Creamy Prosciutto Pasta

I love eating & I enjoy cooking pretty much only because I love to eat.  My favorite types of meals don't take very long to whip up but taste like they did. 

Over the weekend I made a prosciutto pasta recipe from our family's cookbook.  I'm not sure where it originally came from, but it is yummmmy and I had the camera nearby so I had to share!!!

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta- approx 1 lb (1 box)

Prosciutto

Flour- 3 tablspoons

Heavy Cream-  you could try substituting it with skim milk- 2 cups

Edamame (it was originally peas but I switched it to soy beans because we like them better)- 1 cup

Parsley

Chives (I used scallions because we didn't have chives)

Parmesan Cheese- 2-4 tablespoons depending upon how thick you want the sauce

Ground Black Pepper

I did the recipe approximately- I'm not big on measuring- and it came out soo delicious so don't worry about the amounts so much. 

DIRECTIONS:

1.Boil the water for the pasta.  I used farfalle this time but anything really works.  Penne is awesome with it because the cream gets inside the noodles ;) ;)  I usually salt my pasta water once it boils.

2.  Saute the prosciutto with a little olive oil in a sauce pan for a few minutes

3.  Add in the flour & saute it for another 3 or so

4.  Slowly pour in the heavy cream & whisk it for a few minutes until it thickens.  (I skipped the whisking part & it still worked.)

5.  Add in the chopped parsley, chives, and cooked edamame.  Add a bunch of pepper.

6.  Add in the parmesan cheese & stir until it melts. 

7.  Pour it over your freshly cooked pasta, serve and EAT!  (I kept it separated from the pasta because I knew we'd have a lot of leftovers and I don't like it as much once the sauce & pasta have been sitting together for a day or so, but if you aren't planning on leftovers, go ahead & mix it all in with the pasta before serving.)



(Yes, sometimes the two year old goes shirtless at meals...  easier clean up ;)

If you get some time to try it out, I promise you will looooooove it!!

ps- Am I the only person who feels like the pictures of the food never look as good as the food really does in person?  How do those food photographers do it?!!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Half Full???

Home with one healthy one and one sick one today.  I'm somewhere in the middle.  :)

I was thinking about happiness...  It's definitely something that I think we all want. 

There are days when it comes naturally and days when we have to work for it. 

Yesterday we had the most beautiful weather ever & I was on the way home from a meeting with the music blasting.  (= complete happiness)  ... And then I was running out of gas on 495 during rush hour with the nearest gas station on my GPS over 9 miles away.  On "E" my car is pretty much out of gas, and because of the blasting music & pretty day, I'd failed to notice the light when it first came on.  So not good.  (I'm an idiot).  I had to put the car in neutral when I was stopped and I was just praying I could make it to the gas station as I sat in dead-stop traffic  (= scared and totally wanting to kick my own xxx.)  But, I made it, and filling up a gas tank has never felt so good.  I walked in the door to our house after a more than 2 hour trip home and that green sofa was Heaven. 

Sometimes happiness is just not having the worst happen. 

For today, it's having only one home sick.

Enjoy yours!!




If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Change & Patience

Spring is on its way and I am so excited!!!  It makes us busier at home and ready for projects.  (sorry husband.)  I've been craving changes around our house for a while now & one of the changes I've been wanting to make was to ditch our mantle and stenciling & to basically "undecorate" a bit:

{photo by Helen Norman}

I'll be the first to say that I love our mantle & the stenciling.  My husband, David, spent 3 days doing the stencil by hand during my last pregnancy.  (Don't you love how the biggest projects take place when you're 7 or 8 months pregnant??)    But I also love rearranging my living room.  (like a lot...  )  The sofa can go anywhere but on that mantle wall, and with 2 crazy boys- 4 and 2 yrs old-  I've been craving a more open arrangment and a more modern vibe.

