Pesto Pasta Salad

When we were living in Dallas 4 years ago, the hubby's favorite lunch spot was TABC in Uptown.  Once we moved up here he always asked me to make his favorite pasta salad from TABC.  Me, never having tried it or never really wanting to (it never sounded that great to me),  attempted to make it.  And according to Chase he says it's just as good -- maybe he's just being nice, but it still tastes pretty darn good whether or not it's the exact same.  Now I think I crave it more than he does!


It's such an easy weeknight dinner.  Most of it you can make ahead and pull out the night you need it.  Or if your hubbs works a ton like mine, this is the best meal for one.  I can eat off this one recipe a few times in a week.  Many times I'll make the pesto and grill the chicken breasts ahead of time then all I have to do is boil some pasta for that night.

Pesto Pasta Salad


Pesto
3 c  basil leaves, washed
3 tbl  grated parmesan cheese
1 tbl  fresh lemon juice
1 tbl  toasted pine nuts
1 tsp  kosher salt
1/2 tsp  ground black pepper
1 clove of minced garlic


Use a food processor to blend together.
I make my pesto according to taste.  Taste along the way and add more to perfect your own.


Pasta Salad
1 lb  shredded or chopped grilled chicken breast
3/4 c  pesto
spring salad mix
olive & oil dressing (Paul Newman's is my fav)
parmesan cheese
fusilli or rotini pasta


Combine pasta with pesto sauce.  Set aside.  Toss spring mix with dressing and chicken.  To prepare plates, place dressed salad and chicken on plate, then set pesto pasta a top salad.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve with garlic bread.

Red Snapper with Nectarine Salsa

Yummmm!  Most of my early/late afternoons begin with the same question to Chase, What do you want for dinner?  I gave him a Cooking Light and Bon Appetite flip through hoping that maybe just this one time he would give me idea.  And of course he chose chicken kebabs...the one thing I hate most and refuse to cook!  Kebabs are so stupid!  It's that simple.  Nothing on the stick requires the same cooking time, and I usually get so frustrated half way through that I take everything off the stick and cook it separately.


I told Chase I would make this minus the kebab part, but chicken breasts seemed pretty boring for a Saturday night.  A fish would certainly do the job.  We chose red snapper, but in my opinion the marinate and salsa would be wonderful with anything!!


For some reason I wasn't too sure about the salsa, but oh my goodness was I wrong!  I wanted to eat it with a spoon for breakfast this morning!  As I say that, I should have put it on an english muffin, or with eggs and a tortilla -- oh the possibilities!! Can you tell I'm pregnant : )

Red Snapper with Nectarine Salsa                               inspired by Cooking Light

Snapper marinate

1 tbl  brown sugar

1 tbl  olive oil

1 tbl  fresh lime juice

2 tsp  chili powder

1 tsp  minced garlic

1/2 tsp  kosher salt

1/2 tsp  ground cumin

1/4 tsp  black pepper

Combine ingredients in a shallow dish.  Let fish sit in marinate 15 minutes.  Place fish skin side down on skillet or gill.  Cook three-fourths of the way through, then flip.  Cook to desired doneness.  

Nectarine Salsa

(dice the following ingredients)

2 c  nectarines (about 2-3 nectarines)

1/4 c  red onion

1/2 c  grilled corn cut off the cob

2 tbl  fresh cilantro leaves

1 1/2 tbl  fresh lime juice

2 tsp  seeded jalapeno peppers

1/4 tsp  kosher salt

1/2 c  avocado

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and give a gentle stir.  

If you cook like me then you don't measure many things out.  This salsa should be made to taste.   

Don't forget to add your own twist to the salsa!  Add whatever else is in the refrigerator -- bell peppers, green onions, tomatoes, cucumbers...

Serve with a side of couscous or wild rice and there you have it!

Let there be Light...

I've started the hunt for a chandelier for the new dinning room.  During the renovation, this room will only have a few changes.  One major one being the french doors will be no more -- meaning no natural lighting in this room.  The door into the kitchen is also being relocated around the corner.  This new chandelier needs to give off a good amount of light when need be, I'll also stick a couple of lamps and a mirror (for light reflecting) in the room.

I personally love the old, traditional, crystal chandeliers.  Chase on the other hand wants something a little more modern.  I'm determined to find a beautiful compromise.

Paint color will obviously be changed, and most likely the sad sad too skinny chair rail.  And ewww the previous owner's chandelier is out!  Funny, he was so adamant about taking that with him.  Yes, I will pay you take that!

Possible Chandelier Choices

found here

found here

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found here

Fabric Fridays -- Summer Sunshine

It's very simple, but I love beautiful fabric!  After quitting teaching a year ago I began a new business of reupholstering old chairs with a new fabulous look.  What a wonderful excuse to look at fabric all day  : )  Check out what I've been doing at White Design.  I thought I would take Fridays to share the fabrics I'm swooning over at the time.


Even though it doesn't quite feel like summer in NYC (NO complaints here!!) I wanted to share some summery fabrics with you.

found here

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Maybe these are a little more Spring than Summer, but oh well!
Enjoy your summer weekend : )

Cute Cute Cute Mobiles

I assumed when looking for a mobile for the nursery I would have to settle for a Fisher Price mobile.  As I was registering for gifts I started to see how far mobiles have come!  Mobiles serve an important role in your child's development -- stimulating their minds through motion, color differentiation.  And lucky for the designer mom, they are visually pleasing to us as well.  

