Easy Cheesy Penne Pasta {Recipe}

This past Saturday was my hubby's birthday and although we had some fun, party food for his birthday celebration I thought I would make one of his favorite dishes for dinner last night.  Baked Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce.  He loves it and adores me even more every time I make it for him and the kids.  So why not share this really easy recipe with you all?  It is my own little creation that I came up with not long after I was married.  I originally wanted to recreate a dish I ordered while on our honeymoon but ended up with this concoction.  Or something like that.

Now before I go all bragging about this savory dish, first let me say there is not much to brag about the actual cooking part but it sure does look and taste scrumptious.  I mean for someone who is not at all Italian and knows nothing of such fine cuisine, I would say this ain't bad at all.  So go ahead and try for ya self.  :)

Baked Penne Pasta w/Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag of penne pasta

1 lb. lean ground beef

Extra virgin olive oil or EVOO

2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce

Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning

2-3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a little bit extra for garnish

Directions:

*Preheat oven at 350 degrees

*Cook the pasta according to package directions

*Drain the pasta, drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss, place in 13"x9" pan

*Cook the ground beef and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Also season with the Italian seasoning but I say do it quite liberally.  That's how I do it.  The more flavor the better.

*In the 13"x9" pan combine the penne, ground beef and the two jars of pasta sauce.

*Top with the grated cheese, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes

*Remove foil and bake another 5-8 minutes

*Let sit 10 minutes or so before serving

Voila! Pretty easy and basic, huh?  That may be so but my hubby loves it and so do my kids.  I have shared the recipe with friends and co-workers but I do say that the right ingredient is key.  I use organic products as much as possible and I don't use the cheap and cheap tasting pasta sauces.  But really use the products that you consider to be of great quality and what you favor.  I hope you enjoy this dish!

I'M LINKING UP WITH THESE FAB BLOGGERS:
Creations by Kara
Ginger Snap Crafts

Ramblings and Resolutions of 2012

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Heya!  I hope you are doing well and enjoying those football playoffs.  Our beloved Cowboys did not get very far, our hometown boy, Drew Brees, sadly did not get a win yesterday with his New Orleans Saints and today the Houston Texans lost their very first play-off game ever.  Big shout out to all and a huge pat on the butt back from me.  :)

Anywho, 2011 came and went and I'm ready to tackle 2012 head on.  Resolution wise anyway.  Here is what I have in store for me, my home, my health and my relationships.

Dive Into Serious DIY: I have been following a ton of DIY blogs for about two years now and I have been a dedicated viewer of HGTV and the DIY Network.  Enough watching and note taking and time to start hunkering down in the casa and attempt to do something.  Well I did revamp this pretty little thang BUT I've done nothing to the house.  I freely admit that I envision so much being done in my house but I am so scared to actually attempt it just to screw it all up.  Yes, I know it is a part of the learning process but I'm still skeered.  And what is the difference between a flat head and a Phillips?  Kidding. Not really, sorta, kinda.

One Box At A Time: Meaning donate no longer used items in my home.  From clothing to kitchenwares to knick knacks and everything in between.  We have way too many things that we longer utilize (or never did) and when we try to hunker down to de-clutter and organize we I get overwhelmed.  No, the mister doesn't get overwhelmed.  Heck, his attitude is get rid of it all and don't look back, Jack!  I on the other hand have a more emotional attitude about it all.  Well, I have finally had it with all the "stuff and junk" we have, that I told him I think it would make it easier on me if I just do the one-box-at-a-time method.  From now on, I will have an empty box on hand and I will fill it up with the things we no longer want.  Psychologically, it is much easier this way.  Once the box is full then it goes straight to Goodwill.  Yes, it might sound silly to some of you that I am just now doing that when so many people probably do that on a regular basis.  But like I said, I get overwhelmed.  In the past, I would have 5-8 empty boxes ready to pack but going through the whole house including the garage would take a whole weekend or even a week.  I would analyze too much.  So much so that I got on my own nerves.  Oh my poor hubby.  Today is January 11th and I am proud to say that so far we have donated about 8 boxes to Goodwill.  Yay us!

