Sam's New LEAF -Cooking

There are SO many things we're doing to get ready for little miracle- One is understanding that both Joe and I will have new roles.

Joe really wants me to be a SAHM. That is something that I don't want to do but before we got married I said that I could compromise and work less. That started a whole train of job/career switching and brought me to the wonderful world of contract work. Contract work I love- Inspiring High School students year round as a motivational speaker. This gives me the ability to have all holidays and the summers off! I've worked in a little boutique in Mystic to stay busy since we didn't have kiddos yet-but that will soon end(or decrease). The job with Making It Count allows me to have adult time, reconnect and network with the other speakers (about 280 of us in the US) twice a year at trainings and feel like I'm participating financially. We've eased into it and it's been great. It should be easy to co-op with another parent and be able to keep my same speaking schedule. Some months (September, January) are really busy and others(May,December) aren't. All in all - I'll only be away from my peanut a maximum of 15 hours a week. How blessed am I? It's like having that cake and eating it too! And Joe feels good about the compromise as well.

Well this little compromise I made two years ago has come to bite my little behind. We have realized that I will now be the chef of the house. I thought Gift buyer, card sender, laundry do"er", bill payer, finance manager...etc was enough. But after much thought and deliberation- We realized that chef will need to be added. Well, those who know me... You know this is VERY new uncharted territory for me. I am (of course) up for the challenge though. I got out cook books. I made lists. I made menus. I am diving in head first. (What other way do you dive in?).

And...so it has begun. Right now - I'll be making 4 "dinner" dishes and 1 dessert dish every week. We may add more in the future-but right now, this is what I am starting with. My new chef job started on Sunday(9/27). I had an assistant for my first day(he was really cute too!). I learned a lot. I'm actually really excited to provide for my family in this way too(Who would have thought!!!).

So my first main dish was Prosciutto, Spinach and Pasta Casserole. It was YUMMY. Not bad to make either. 25 minute prep. 25 minutes to cook.

Ingredients- 2 and 2/3 cup of dried pasta, 2 medium onions(thin wedges), 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/2 tsp of anise seeds, 1/2 cup flour, 1 and 1/2 of chicken broth, 1/4 cup of grated parm cheese, 1 10 ounce pgk of chopped spinach (thaw and drain), 2 ounces or prosciutto, 1 medium tomato (seed and chop).

Cook Pasta and drain. Rinse with cold water.
Cook Onion and garlic in hot butter until onion is tender. Stir in flour and anise seeds. Add milk and chicken broth. Cook and stir until slightly bubbly and thickened. Stir in Parm Cheese(I added more then called for!). Stir in cooked pasta, spinach and prosciutto. Spoon mixture into 2 quart casserole dish.

Bake covered for 25 minutes at 350. Serve with chopped tomato (optional)

It smelled the house up something very YUMMY. When reheating -we've enjoyed it with some provolone cheese melted on top.






My first dessert dish was Brownie Pie. A little longer on the prep(40 minutes) and longer cook time(50 minutes). My husband is a chocolate nut- so this was a must for my first dessert.

Ingredients: (1/2 cup butter, 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, 1 single pie crust, 3 eggs(beaten), 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tsp of vanilla, hot fudge topping and 1 cup chopped walnuts(optional, hubs doesn't like them-so I didn't)

Filling First- Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan. Cool for 20 minutes
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare/Make/Roll out Pie Crust. Use 9 inch pan. Crimp edges
For Filling - Combine eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla. Stir in Chocolate mix
Pour Filling into pie crust. Back 50 minutes. Add fresh fruit or hot fudge sauce.
Yum