Catching Up

Germs invaded my house two weeks ago and set up camp. Ugh! Everyone except hubs came down with something (hmmm….why is that the case???) and we were all pretty miserable. Thankfully, I have some amazing friends who were kind enough to bring soup and help out with whichever kid happened to be healthy at that particular time. I’m happy to report that we are all feeling so much better now.This week is busy with lots of fun stuff because it’s Valentine’s Day and also Bodie’s birthday. My sweet Peach will be seven Friday. I can’t even believe it. Yesterday was our day to paint the rock at his school and he chose Notre Dame colors. Happy to oblige!I managed to crank out a Valentine’s Day order in between all of the illnesses. I love making these clipboards for little ones. They are so useful and fun.We had a few days of gloriously warm weather last week and the kids managed to take full advantage before getting sick. They love setting up the tent and “camping” with Gipper.The weather was so warm that our backyard American toads came out to enjoy the temperatures. I’d say they were a little frisky. Or, as my kids put it, “piggybacking.” We’ll go with that. These guys were everywhere and their croaking sounds were crazy loud. I loved it. I could almost pretend it was summer!After a week of not eating or cooking, I’ve been on a cooking binge lately. This pasta dish from Giada deLaurentis was a big hit and will definitely go into the rotation. Recipe below picture:Baked Rigatoni with Sausage

Ingredients for topping:

1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pasta:

1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more for pasta

1 lb rigatoni

1 Tbs olive oil

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1-2 heads of broccoli, chopped into florets

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

25 oz jar marinara sauce

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

For the topping, add ricotta, basil and salt to a small bowl. Stir together with a rubber spatula and set aside.

For the pasta: bring a large pot of water to boil. Season with salt and cook the rigatoni for five minutes. Drain well, saving 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat a large braiser or oven proof skillet (I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and sausage. Cook, stirring often to break apart the meat, until it begins to brown (about seven minutes). Add the broccoli and garlic and cook about three minutes. Stir in the marinara and 1/4 tsp salt until fully combined. Add the pasta to the pan and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Toss well to coat. Add the pasta water to thin the sauce slightly.

Dollop the ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the top and cover with some of the pasta. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about twenty minutes. Allow to sit five minutes before serving.

Delicious!

Finally, I’ll leave you with this: Gipper morphed into a sea lion while taking the kids to school yesterday morning.