Rotini with Marinara & veggies

I made this recipe the other night and Ezra devoured it and Noah ate it.  The best part about it, lots of veggies!  They ate the veggies with no issues, possibly because they didn’t realize they were there.

Rotini with Marinara, Broccoli, Carrots, and Peppers

Good Housekeeping October 2008

12 oz. rotini or penne pasta

1 bag (12 oz) broccoli florets (I had some fresh that I just steamed and added at the end)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 med. carrots, thinly sliced

1 sm. onion, chopped

1 lg. red pepper, chopped

2 c. marinara sauce

3 oz. sliced pepperoni, cut into slivers (we skipped so it was a vegetarian dish)

1/4 c. loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (oops forgot to buy, would have been yummy)

1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Heat large covered saucepot of salted water to boiling on high.  Add pasta and cook as label directs, adding broccoli to saucepot 4 minutes before pasta is done.

2.  Meanwhile, in deep 12 inch nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium 1 minute.  Add carrots, onion, and pepper; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in marinara sauce and pepperoni; cook 2 minutes to heat through.

3.  Drain pasta and broccoli; stir into skillet with marinara mixture.  Sprinkle with basil.  Serve with Parmesan.

Happy Easter

The cousins and the Bunny

IMG_2819

Thrilled

My bro, me, and the kids

IMG_2801

Dancing Noah

IMG_2791

Dancing Ezra

IMG_2759

Ez contemplating

IMG_2822

Abby mowing

IMG_2830

Abby hunting eggs

IMG_2834

No Winny

IMG_2838

Ez checking out his basket

IMG_2844

Noah finally picked up an egg, then ran off to take it apart and put it back together, again and again

IMG_2846

Ez eating an egg

IMG_2853

Abby and her juice

Photo Friday – 04.02.2010

IMG_2573
Such Determination to get to the lamp

IMG_2588
Noah and his Nana

IMG_2607
Hut, Hut, Hike

IMG_2608
Cutest little face

IMG_2699
Grandma handing out their favorite snack sidewalk chalk


Jason getting hit by the ladies in his life


Grandma and Ez just hanging out


Grandpa and Noah


Abby flying high


Ez wearing two pairs of sunglasses, he likes to put them around his neck just like daddy


Noah hiding in his favorite peek-a-boo spot


Can you guess Ez’s favorite snack?


Not eating his dinner



The last two just sum up the majority of our week, we are teething, emotional toddlers this week

One year ago – March 31, 2009

As our Family Day quickly approaches, I thought I would start a series of post celebrating the photos we were so lucky to receive as we waited to travel. Shortly after our referral our agency lifted the ban they had on traveling families taking photos of the children. We were so lucky to have many traveling families take photos for us. Thanks so much to those families, because of them we have photos of much younger babies. In the world of international adoption this is an amazing blessing.

These photos were taken March 31, 2009.

Noah

Ezra

Together

This following photo is honestly the one I treasure the most. It’s not the best photo of them by far, but we are beyond privileged to have it. It was taken January 1, 2009. Yes you read that right, before our referral! Another family visited their orphanage and had captured twins boys. After receiving our referral they tracked us down through our agencies yahoo group. They were so kind to call us and tell us all about our boys’ orphanage. Plus they had managed to capture a shot of the two tiniest babies. 🙂

January 1, 2009