With baby boy coming in 6-7 weeks (unless he decides to come early or hang out late), we have been busy over here preparing and taking advantage of our last few weeks of a family of 3. With that being said, its been a bit since we had the time to sit down and actually do a new date night recipe.

Using Pinterest as my source of inspiration, I stumbled upon an image of this delicious looking pasta & cherry tomato dish. Of course though, it wasn’t linked to anything so I can’t credit the source but I did use it as inspiration and tried to replicate it as best as possible.

Now one of the biggest perks about where we live in NJ is that we have so much access to these amazing farm stands. I know NJ has a wrap for being all Jersey Shore but what you cant forget that we are called the “Garden State” for a reason. We grow some bomb-ass produce, specifically tomatoes, peaches, and corn. By taking advantage of this, I headed 5 minutes down the street and grabbed 2 pints of yellow and red cherry tomatoes and let me tell you, they are out of this world!

So without further adieu, here is the delicious Summer Pasta dish that is perfect to have on a warm summer night.

Summer Pasta

What You’ll Need

• 2 Pints of Cherry Tomatoes (I chose to do 1 pint red and 1 pint yellow)
• Garlic, 6 Cloves minced or 2 TBSP Garlic Paste
• 20 Basil Leaves, chopped (this can be increased based on preference)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (this too can be increased based on taste preferences)
• 1 Cup Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Package of Angel Hair Pasta

What To Do:

• Cut cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size
• Combine tomatoes with garlic, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper, and olive oil
• Cover and let marinate at room temperature for AT LEAST 2 hours ( I let mine sit out for 5)
• Once ready to serve, cook pasta according to packaging instructions
• Combine with bowl of cherry tomatoes and add in parmesan cheese
• Eat your face off!

If you’ve been following along, you know how important my hubby and I find our date nights. However, with tight budget and lack of childcare, we make due with what we have and aim to get 1 night, each and every week, dedicated to just us two. We put little one down a bit earlier than usual, set the table, and put our phones aside. The meals aren’t always fancy but they are yummy (and affordable too)!

So with that, lets dive in to this weeks meal: Home Made Pizza. Sticking with one basic and one eccentric pie, we did a cheese pizza and then one with prosciutto and goat cheese. I am going to cover the recipes for both of these but feel free to switch things up and add your own toppings. That’s the best part about this meal: Its easy, quick, affordable and can personalized in any which way. Oh and lets not forget, its oh so tasty!

At Home Pizzas

Cheese Pizza- What You’ll Need

• Frozen pizza dough (I used Papa Sal’s brand, which can be found at ShopRite. If you can find that, I’m sure any other brand would work or you could totally use one of the pre-made crusts from Target)
• 1/4-1/2 cup Marinara Sauce (depends on how saucy you like your pizzas to be)
• 8oz Bag of Shredded Mozzarella
• Dried Basil, Dried Oregano & Garlic Powder (Sprinkle each on top- don’t over due it)

Prosciutto & Goat Cheese Pizza- What You’ll Need

• Frozen pizza dough (I used Papa Sal’s brand, which can be found at ShopRite. If you can find that, Im sure any other brand would work or you could totally use one of the pre-made crusts from Target)
• 1/4-1/2 cup Marinara Sauce (depends on how saucy you like your pizzas to be)
• 2 hand fulls of Fresh Baby Spinach (I’ve in the past have used fresh arugula and it was awesome)
• 2oz Crumbled Goat Cheese
• 3oz Prosciutto ( I personally don’t measure this and instead just add what I think is appropriate)

WHAT TO DO:

• Preheat oven according to dough cooking instructions- For me that was 450 degrees.
• Grease pizza pans with olive oil. Make sure to spread evenly
• If using frozen pizza dough, I find it is easier to manipulate if it was just thawed. About 30 minutes before starting dinner, this is when I set my doughs into a bowl of hot water. It will make the dough a bit watery at first but that will quickly dissipate and allow for you to evenly spread dough over pan.
• Spread desired amount of marinara sauce onto dough
• Add your toppings and don’t be afraid to get creative 🙂

ENJOY!

xoxo, Mary

Date nights are not something done often around here. Of course this isn’t due to any negative reason at all but instead due to a practical one- it’s expensive! Not only would we need to budget for the food but unless we have family around, we would need to budget for a babysitter as well. Now, I’m not saying we don’t ever make our way to a restaurant but until we do, I like to hold this little weekly tradition as a way to reconnect.

So with little one in bed and the house nice and quiet, its time to get started on our quick, easy and delicious meal. On tonights menu: Creamy Spinach & Mushroom Farfalle.

Creamy Spinach & Mushroom Farfalle.

What You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• Baby Bella Mushrooms, Sliced- Use however many you’d like
• 1 Clove Garlic (I used Garlic Paste this time for ease and just guessed amount)
• Baby Spinach
• 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
• Salt to Taste
• 1 box of farfalle (or any type of pasta you prefer)

WHAT TO DO:

• Prepare pasta according to packaging
• Oil skillet with olive oil or butter, heat on medium and spread sliced mushrooms evenly. Don’t crowd the mushrooms. Toss until brown
• Once mushrooms have been cooked, add in cream, garlic, and salt
• Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes
• Stir in parmesan and baby spinach.
• Combine over pasta and serve immediately. Top with parmesan (you can also add goat cheese. I’ve tried both and each are equally amazing).

ENJOY!

xoxo, Mary