A Little Big Mac

Last night at work I was wasting time by looking through the Tasty Kitchen website. I have a profile, but never use it. So I decided to look around for fellow bloggers and bakers to add as friends. One of the ladies I found has a blog called Simply Scratch. I clicked on "Simply Savory" because I'm naughty like that and found this: Mini Mac Sliders. The thought of avoiding fast food all together and making my favorite meals excited me...alot! So instead of making sliders I made them into just smaller portioned burgers. Not that I'm too good for sliders, its just that the buns I made from scratch got way too big for the amount of meat I had to go on it. It pretty much would have looked ridiculous to have an ity bity patty on a huge bun, I don't think so. Instead of 4 sliders, this recipe is for 2 perfect portioned burgers.

-The Buns-
These buns are my mom's homemade recipe. I love these! I'm never buying store bought buns ever again!
This is what you need (for 4 buns):
-2 cups flour
-1 package of yeast
-3/4 cup of warm water
-1 tbsp milk
-1 tbsp softened butter
-1 tbsp sugar
-1 tsp salt
First you need to pour the package of yeast onto the 3/4 cup of warm water. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. Yeast is such an weird little fungi.

Then in a medium size bowl add all the other ingredients together. Once you feel like the yeast mixture has done enough work you can add it into the dry-ish mixture. (Look! As promised I sucked it up and used my new measuring spoons! Aren't they pretty!?!)

Then after you get everything mixed up good, get a new small bowl and drizzle it with some olive oil. Drape a towel over the bowl and let it rise for 30 minutes. Once the buns have risen for 30 minutes, grease a baking sheet and split the dough into 4 individual buns. Place the towel over the buns again and let it rise for 30 more minutes. Preheat an oven at 350 degrees and bake the buns for approximately 20 minutes (you just have to watch them) and then let them cool for 10 minutes. Ta da!

For the Not-So-Secret-Sauce:
-1/4 cup Mayo
-1 tbsp French dressing

-3 tbsp Sweet Pickle Relish

-1/2 tbsp finely minced Onion

-1 tsp White Vinegar
-1 tsp Sugar
-Dash of Salt

Combine all the goodies into a small bowl and mix it up good. I love my whisk...it's from Pier 1 :)

Once combined, place it in a bowl and let it cool in the fridge for 20-30 minutes so that the yummies can marry.

For the Fries:

-Any potato of your choice (I used Petite Golden Potatoes) cut

-Olive Oil

-Fry Seasoning (or salt, pepper, garlic powder or season salt)

Preheat your broiler. Then cut your potatoes into the size slices you prefer.Place the potatoes on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with oil and then sprinkle seasoning on top. I got my fry seasoning from Crate and Barrel, and it is fabulous! Get your hands dirty and mix it all up. Then place the baking sheet on the top shelf of your oven and broil it up good until the potatoes are golden brown. It takes about 10 minutes for smaller potatoes.

For the Burger (makes 2):
-1/2 lb of Turkey Burger (you can use beef, I won't judge)
-1/2 of a Green Onion Chopped
-1 tsp Olive Oil
-1/3 tsp Salt
-1/3 tsp Pepper
Combine in a bowl and then grill it up good. Once cooked, place a slice of cheddar cheese on top and let it melt on top. Yum!
Put the burger all together however you like it. I added lettuce to mine cuz I like it like that.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Fun!!! :)

My kitchen is tiny, but there are some things in it that I absolutely love! Thanks to my mom helping me deck out my first apartment, I got some really cute stuff!
"Here are a few of my favorite things!" (Sound of Music in the background):

-Glass Jar for my Flour
I just love how it looks...I don't know why.

-The thingy that holds and pours my Olive Oil
I don't know the technical name for it, but all I know is that when I use it I feel like I'm one of those Food Network Stars!

I found these at Walmart FYI!

This is my cupcake kitchen scrubby holder. One day I was surfing the web at my very stressful job and found this on pier1.com....I pretty much had a heart attack because it was so darn cute and sent my mom a link of the page and wrote "I must have this!". So a week later on our girls day shopping trip, my mom got this for me at Pier 1! It makes me happy to look at this while I wash my dishes.
(I also have a matching cupcake cookie jar too!)

