Puppy Love

We got a puppy.

(OMG, why would she get a puppy when she already gripes so much about how hard it is to take care of four kids?)

A 9 week old mini goldendoodle.

(So in addition to having to see a bajillion pictures of her kids when all I really want is the dang recipe, now I'll have to look at dog pics too?)

We have some semi-valid reasons for adding Teddy to the family, the primary being that it'll be fun for the kids to grow up with a dog. Plus Teddy was born on April 10, meaning our April birthday streak is complete, with 2, 4, 6, 8, and now 10.

He's been a pretty good boy so far, factoring in that he's still just a little puppy who would love nothing more than to play-bite with his human siblings.

I may be wearing my super cool new APLs, but yeah, the poop filled Wal Mart bag keeps me humble!

He can be my little co-pilot, so long as we keep rocking the curbside pickup everrrrrrything.

So yes, now in addition to minding my own four kids, I'm also trying to train a dog. And clean the house. And cook.

But hey- I made something new this week! I've said before that I am not too much into raw veggies. Roasted 4EVER. I had a bunch of leftover grape tomatoes and tossed them in the hot oven with some olive oil and Italian seasoning and holy wow I could eat these all day long.

I had some spinach on hand too and once the tomatoes were done, I add that to the hot pan to let it wilt down just a bit. Between that and the grilled salmon and rice pilaf, does this not look like heaven on a plate? So light! So summery! So full of vitamin A and C and antioxidants!

Italian Roasted Tomatoes

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Pinch of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss tomatoes with oil and seasonings. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally so tomatoes can get evenly cooked. Crank up the oven to a high broil and keep on eye on them- you want them to just start to char a bit. Remove from oven and stir in fresh spinach if you'd like. Return to the now-off-but-still-warm-oven to further wilt the spinach as needed.

I served this as a side dish but you could easily turn it into a base of a meal. Add some pine nuts to the pan to roast along with the tomatoes and serve over cooked whole wheat pasta. Spread on some whole grain bread along with a thin slice of fresh mozzarella for an amazing vegetarian sandwich.

I'm not even going to bother with figuring out the calories here because it is SO minimal. Eat as much as you'd like- there's no such thing as enjoying too many veggies!

Now excuse me while I go let out the dog to pee for the 47th time today.

(Eye roll)