Perfect Pasta Salad

I thought that this pasta salad recipe would be great to post just before the holiday weeked.  Most of us will be spending lots of time with friends and/or family this weekend, which mostly likely means there will be lots of FOOD!!  The thing I love about this recipe is that it is simple to make and does NOT have mayo in it.  I am just not a big fan, so any pasta or potato salad that has mayo in it, is never consumed around here!  Anyway, enough blabbing, here's the recipe...



Perfect Pasta Salad
By: Melanie H.

1 box rotini pasta (or any other shape)
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3-4 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1 tsp. Sugar
Pepper
1/3 c. Parmesan Cheese
Diced Veggies (anything you'd like...Carrots, red peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, brocolli, red onion, etc...)
Zesty Italian Dressing

Cook and cool pasta noodles.  Coat noodles with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, pepper and parmesan cheese.  Add diced veggies and pour 1/2 bottle of Italian dressing onto pasta salad.  Mix salad and top with more parmesan cheese.

tutu bug Shout Out!

This weeks tutu bug Shout Out! goes to Heather over at Gerber Days.  Heather has the cutest blog that encompasses who she is - a mom, a cosmetologist and a jewelry maker.  She loves photography and writing, which just gives her more fodder for her blog (fodder, isn't that a goofy word?!)  

Anyway, one of my favorite sections is her recipe collection.  If you click on Kitchen, you can scroll down and check out her yummy creations.  I personally plan on trying out that Chocolate Bundt Cake recipe that she posted back in March.  How delicious does THAT look?!?!  Another fun area of her blog is her Simplify Today section.  Every Wednesday she posts fun little tips and tricks to make your life a little easier.  It can be anything from hair tips to how to make your own hand soap (I totally need to try that!)  So, swing on by Gerber Days and give Heather some bloggy love!! 

Someone Blogged About ME!

Wow, I have to say I feel pretty special that someone actually blogged about me and my product!  A mom by the name of Jessica recently purchased three of my clearance tutus, when I had my sale last week.  She loved the tutus she bought for her daughters so much that she ended up blogging about it and included some super cute pictures.  She wrote some really great stuff about my product, which made me so proud of my work and at the same time humbled and honored!  Go check out Jessica's blog, Adventures with Three Girls, to read my review and as well as, her life with three girls!

Happy Father's Day

I just want to wish all of your husbands, brothers, dads and male friends out there a very Happy Father's Day.  I personally came from a divorced family and although I visited my dad pretty frequently and had a relationship with him, my mom did the lion's share of the work.  I know it was hard for her, but she did the best she could with what she had.  So, every father's day, I call my dad AND my mom to wish them a Happy Father's Day.  So, for those of you who didn't have a dad around, wish your mom (or grandma or whoever raised you) a Happy Father's Day for fulfilling that role to the best of their ability!

Snow White

What little girl doesn't want to be a princess?!  Now that I have sports tutus and regular tutus, why not get to the heart of every little girls dreams and start creating tutus that look like her very favorite princesses!!  With my friend Jen's urging, I created my first princess tutu which pays tribute Snow White.  It's got bright yellow tulle in the front, shimmery red tulle on the sides and royal blue tulle in the back.  I have added a beautiful red grosgrain bow to the front to finish it off.   You can see the Snow White tutu here on my site as well!

I do plan on adding more, I am currently finishing up a tutu that resembles Tinkerbell's outfit and am modifying a few of my other tutus that can be used to play Cinderella and Belle. 

tutu bug CLEARANCE!

Who doesn't love a great sale?!  Here we have over 20 tutu's on clearance up to 60% off!!  These tutus were used to get photos up onto my website and now that my site is up and running, these tutus need new homes with a precious little princesses :). 

The price listed does NOT include shipping.  You may either choose First Class postage at $2.75 or Priority mail (tracking info included) for $5.25.  If you live in the Phoenix area, local pick-up is free.  Just email me at melanie@tutubug.com and let me know which tutu you are interested and how you'd like it mailed and I will email you a paypal invoice.  All tutus are on a first come, first serve basis. 

