What a glorious weekend!

The boys were getting baptized (After a three year “Great Church Search”… a story for another day.)

We went to the Dells with my Andy’s family and friends and I am pretty sure my boys couldn’t smile any bigger if they tried. They loved going down the water slides, shooting hoops in the pool, and playing with their cousins and friends. Did I mention it was over 80 and perfectly sunny which meant I got some sun too?!

Then we went to our favorite local restaurant, Rosattis, for a dinner where my family joined us well. We followed it up with a party at our house. It was so fun watching the little kids out sailing and kissing recently caught fish with squeamish faces.  -It was a perfect picture of children who’s big bright eyes light up with excitement over the first nights of summer.

And of course there was the baptism where my four  year old poured the water from the River Jordan himself (I was holding my breath that he wouldn’t spill it!) He and his brother were adorable up there in their cute little outfits and momentarily angelic sweetness. The brunch afterwards was colorful chaos, but was also great. All in all a blessing. Healthy, happy children. Amazing friends and great family.

Thank you for these moments that remind me of how beatiful life is….

Oh–And I made this Mostaccioli Pie with the left over pasta from the dinner.

Here’s What You Need: (Serves 4)
2 cups of cooked mostaccioli
1 cup of all natural marinara (I like Wolfgang Pucks)
1/4 cup of low fat Four Italian Cheese blend
2 TBS of great parmesan
2 large carrots, diced
1/2 tsp of minced garlic
1 cup of baby spinach*
Italian Seasoning (I like Penzey’s)
Extra virgin olive oil
S+P

Here’s What You Do:
Preheat the oven to 375. Heat about a capful of olive oil over medium high. When it is warm, add the carrots and a good dash of Italian Seasoning and saute for about 2 minutes, adding the garlic. Saute another minute or so and then add the spinach and stir until it is wilted. Spray a pie pan with organic non-stick spray and add in the noodles and 3/4 of the marinara. Stir in the veggies and then top with the rest of the marinara and then top with the cheeses. Bake for about 25 minutes, stirring once in the middle if you want the cheese to blend in.  Serve with salt and pepper and extra Italian Seasoning. I added red pepper flakes to my helping as well.

*Feel free to sub in any veggies-diced zucchini or yellow squash, even onions, would work great. Just add them at the same time as the carrots.

Skinny Tip:
This is a super easy one to make ahead. Get everything ready and then bake right before serving. It is also easily doubled by having two pie pans and double the ingredients.

Kid Tip:
Very easy to hide veggies in this one! If you want, skip the spinach and add something that can be diced up for your kids like zucchini. Add a big dash of parmesan!

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