterest, in a cook book, or I get them from friends/family. I basically just want to put them here in a common place so everyone can have access. If you try them, let me know!

Other than cooking new meals, Matthew and I have been spending some fun times with friends! Getting to know everyone here has been my favorite part of being in California. On Saturday we carved pumpkins with several friends!

We had such a wonderful time!

As well as trying new recipes, I've been trying to get crafty. Not only have I been knitting like crazy, but I've started some projects for Phoenix! Here's the beginning of my favorite one:

 I'm hoping this project turns out so cool. Once it's completed, you'll see another picture! But seeing as this post is probably the longest one I've ever written, I suppose I should wrap this up! Be looking out for those new recipes :)  For now, I'll leave you with this... [24 weeks]