Earth Day - Picnic for the Planet

What a great idea!  We should always celebrate the beautiful earth but this idea of a world picnic day is just amazing!  I'll be having a picnic with some friends and family.  What do you think?  Will you be having one too?

This Earth Day, celebrate the planet we live on with great people and good food. Choose a favorite outdoor location, round up some friends and take the planet out to lunch!

Sign up for your local Meetup and collaborate here with other attendees to figure out a location and what kind of picnic you want to have in your neighborhood.

We're partial to picnics, but potlucks rule too. Or maybe there's a community garden you can enjoy together? Whatever the Meetup, get the conversation going now and start planning!
Find more details and ideas at http://earthday.nature.org/about/

Berry Parfaits

Anyone want a snack?

How about a KISS?

I often eat yogurt as a healthy snack during the day.  It's tangy creaminess makes me feel like I'm cheating.  I usually get the "lite" version which has less sugar and carbs. 

When it starts to get berry season I crave fruit.  Walking through the produce section of the store makes me long for summer!  The other day I spotted the first ripe strawberries of the season (locally grown!) and some gorgeous blueberries.

I had to have them....so I did.

Now this is just the easiest thing to make.  You just need 2 individual yogurt cups (any flavor you choose), some cut up strawberries, blueberries, and some Cheerios cereal for a little crunch!

Here's how you put this together.  Take two pretty glasses.  Add 1/2 container of vanilla yogurt in each glass.  Add some sliced strawberries, blueberries, and some cereal.  Add another layer of yogurt using 1/2 of the container per glass.  I used strawberry.  Add more cereal, sliced strawberries, and top with  blueberries.

KISS - keep it super simple!

Enjoy your snack!

Berry Parfaits

Serves 2

1 individual container of vanilla "lite" yogurt

1 individual container of strawberry "lite" yogurt

sliced strawberries

fresh blueberries

Cheerios cereal

Layer yogurt with cereal and fruit in a glass. Alternating layers with different flavors of yogurt, ending with fruit on the top.

Pasta with Mushrooms in a Cream Sauce

Sometimes you just want a dish that doesn't include meat.  It's healthy for you.

This dish doesn't lack for anything.  It has great flavor, provides comfort, it has vegetables, and even some alcohol!

I'm in love with this dish.  No really...I'm in love.
I don't take things like this lightly....the creaminess, the mushrooms, the pasta, the creaminess....did I say that already?

Try it, you'll love it to.  Period.

Here we go.

You will need:  Mushrooms, lemon, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, parsley, white wine, heavy cream, grated Parmesan cheese,  and fettuccine.

Clean and slice the mushrooms.  Place in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemon half over the mushrooms and toss.

Add garlic and olive oil to a skillet.  Cook over medium-high heat until garlic sizzles, about 30 seconds.  Add mushrooms, stir and cover.  Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You want to draw out all the moisture.

At this point, cook your pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water.  Cook 1 -2 minutes less than directed on the package.  The pasta will continue to cook when added to the mushrooms and the sauce.

Remove the lid from the mushrooms, add salt and pepper, and continue to cook another 5 -7 minutes until they are nice and brown and all the moisture had evaporated.

Add parsley.

Add wine to deglaze the pan, stirring up all the bits on the bottom.

Add the cream to the pan.  Let this simmer and sauce will thicken.  Add Parmesan to the sauce and stir. 

Add cooked pasta straight from the pot and in to the mushroom sauce.  No need to drain.  The pasta water will help loosen the sauce a little. 

Add enough pasta to get a good pasta to sauce ratio.  Stir to completely cover the pasta with the sauce. 

Isn't this heaven??

Pasta with Mushrooms in a Cream Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 lemon

1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

½  tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 T chopped parsley

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup heavy cream

3 T Parmesan, grated

1 lb fettuccine

Directions

Clean and slice mushrooms.  Place in a bowl.  Squeeze the juice of the lemon half over the mushrooms and toss.

Add minced garlic along with olive oil to a large skillet.  Heat over medium-high heat until the garlic begins to sizzle but not brown, about 30 seconds.  Add the mushrooms, stir, and cover.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes.  You want to extract all the water and moisture from the mushrooms.  

Meanwhile bring salted water to a boil in a large pot and cook fettuccine.  Cook about 1 min less than recommended as the pasta will cook more when added to the mushrooms and sauce. 

Remove the lid from the mushrooms, add the salt and pepper.  Cook uncovered about 5-7 minutes more, stirring until they are nicely brown and all the moisture has evaporated.  Stir in the parsley.

Add white wine to deglaze.  Add cream to create a sauce and let simmer.  Add grated Parmesan to the sauce and stir.  

Add cooked pasta, straight from the pot to the mushrooms and sauce in the pan.  No need to drain the pasta, a little water will help loosen the sauce.  Add enough pasta, so there is a good sauce to noodle ratio.  Serve!