This is one of my favorite birthday presents from my mom (she knows how to make me look good!). It is the cutest and most unique measuring cups I have ever seen. They are from Anthropologie. I love their Kitchen Stuff!

You get 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup and 1 cup. They are so beautiful!

These are the cutest measuring spoons too! They are also from Anthropologie and my mom also got them for my birthday also! I haven't used them yet because they are too pretty to touch. But maybe I'll suck it up and use them tonight.

And last but not least....

This is my mini-print of Cuppie the Cupcake with his Hostess friend. I like looking at them while I'm cooking with my stove. My mom also got this for my birthday from Cakespy. I love her artwork. It is so cute and besides, who doesn't love pictures of desserts???

As you can pretty much see, my mom got me good stuff for my birthday! All of these cute little things make having a tiny kitchen not so bad!

I Made My First Omelette!

I have mixed feelings about this breakfast I made this morning because egg whites have always freaked me out, but I have to admit that it was really tasty. I've always had issues with eggs, they have to be scrambled or omelette style or I won't eat them. Over easy eggs...never going to happen. I get a gag reflux just thinking about them. Yuck!
But for the past 2 mornings Dusty has been making me breakfast of toast with a ton of fruit, so I thought this morning I'd give him a break. So I whipped up this diddy for him (it makes 2 omelettes):

-1 cup of eggs whites (trying to be healthy....I don't know)
-1/2 of a small onion minced
-4 oz of sliced mushrooms
-1 clove garlic minced
-Shredded Cheddar Cheese
-Olive Oil

All I did was saute the minced onion and sliced mushrooms in olive oil with garlic. Then I grabbed another pan, set it to medium heat and poured in 1/2 cup of egg white. I let the egg whites cook for a little bit (30-60 seconds) and then with a spatuala started scrapping the sides down a little bit. Then I swirled the egg around to the outer edge so the liquid egg sitting on top could get cooked too (no raw egg!). Once I felt the egg whites had cooked/solidified I sprinkled some shredde cheddar cheese, added half of the sauted mushroom and onion mixture onto one of the halves of the omelette. Then with a spatula I flipped the other half of the egg on top of the mushroom/cheese/onion mixture and let it cook for 30 more seconds to melt the cheese.
Then I proudly presented my first ever made omelette to Dusty!
(Actually, the first one I made ripped and fell apart....I ate that one and gave him my second ever made omelette that was much prettier. Don't tell him!)

Salmon with Pesto and Potatoes

I found this recipe in this months edition of the Food Network Magazine and now that I'm trying to be a better person and eat well, I thought I'd give it a try!

The recipe called for a steamer to cook the fish and potatoes, but since I didn't have that, I baked the fish and boiled the potaotes.

This is what you need:

-2 (4 oz) Salmon filets

-Olive Oil

-Salt/Pepper

-1/2 lb of Red Potaotes

-1 tbsp Shredded Parmesan Cheese

For the Pesto you need:

-1 bundle of fresh Basil

-1/8 cup Hazelnuts

-1/4 of a Lemon zested

-1/2 of a Lemon juice

-1 tbsp Olive Oil

-2 tbsp Water

-1/2 clove Garlic

Put these all in the blender and puree.

Then mix the pesto with 1 tbsp of Plain Non-Fat Yogurt

For the fish, just take a small baking pan and drizzle some olive oil on the bottom. Place the fish in the dish and coat both sides with the oil in the dish. Then season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. It should be moist and flaky! Place a tbsp of Pesto on top of Salmon.

For the potatoes, just boil them till done. Drain the potatoes and place in a bowl. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil on them and add 1 tbsp of shredded parmesan cheese. With a fork just mash them up slightly till the oil and cheese is incorporated.

And it's only 450 calories!!!! Enjoy!

P.S. I want to apologize for the horrible photo. It was taken on my phone because my camera is dead. So if you bare with me on these horrible photos for a while, I promise to get a camera and take pretty pictures in the future!

