sunday dinner.

this is what i had for dinner on sunday.

top sirloin steak simply flavored with a dry rub consisting of various herbs and spices. 

italian salad. this was amazzzinnnggg. it had salami, red pepper, tomato and spinach flavored tortellinis, olives and grape tomatoes with a simple light italian vinegarette. 

yukon potatoes. boiled in chicken stock until it was reduced, flavored with salt and pepp and butter. YUM. 

snack time.

i have a new favorite snack. 

(this changes so often it's nuts.)

but it's multi grain chips with jalapeño yogurt!

don't puke at the name. this is real time goodness!

when my mom first told me about it i was freaked out. then i tried it and thought i didn't like, but that was a lie. 

I LOVE IT. i took it to work yesterday, ate it for dinner tonight, and have already planned on eating for a quick lunch tomorrow! 

the yogurt is not spicy, but it does have a kick to it. it's also filled with great things like garlic, tomatoes, and green peppers. 

give it a try-- i believe you can get both items at costco!

popeye pasta.

a little bit over a week ago i had to make a quick dinner.

i remembered seeing a recipe for a pasta with popeye in the name. i couldn't really remember what exactly was in it.. so i just winged it. 

1 TB. olive oil

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 pound of chopped spinach. (i am really not sure on this... all i know is that you need  A LOT of  it because spinach shrinks down a bunch.)

sliced mushrooms

1 lb. ziti 

1 cup heavy whipping cream.

salt & pepp

grated parmesan cheese

1) get a pot of boiling water for the pasta. 

2) add the olive oil to a large pot on medium heat. once it's piping hot saute the mushrooms garlic. don't burn the garlic though--garlic burns easily. 

3)add the spinach cooking for 2 minutes or until it's just barely cooked. 

4) add the whipping cream. this will create a sauce after it's cooked for a bit. season with salt and pepper and taste. 

5)once your pasta is close to being done, drain it and add to the sauce. cook on high until the pasta is completely done.top with the cheese, and your done!

 you can adjust any of these ingredients in order to get the taste you really want. i just kind of made this up in my head. 

pretty freaking easy... AND SO GOOD.

ripoff tagalong cookies.

thanks to this recipe right hereee.

i was able to make these little beauties!

they are kind of like the girl scout tagalong cookies. i made a shortbread cookie, then put on a dome of whipped powdered sugar and peanut butter, then dipped in chocolate.

they were SO GREAT. they are especially good if you refrigerate them. 

and they really weren't too hard to make. 

thanks to these ladies for helping me!

pineapple

pine·ap·ple
–noun

1.

the edible, juicy, collective fruit of a tropical, bromeliaceousplant, Ananas comosus,  that develops from a spike or headof flowers and is surmounted by a crown of leaves. 

for my ward activity we had an iron chef competition. 

the secret ingrediant was pineapple.

i made:

pineapple salsa.

 raw pineapple and almond dessert. 

and THIS pineapple upside down cake. 

and homemade pina colada ice cream!

it was a lot of fun.. except for all the sores i have in my mouth from the pineapple acid eating away my mouth. i ate wayyy too much! 

poncho.

i say this allll the time. 

but culinary school is the most fun.

(that is lemon ice cream. and no. i didn't eat it all. i shared it with morgy and darc bomb. who took the picture.)

ball.

tonight was our scholarship ball at school. 
so much hard work. but SO worth it. everything was so beautiful..
especially the food!

heirloom tomato soup. with pesto and micro greens.

watermelon, goat cheese and watercress salad.

scallops wrapped in procioutto on celery root, with a sabanyon sauce.

Wasabi and Green Apple Sorbet.

and for the entree we had Lamb with sweet potato and carrots. YUM.

and dessert? walnut and habanero (hot hot hot pepper) cake. YUMMMMMMMMMMM.

it was a really great night-- even though i was there for over 8 hours.

i love school!

(some photo credit given to tracy.)