New (easy!) recipe: Creamy Sausage Penne

Last week, we lived off of junk food. One of my friends even said that our diet appealed to her inner toddler, yikes! Unfortunately, anytime I'm sick, that's what happens at our house. Patrick doesn't cook. At all.

I decided that to combat this next time, I'd prep some freezer meals that he can just throw in the oven and set the timer. My plan is to not do the crazy hundreds of meals prep, but make a double batch of dinner. Here's the first delicious dish I've tried...hopefully it will be good in a few weeks too. 

Creamy Sausage Penne

Adapted from What's Cooking Chicago

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon  chopped garlic
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 (10.5-ounce) cans tomato puree

1 (14-ounce) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound penne
3 cups ricotta 
1 bag shredded Mozzerella

Preheat the oven to 400°.

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the minced garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 15-30 seconds. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato puree, diced tomatoes, and sugar, . Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Reserve half of the meat sauce. Transfer the remaining sauce to the pot with the pasta. Toss to combine.

Spoon the pasta into a 8x8-inch baking dish. Pour the reserved meat sauce over the pasta and dollop large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top. Gently fold some of the ricotta into the pasta; don't over mix.  Scatter the mozzarella on top.

Bake the pasta in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

*Make Ahead/Freezer Meal: Prepare the recipe above but spoon the pasta into a freezer- and oven-safe container. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the pasta and dollop large spoonfuls of the ricotta on top. Gently fold some of the ricotta into the pasta; don't overmix—you should have pockets of ricotta. Scatter the mozzarella on top. Cover and freeze. When ready to serve, defrost and bake the pasta in a 400 degree preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Friday Five 7/26

I'm linking up with the lovely Joy from the Sowell life for the Friday Five

1. I've been totally miserably sick this week.  Don't know if Patrick's parents passed on their illness to me, but fever, chills, congestion....they're all over me right now.  Luckily, I have a sweet husband to take care of me and a pup that loves to snuggle.

2. Being housebound almost drove me loony this week, so my niece got two new outfits sewn, including this sunsuit with a ruffle booty.  Super professional picture, I know.

3. I've been super busy at work, which means my sick days were actually grant writing/reporting days.  I'm waiting to proofread until Monday just to be on the safe side.  Just couldn't take 3 days completely off right now.

4. Our bestest friends got married last weekend!  If you missed that post, go back and check it out, but I'll leave you with a lovely outtake.

5. This weekend, we plan on taking it easy, so I can hopefully get completely well.  I'm looking forward to sleeping late, pancakes, and all day PJs.

Getting to Know You

Tuesday's post was just the start.  Here's some more you about me!

1. What part of Mississippi are you from? Madison
2. How long have you been blogging? Off and on for 4 years.
3. Why did you start blogging? I started as a way to connect with family and friends when we lived in Arizona.  I was pretty miserable out there.
4. Tell us what we can expect when reading your blog. A little bit of everything, but mostly lots of puppy pictures and some good recipes, especially since football season is just around the corner.
5. What does your blog title means? Pretty self explanatory ;)
6. What do you love about being part of Mississippi Women Bloggers? Great community!
7. Who inspires you to blog? It's a fun way to de-stress after a long day and express myself.
8. If you could pick a favorite blog post from this past year, what would it be? That's a short list! Probably my Bundt cake recipe.
9. Do your real life friends know you blog?  How do they respond? Yep.  They're kinda meh.
10. What is your blogging routine (if you have one)? Not even close.  I wish I did!
11. We all love social media!  Are there any social media links you would like to share so we can follow you? twitter.com/angela_shepard
12. Name 3 bloggers who have not joined Mississippi Women Bloggers that you would like to see join us!  MK @ Joyfully Uncomfortable...can't think of any others

Wedding Weekend

Last weekend, we headed south for the beautiful wedding of Ben and Jamey.  Ben is one of our best friends (former roommate) and Patrick's fraternity brother and Jamey is the perfect girl for him.  We love her.

It was bound to be interesting since it was a Primitive Baptist/Catholic wedding, but I think that the pastor and Father Rust did a great job of integrating both traditions into the wedding. There was a little bit of wedding day craziness, like finding the groom in the pool thirty minutes before pictures (30 minutes away) or the music person being fired during the rehearsal, but otherwise fairly uneventful....and aren't those the things you remember?

 The funniest part (to me):
Friday night, I was the proxy bride and Boone (family friend), escorted me down the aisle several times, which led to lots of jokes. The church was small tiny, so the bride couldn't come over till just before the ceremony, and Boone joked that I was going to get a second husband.

The reception was at the country club and we danced our booties off.  Even Patrick made it on the dance floor.  Here are some fun pictures from their great day!

Tammie Adam Photography

Some Fun Questions

A few days ago, Jenny from Crumbs Under the Table nominated little ol' me for a Liebster.

It is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers, 

as a great way to get to know you a little better.

So here are the rules: 

1. Link back to the blog that nominated me. 

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers. 

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator. 

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself.

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees. 

