Pasta Party!

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."

-Edith Sitwell

We are having some extremely cold temperatures here in Kansas.  I'm talking -8 degrees with wind chills of -25 degrees.  I know for those of you who live further north this is nothing, but for those of us in the midwest it doesn't get this cold very often.  Last night, I slept with an extra blanket on the bed and multiple layers of clothing and I was comfortable.  I may have kicked the thermostat up a notch or two as well (drastic times call for drastic measures folks).

The snow drift outside our back door.

Anyways, last evening we invited some close friends of ours over for a small get together.  Both couples got hitched in 2013 and are enjoying the bliss of marriage and they have plenty of advice for us as we near our wedding day.

I spent a few days trying to come up with what I wanted to make for dinner and eventually decided on a pasta party complete with a meat sauce, The Pioneer Woman's macaroni and cheese, and The Pioneer Woman's alfredo sauce.  I then cooked up some spaghetti and farfalle.  The salad, garlic bread, dessert, and wine were provided by our friends and the meal was a delicious one!  There is nothing more comforting on a cold winter's night than pasta (except maybe pot roast, mashed potatoes, or chicken noodle soup).

Preparing the cheese sauce for the macaroni and cheese in my new dutch oven my mom and stepdad gave me for Christmas!

This was so delicious!

I can't wait to eat the leftovers!  Disregard the plastic wrap, my laptop, and the random bowl on the bar in the background.

The super yummy red velvet cake Chelsea brought.  Doesn't it look so pretty!

After dinner, we turned on the Best of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Primetime Special and played a game of Boxers or Briefs.  It was great catching up and hopefully we can do it again when it's a tad bit warmer outside.  

Below is the recipe for the meat sauce I made.  It's one my grandma used to make all the time so it became known as Grandma's Buzzghetti and it's delicious I promise.  

Grandma's Buzzghetti Meat Sauce:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 2 1/4 cups tomato juice

In a skillet, brown ground beef and drain the fat.  Stir in chili powder, oregano, sugar, salt, and garlic salt. Blend in tomato paste.  Stir in tomato juice.  Bring to a boil then turn heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.  Serve over spaghetti noodles.

Enjoy and I hope you're staying warm!