Chicken Marsala....Done Light & Healthy

Yesterday I started my diet. Since I've been in college for 4 years the campus food has taken a toll on my body. So now instead of having strawberry ice cream at night while watching a movie with my love, I'm going to have a bowl of strawberries or kiwis. Hopefully I have the will-power to make it last! Besides, I need to lose a couple pounds before my big family vacation to California for a week. There is In-N-Out Burger calling my name!
Anywho....about a year ago Dusty found this Chicken Marsala recipe out of his Men's Health magazine and we tried it. To my surprise it was fantastic! For the entire meal it is only about 350 calories per person. NICE!
To make this light and filling dinner, this is what you need:
-2 chicken breasts pounded down to about 1/4 inch thickness
-1/2 cup of flour
-Olive Oil
-Salt/Pepper
-3/4 cup of Marsala Wine and Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (combined)
-4 oz of Mushrooms sliced
-1/8 cup dried parsley
First you need to pound down the chicken breasts. All I do is put the breasts into a plastic storage baggie and pound it. Then lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a bowl and dip the chicken breasts in the flour to lightly coat, shake off any extra flour (we are trying to be healthy here!). Then heat up your pan to medium heat, add the oil and place the breasts in the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked all the way through. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep them warm.
Now add a little more oil to the pan and saute the mushrooms until golden brown. I love mushrooms so much, they make me happy!
Once they are golden brown you can add the Marsala and Chicken Broth. Let it simmer down to about 1/4 cup of sauce and then add in the parsley and season it with a little bit of salt and pepper. My favorite thing about this meal is the smell and taste of the sauce....it is just so savory and comforting.
Now that the sauce is done, you can pour it over the chicken and Ta-Da! It's finished and ready to go! Enjoy!

Fruit Punch!

No matter what holiday or occasion there is in my family there is always one thing that never fails to be there....Fruit Punch! It is the best party/holiday drink in the world! It is super simple and easy, this is what you will need:
-1 can of concentrated frozen fruit punch
-2 liters of Sprite
EASY! REFRESHING! SWEET!
Just let the concentrated juice unthaw in a giant punch bowl and then add Sprite when the party is about to start!

Creative with Leftovers

A couple days ago I posted about my Chinese Potluck with the Crab Rangoons and Lettuce Wraps. Well, the Crab Rangoons were gone but I still had a ton of meat from the Lettuce Wraps and some left over Wonton wraps. So for lunch today I had a brilliant idea...why don't I make wontons with the left over meat from the lettuce wraps!?!
I pretty much just did the exact same thing with these wontons like I did with the crab rangoons and they turned out great! Actually, they turned out really really GREAT! I was so proud of myself :)
So if you make the Chinese Potluck I made with Lettuce Wraps and Crab Rangoons, don't toss out your leftovers! Use them to make something different and yummy the next day!

A New Way To Enjoy Pancakes....If We Didn't Already Enjoy Them Enough!!!

Dusty and I absolutely loves pancakes! Where I live there is a restaurant called "Paul's Pancake Parlor" and on Sundays it is the place to be! There is seriously a 45 minutes wait and it is well worth it. We only go once in a while because after eating their food you go into a 100 hour coma. Dusty and I love that place so much that I might have skipped a couple of my morning classes to join him for breakfast there. I got good grades, so don't worry!
Ecology or pancakes? Pancakes or Ecology?
What do you think????
Anyways...the other morning I wanted to surprise Dusty and make him some pretty fancy pancakes that we had never tried before. They are "Sour Cream Pancakes". Sounds gross right??? WRONG! They are light, spongy, fluffy and taste like a sour dough/crepe mixture. Too hard to describe, you're just going to have to taste.
This is how it goes:
-1/2 cup Sour Cream
-7 Tbsp Flour
-1 Tbsp Sugar
-1/2 tsp Salt
-1 tsp Baking Soda
-1/2 tsp Vanilla
-2 Eggs
Mix it all together and make the pancakes any size you want them! Because I'm a Montana girl and Montana is known for its Huckleberries, I topped my pancakes with Huckleberry jam. Oh yeah. That's right. Total bliss and enjoyment for breakfast!

