Comfort Food, Meet Spring

I’m trying hard to find creative, cheery ways to make the transition from winter to spring even though the weather is not cooperating. It’s been way too cold here for my liking. Between this cold weather, being a bit run down from my quick trip to Virginia (I’ll post a few pictures later in the week) and coming back to a pre-scheduled surgery for my 10-year old puppy I was seriously in need of some good old comfort food last night.

After reaching for a little bit of chocolate one too many times and crashing from all the sugar, I managed to pull myself together, head to the grocery store and bring home some ingredients for one comforting and very satisfying meal last night. 

On Sunday, a friend on Facebook commented about the dinner she made consisting of pasta shells with prosciutto, peas and Parmesan. The picture of it left a couple of us drooling and asking for the recipe, which she kindly shared. This easy to make meal provided me with a heavenly break from the day’s stresses.

I mixed things up a bit with some homemade lemonade in mason jars. Doesn’t everything taste better in a mason jar?! This spring touch along with a grapefruit for dessert (well I never actually got that far), provided a much needed sense of calm and renewal. 

Here’s a quick how to recipe for this meal: 

Sauté one medium onion or leek with a package of chopped prosciutto in some olive oil. Boil one full box of medium sized shells. Once the onions and prosciutto are cooked, add three cups of peas and stir until almost done. Once the pasta is done, add it, along with one cup of pasta water to the other pan with the rest of the sautéed ingredients. Also add one cup of cream and a bit of butter to the pan. Continue to cook on low. Add Parmesan to thicken the sauce. Serve warm with salt, pepper and more Parmesan to taste.