Cookin'

Yes, it was hot this past weekend in Los Angeles. Luckily, we did not have any hurricanes or storms like my friends on the East coast experienced. Hope everyone is drying off and recovering from the deluge.
We didn't have any major plans this weekend, so I did a bit of grocery shopping on Friday afternoon in preparation for some home-cooked meals. I took out my trusty Trader Joe's cookbook and found some interesting recipes. One night we had the Roasted Potatoes, Shrimp and Pancetta, pictured above. It was delicious. I usually pair shrimp with rice, but the little potatoes were a perfect compliment for this yummy dish. We also had some roasted eggplant to round out the meal.


Sunday night I prepared this great pasta. The exact name of the dish escapes me right now, but the sauce contained mascarpone cheese, juice and zest from one lemon, Limoncello liqueur, fresh herbs from my mini-garden and maybe a few more ingredients. The lemony flavor of the sauce was zingy and refreshing. THEN, I roasted some Mexican squash, tossed with Trader Joe's pesto sauce, parmesean, salt and pepper. We topped off our dinner with a simple salad.

LOVE those Trader Joe's cookbooks. There are several on the market right now. I highly recommend them if you have a T.J.'s store in your area.