More Interaction, More Thoughtful Gestures: Last year I became a bit sad when birthdays or important events rolled around.  I wished way too many happy birthdays via text, email, Facebook or Twitter.  So did everyone else.  One day I realized it was pretty lame to wish a close friend or a relative "a very happy birthday and many more" via social media or text.  When did we get so lazy and selfish?  What happened to calling that person or actually mailing a nice and thoughtful card?  This past Saturday was my friend's birthday.  Sally is a beloved friend from church and she has become one of my rocks.  I had a very busy day Saturday and I was sick but I reminded myself that I needed to make this change.  I called her and we talked for about an hour and it was wonderful!  I may see her at church every Sunday but I don't get to visit with her much.  We (like everyone else) are so, so busy.  I am glad I made that phone call.  I miss chatting with her.

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Move It, Move It: I got to move it, move it, we got to move it, move it.  If you have kids then you probably guessed that I just "sang" that phrase from the movie 'Madagascar.'  I need to get my fitness on or better said get better at it and bring my sexy back.  I get on the elliptical a couple of times a day for about 15 minutes (while at work) but I don't do much after that little workout.  I do not belong to a gym and I do not plan on joining one either.  My schedule and daily life don't allow me to have room for a gym.  I once relied on Exercise on Demand for a selection of great workouts but that channel is now gone and I-is-sad.  Time to purchase some DVDs and download free workout apps on my iPad and sing "I workout!"  I can do this, I know I can.  Just gotta believe.


Organize and Let Go: This goes with my "one box at a time" goal and I am more confident in this goal than the move it, move it one.  Shameful, I know.  As I mentioned before, getting rid of "stuff" one box at a time is really helping and while doing so, little areas in my happy, little, humble home are looking better and better.  I have a long way to go but I am pleased with the little progress I am making thus far.  And I mean little, like baby steps little.  Our office, for instance, needs serious help.  That place is in serious violation with the local fire marshallPlease keep us on our toes.  

And there ye have my ramblings and resolutions for 2012.  Now, time to get off my laptop, fill up another box, call a friend and move, move it!

Making Tamales with Grandma

Happy New Year, Y’all!  I am a bit late on this but I still want to share this post with you. 

Tamalada 2011 at Grandma's House.

A tradition in my family and many, many Mexican-American families is to make tamales during the Christmas season also called a tamalada.  Making tamales is one of my favorite past times with my grandmother and the rest of la familia.  Correction: helping my grandmother make tamales is one of my favorite past times.  No, I do not know how to make them by myself from start to finish.  I have been an assistant ever since I was a little girl.  My mother and grandmother taught me how to spread the masa evenly on the cornhusks with the back of a spoon.  I remember that it was not quite so easy for me in the beginning.  Many times I ended up with a glob or two on each tamal and an adult would fix the spread.  Some people use a butter knife to spread the masa but I was taught to use a spoon and that is how I still do it to this day. 

Here is my workstation at my grandma’s house just a few days before Christmas.

As I got older, I was able to add the filling and wrap each tamal, ready to be steam cooked.  Now at 37 years old, I still spread the masa and add the filling and that is about it.  Sorry to disappoint ya.  Heck, I am disappointed in me.  I am now an expert masa spreader and filler but I totally need to kick it up a few lots of notches.  Yes, I should know a lot more by now which I do in a way, but I am nowhere near making them on my own.

Enough about my lack of tamal making skills, here is my much beloved grandma, aka Güela, hard at work, her much cherished, and beautiful tamales.

My grandmother has had that pressure cooker for years, as far back as I can remember!

And lookee here.  My favorite daughter was initiated into the family tradition and without evening knowing it, she learned something about her heritage.  She “made” four of these babies on her own.  I was so proud that I showed off her pictures to family and friends.  I just had to and it was great to see the look of approval, pride and happiness on the the other grandparents, great-grandparents, tíos and tías too.

{Confession: An FYI for ya, ‘tamal’ is singular and ‘tamales’ is plural.  It drives me absolute bonkers when I hear someone say ‘tamale’ instead of ‘tamal.’  A big pet peeve of mine.  Of course I don’t correct people because it comes off as rude, but it still drives me crazy.} 

Oh and here is a pic of some tamales that I was about to enjoy with my favorite coffee ever.  The same coffee I enjoy with my blueberry muffins.  We still have tamales in our fridge and I am getting a little sad as I see them dwindling down.