Jalapeno Poppers and Cube-Steak Sandwich

Usually Jalapeno's scare the heck out of me. I hate really spicy hot foods and I don't trust them. But when I came across this recipe I had to dare myself to try it.
I would have taken the pictures myself but my camera is officially dead. I knew it was dying a loooooooong time ago but I didn't want to admit it. If you put in 2 AA batteries you can only take about 5 pictures before it sucks the life out of the batteries. I've had it for about 7 years and it is now officially junk. So to help you imagine the tastiness of this appetizer I'll post the link to Pioneer Womans page:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j)
To go along with these wonderful little appetizers I made a Cube-Steak Sandwich:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/malboro_man_f/
And let me tell you what....there is a reason that this is Malboro Man's favorite sandwich!!! As soon as Dusty and I took a bite of this sandwich our eyes were rolling to the back of our heads and we were making totally inappropriate noises as we were eating this! IT IS THAT GOOD! But I must warn you....the only reason I made these two things in one meal is because I went to the gym that morning and had a very very light lunch. These probably have a ton of calories because they are total comfort food. And lets face it, comfort food never comes in under 500 calories. If it did, then I wouldn't have had to worry about going to the gym that morning....or suffered the Freshman 15 (crying inside right now). But seriously, even if it means your pants get a little tighter, you must make this! YUMMMY!
Did I get my point across?

Chinese Potluck!

After having my Mexican Fiesta on Saturday (which was to die for!), I decided to have a Chinese Potluck tonight! I made Pioneer Womans Lettuce Wraps and then made amazing home-made Sweet and Sour Sauce to go along with my Crab Rangoons from the website Tasty Kitchen.
Here are the links to the Lettuce Wraps and Crab Rangoons:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/a-tasty-recipe-lettuce-wraps/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/crab-rangoons/
You will never want to eat Chinese food out ever again!
Also, this is how to make the super easy and best Sweet and Sour Sauce I have ever had:
-4 tbsp Ketchup
-1/2 cup vinegar
-1 tsp garlic salt
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-3/4 cup sugar
Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring it to a simmer at medium heat till all the ingredients are incorporated and thickened (about 6-8 minutes). You will love this for dipping the Crab Rangoons, Spring Rolls or whatever!
Enjoy!

Summer Stir Fry...A very fresh and fun dinner!

On Sunday I was feeling so ambitious! After making the mouth watering Banana Nut Bread, later that night I made Summer Stir Fry, another awesome recipe from Pioneer Woman. I love that woman (in a non-gay way)....through her blog she has been teaching me to cook and be creative with new ingredients and it has been so fun and tasty!
Here is Pioneer Womans recipe for Summer Stir Fry:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/06/summer-stir-fry/
I must make a note of the alteration I made to the recipe...
-I made rice to go along with this recipe to make a little bit for filling for dinner and I also didn't have lemon juice so I sprinkled a little soy sauce on top instead. It was still really really good! YUM!

Banana Nut Bread

During my past 4 years of living in the dorms and eating campus food, one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast that the school did right was banana bread. Or so I thought....

Two weeks ago I was watching the Neeley's on Food Network and watched them make a banana bread that made my mouth water. But instead of dropping everything and searching online for the recipe, I turned the channel to TLC (my other favorite channel).

A couple days later, Father's Day to be exact, both of my Grandparents were telling us about this amazing banana bread they made and that it was the most wonderful and moist bread they had ever had.
SMALL WORLD!

I was shocked that my Grandparents and I had watched the same episode and were so smitten with this banana bread. Too funny. It was a sign. I NEED TO MAKE THIS!

So on Sunday I made this recipe and it was AMAZING!!!
You must try this Banana Bread, you will love it!

This is what you will need:
-1 stick of butter at room temperature
-1 and 1/2 cup flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-3 ripe bananas
-1 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup sour cream (scary! but so wonderful!)
-1 tsp vanilla
-3/4 cup chopped pecans

Now that you have the materials this is how the magic gets made:
Preheat the oven and butter/flour a loaf pan. I highly recommend Pam Baking Spray (with Flour). It is the best invention EVER!

In a bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In another bowl mash up the ripened bananas with a fork, but make sure to leave it a little chunky.

Then, if two bowls weren't enough, get another one for creaming the sugar and butter until they are nice and fluffy with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time until mixed nicely. You can then add the bananas, sour cream and vanilla. Mix it all up until it is just incorporated.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix it in with a spoon...the mixer will be too harsh on the bananas, so use your muscles!

To top it all off, gently fold in the chopped pecans. That's it!

Put it in the loaf pan and bake it for 1 hour and 10 minutes. It is the longest wait, but so worth it!
Enjoy your yummy breakfast!

