Wednesday, Wednesday

I was gone all last week to a conference for work.  It was a 4 day hazing prevention institute in Western NY.  I learned SO much!  I am really glad that I went.  I  learned some cutting edge hazing prevention strategies for my campus and I met some amazing people.  Here is a picture of me with my roomies!  Yes we lived in a residence hall for 4 days!   I really liked the girls I was paired up with so it was a lot of fun.  We stayed up really late each night talking to each other and then we would "talk" during the day using twitter. 

Brock's little league team started their post season tournament this week.  His team is the #1 seed which means absolutely nothing in Little League-ha ha!  Every game is different and every team has the ability to win the tournamnent, so it will be an exciting week for Brock. 

Here is a picture that my friend Abby (thanks Abby!) took of Brock's baseball team for the CooperstownAll-Star Village.  He is going to play there in August!

I made this delicious and easy supper that was featured last week on the Today show.  Ava and I LOVED it Graig and Brock didn't even try it!  My boys love meat and potatoes and this recipe doesn't have either ha ha!

Spaghetti with pesto and tomato-mozzarella salad

Ingredients

• 1 package (16 ounces) thin spaghetti or linguine

• 1 large bunch fresh basil

• 1 small garlic clove, peeled

• 5 tablespoons olive oil

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 1/2 pints red and/or yellow cherry tomatoes, each cut in half

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes


1. In large saucepot, prepare pasta as label directs.


2. Meanwhile, reserve 12 small basil leaves for garnish. From remaining basil, remove enough leaves to equal 2 cups firmly packed. Wash basil well; pat dry with paper towels. In food processor with knife blade attached, blend basil leaves, garlic, 4 tablespoons oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth, stopping processor and scraping down bowl occasionally. Add Parmesan; pulse to combine. Set aside.

3. In medium bowl, mix tomatoes, vinegar, and pepper with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently stir in mozzarella.

4. Drain spaghetti, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Return spaghetti and reserved pasta cooking water to saucepot; add pesto and toss well to coat pasta. Spoon spaghetti mixture into large shallow bowl; top with tomato-mozzarella salad. Garnish with reserved basil leaves.

TIPS
Each serving: About 540 calories, 20g protein, 63g carbohydrate, 23g total fat (8g saturated), 3g fiber, 35mg cholesterol, 550mg sodium.