Every year I pay a little more attention and take more mental notes; but really, I am just enjoying being there with my grandma and fam.  Moreover, as special as that family time is, I need to put a firework under my toosh (that saying is a lot funnier in Spanish) and really learn how to make tamales: grandma style.  Maybe this summer I will ask her to show me the ropes from grocery-shopping-start to eating-homemade-tamales-finish.  J

P.S. Most of these pictures were taken by my 8 year old son with my iPhone.  Not bad, eh?

Still Alive

Hola, hola!  Yes, once again I have been MIA from my lil 'ol blog but I had no choice.  I think I have mentioned before that our home computer is a little on the old and slow side.  Then upgrades or whatever happened on Google's end did not allow me to edit my photos in Picnik via Picasa because again my computer was not able to hang.  Long story and a very frustrating one but I'm back and I can't wait to share with you all what I did over the Christmas break.  I helped my grandmother, aka Güela, make tamales.  Yes, one of the many beautiful Mexican traditions especially at Christmas.  Here is a sneak peek of our work.

Oh and why am I back now you ask?  Okay, maybe you didn't but my oh-so-handsome and wonderful-out-of-this-world hubby bought me a MacBook for Christmas!  He totally had me fooled.  Oh how I love him so.  Mama is happy and even happier to blog from my own bed if I please.  Oh happy day.  :)

Texas Proud {Dallas Cowboys Stadium}

Good day, fabulous people.  Today I am going to kick off my new little series I like to call Texas Proud.  I am a native Texan loud and proud.  I say y'all instead of you all and most times my multi-word sentences sound like one word.  Jueat?  = Did you eat?  Yacomin? = Are y'all coming?  I never knew "we" spoke that way until it was jokingly pointed to me one day.  Heehee.

So today I am going to brag about the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.  Ah, yes that was one tough loss this past weekend but we still root for them.  :)

Oh this place that good 'ol Jerry built is grand and to sum up my reaction when we first walked in - WOW.  First, let me begin by saying that the mister, kids and I visited Cowboys Stadium for the very first time on November 4-5, 2011 for a Scout Sleepover and Rally Day.  Personally, I have never been to a Dallas Cowboys football game.  I have whined plenty about never going to one but I have yet to attend an actual game.  Still waiting to go to a game.  Waiting, waiting, waiting.  Until then, I continue to watch them from my 'ol tube.  Okay, enough about moi on to the real stuff.  My son is a Cub Scout and Cowboys Stadium was having their second annual Scout Sleepover.  Sleepover as in all Scouts and their guests got to sleep on the field.  My boy and the mister were over the moon excited! Here is all that they go to do on Friday night.

• Guided Tour of Cowboys Stadium
• Movie (Despicable Me) on the HD Video Board & popcorn
• Football drills on the field
• Fitness activities lead by NIKE Fit Club
• Dinner and a light breakfast
• Commemorative photo
• Scout patch for the brag vest

Here is the Friday night action:

Amanda Guerra with DFW's NBC5 was there to do a live report during the 10 p.m. broadcast.  My boy was able to squeeze in for a little bit of camera time. 

While the mister and our boy were having their fun filled evening inside Jerry's place, my girl had quite the meltdown because she wanted to join in on the fun.  I had already made previous plans to stay with my cousin until we joined them the following morning.  So what did I do to cheer her up?  I took her over to the pro shop after saying our goodbyes in hopes of finding something pink in the kids section.  Well duh how could I forget about a cheerleader unfiorm?  I found a supa dupa cute DCC uniform with pom poms and she was once again a happy little princess.  I too was giddy and could not wait to put it on her the next morning.

I suited her up and she was too adorbs.  See for ya self. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were very, very nice and professional.  One of the reasons they are the best!  :)

A good day was had by all at Cowboys Stadium.  We had fun playing and running around the field.  I can actually say that I got to play catch with my boy on the same field Tony Romo throws touchdown passes. I think that is what my husband enjoyed the most- playing football with our son in Cowboys Stadium.  Too cool.  I was impressed with that big-o facility and the entire staff was Texas friendly and very professional.  We were asked a few times if we were having a good time by different staff members.  Oh yes, we will be back next year.  Maybe my girl and I will camp out with the boys... um not!  I heard it was a little chilly in there. 

I love this last picture.  The football player in front (my boy), followed by his number one fan and cheerleader (my girl) with the head coach (my hubby) behind them.  Love!  :)