Adventures in the Kitchen- Bowtie Pasta Salad

I don't have many recipes that I know off the top of my head- but my Bowtie Pasta Salad is one that I haven't used an actual recipe in forever.

Even better- it is only 5 ingredients.  You can add more if you want,  but with only 5 ingredients it is usually under $10!  I know I found this recipe on the internet probably 10 years ago- but I don't remember where.

Ingredients:

-Balsamic Vinegar (1/4 cup- or you can also eye it)

-2 or 3 Roma Tomatoes

-Green Onions

-Container of crumble feta

-box of bowtie pasta

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta to al dente or soft

2. While pasta is preparing dice tomatoes and green onion

3. Combine finished pasta, tomatoes, onions, feta, Balsamic vinegar in a bowl with a lid and shake

4. Put in fridge to cool- before serving- shake again

Other Options:

-add more or less balsamic vinegar as wanted 

-add a little of vegetable oil

-add salt/pepper

-add salami 

I love this salad during the spring and summer. I also love it because it is cheap to make and doesn't take very long.  

Adventures in the Kitchen- “MEXICAN STREET CORN” SOUP

 I don't know about you- but my schedule gets super busy- and I HATE trying to figure out what to cook!

I also know that my budget and waistline prefer that I eat at home.  This year with my word Adventure- I am going to be documenting my Adventures in the Kitchen!

I loved Nicole Graham (amazing librarian.. and great ideas!) of doing Soup on Sunday.  Thanks to Pinterest I found some easy summer soups (well- they say easy)

Before I get too much farther in my first Souper Sunday- I wanted to share how I keep cooking and all the things organized. I do pay for the app Family Wall.  It works across platforms, I can access all my calendars, I can create lists, and there is a menu planner. Even better with the menu planner- I can put a link in and it will add it to my recipes.  After choosing a recipe for a day- I can also add items directly to my shopping list.  It is a win win! As you can see in the picture- on my menu planner page it also tells me what is happening that day.  I also work in the evenings- so this helps with my menu planning as well!

Many of my recipes will come from other areas- if you want the full recipe- click on the links.  I am going to give some of my changes below.

MEXICAN STREET CORN SOUP

RECIPE FOUND HERE----------->Striped Spatula

MY TAKE AND TIPS

When I found this recipe, my plan was just to use canned corn- but then after reading about it- I realized that I really needed corn on the cob.  Also- this recipe says it only takes 15 minutes to make- I know I am not the best in the kitchen- but that is a lie!

-I did go ahead and use corn off the cob
-I used the idea of using parmesan instead of the Cojita (I was going with what I already had on hand)
-I for the most part followed the recipe, but instead of continue to cook on the stove- I did move it over to a crockpot and kept it on warm

I will absolutely be doing this recipe again! I had very little leftovers.

Adventure

 What a whirlwind of a year last year was.  Did I Pause as in stop doing everything I usually do- that would be a negative.  I don't do well sitting still.  Did I Pause and not get so overwhelmed last year and enjoy the small things- YES!

As I have written before, I choose a word of the year in May or June.  This year, my word came to me a little sooner. 

As many of my readers know- I am a school librarian.  If you have been keeping up with things in education.. you know that it has been pretty tough between budget cuts and more expectations.  In April my district had major budget cuts and librarians were one of them.  We have gone from one librarian per campus to a librarian for two campuses.  My role will be a little different as I will be a librarian at a high school and a flexible floater in order to support the district.  

To say that I am nervous.. I absolutely am.  BUT.. this is also where my word came in.  My word for this year is Adventure.

I started off BIG with this word this summer! I had the chance to chaperone an AMAZING trip to Japan with a group of almost 70 people.  It was my first time to travel to a different country.  In July my adventure was to see my best friend in Virginia.   My current adventure is teaching swim lessons and water aerobics at an outdoor pool.

As I begin my 20th year in my current district.. and my 23rd in education I am going to look at this challenge as an adventure.  Life can be so very tough... but it is okay to find adventures and the good in your life daily.  I also am going to look at this year as ADVENTURE to advocate for reading, libraries, and librarians.

The theme for my library this year- Reading Rainbow! More info to come soon.

What is your word for this year?