Made this the other day and Chris absolutely loved it, I think he had thirds!

Cheesy Penne Pasta w/ Pancetta & Peas

1 16 oz. box of Penne pasta
About 1/2 cup or more of cubed Pancetta that has been fried
About 1/2 cup or more of frozen peas
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan
1 3/4 cups of milk
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. butter
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Salt & Pepper

While your pasta is cooking melt butter in a saucepan and add flour. Cook for about a minute while stirring. Gradually add milk and bring to a boil stirring until thick and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper and then add the Pancetta and peas. Once the pasta has finished cooking pour the cheese sauce over it and mix well. Pour pasta into a baking dish and top with some shredded Mozzarella cheese. Use your discretion as to how cheesy you want it. Bake at 400 degrees just until cheese is melted and starts to get bubbly.

Chicken Fajitas

Boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into strips
Strips of onion
Strips of orange, green, yellow bell peppers
Cumin
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Salt
Pepper
Canola oil

Season chicken with the cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, s&p. Heat skillet on medium high and add a little oil for cooking. Throw chicken into the skillet and keep moving around with spatula until it's halfway cooked. Add the peppers and onions and continue until chicken is all the way cooked and peppers and onions start to caramelize.


Serve in flour tortillas with sour cream, and shredded cheese. Chris doused his in hot sauce as well as you can see in this picture.

Today we are lounging around in our pajamas, watching cartoons and playing with some of Penelope's birthday presents. Yesterday she wasn't feeling very well, ate very little, and had a fever most of the night. This morning she woke up feeling better and ravenous. She had a big bowl of cereal and fruit for breakfast and then asked if I could make her a surprise lunch. She must have been craving her favorite fastfood Subway because that request was followed with " I will just have Subway tomorrow."

Penelope made her very first cheesecake the other day. It was pretty tasty.


Baked Cheesecake

For the crust we used a pre-made graham cracker crust.

1 1/2 cups of Sugar
3 tbsp Cornstarch
3 cups of Cream Cheese
2 Eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract I used Neilsen Massey's Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla

Mix together sugar, cornstarch, and cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla extract and continue to mix. Add the sour cream and continue mixing. Pour filling into the pre-made graham cracker crust and bake at 350 for one hour.


The cheesecake came out very creamy. It's not very pretty but it sure was delicious.

Here are a few more pictures of Penelope's Birthday celebration...

Melting Pot La Jolla, San Diego

First Course

The cheese was her favorite part

She cooked her own shrimp

Dessert and a candle

Pinata at her Birthday party grandma threw for her

Birthday cake from Coldstone

Today I woke up with a craving for Sloppy Joe's. Sloppy Joe's are one of those childhood memories I sometimes get this overwhelming urge to chomp down on. So from the time I jumped out of bed I knew I was going to make some Sloppy Joe's for dinner... until...midday I suddenly got a craving for a Philly Cheesesteak. Not just any Philly Cheesesteak but one made with Steak-ums. So I sent Chris out to find me some Steak-ums for our Philly's but unfortunately he could not find any. Oh No! Needless to say when dinner time came around I was not in the mood to cook or eat anything. Yes, I was a grump, but I couldn't let the rest of the family starve so I got an idea. Why not make a Philly Cheesesteak with the ground beef and hamburger buns I was going to use for my Sloppy Joe's and satisfy both of today's cravings. I call it a Sloppy Cheesesteak, Chris prefers Philly Joe.


Sloppy Cheesesteak

1 lb. Ground beef
2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
Half a bell pepper chopped in small pieces
About 1/4 onion chopped in small pieces
Provolone Cheese
Hamburger Buns
Mayonnaise
Seasoned Salt
Pepper

Brown ground beef seasoning with the Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile in another pan saute the chopped pepper and onions in a little olive oil. Drain the ground beef and add the peppers and onions to it and then lower the heat, top with provolone cheese and cover so the cheese melts. In the meantime spread buns with mayo and then fill with meat mixture. They taste just like Philly Cheesesteaks!