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I am so happy that you stumbled upon my humble, little blog! We may be friends, acquaintances, or complete strangers. Regardless, I welcome you to my Happy Kitchen. 
xo, Bri

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fusilli all'amatriciana

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We celebrated another birthday in this shelter-in-place. Ryan's birthday was yesterday. I asked him if he wanted a unicorn princess birthday party like Bella but he declined. His only request for his birthday was his favorite meal- Fusilli all'Amatriciana. So, I made sure I had all the ingredients I needed in order to make his wish come true. I also made his favorite butter toffee cookies. A lot  of butter toffee cookies. But, I will save those for another post. When Ryan and I first started dating, he requested Fusilli all'Amatriciana. To be honest, I had no clue what it was so I had to do some research. It sounds super fancy but, surprisingly, it is actually not difficult to make. It has all good things like pancetta, garlic, red onion, and lots of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Although, Ryan will argue that the most important part of the dish is the fusilli pasta. It has to be fusilli, because it is the most fun shape pasta to eat.  Fusilli all'Amat...
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mediterranean style orzo pasta salad

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So, [my favorite place] Trader Joe's makes a Mediterranean Style Orzo Pasta Salad. It comes in a portioned container in the to-go salad area. I bought it once a lot time ago. It was good. I enjoyed it. But, as I was eating it, I thought about how I paid $4 for one, little portion and I could probably just make it myself. Since then, I never bought it again. Instead, I developed my own version that I like so much better. When I make this, I can get everything I need at Trader Joe's so I am not quite sure what other stores/brands may carry. I have made this orzo salad with fewer ingredients but enjoy this combination the most. With every bite, there is a little bit of everything and it all goes together well. There is no meat in this dish, but the addition of garbanzo beans gives it the protein it needs. Mediterranean Style Orzo Pasta Salad INGREDIENTS: 1 lb. orzo pasta 12 oz marinated artichokes, drained and roughly chopped (about 8.1oz drained) 12 oz. fir...
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Fast Forward

So, I pretty much forgot about this blog. There was this insane pandemic situation and all, so the past 2+ years have been quite the blur. I literally laughed out loud at the fact that my last post was May 1, 2020. After May 1, 2020, so much in my world changed. There were definitely highs, lows, and bunch of things in between. When I started this blog, this was an outlet for all this newfound free time I had during the shelter-in-place order. It definitely helped to keep me busy while I waited to return back to work. I didn't end up starting to go back to the office until the latter part of May. So, what happened? The short answer: Pickleball. My dad transitioned from racquetball to Pickleball a couple years before he retired. So when he retired at the end of 2019, he was excited that he could now play everyday without any other obligations. When COVID happened, everything got shut down- including the Pickleball courts. My dad was getting restless, waiting for the courts to reopen...
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