Saturday night I made another yummy roasted pasta dish and attempted to make my first homemade loaf of French Bread.
I make bread all the time but was worried about this one for some reason…
After I searched for recipes and saw the simple list of ingredients I decided to give it a go!  :)
I’m happy I did…  Between hubby and our boys, the loaf was gone in one sitting.
Since it was hot out of the oven, we even let the boys have hot fresh French Bread with Nutella on it…  Yummy!

I’m sad to say that I didn’t get a picture of the whole loaf because my boys cut into it and scarfed it…  ;)
But here is what was left by the time we got to the Nutella…  haha

Homemade French Bread

INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups hot water

DIRECTIONS:
Please ingredients in your bread machine according to manufacturers directions.
Start the machine on the basic dough setting.
When finished, remove and place on a floured surface and form into a long loaf (about 16 inches)
Place on a silpat or greased cookie sheet and cover with a towel.
Let it rise about an hour, until double in size.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
I flip the cookie sheet around about halfway through to make sure both sides are even.  ;)
Let cool on a wire rack, if you can wait that long to cut and eat it…  Ours didn’t make it we loved it so much!
Enjoy

The other night I was CRAVING fresh veggies but I knew my kiddos and hubby needed something more than just a small plate of raw veggies
so I decided to come up with a recipe that would suit their taste, and mine!  :)
My husband loves when I make anything that has to do with my Italian roots and he LOVES pasta,
so I grabbed some whole wheat pasta and went to work!
I grabbed the freshest veggies I could find and roasted them up for this delicious, hearty and healthy pasta dinner!  :)

Rigatoni with Roasted Veggie Puree Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
1 box of whole wheat rigatoni (or whatever kind you like)
3 cups cherry tomatoes
2 zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
6 mushrooms (good size)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic (whole cloves)
kosher salt
pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups freshly grated or shredded parmesan cheese
Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl add the cherry tomatoes.
Chope the rest of the veggies and add to bowl.
Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and add olive oil to coat.
Toss together until fully coated and turn onto a baking sheet (preferably with a silpat)

Bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to directions and grate the cheese and set aside.
When veggies are done, add them to a blender or food processor while still hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and puree completely but don’t over blend.  This will be your sauce.
When pasta is done, strain but keep a cup of the pasta water in case the sauce starts to dry out.
Add the cooked pasta to a large pasta bowl and toss it with the parmesan cheese to coat.
Then add the pureed veggie sauce and toss to coat completely until well blended.
Serve hot and enjoy!  :)