Recipe By: The Neeleys

Tequila Lime Chicken

This week has been absolutely crazy working in the dorms. I've never had residents that have caused so much trouble and been so high maintenance before! Which is saying something, because I've seen some crazy stuff! So after an 8 hour shift of babysitting college students I come home completely exhausted and sad to say that I have been relying on Lean Cuisines to feed me. YUCK!
But tonight I'm really excited because I got some motivation this morning and prepared the marinade for Tequila-Lime Chicken from Pioneer Woman. It's the first time I've made a dinner since Father's Day (which is sad), but it is going to be soooo good!
Here is Pioneer Womans Link to making this recipe (if you need visual help):
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/06/tequila-lime-chicken-with-all-the-fixins/
This is what you need for the marinade:
-1/4 cup Tequila (yea!)
-Juice of 2 Limes
-1/4 cup cilantro
-3 cloves of garlic peeled
-1/2 of a jalapeno sliced
-1/2 tsp of salt
-2 & 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Throw all of these into a food processor or blender (for us poor college students) and watch the magic come to life!
Place 2 chicken breasts in a large storage bag and pound them down flat. Add the marinade to the bag and let the chicken soak up all the yummy juices overnight or a couple of hours. I'm letting mine marinate for about 8 hours, since that is how long I'll be at work till. Bummer.
When you get hungry and can't take it any longer, heat up your George Foreman or Grill and cook the chicken for several minutes until done.
To make this extra tasty (if that is possible), turn on the broiler and place the chicken on a baking sheet. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup of Monterey Jack Cheese onto each chicken breast and melt the cheese in the broiler!
I'm going to serve this with refried beans and Mexican rice....I can hardly stand the wait! Oh mama! I'm so excited to get away from the dorms and eat this Mexican fiesta!!!! Adios!

Father's Day

Today was so much fun! As you know it was Father's Day....but my Mom and I went all out!

The day started out with my sister and I making French Toast and Scrambled Eggs for breakfast for Dad and then the rest of the day was spent preparing for the feast!

It was pretty much as epic as Thanksgiving...but BBQ style.

Our fantastic dinner included:

-BBQ Ribs

-Macaroni Salad (I need to get my mom's recipe, it is so good!)

-Restaurant-Styled Smashed Potatoes (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/restaurant-style-smashed-potatoes/)

-Buttered Rosemary Rolls

(http://thepioneerwoman.com/2009/10/buttered-rosemary-rolls/)

- and Baked Beans

Then for dessert I worked all day on this masterpiece!

Lemon Cake with Buttercream/Royal Icing!!!!!

This cake mold was so adorable....my mom got it off of William Sonoma. I checked on their website and sadly it isn't listed anymore. But maybe its available on Ebay if you love it that much!

Pretty much I love this cake pan, it came with the recipe for the lemon cake and it was very very specific on how to make it, which is good because it turned out great!

So basically....after eating and eating and eating some more, I went into a food coma! LOVE IT!

Happy Father's Day!

Cake Decorating: Lesson 1 & 2

Hey!

So sorry I haven't posted in forever....my work schedule has pretty much been taking over my life! Anyways, I signed up for cake decorating classes at Michaels Craft Store and it has pretty much changed my life forever!

My friends and family better watch out next time it is there birthday because I'll make/decorate a cake! lol. My past two classes have been awesome....we were taught the secrets of how to make and ice the perfect cake. There are so many little secrets I had no clue about!

For example....did you know that you have to add meringue powder to icing? I DIDN'T! I allows the icing to crust so that you can make it smooth and beautiful. Also, Pam cooking spray with flour included is a miracle! I pretty much love this class and will be learning new techniques from the class and wilton.com, so go check it out! The website is really helpful and great!

My Cake!

Lemon Bars

There is nothing like a sweet and refreshing recipe during the early summertime. Lemon Bars definitely fit that description! I love lemon bars, more than my love for cupcakes....NOT! There is nothing that can beat my love for cake and cupcakes, but these certainly come close and they are delicious!

For the Crust you are going to need:

-1 and 1/3 cup crumbled vanilla wafers

-2 tbsp sugar

-5 tbsp melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the crust you need to grease a 2 qt baking dish. In a mixing bowl combine wafers, sugar and butter. Press the crust into the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.

