Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta

Last week, I set out to make something in my new cast iron skillet, which was a wonderful birthday gift from my in-laws!  I have been having some serious pasta cravings during this pregnancy, so I knew that pasta needed to be the main part of this dish!  We also needed to make a trip to the food store in the worst way...so this meal happened to be meatless and use ingredients that I had on hand (which is always a good thing)!

Your Shopping list for the Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta:

• one pound of pasta - any kind will work - I used Mini Rigatoni 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 galric cloves, minced
• 1 can (28 oz) San Marzano Tomatoes
• pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
• a handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half
• a few leaves of fresh basil
• extra parmesan cheese for garnish and serving

Now Let's Make the Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente - drain and set aside
3. Meanwhile while the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a 12 inch cast iron skillet (any oven safe skillet will work)
4. Add the garlic and cook until lightly golden and fragrant 
5. Add the can of tomatoes and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to your liking
6. Simmer the tomatoes for at least 10 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes as they cook (I just use the back of my wooden spoon to do this)
7. Stir in the half and half and the parmesan cheese and mix until the sauce becomes pink
   
8. Now add the pasta and half of the cubed mozzarella cheese and toss until all of the pasta is coated with sauce
9. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and the cherry tomatoes over the top and place skillet in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is melted 
10. Garnish with the fresh basil and extra parmesan 

This dish was a huge hit in our house!  Everyone loved it! 

I used this cast iron skillet to make this dish:

Apple Zucchini Muffins

I love making muffins!  Bake once and have little snacks or part of breakfast ready for the next 3-5 days!  In the fall, I make a ton of pumpkin muffins as well as a plain apple muffin...but last weekend I wanted something different!  And I happened to have some Jersey Fresh Zucchini in the fridge!

Your Shopping List for the Apple Zucchini Muffins:

• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp honey 
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium or two small zucchini)
• 1 cup chopped fuji apple (I use one large apple)
• cinnamon sugar for sprinkling 

Now Let's Make the Apple Zucchini Muffins:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners 
2. Use a cheese grater to shred the zucchini and place in a strainer, sprinkle with a pinch of salt to allow extra liquid to drain - set this aside
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg - set aside
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy
5. Add in the egg and beat until well combined
6. Add the honey, vanilla, and milk and beat on low speed, increasing to medium, until your wet mixture is fully incorporated
7. Add the bowl of dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on lowest speed until just combined
8. Fold in the shredded zucchini and chopped apple
   
9. Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly between the 18 muffin cups
10. Sprinkle each muffin with extra cinnamon sugar if desired (I just buy the already mixed cinnamon and sugar in the baking aisle)
11. Bake 18 - 20 minutes until tops of muffins are firm
12. Cool in muffins tins for 10 minutes, then transfer muffin cups to a wire rack to cool completely
13. Store muffins in an airtight container for 3 - 5 days or wrap individually for easy packing in school lunches and snack bags

I had two very happy little muffin eaters over the weekend!  And I promise your children will not even be able to taste the zucchini! 

I use these muffin pans from Williams Sonoma:

Mommy Mondays - Paisley Jean Update

It's Monday and around here that means it's a Mommy Monday!  Mondays can always be a bit tough because John goes back to work.  And since he leaves before the girls are awake, they definitely miss their Daddy (and so do I)!  I would be happy if we both got to be stay-at-home parents...but I guess someone has to pay the bills!  So I always try to make Mondays extra special with cuddles and treats or a special activity.  This morning we had a really fun playdate, and this afternoon we will head over to Nana and Pop-Pop's house to play outside and enjoy the amazing weather that we are experiencing today!

But onto our Paisley Update!  I had a doctor's appointment last week, and Mama and Baby are both doing great!  I got to hear Paisley's heartbeat, which is always wonderful!  I am still feeling good, but definitely getting less and less sleep as the weeks progress.  My heartburn is also in full force, and I am up to about 10 tums per day, so sweet Paisley better have a head full of hair! She is also in full moving and grooving mode, and is kicking me a ton!  I got to feel Paisley move pretty early on in my pregnancy, and she doesn't even like to stay still ever... so I have a feeling we are in for a feisty baby!

Here is my 23 Week Baby Bump!  It's getting bigger by the day! 

My 23 Weeks Chalkboard! 

24 Weeks was last Friday (September 5th) but I didn't get to take a picture until Sunday, which also happened to be Derek Jeter Day!  So I thought I would throw on John's Derek Jeter Jersey for the pic!  You can read about our love of the Yankees in this post! 

My 24 Week Chalkboard!  It's hard to believe that I am already 6 months along (almost 3rd trimester) and that Paisley Jean is already 1 1/2 pounds!  Although with my big baby track record, she is probably larger than what my pregnancy app says! 

Stay tuned for more Paisley Jean updates!  At my next doctor's visit I get to do my Glucose Test...ugh! 

Friday Favorites

Today I am linking up with three other blogs to bring you my Friday Favorites!  You can find the link up over at Momfessionals!

1. Fall Nail Polish  
We have been transitioning our house over to fall, and yesterday I put away my summer nail polishes and got out my bin of fall nail polishes.  I said goodbye to the hot pink on my nails and painted them Mochacino, a fun sparkly gray by Essie.  I haven't had the chance to pick up any of their new fall colors yet, but it's on my to-do list!  

