Today was one of those days. Total insanity. 
Nothing terrible happened, but all of the little things just added up, ya know?
When my buddy/webmaster, Blain, arrived at our apartment for dinner, he was carrying a case of Harpoon Chocolate Stout. I was SO happy to see him! A beer was just what I needed.
(Blain and I had a “business” meeting tonight to discuss the new and improved Carrots ‘N’ Cake. It’s getting a mini facelift! 
)
I love, love, love the Chocolate Stout!!! It’s nice and smooth with a dark chocolate flavor. It even smells like chocolate! Holy yum! 
For tonight’s dinner, I made angel hair pasta with marinara sauce and homemade garlic bread. It was carb heaven! 
To make the garlic bread, I combined Olivio with minced garlic and spread it on top of the sliced French bread. I added a little Parmesan cheese before baking it in the oven for 15-20 minutes on 350*F. It was so simple and turned out great!
I amped up the nutritional value of the pasta sauce by adding a ton of mushrooms and onions.
The three of us ate dinner in front of the TV while watching the Celtics game.
I’m wrapping up some lose-ends with work/blog stuff and then heading to bed to read and relax.
What a Monday! I’m sort of glad that it’s over. Yowsahs! 
Goooooood night!!!
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
I feel the same way about today! It’s like suddenly everybody wanted to respond to age old emails.
Chocolate stout? Intriguing… I’ll give that one a try some day
@Food Makes Fun Fuel: EXACTLY! I actually said the exact same thing to Mal tonight!
The pasta looks so good with the mushrooms. Yum!
Amen to today being kind of crazy. Same thing here, nothing big happened, but it just seemed like today dragged on and on, with the small things coming up and bugging me!
I am totally curious about chocolate stout. I’ve never seen that before, but sounds delicious!
My day was crazy too, but that pasta looks like JUST what would make me feel better any day! Or even just the garlic bread, yum!
If you have any facelift experts for a blog please let me know! I’m looking for something inexpensive yet a definitely aesthetic improvement!
I agree with you about today… Mondays are NO fun!
Yummy dinner.. that’s one of my favorite things to eat!
Chocolate-y beer? Yum!
Mmmmm…I’m a HUGE fan of stouts in the winter! So full tasting and nutty
Beer and pasta… Sounds like good comfort to me
I’m not a huge fan of beer. I wonder if I would like chocolate stout. Does it really taste like chocolate though?
Sometimes just what you need is beer, carbs, and the people you love.. i wonder if the world had a bad day today? i haven’t talked to anyone who said today was good. at least tomorrow is a new day
The pasta looks amazing. I haven’t had garlic bread in so long that I’m tempted to break some out right now. I’ve never had chocolate stout, because I don’t drink very often & I never drink beer. If it really tastes like chocolate, though, I’d probably enjoy it.
I hope tomorrow is a better day! Carbs and chocolate cure all
I had one of those days too! EVERYONE needed SOMETHING from me!
HA! We must have been thinking the same thing today…I had pasta, too for dinner! It hit the spot!
Chocolate beer sounds like an amazing way to end a stressful day.
Yum I love Harpoon’s Chocolate Stout! I think I have a Winter Warmer in the fridge…
Hope tomorrow runs more smoothly for you!
I adore dark chocolate (my blog is mostly a chocolate review blog, haha), so I really feel I must track this beer down. Thanks for showing me it exists!
Chocolate beer+pasta could make any crazy day better!
That’s pretty much the perfect meal!! When I order out I always get whatever pasta dish has either added mushrooms or peppers, or better yet, both!! Mmm chocolate stout sounds delish! I will have to check it out.
I agree, this has been the Monday beyond Mondays. Maybe people are finally getting over their holiday slump and have actually started to do things
Can’t wait to see the new Carrots ‘n’ Cake!
Your dinner looks delish!
That pasta looks great! Speaking of amping up nutritional value, I replace the ricotta in my lasagna with vegetables, such as carrots and zucchini. It tastes great!
Can’t wait to see the updates. And who doesn’t love a plate full of carbs every now and again.
Pasta looks incredible.. I am just wondering how you stuck to the portion as I would have asked for two plates. Enjoy reading tonight and remember “tomorrow is a new day”.. May blessings to you!!
latteashley.blogspot.com
I think it was one of THOSE Mondays for a lot of us today. Sleep well. Tomorrow’s another day =)
The pasta looks great, especially the mushrooms!
I love those TV trays! Whereever did you get them?
@Melissa (MelissaLikesToEat): I think they’re from Target.
I’m with you. I’m going to bed early so the day will finally be over. I managed to find half the shingles from my roof on the ground this morning and then this afternoon broke the screen on my phone.
Despite all this I’m still blessed! 
Glad your evening ended well!
Dinner looks yummy! I love mushrooms!
Yum, homemade garlic bread is the best.
Those TV trays are so cute!
Mmm the beer sounds delicious, and dinner looks pretty fantastic too!
i haven’t had garlic bread in forever – and i think the last time it was straight outa a pre-buttered package with garlic powder. your version looks a lot better.
I love amping up the nutrient profile of my pasta with extra veggies. They really amp up the flavor and turn jarred sauce into something more.
uh oh tina, too much dinner in front of the tv.
Kidding! with all this football and basketball going on I’m doing the same thing nightly as well!
How cute! I love that you guys all sat in front of the tv. I hate when everything ALWAYS has to be formal. I’m looking forward to the new makeover.
I think I add grated carrots to all my sauces, soups and salads. It adds a great texture and some veggie goodness.
that is an amazing bowl of goodness you got there! pasta with anything sounds amazing right now
oohh garlic bread, LOVE that stuff!! Can’t wait to see the new Carrots n Cake, I’m excited now! How long do we have to wait?
I always love a way to up the nutritional value of pasta
chocolate stoutt…mmmmmm
Chocolate + Beer = yes, please.
Shoot! The whole meal looked amazing.
I hope your Tuesday is a little slower and less hectic.
Your garlic bread sounds divine! Very nice meal all-around.
What a great Monday night!
Monday was a crazy day, I agree. Your dinner looked fab!
Yum! Dinner looks great! I love marinara…on anything!
Mmm Chocolate stout!
Nothing better than carbs for dinner – I will definitely be trying that garlic bread recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I love pastas! It looks so appetizing! It’s another mouth-watering recipe from you and most of your recipes are easy to made. Thanks for the post!