April

Fact: April is the pits. This time last year was truly one of the hardest, if not THE hardest times of my life. It. Was. Horrible. It was filled with so much busyness, pain, tears and while it was also filled with some good memories, the truth is, it was still hard.

Fact: This April isn't shaping up to be much better. I'm still super busy, work is taking over my life, and all of last year's pain and hurt is on replay. Unfortunately, I'm sure you haven't heard the last of it.

Fact: May and June are going to hurt too. I'm sure of it.

Fact: This blog is my scrapbook and I think it's acceptable to jot that stuff down here.

Fact: I don't want to depress the heck out of you guys... so I'm going to focus on the good too.

Fact: Cavatini is good. =)


I made this last weekend since Mark and Kayla chose enchiladas the night before. Cavatini is something my mom made a lot when we had family visiting us... I guess because it's good, for one, and because it's so easy to throw together. Plus it feeds an army. It's my go-to meal to make for people who just had a baby, surgery, etc... because of that. Seriously... this pan fed us twice, plus I froze some for a third meal. AND I gave a lot to Austin too because he loves this stuff and treats me like I'm Wolfgang Puck when I make it. =)

I kind of combined mom's delicious recipe with this pizza-pasta skillet recipe I found when we first got married to make this super simple recipe. It doesn't have a ton of ingredients so it's great for kids and picky eaters, and me... who has the food tastes of a toddler. =)

Here's my "recipe" if you can even call it that. It's so easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

• 1 big bag/box of rotini noodles (cooked/drained) (I typically use whole wheat)
  
• 1 lb ground meat of choice (cooked) (I typically use ground turkey but you could do beef, deer, or whatever you have)
  
• 1 jumbo bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (yes I use the whole thing... this dish isn't for the faint of heart people)
• 1 jar of pasta sauce (I use Newman's Own a lot)
• 1 jar of pizza sauce (I use whatever's cheapest)
• 1 package of pepperonis
• Sometimes I add a small can of sliced black olives... depending on if I have them and who I'm cooking for.

Once the meat and pasta is cooked, I spray some cooking spray on the bottom of a 9x13 (or whatever that size of cake pan is... I don't really do measurements) baking dish. Then, I stir together the pasta, sauces, ground meat, and any other extras I want to add. Then, I start the layering.

I put the pasta mixture down first, then pepperoni, then cheese. Repeat. Then top with the rest of the cheeeeeese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or so... you know... until it's all golden, cheesy, and delicious looking... or... until you're so hungry you can't wait anymore... it's all cooked already anyway. =)


You can serve it with salad, or other veggies, or both if you want to be gross (I kid, I kid), or you can serve it with cheesy garlic toast. Done and Done.