For the Filling you are going to need:

-1 cup sugar

-2 eggs beaten

-1/2 tsp lemon zest

-Juice of 1 lemon

-1/2 tsp vanilla

-2 tbsp flour

-Powdered sugar (to sprinkle on top)

Whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl and pour it over the baked crust. Bake for 25 minutes or until the center is set. Let it cool to room temperature or put it in the fridge till its very chilled. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Warning!!! They are very addicting!!!

Enjoy!

Tavern Burgers

Like I said before...yesterday was CrAzY! So what is good to make when you have to work insane hours???? CROCK POT DINNER! I looked through my official crockpot cookbook and found Tavern Burgers. It's basically Sloppy Joes but not as sloppy.

Here is what you will need:

-Crockpot

-1 lb ground beef

-1/8 cup brown sugar

-1/8 cup yellow mustard

-1/4 cup ketchup

-Hamburger Buns

-Cheese (optional)

First cook up the ground beef and drain the fat....because we all know fat is the last thing we all need!

Then place the beef in the crockpot and add brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Stir it all up and then set the settings to LOW for 4-6 hours....it is that easy!

I wanted to take a picture of it all put together, but they were gone too fast before I could remember to grab my camera! If you will visualize with me....put a spoonful of beef mixture on hamburger bun and put some cheese on top (if you wish!).
Eat it up and enjoy!!!

French Toast

Yesterday was absolutely CrAzY and I was unable to write about the 2 meals I made. Usually in the morning all I eat is a yogurt for breakfast, but yesterday I was feeling good....so I made French Toast! It's a classic breakfast dish and I love it so much!

You are going to need the following:

-3 large eggs

-6 slices of bread

-Cinnamon powder

First I cracked 3 eggs in a large bowl and scrambled them up good. Heat a medium sized pan at medium/low heat with a tablespoon of butter. Then with the 6 slices of bread, dip them into the scrambled egg on both sides of the bread and place them onto the pan...only do 3 slices at a time, maybe 2. On the top side of the bread sprinkle Cinnamon powder on the bread. After 1-2 minutes flip the bread to the other side and cook the French toast until both sides are lightly brown.

Ta-da! Yum!

Leftovers!

Like I said in yesterdays post....the Penne pasta makes alot! Also, the Cupcake Bite recipe makes alot! So today I will be eating leftover penne for dinner and cupcake bites for dessert!
Plus I'm definitely sore today from doing P90x...I can barely climb up stairs!
To conclude, today is a lazy day where I will be eating leftovers.

Shrimp Penne Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce

Today I just started P90X. For those of you who don't know what that is....it's the DVD workout series from HELL! I did the workout called Plyometrics, which equal Jump Training. Not excited. So I felt like I deserved something truly sinful for my good workout! hehehe. Also, I have decided that once a week I have to make something from Pioneer Woman because I LOVE her food. Here is her website so you can check it out and get addicted like I am...

www.thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

The recipe I made from her book today is called "Penne alla Betsy" but technically I would call it "Shrimp Penne Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce." And let me tell you what...it was good! (of course)

To make it, this is what you are going to need (it makes alot!).....

-2 tbsp butter

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1 lb shrimp

-1 lb penne pasta

-1 small onion minced

-2 cloves garlic

-1/2 cup white wine

-1 cup heavy cream

-1 (15 oz) can of tomato sauce

-1/8 cup dried parsley

-6 fresh leave of basil chopped

-Salt and pepper

Cook the pasta as directed on the box. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan melt 1 tbsp butter and olive oil in med/high setting on stove. Add the shrimp (without tails) and cook until pink. Cut the shrimp into bite size pieces and then set aside in a bowl.

Add another tbsp butter and olive oil to the pan and add the minced garlic and onion. Cook until the onion/garlic is translucent. Add the white wine and let it evaporate for about 45 seconds. Turn the heat down to low and add the tomato sauce and heavy cream (I told you it was sinful!).

Then add the bitesize shrimp, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Gently stir and then add the penne pasta. Dish up the goods and add some Parmesean cheese on top for a nice classy touch! Or just because Parmesean cheese and pasta belong together.

Enjoy! And have a glass of wine too! YUM!