So, a weekend or two ago... down came the mantle, and my (super patient) husband primed & painted over the stencil:

(with a smile....  I know most husbands would be filing at this point so I'm really thankful ;)

I would say the new look is much less "pretty" (and my photos definitely don't look as good as Helen's!) and feels more casual & relaxed, which is what I'm in the mood for.  I'm waiting on a lamp shade for my lamp & need to do some accessorizing so it feels a very bare on the sides/ corners for right now but I'll fix that later...  Here's a photo of it that I took just now & hope you enjoy the toy "styling" Justin worked so hard on this morning:

{Yes, this is how our living room really looks on a daily basis...  if you ever see it "clean" it means we're not home.}

I move stuff around all the time so I'm borrowing the tall glass floor lamp for my bedroom right now & I'll add in a glass table lamp we've had lying around.  I'll play around with end tables when I get some time (ha!) and then I'll probably rearrange again.  If I were to keep the sofa here permanently, I'd probably get a longer one, but I know it's not going to stay in one place  for very long.  I've realized that my house really only undergoes most of its changes during my 3rd trimester of pregnancy.  This "nesting" thing is no joke. 

{Thanks for the help Justin}

My dream plan is to do floor-to-ceiling windows all along the back wall of the living room & dining room with a small iron balcony across the back of the house so we're completely open to the trees behind us but that will have to wait a while. (maybe forever ;)

On another note, I did start planning our "dream" master bathroom & our contractor measured it yesterday for a quote, so who knows? 

Like I said, this nesting thing is no joke.

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

What is up?!

Things have been a little crazy lately although I now realize I don't think it'll ever be any other way. ;)  I wanted to share a picture taken by Helen a few weeks ago in my client's recently finished dining room and also just give you a quick update on where things are at with me.

{Photo by Helen Noman, flowers by Holly Chapple}

I am gaga for the thistle in this arrangement. 

And...  I can't get over how time is flying right now.  I'm pregnant with our 3rd baby and have about two more months to go and we've got so much to get done before then!!  The baby part will take its course but the work &getting-the-house-in-order-part doesn't.  I'm planning on finishing up the nursery before the baby arrives (unlike last time.) 

Things have been changing a lot at work. (One thing I've learned is that when you run your own company, things never stop changing.)   We have a new intern, Alexa, who is such a sweetheart & is really helping out a lot.  We've been busy with photographing projects and we really have an amazing group of clients that I feel so lucky to know.  I get more & more excited every day about our projects.  My design assistant, Meghan (who never lets me take her picture which is why you won't see her much on here!!) is doing an amazing job keeping projects running smoothly even though she has soooo much on her plate.  We run around like madwomen all day long and it seems there are never enough hours but that's the way it needs to be to get it all done.  (or try to ;) 

Keeping up with emails has been a challenge & I apologize if anyone emailed & I didn't respond.  Please just resend if it's been too long.  I am so sorry.

I found out a few weeks ago that we weren't selected to be in the DC Design House this year (bummer) but as my grandmother reminded me...  When I was 9 years old and didn't make it in the school talent show for dancing with my best friends (The Blondie Bunch) to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (apparently the song was too risque??) I said, "Everyone needs to get rejected every once in a while."  :)   hahahahah 

{image from here}

But I do think it's so true...  We don't get everything we go after and the rejections teach us things about ourselves & about situations.   I think they prepare us for our future victories & make us stronger.   And I know the showhouse will be a great one this year!

On another note...  My lovely kankles have started to arrive already on busy days.   They aren't awful yet but I know it's coming. I'm disappointed because this is waaaay sooner than I had swollen ankles during my last pregnancy (and I didn't even have them with my first) but I guess I'm running around way more now than I was then with 2 kids and a busier work schedule.  I can't wait to wear skirts & shorts this Spring to show off my new kankles!!  meoooooooow 

{safely hidden kankles but the belly is grooooowing}

My boys are so good to me & can't wait to meet the new baby.  Dave has been amazing and even 2 year old Justin rubs my back.  (Not really, it's like 3 seconds but it melts my heart.  When he's finished he says, "It's good?")

Other than that there are a few things brewing around here that I am CRAZY EXCITED about and will share as soon as I can.   I hope you had a great weekend and -ps- can you believe it's MARCH ALREADY?!!!!  unreal.  February flew by and that never seems to happen for me. 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.