friends & food

this weekend was a weekend of great food.
& it was great food that was made at home!
even better!

our good friends, the cooks, have finally returned to provo & mark & i are equally excited about it. for mark this means a friend to do all things sports with - watch, play & even fantasy. for me it means girl time, gossip & someone to cook with!

maryclaire & i both love food & love to cook. we have decided that every week our little families will come together & together we will make a new recipe that we have found or something we have always wanted to try. this week's project was spaghetti squash. 

on saturday night nate & maryclaire came over & the girls cooked a fantastic meal while the boys enjoyed about 5 different football games all at once. dinner consisted of: homemade herb bread, green beans, spicy turkey meatballs, mariana sauce, pasta {for the boys} & spaghetti squash {for the girls}. everything turned out great! this was the first time all of us were trying spaghetti squash & i am SO happy to report that it was a hit. i thought it was delicious & will most definitely be making it again the next time mark is craving italian {mark gobbled up all the leftovers the next day for lunch, so i'll take that as he was a fan as well}. the best part about spaghetti squash is that it doesn't have a weird flavor at all like some vegetables do & rather than devouring tons of carbs, which you tend to feel guilty about right after, it is just a plate full of pure veggies!! if you haven't yet sampled spaghetti squash, i highly recommend that you do! you will not regret it. for dessert we enjoyed a flourless chocolate cake with fresh whipped cream & berries on top while we watched "think like a man"...hilarious movie & such a great night.
**i wish i had taken some pictures of the fun evening but we were too busy cooking & having fun to think about pictures!

for sunday night dinner i made a recipe that maryclaire told me about the night before. it was one of the best dishes i have had in a long time. blackened chicken with cilantro & lime quinoa with a avocado cream sauce on top. oh my gosh. the best thing about this recipe is that there was really nothing unhealthy about the dish & i can make it anytime i want to!

i love to try new recipes & hate when they don't turn out the way i had hoped...but i am happy to have 2 new dishes that i love & that i can add to my recipe collection.