Saturday, May 12, 2012

Date Night (Part 1)

I can't think of a more cliche date night than dinner and a movie. So in order to avoid being a total cliche - and save a few bucks - I proudly present: Date Night - Rabbits and Runs Style!

Our date night began in the kitchen.  While homemade pasta sauce is delicious, it's also time consuming, so I did what I always do: modify a store bought sauce!  (I'm sure there's an Italian grandmother screaming somewhere.)

Cheater Cooking At Its Finest
While the pasta water was coming up to a boil, I chopped up about 1/4 of an onion and tossed it into a saute pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil until they began to sweat, dumped in a package of pre-sliced baby portabella mushrooms, and added some assorted seasonings (garlic, salt, pepper, and some dried thyme that was lurking in my cabinet) and let the mushrooms cook down a bit.

Happy 'Shrooms

Once everything was looking happy, I poured in a jar of pasta sauce, stirred everything up, and let it heat through - along with a few shakes of one of my favorite pasta seasonings.

Bam!

Too Bad This Isn't A Scratch 'n Sniff!

In under 30 minutes we were sitting down to eat. (As a bonus, the price tag on dinner was about $3/plate instead of $15/plate at a restaurant!)

The Lighting In My Kitchen Leaves Much To Be Desired
A glass of wine would have been a nice touch, but I stuck with a big old glass of ice water since Part 2 of date night is a long run, so the need for adequate hydration supersedes my desire for a pinot grigio buzz.

Oh, The Irony


I'm really looking forward to Part 2 of date night.  I've always liked running at night.  There's something kind of magical about running when the rest of the world is sleeping (or out partying) - and it's even better when you get to share it with someone else!



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that since we are all really into food we should figure out some way to share our recipes! I shall research this!

Megan said...

Aww! That's really cute! That's cool that you're married to someone who likes working out. Mine works outside all day and comes home exhausted and becomes a couch potato.

Is he doing Warrior with you?

BeringSeaJunkie said...

That's so sweet, you have 'Date night'!!!

Your pasta sauce sounds amazing!! And I wish it had been scratch and sniff, because spaghetti is like my most favourite meal (after KFC!)

Mary said...

I don't know if I'd call 'Modified Jarred Sauce' a recipe - but I'm always happy to share!

Mary said...

It helps that we're both trapped in an office all day. By the time we get done, we both don't mind spending some time outside.

Yes, Coach Husband will be at the Warrior Dash. If it's anything like last year, he and one of our friends (Miss Placed) will go sprinting off the start line and I won't see them again until we're all covered in a thick layer of mud!

Mary said...

It was pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself!

Elizabeth said...

the mushrooms look darn good!!!

hkairedalespack said...

Your pasta looks delicious! I usually do some very minor additions (powdered garlic, etc.) to a jar of Ragu in a crockpot, but those sauteed mushrooms in the skillet look amazing.

Unknown said...

Okay, I was totally feeling full when I started reading this but now I want that pasta! It looks absolutely delicious! I SO need an invite to one of your date nights! I'll bring my own plate and do the washing up!

Mary said...

You're always welcome!