2. Fall Scented Candles

Another one of my favorite ways to transition the seasons is by putting away the summer scents and breaking out the fall scents!  I am all about apples and pumpkins!  Currently, I am working my way through a Macintosh Candle by Yankee Candle!  This is one of my favorite transition to fall scents!  

3. My Healthy Banana Bread
Last week, we were enjoying a batch of my pumpkin bread.  This week, we ate two loaves of my Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread!  It's the perfect recipe to use up those bananas that are turning brown in your fruit bowl!

4. the Frozen DVD

I know we are a little late to the game on this one!  The girls actually got this for Easter, but they haven't really have the attention span to watch the movie from start to finish...until last weekend.  Lacie was feeling a bit under the weather, and we watched this DVD 3 times in a 24 hour period (no I'm not exaggerating).  Here's a sweet pic I snapped of Daddy and his girls watching Frozen (my child who is smiling is actually the one not feeling well).  I believe this was during showing #2! 

  

It was a longgg weekend of staying inside!

   

What are your Friday Favorites?

#hiloskyeveryday2014 Week 36

Everyone was feeling a bit under the weather this week, but I still managed to take a pic a day!

Day 241 - Lacie started off the day fine and ended up with a fever (hence the ice pack) out of nowhere.  I actually blame her well visit at the doctor's office for this little bug that worked it's way through our house!

Day 242 - Blakely loves to read...especially if it's a Disney Princess Book (or Goodnight Moon)! 

Day 243 - On this day we watched Frozen...twice...

Day 244 - A big thanks to my wonderful Father-In-Law who brought me an entire Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake (it was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.)!

Day 245 - despite the heatwave, we enjoyed Mexican Tortilla Soup for dinner (but in the future I should check the weather before meal planning).

Day 246 - I love walking into their room in the morning to see them sitting side by side reading books! 

Day 247 - I put away all my summer colors (goodbye hot pink) and took out my fall/winter nail polishes! 

Friday Favorites

Happy Happy Friday! John has been working a lot of overtime this week (and it's only just the beginning) so I am very happy that it is a three day weekend!

Today I am linking up with Momfessionals, A Little Bit of Everything, and Grace and Love to share my favorites of the week! 

1. Pumpkin Spice K-Cups

When you are pregnant, the doctors say it is okay to have one cup of caffeinated coffee per day, and I have been loving my Pumpkin Spice K-Cups every morning!  They make waking up at 5:15am a bit easier!
 

2. My Cuisinart Keurig Coffee Maker 
This clearly goes with Friday Favorite #1 because without it we would not be able to make our coffee. And I have a confession, ours broke this week.  I was in a panic. We have had it for over 3 years now, and I went to brew a cup of coffee and the entire water tank brewed all over my kitchen counter.  I took it back to Bed Bath and Beyond, explained what happened (including how old it was), and they let me exchange it for a brand new one!  Seriously, I could have hugged the nice woman who helped me!  We've had to exchange things in the past at that store, and they just have the BEST customer service!
   

3. My Pumpkin Bread 
I am so ready for Fall (in case you couldn't tell from Friday Favorite #1). So this week, I made the very first Fall 2014 batch of my delicious Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread! Not only is this bread amazing, but the recipe makes two loaves which is great because they disappear pretty quickly in our house!  Plus, your house will smell amazing while it bakes in the oven (an awesome bonus)!

4. My Leachco Back and Belly Pregnancy Pillow

I don't know about you, but I get serious pregnancy insomnia!  It is super hard for me to get comfortable pretty much right from the moment I find out I am pregnant.  I got this pillow when I was about 2 or 3 months pregnant with Lacie and now I am using it for a third pregnancy - so I have definitely gotten my money's worth!  This pillow is amazing!  It seriously helps with so many of those oh-so-fun pregnancy aches and pains.  It also helps relieve my killer heartburn that I have had with all three pregnancies!  I love that it has a body pillow on both sides (as opposed to pregnancy pillows that are just one long body pillow).  This allows me to toss and turn without having to move the pillow!  But fair warning, this takes up my entire side of our King Sized Bed!

 

#hiloskyeveryday2014 Weeks 34 and 35

Things have been busy busy busy in the Hilosky House! So we have two weeks of #hiloskyeveryday2014 to catch up on!

 Day 227 - 21 weeks along!  The bump is getting bigger! 

Day 228 - My beautiful view on our Saturday morning walk!  #daddysgirls

Day 229 - A little Daddy/Daughter softball practice! 

Day 230 - Lacie's last day as a two year old!  Craziness! 

Day 231 - Happy 3rd Birthday to my Sweet Lacie Jane! 

Day 232 - Blakely doing some serious concentrating on lacing beads!  

Day 233 - Having fun holding her sister's hand and dancing at Miss Amy!

Day 234 - These sweet princesses love when they get to wear their matching PJs to bed! 

Day 235 - Matching sister pedicures!  This was Blakely's first time letting me paint her toes and she sat so still! 

Day 236 - 22 weeks!  Only 18 more to go! 

Day 237 - Even Lili gets to eat apple slices at snack time! 

Day 238 - Spending some one on one time with Lacie doing a little shopping after her three year old check-up! 

Day 239 - Even though it's still pretty hot in New Jersey, I am already thinking fall!  Pumpkin Spice coffee and a slice of my Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread for breakfast! 

Day 240 - Lacie Jane took some a-m-a-z-i-n-g three year old pictures today! I can't get over how big my girl is!