Today I woke up feeling extra housewife-y. (As in, I wanted to shop, cook, bake, clean & decorate simultaneously while wearing an apron) After getting myself dressed I drove to my local produce market to get myself some supplies for a big, beautiful dinner & dessert!
It was a successful shopping trip at Niagara Produce & strolling through the aisles of fresh, colorful produce inspired me. I get so excited by places like Niagara Produce. There's a lovely local Farmer's Market in Lockport as well but unfortunately, they're only open on Saturdays. I try to catch it as often as I can, but sometimes the inspiration doesn't strike until Sunday....ANYWAY, after returning home with my purchases, I made a small lunch (so we'd have LOTS of room for our big dinner!) & then visited my grandma at the nursing home for awhile. Then, unexpectedly, my in-laws stopped in for dinner. I decided to pull out all the nice dishes & glasses. Luckily I'd picked up some pretty, fresh flowers at the market! The place looked (& smelled!) amazing & it was nice to entertain, even if it was last minute!
So, what was on the menu, you may ask? Well. Wait no more for your answer.
A carton of grape-tomatoes, some olive oil, cubed mozzarella, fresh, chopped basil, salt & pepper are all you need to make this delicious, colorful, YUMMY Caprese Salad!
I love fresh basil & today was kind of the day to just buy some & use it in pretty much everything. The caprese salad was a nice change-up from our usual lettuce/spinach salads. I like to keep it interesting, you know. This is such a quick, easy salad to throw together. It looks & tastes A WHOLE lot fancier than it actually is to prepare. It was a huge hit for dinner & there wasn't a single tomato left!
Which brings me to dinner - Chicken Asparagus Alfredo!
Cream sauce. Pasta. Grilled chicken. Asparagus. Basil. Mm, mm, MMM! I'm such a carb-lover, you guys. It's sad how much I love pasta. I probably would marry it if that were possible. I just love it. I just love it so much.
But, I digress.... This is a super easy pasta to make & can be thrown together fairly quickly. Just cook the chicken thoroughly with some olive oil, salt & pepper, then toss the asparagus in the same pan. Let it cook until al dente. Add the sauce (or make your own with heavy cream, milk & some parmesan cheese!) & fresh basil. Prepare the pasta in a separate pan & then serve the sauce over the pasta. SO easy. SO delicious. I'm sick of chicken-broccoli alfredo & this is a nice twist on it without deviating too much from all the wonderful things that make alfredo the perfect, flawless, little yum-fest it is.
While at the market this morning I found some of the most lovely, ruby-red, local strawberries in existence. I knew it was going to be dessert in some way, shape or form. I decided to go with a basic strawberry shortcake. Then I decided to make the strawberry shortcakes in martini glasses. Fancy Level = Pro.
But, really. How pretty are these little decadent beauties!? I suggest cutting your strawberries up a few hours before serving, putting them in a bowl with some sugar sprinkled over them & letting them soak in their own juices. Sure, it adds some calories but it makes them softer & sweeter which makes the dessert, in my opinion. I just cubed some angel food cake & layered the strawberries, cake cubes & whipped cream in the martini glasses. They were a huge hit! Dessert is always awesome. But put it in a fancy glass & it is just over the top!
Okay. That's all for now. My family & I are in food-comas & ready for some Netflix & an early bedtime!
Until next time,
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