Back in Action

Hi there!  I must apologize that I've been so MIA this month of March - I can't believe I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks.  So, what I have been up to?  Well, I'll admit, I've been a busy bee.  In the past 2 weeks, I've gone on 2 job interviews, spent time with my friends on St. Patrick's Day, celebrated friends being in town & celebrated friend's pregnancies, visited my family in the Windy City, found out I have an almost stress fracture, read The Hunger Games, American Wife & The Lucky One, baked and cooked a lot of recipes including this incredible one for gluten-free vegan banana bread and spent time enjoying the springtime weather.

Today, I'm going to see The Hunger Games!  I'm a little apprehensive, I know there are so many die-hard followers of the series but I have to admit I'm definitely not one of them.  The book was well written, but it didn't leave me begging for a sequel as most series books do.  The plot was disturbing to me, probably because it involved children fighting on another in the games.  As far as post apolyptic novels go, I'm a much bigger fan of The Handmaid's Tale.  I'm also going to be picking up Wither from the library today and I'm hoping that I have better success with that - has anyone read it? 

Today's post features my favorite pasta sauce EVER.  It was introduced to me by my friend Katie and after I tried it my life was never the same.  Seriously.  The biggest downfall is that it's super pricey but Whole Foods had it as their Friday deal of the day a few weeks ago.... so here it is :) 

Italy in a jar.

I'll cry when my stash runs out and that is not the dramatic side of my personality talking.  I wanted to come up with something new to do with my Rao's though.  How many dishes with marinara and edamame can one eat?  No matter how incredible the marinara, it's hard to eat 8 servings before it expires.  I had seen a recipe on pinterest for a cream-based pasta using alfredo sauce, whole cream and homemade marinara.  So, I got inspired by one of my former recipes from when I first began this blog!  I decided to do something similar combining the base roux that I always use for creamy pastas and combining it with marinara.  Let's quote The Bachelor again and just say winning.

the last step: adding the noodles

Tomato Cream Pasta

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups gluten-free corn pasta
1.5 tbsp butter/trans-fat free margarine
2 tbsp brown rice flour
1 cup milk, skim 
1 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup high-quality marinara sauce

1. Boil water pasta and prepare according to package directions.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat.  Add brown rice flour to butter mixture, fold with a spatula until combined.  Continue to cook until lightly brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Add skim milk to saucepan, turn heat up to medium.  Continuously stir milk in the pan, scraping the bottom, until mixture begins to thicken.
4. Reduce heat to low, add garlic and marinara sauce stirring to combine.
5. Add drained pasta to sauce, stir to coat.  Serve!

perfect with veggies

What's your favorite marinara sauce? Any brands I should try?