I can't believe how cute they are (and unfortunately a little expensive).  Maybe if I put it on my registry, a rich aunt will buy it for me : )  I also found a beautiful one that a woman made.  Very cute and inexpensive!  Check out some of my favs....

all 3 found here

 I can't believe how well this handmade one turned out!  It gives me a little confidence that I may be able to do this too.

found here

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no longer available : ( 

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Maw Maw Kitty's Blueberry Pie

I wasn't the one to name my grandparents, my older brother did the honors.  Some how he chose Maw Maw & Ging Ging Kitty, and wouldn't you know they had a cat.  Since then Maw Maw Kitty has always had a kitty.  When your name has the word Kitty in it, you most certainly should always have a cat!  


She is one of the most sweet, gentle, loving, sophisticated, down to earth, and silly woman that I know.  She always is so well put together even when she is going to Home Depot.  The other day I complimented her on the top she was wearing, she told me she got it at Zara!  Does anybody else have an 84 year old granny that shops at Zara?  Most people find it very strange when I tell them that I borrow clothes from my grandmother...but when you see her you would understand.  At my brother's wedding you could have caught on the dance floor getting down to the Black Eyed Peas! 


Back to cooking...Maw Maw Kitty has been the cooking teacher to my mother, aunt, and I.  Hands down my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving only because of the feast that we prepare.  It's all recipes from my grandmother and her mother.  I'll of course post those around Thanksgiving!  


This Blueberry Pie is soooooo easy you can put it together in 5 minutes and my friends are always so impressed!  


Maw Maw Kitty's Blueberry Pie
5 c  fresh washed blueberries
1 tbl  fresh lemon juice
15 oz  pie crust (package of 2 crusts)
1 c  sugar (plus a little extra to sprinkle on crust top)
1/3 c  flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp  cinnamon
2 tbl  butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix berries and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Let sit while you combine the rest.  In separate bowl sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon.  Mix berries into dry ingredients gently.  Pour mixture into pie crust.  Use the second crust for the top -- cut into 1/2 strips and lay in a lattice pattern.  Place small chunks of butter around the top.  Sprinkle crust with sugar.  Bake for 30-45.  

*Don't judge me on the appearance of my pie!  My husband took a knife to it before I could get a pretty picture.  The best foods don't always look it : )

A Neutral Nursery IS Possible

I have always said that I wouldn't find out the sex of my children while we were pennant. It's definitely easier said then done especially when your husband wants to find out. I had my days when I told myself, forget this I'm finding out!  But when it came to the day of the doctors appointment Chase was on board with keeping it a secret, giving me the extra push to stay true and do the same.


Of course in the back of my head was the nursery : ) I came across a posting on House of Turquoise with such beautiful nurseries for everyBaby.  My search began for more inspiration and this is where my mind going...

The room is cute, but the letters wrapping around the room is a must!

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This was my original inspiration.  The aquas and corals drew me.  

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This sagey color is number one of my list for wall colors currently.  Maybe with a little more gray in it.  

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Love Love Love this crib!  

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Countertop Hunting

I was overjoyed when I got the go ahead to redo some of the kitchen in the new house.  The plan is to make one of the walls in the kitchen a countertop opening into the new den.  Doing this means laying new countertops on this side of the kitchen.  Personally I am SO over the same speckled granite (which is currently on the existing countertops).  Sooo while we have the guys tearing things up, we might as well have them take up the existing countertops and lay some pretty ones down : )


Concrete or Carrera marble Countertops were always on the tops of my list!  After doing a little research, I'm not sold that they are the best choice.  Unfortunately granite seems to be the lowest maintenance option.  Recently I read up on quartz which is very similar to granite.  The only con I read was that it was a solid color...I'm not sold on that being a con though.  I would love some feedback from personal experiences with countertops!


My Vision:  bright white cabinets, white subway tiles, with a gray countertop

This countertop is done in Soapstone.  Love the look of it, but don't know much about Soapstone.  

found here

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This is the kitchen currently.  Not too bad, just not my taste.  The wall where the refrigerator is will become a countertop looking over into the den.  (obviously the refrigerator will be moved)

Please feel free to add your two cents about countertops, I'm feeling quite overwhelmed with all choices!!!

2011 A Year of Change

My husband really likes making New Year's Resolutions -- Me, I'm not big on them at all!  Way too much commitment : )  This year's resolution was more of motto, 2011 Our Year of Change.  It's not that 2010 was a bad year by any means, but there were some things we wanted to try to change this year.  Number one on the list was to move back to Texas.  Well be careful what you wish for!  In February we found out that Baby White will be joining our little family in October.  Shortly after that we got the go ahead for the move back to Texas for August 1st.


A move means finding a new home!  I think we deserve having as much space and closets as we can afford after living in a 720 sq ft apartment for the last 3 1/2 years.  The home we found is really great as is, minus the room colors.  But having a builder for a dad makes a few renovations possible.  


We're not quite a White House in Texas yet, but very soon.  The most fun thing about the move (in my opinion) is getting to decorate a whole house!  Since I moved out of my parents house for college in 2001 I have always lived in apartments -- minus one little house in Ft. Worth.


Baby White's Nursery is the first on the agenda!  He/She will be arriving on or around October 8 and we're not finding out the sex.  I thought this would make decorating the room a challenge but so far I haven't had too much trouble.  I'm envisioning a mostly white room with grays and yellows.  Then once the baby comes I'll add corals or turquoises.  I know I know white with a baby I'm crazy!  Let me be the mom that at least wants the first baby's room pretty : )  This is what I have so far...

ouefnyc.com

westelm.com

westelm.com

babybliss.com

target.com

serenaandlily.com

This is just the start. It maybe a slightly more challenging attempting the gender neutral room, but I'm so glad it's not an all pink or blue room.