(*) Denotes tutu would fit a 2yo, or a younger/thinner 3yo.

Tinkerbell (12-18mos) $14

Arizona State University ( 2T*) $14

Blue Chocolate Truffle (4/5T) $15

SOLD-Boston Red Sox / NE Patriots / TN Titans (2T*) $14

(You can choose a red, navy blue or white bow for this tutu)

Bumble Bee (4/5T) $15

SOLD-Chicago Bears / Denver Broncos (2T*) $13

Chicago Cubs / NY Giants, (2T*) $14

Dallas Cowboys (2T*) $14

Greenbay Packers  (2T*), $13

SOLD-Ladybug (4/5T) $15

NY Yankees / Penn State (12-18 mos.) $13

Phoenix Suns (2T*), $13

Pink Bubblegum (4/5T) $15

SOLD-Pink Chocolate Truffle (4/5T) $15

Purple Pizzazz (3/4T) $16

Snow White (2T) $15

SOLD-Sweetheart (4/5T) $15 

Texas Tech (2T*) $14

Tropical Breeze (4/5T) $16

SOLD-UCLA (12-18 mos.) $13

University of Florida (12-18 mos) $13

University of Michigan (12-18 mos) $13

USC / Washington Redskins / KC Chiefs $13

University of Texas (2T*) $13

SOLD-Watermelon (12 mos.)  $12

New Sports Tutus

Just last month, I decided to start up a tutu bug Sports Collection.  Since then I have created more than 15 designs for those avid sports fans of professional and collegiate basketball, baseball and football teams.  I am sure many of the colors translate to high school teams, as well as other sports teams.  It's been really fun to check out all of the different sports teams websites and see what colors they sport!  I usually start with the teams cheerleaders and create the color combinations from there.   Click here to view my entire sports collection.  You can also check out several of the sports tutus below as well.  If you're interested in a sports tutu and your team isn't represented, please contact me at melanie@tutubug.com and I will be happy to work with you in creating that perfect team tutu!

Greenbay Packers

Cubs/Giants

University of TX

Chicago Bears/Denver Broncos

University of TX

University of FL

Who Loves Lasagna?!

OK, I love lasagna!  The first reason is that it is good, all those noodles, all that cheese, and don't forget the yummy red sauce!  The second reason is that it is so simple to make (recipe to follow).  The final, and most important reason why I love lasagna, is for the simple fact that BOTH my boys will eat it!  Yup, one of those meals that the whole family enjoys.  Now, I always said I would feed my kids whatever we were eating and too bad if they don't like it.  Well, in reality, I am a bit of a short order cook.  If we're having salad and breadsticks, well the kids get chicken nuggets, carrots from the salad and breadsticks :).  So, when I find something that ALL of us enjoy, I tend to just feel like doing a little happy dance.  Anyway, here's to you, lasagna...

Simply Lasagna

Serves: 4 Adults

1/2 box of No Bake Noodles (This is the key ingredient, I like the Barilla brand)

1/2-1 lb ground beef or turkey (make as meaty as you'd like)

1/2 container cottage cheese (way cheaper than ricotta)

1 egg

1 c. mozzarella cheese, divided

1/4 c. parmesean cheese

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning (opt)

1 jar spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook ground meat until brown, add in spaghetti sauce.  While meat is cooking, combine cottage cheese, egg, 2/3 c. mozzarella, parmesean cheese and Italian seasoning in a small bowl.  Once meat sauce is ready, layer into a 8*8 baking dish:

Meat sauce

2 noodles

1/3 cottage cheese mixture

...until all cottage cheese mixture is gone.  Top with 2 more noodles, the remaining meat sauce and the 1/3 c. mozzarella cheese.  Bake covered with foil for 35 min and then uncovered for 10-15.  Enjoy!