A Little Randomness for Your Thursday...

Hello! I am super excited that today is Thursday {one week 'til Thanksgiving!!?!}... so tomorrow is Friday!... and we are heading home next week! And can we just talk about how it's already a week until Thanksgiving?! Seriously. Time needs to slow down!
Anyways... I wanted to share a few of my favorite things right now. These are random. But good enough to share ;)
We shop at Trader Joe's a lot. It's like a smaller Whole Foods {sorta}, and it's less than a block from our apartment. Plus, they have a great selection for pretty great deals. Z and I joke that no matter how much we put in our basket, it's always less than $25... can't beat that! We currently love their $3 bottle of wine {seriously such a good deal!}... and here are a few other things I love to pick up when I'm there...
-I absolutely love these pita crisps! They're a little sweet, a little salty, and sooo yummy!! 

 - I also really love this tea. It's cinnamony {I know that's not a word... you get the idea though} and smells soo yummy. I think a hot cup of tea at night is so relaxing! Yummy!

Okay, another random thing I wanted to share is this recipe that I tried the other night. You should know first that Z has a few favorites that I make pretty often... we refer to them as the "rotation". I like to try new recipes, but it's not very often that a recipe gets added to the "rotation" ;) But this recipe was immediately deemed rotation worthy!! We both loved it, and I will be making it again soon! {In fact, I wish it was cooking right now for dinner, ha!} I saw the recipe on Pinterest a while back, but then a blogger that I love posted it on her blog. So I was convinced to give it a try...and I'm SO glad I did! It's from Kevin and Amanda. And Mom, this is the pasta I was just telling you about ;) I think dad will probably love it as much as Z!
{I included a few changes I made as well}

Spicy Sausage Pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage {I used 1/2 lb of smoked turkey kielbasa, and it was plenty of sausage}
1.5 cups diced onion {I used 1/2 medium onion}
2 cloves garlic, minced {I didn't have any... just used some garlic seasoning}
2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
1 10 oz. can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, mild {I used the original, it was not too spicy}
1/2 cup of heavy cream {I used half-and-half, it was plenty creamy}
1/2 tsp of salt and pepper, each
8 oz penne pasta {I only had bow-tie}
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions {I omitted this ingredient!}
1. Add oil to an oven-safe skillet over med-high heat. Add sausage {thinly sliced} and onions and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. Broil until cheese is melted.

Looks yummy, right?! Go make this pasta, friends! And have a great week!