Recipe Call....

Hey ladies,
I'm looking for some fun new recipes! I would love to hear what some of your favorites are, maybe some of your "go-to" meals. Ones you are famous for making, healthy, low cost, fun meals! Even desserts, appetizers, etc....Please send some to me, I would love to try them out and then share them with all the readers!
You can email me at: janicetwitchell@hotmail.com
Can't wait to see whatchagot!

Tomato-Artichoke Pasta

Photo credit to Our best bites, I didn't feel like uploading mine. Plus theirs is pretty. :)

Okay, for those of you who know me, I am a total sucker for anything Italian. I love it. So when I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites I had to try it. It looked so simple, and fast. And plus it's Italian, so it's totally my style. I'm so glad to be back. Please leave me some love and let me know what you thought of this recipe. I added just a few changes to it from the original, and I had enough leftovers for 2 MORE MEALS! Awesome! I also thought this would taste really good with some Italian herb crusted grilled chicken tossed in with it. What do you think?
p.s. My washing machine has been broken for almost 4 weeks. The repairman is finally coming tomorrow! I've never been more psyched in my life to do laundry! Just fyi, thought you should know. :)


Okay, YOU'LL NEED:
-4-5 garlic cloves(I grate these on a small hand held grater, so no big chunks of garlic to bite on) $.20
-1 can diced tomatoes(from garden=$free)
-3 oz. tomato paste (I used the full 8 oz. can-it would have gone bad and it just made my sauce a little thicker, which was yummy) $.38
-3 oz. chicken broth $.25 (you can also use cooking wine, which would give it a whole diff. flavor, but I have never purchased it, and saw this substitute, which I already had, so it worked nicely)
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. black pepper
-1/2 c. green onions, chopped (equals about 4 long stems) $.50
-6 or 7 oz. can of artichoke hearts $2.76
-1 pkg. of tortellini pasta (the recipe calls for buitoni, but I had schwan's and used 1/2 pkg.) $3.50
TOTAL: $7.59 (I had enough leftover sauce to last me for two more meals. I popped it into two different containers and froze it.
*this meal took me from start to finish like 20 min. to make. Such a quick and easy, but yummy fix!

DIRECTIONS:
-In a large sauce pan, heat up some olive oil. Put garlic, green onions and artichoke hearts in to saute. Do this until the garlic is really fragrant. Be careful not to burn it, or your house will smell like garlic for a couple days.
-Add tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, and S&P. Let it cook till it just starts to boil. Then toss it with the pasta. I actually just served the pasta in a bowl, then topped it with the sauce so I could freeze the rest and not have pasta pieces in the next batch I made. But you do what you want.
-I thought it needed something extra so you can't go wrong with some mozzarella cheese and some parsley flakes on top to bring out the flavor. Plus presentation is awesome!
-If it's not enough garlic taste for you, like me, then it goes nicely with some garlic bread. :)
-Watch your fam scarf it down.

I'm Back!!

Okay, I'm feeling a little guilty that I haven't posted on here for a long time. I was thinking that my posting was in vain and no one was reading the recipes or trying them. Come to find out, I have had quite a few people tell me they look at this blog and actually cook my recipes! This is the best news to me and seriously makes me feel so loved!!
I will start posting recipes on here again, but who knows how often. That way you all can have something new to try, and not just the same ole same ole. Anyway, I live way out in the boonies, and have been cooking off my food storage for about 10 days. This gets to be a challenge and my next grocery store trip to the grand ole Wal-Mart will be on Thursday! Yay! Pretty sad when you look forward to a grocery store trip eh? Well when you live 90 miles away from the closest Wal-Mart, you get to be that way I guess. haha. After that wonderful, and pricey trip, I have so many new recipes that I have found, and want to try, and also tweek a little. So, be on the lookout for new ones to try!
What I want from you who actually do read my blog, is to let me know if there are any changes you would like me to make to the blog? Maybe in my posting? Do you like that there is a picture, the price breakdown, etc? What could be made better? Do you want me to add a subscription area so whenever I post, you will get an email saying I did? Let me know...I want to hear from you! Maybe are there some recipes that you've tried on here that you would like revamped or redone? Hopefully this makes sense. Talk to me and let me know. I can't wait for the next couple of posts!
Love ya peeps.