Rachel Ray...I am not

I am not great in the kitchen.  This is a fact everyone is well aware of.  However, I have decided after visiting my sister in law that I could make more of an effort.  Travis and I want/need to start eating healthier and it would be what is best for Parker and Carson too. 

On Tuesday the boys were taking an especially long nap so I got to watch Rachel Ray, (not something I normally do even when I do have the time).  Travis came up from down stairs in time to watch the cooking portion of the show which featured a relatively easy looking recipe, plus it was pasta so we were in!

I decided to make it for dinner last night.  I printed the recipe, did the shopping for the things we didn't have and set off to work.  As I had 3 out of the 4 stove burners going and the oven full of garlic bread I felt like Rachel Ray herself!  I thought, this isn't bad, I could do this all the time!....

As I dished up the spaghetti onto eveyone's plates there was a piece that fell out of the pan.  I ate it and WOW!, my mouth was on FIRE!  I thought whooo, I guess that piece didn't get fully mixed.  So I had another bite and imediately told Travis to pull Parker's plate (if he eats anything spicy we are in for a looonnnng night).  

Travis and I ate the spaghetti which was UNBELIEVEABLY HOT!  As I was drinking a large glass of milk and cottage cheese to try to put out the fire in my mouth I was trying to figure out where I went wrong...Rachel herself said nothing about this being a spicy recipe...

hmmmm...

perhaps I put in too much garlic, sometimes that can make stuff seem spicy...no this was HOT.

perhaps it's because I forgot to put in the salt/pepper to taste until too late...

perhaps it's becuase I put in too much black pepper...no, this was like RED HOT.

Red hot, Red hot...hmmmm, it did call for some red peppers, but I know I didn't have any to put in...

The recipe calls for: 

1 red chili pepper, such as Fresno chili, thinly sliced or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, lightly crushed

Yeah, I did that...but I didn't.....

When I went back into the kitchen to pull out my red pepper flakes this is what I found...

GROUND red pepper...so although I "followed" the recipe and put in 1 teaspoon...it was probably more like many, many teaspoons since it was completly ground up!

Thus, we ate Spaghetti Caliente...and the leftovers, by the way, get hotter after they sit for a night...which is why Grandpa Vancil is getting a big bowl of Rachel Ray pasta tomorrow night for dinner! :)

The recipe, by the way, we think would have been really good and we will probably try it again!  Here is the link:

spaghetti-cherry-tomatoes-oil-and-vinegar-sauce via Rachel Ray