Pasta alla Philadelphia

I've had this recipe in my mission collection for years, but never tried to recreate it. Until I just couldn't pass up a good-looking batch of sweet Vidalia onions at Whole Foods and needed a good recipe for their flavor to shine. Ohhhh it must have been inspiration. This recipe was made for sweet Vidalia onions and sweet summer zucchini. Unfortunately, cooking with an entire block of Philadelphia cream cheese makes this dish a "sometimes food". Or probably it should.

I had Bill write out the instructions, since he's the master of this dish now.

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2-3 Vidalia onions, peeled and sliced
3-4 small zucchini, sliced
1-2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 pkg Philadelphia cream cheese, cut into cubes
season to taste
1/2-3/4 box penne pasta


Cook onions on high until they start to carmelize, with a sweet brown tint. Include a tablespoon of brown sugar if you don't have sweet Vidalia oinions or they aren't browning.

Add sliced veggies with a 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, continuing to cook/steam until desired softness, adding a little water if needed.

Season with garlic powder, oregeno, pepper and salt. A touch of chili powder and paprika if you're feeling spicey, which I allways do!

Stir in the cream cheese a chunk at a time untill all smooth. Buon appetito!

Layered Look

I love this idea of graded color layers. I need to find a great event to try out this idea. Luckily, I know there's a lot of baby showers coming in the next few months!

Good to Know: Lunchbox Safety

I heard a segment on the radio that said cases of food poisoning are on the rise because people are sending their children to school with items that are improperly prepared or refrigerated. What! So, I did some Googling and found a handy little checklist at the Home Food Safety website:

Download the original .pdf for yourself here.