6. Contact your nominees by commenting on their blog or sending them an email to communicate the nomination. 

My questions from Jenny:

1. Would you rather live in the city or the country?

    Can go with the "other" option?  I'm a fan of the 'burbs, but if I had to pick, I'd probably vote city.  Loved living in NoLA!

2. What is something that happened in the last seven days that you will remember in seven years?

     Ben and Jamey's wedding.  Complete with Kool-Aid getting fired during the rehearsal.

3. Surf or turf? 

Always turf.

4. Why did you start blogging?

It started with a different blog (eons ago) when we were living in Arizona, as an easy way to keep up with family and friends.

5. If you were stranded on a desert island, what is the one object you would like to have with you?

Shampoo.  I hate the feeling of sandy saltwater hair once I'm done at the beach.

6. Do you love or hate Facebook? 

Good one.  Personally love it, but part of my career is social media related....which makes me hate it.  

7. What kind(s) of music do you like?

Rock/pop/folk.  Lately I've been jamming out to Matchbox20, Robin Thicke and Mumford and Sons.

8. If you had it to do over again, would you take the same career path? 

Depends on the day. 80% of the time I'm happy in my field (fundraising), but it's a niche market, so moving can be challenging and it's very high stress.

9. What is your favorite place you have ever been?

Montezuma, Costa Rica.  I interned/went to school in Costa Rica for a summer and Montezuma was my favorite weekend trip.  So relaxing, best mango daiquiris, beautiful beaches.

10. What is the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you (that you can talk about publicly)?

After I got back from Costa Rica, my then boyfriend (now husband) thought it would be funny to stick a car key in my ear, to which I replied, "what the hell Patrick f'ing Shepard?" In front of my family. That had never heard me curse (nor have they heard it since then).

11. Do you like to watch sports, and if so, which ones  and which teams?

College Football....Mississippi State

Now for the randoms....

1. Last year, I got to see Joshua Bell perform Vivaldi in Audubon Park. It was my absolute favorite live  performance.

2. I've never been north of DC (in the good ol' USA).

3. I'm on my 3rd (maybe 4th) passport at 28.

4. I've been to 20+ countries, 4 continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, North America)

5. I've lost 30 pounds this year!

6. My dog is named after Oliver Cromwell.  He's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We're history nerds.

7. I grew up on a farm, with horses, cows and goats.

8. I hate goat cheese because of said goats.

9.  I have a degree in Spanish, but can only speak it if I'm tipsy.

10. I sew on the side as a stress reliever.  My niece is the biggest beneficiary of this hobby.

11. The Shepards are both big readers. We've started a library for our future children and read 100s of books a year.

My five friends:

Sally @ Sally, That Girl

MK @ Joyfully Uncomfortable

Southern Momma at Home

Cassie @ Second Chances

Samantha @ She Runs in Pearls

Questions for these ladies:

1. Did you ever want to change your name? To what?

2. Dream vacation spot?

3. What is your least favorite food?

4. If you could meet someone famous for dinner (dead or alive) who would it be?

5. Favorite book character?

6. Winter or Summer?

7. What's your perfect date night?

8. Dog or Cat?

9. If you could have a shopping spree anywhere, what store would you choose?

10. What career did you want as a child?

11. Is your hometown famous for anything?

Brain Dump Número Uno

It's been a crazy few weeks, so this seems like the most appropriate way to say a lot in a little time.

1. Cromwell and I have started walking almost every afternoon, but today I think I pushed him a little too far. By the last quarter mile, he started up every driveway, like he was thinking "please, please let this be our house."

                                

2. To follow up with that, I'm trying to get back into running. I've done C25K and will probably use it again, but I get bored easily. Any other suggestions to keep me into it? Or race suggestions?

3. Are you a reader? We are both big readers (bookshelf space is a must) but, this article about America's decline in reading made me pretty sad. To cheer myself up, I'm trying a new book, The Zookeeper's Wife. Apropos, right?

4. Only 51 days till MSU Football. I can't wait for trips to Starkville, our super "churched up" tailgate, and cheering on the dogs. #hailstate

5. Random observation: I'm terrible at making friends. After moving (a lot!), I'm good at making acquaintances, but friends to hang out with....not so much. #adultlifeishard

Bake Me a Cake

Patrick had sinus surgery a few weeks ago, and while I was enjoying a bachelorette party in New Orleans, one of our neighbors brought him a chicken pot pie.  Being the good southern lady that I am, I couldn't return the dish empty, but I completely forgot to buy ingredients every time I went to the grocery.  So last night, as we were waiting on the grill to get hot, I decided I would find a recipe that would work with what I had on hand...and I got pretty close! May I present:

 

Sour Cream Pound Cake

 

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with eggs, beating in each egg 1 at a time. Add vanilla.
Pour the mixture into a greased pan. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.


Super simple and delicious.  Ours were in tiny Bundt pans which have about 4 servings each, Patrick's already asked me to make it again, only with strawberries on top.

Do you have a favorite pound cake recipe?