how is june halfway over?

Good morning, readers. I hope you had a great weekend. As for us, we survived babysitting 101 and the baby survived as well. Win-win! Kell and I just kept looking at each other saying, “There’s a baby in our house, and his parents aren’t here!” I changed a diaper and rocked him to sleep and everything. We did have a falling-off-the-couch incident, but other than that, it was just fine. Whew.

We also headed to Starkville for Kate’s wedding Saturday, and it was awesome. I loved getting to see all the Kappa Chis (you know who you are), and Kate was a stunning bride. Yay for weddings! I hope the wedding photog Kallie puts pics up on her blog soon.

Next on the agenda for this post, I have a couple of delicious dishes to share. Katy and Cliff hosted supper club last night, and here are the items I brought. I think everyone there enjoyed them, so I hope you will too.

Greek Pasta Salad

½ cup olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 ½ tsp dried basil
1 ½ tsp oregano
¾ tsp black pepper
¾ tsp sugar
8 oz. cooked pasta (I like rotini for this recipe, but cavitappi would be good too)
3 cups mushrooms, sliced
15 cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in ½
1 cup red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
¾ cup feta cheese, crumbled (I used reduced fat)
½ cup green onion, chopped
3 ½ oz black olives, whole
¾ c. pepperoni slices, cut into thin strips

Mix together oil, vinegar, garlic powder, basil, oregano, pepper and sugar (To lessen the oil/vinegar separation, put vinegar in bowl first, then pour oil in slowly while whisking. Then add the spices.). Add remaining ingredients to pasta, and pour on the sauce. Toss until well-coated. Cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight (I like to stir it a couple of times while chilling).

Nutella Gelato

2 cups whole milk (I used skim)
1 cup heavy cream (I used fat free Half & Half)
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish, if desired

In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes. Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts, if you like.

Have a great Monday. I happen to know someone who has a birthday in a couple of days.