Made from Scratch

For a variety of reasons, I've become more and more interested in making all of our food from scratch. Mind you, it doesn't make them less fattening (most of the time)... but at least they are a bit more natural. :)

Today I made more pasta (I'm still excited about last weekend's success!), mozzarella-stuffed meatballs, marinara sauce, and french bread for dinner:

Followed by German-Chocolate Cake for dessert:

The picture doesn't do it justice!

I love eating something that I know didn't come from a box or can or mix. It does take a bit of extra planning and time, but it is so worth it. :)

Pasta

I have wanted to make pasta for months. For some reason, I've been nervous to try it. This weekend I decided to tackle my fear.

I made Herbed Fettuccine noodles Saturday for Grilled Vegetable Fettuccine.

Delicious! It required a bit of time (for drying, not so much in the prepping or cutting... that part was pretty fast), but was so worth it! And, not nearly as hard, or scary, as I thought it would be. 

So, today I made bow-tie pasta noodles for our Beef and Noodles dinner. 

I feel so accomplished! :)

I have fallen in love with fresh pasta... and can't wait to try making ravioli next weekend!