Cookie Swap Update and Easy Garlic Tomato Pasta

Last week I left for the Key West wedding of one of my best friends, Amie.  It was five amazing days filled with sunshine, the ocean breeze, tropical drinks, flip flops, and wedding bliss.  Amie and her now-husband Joe have the kind of romantic-comedy love that nobody thinks is truly possible in real life.  But it is!  And I was so happy to be a part of this wonderful destination wedding! 

Returning to a Minnesota winter was made a little bit easier by the fact that I had magically gotten a bit of a tan while in Florida (if you know me but at all, you know that I don't tan -- I burn).  And I had my mail on hold while I was gone, so I was also looking forward to the three dozen cookies that awaited me when I got home from work on Monday. 

But before opening up the packages of cookies, I felt compelled to make myself a home cooked dinner after five straight days of eating out.  Plus, being a vegetarian that doesn't eat fish is extraordinarily difficult in an island setting, and I actually didn't eat much on the trip!  So I whipped together a super easy and SUPER delicious garlic tomato pasta using some more of the canned tomatoes that the wonderful people at Red Gold Tomatoes sent to me! 

Ingredients

1 pound of fresh pasta

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I used Wild Tree's spaghetti sauce seasoning, but any Italian mix of dried herbs would work just as well)

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Once boiling, add a handful of salt and drop in the pasta.  Cook according to the package directions. 

While you wait for the water to boil, heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the chopped garlic.  Saute for about a minute, then add the tomatoes and seasoning.  Stir occasionally, and let the tomato mixture cook for about 5 minutes or until your pasta is done. 

Using tongs, add the pasta right from the pasta water to the tomato mixture.  Stir everything together, and heat over medium heat for another minute or two.  Taste for seasonings and serve. 

COOKIE SWAP UPDATE!!!

Once I was finished eating my yummy pasta dish, I started eyeing those cookies again!  I lucked out and received a variety of cookies that I loved for very different reasons.  First up: Ginger Spice Cookies from Lisa of Tequila Cupcakes. 

I love ginger cookies, but I am not a huge fan of ginger snaps.  I love soft, chewy cookies, and these ones from Lisa really hit the spot!  If you are looking for a tasty ginger cookie recipe, check out her blog!  I next opened up an adorable little box of Coconut Macaroons with Bittersweet Chocolate from Sara of The Little Bite. 

I adore coconut cookies and these tasty morsels were perfection.  The recipe seems foolproof -- you should really check it out!  And my last cookie package was a big bag of Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti from Anita at Confessions of a Foodie. 

I loved the subtlety of the chocolate flavor and the bright green bits of pistachio dotted along the biscotti cookies.  I so wanted to enjoy these cookies with a cup of tea, but I was too impatient to wait for the water to boil!  Yum yum yum. 

Overall, it was so much fun to send out my bon bon cookies to food lovers around the country, and it was equally as fun to receive people's handmade cookies!  Interested in participating next year?  Check out this link and sign up to receive updates!