A little about Pesto and Life.

Do you ever feel like someone is trying to rip your head off while your heart threatens to explode?  It's been a little like that over on this end.  I'm trying so desperately to balance the precarious lives I hold.  Sometimes it takes a whole lot more focus and elbow grease than I can really muster.  I'm trying.  The scales tilt and throw me into a whirlwind of catchup.  Who knew school would make life crazier.  Well, it has.  That's okay.  It's life, it's wild and crazy.  I like it.

Here's an amazing pesto recipe.

1 1/2 cups fresh basil
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
5 garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste
blend.

It's amazing.  You will love it.

It's raw, it's vegan, I'm sure even Paleo can get behind it.


You can eat it on salads.

You can brown some chicken, add in some sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives and mix it all together with rice noodles, real noodles, zucchini noodles, butternut squash noodles, whatever you feel like.

Hope you are resting somewhere with a cocktail.  I'm going now.  To play chase at the park for an hour or so.  Then to work.  Life.  It's constant.

Amazing Spaghetti Sauce.

Desperate for an awesome, easy, healthy dinner that will thrill everyone in your family?  Kid's included?

I am happy to announce that this is not just wishful thinking.  

First, this is my mom's spaghetti.  Not my mother in law's.   My amazing mother in law is the only one with the true Italian touch, and Uncle Jim, and Auntie Sue, and Lori.  It also wouldn't be called spaghetti.  It would be roni's or gravy or cavatellis.  When I'm looking for comfort food, however, I want something from my Californian childhood




.

It amazes me that my kids will eat this with zucchini noodles.  Since I have yet to order a spiralizer, I simply use my vegetable peeler.  It works great.  

~Recipe

1 red bell pepper

1 small yellow onion

4 cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 can diced tomatoes 

1 can tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

8oz water

3teaspoons salt

3teaspoons garlic powder

1teaspoon cracked pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

handful of fresh Italian parsley

Chop.  Mince the garlic, yellow onion, bell pepper, and parsley.  

In a larger pan, sauté the garlic, bell pepper, and onion in 2T olive oil, on high heat, for about two minutes until veggies are just starting to get tender. 

Mix in the ground beef, stir to incorporate.  Lower heat to medium/high and cook beef until there is no pink, about 5-7 minutes.

Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic.

Then add canned tomatoes, sauce, paste, and water.  Let everything boil on medium/low for about five minutes.  Throw in your parsley.  Mix together.

Lower the temp to lo, so that it barely simmers and leave it alone.  :)

After a few hours, you can skim off any fat.

I like to make this in the morning and leave it just barely simmering all day long.  It's an easy meal for Eric to put together when he's home with the kids.

The sauce is great with pasta.

However, we have found that our whole family loves it over zucchini noodles.  With this recipe, I will usually shred about 6 zucchinis.  If you aren't used to raw zucchini noodles with a hot sauce, you should know that they will sweat and your plate or bowl will get a little soupy.