Slow Cooker Lasagna

It's been so cold here this winter.  It's the coldest weather we've had in over 20 years in fact and this past Thursday we had a freezing rain storm come through and we almost never get freezing rain. 

Brad had been in Wyoming for work and the freezing rain caused the airport to close for several hours.  Because of the closure, Brad's flight was cancelled and he was stuck in Denver for an extra day and a half and then had to take a flight that flew him half way across the country before it brought him home. 

When it's cold like this, all I want to do is stay inside and curl up with a good book and warm blanket while something good is cooking.  One of my favorite recipes to throw together in a slow cooker is Lasagna.  I've modified a recipe I found online and it's become a family favorite.  This Garlic Bread goes great with it too.  Mmmm!  I love warm and delicious food on a cold winter day.

SLOW COOKER LASAGNA

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 4 teaspoons minced garlic 1 29oz can crushed tomatoes 1 16oz can tomato sauce 1 6oz can tomato paste 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups water 2 Tbl spoons dried oregano 2 Tbl spoons dried basil 1 12oz pkg lasagna noodles 24 ounces cottage cheese 1 egg lightly beaten 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 16oz grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1.	In a large skillet over medium heat cook the onion in 1/4 cup olive oil until soft, add sausage and garlic and cook until browned. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, water, oregano, basil and stir until well incorporated. Simmer until heated through.
2.	In a large bowl mix together the cottage cheese, egg, grated Parmesan cheese, and shredded mozzarella cheese.
3.	Spoon a layer of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker. Add a double layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles. Break to fit noodles into slow cooker. Top noodles with a portion of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layering of sauce, noodles, and cheese until all the ingredients are used.  I like to top with additional Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese.
4.	Cover, and cook on LOW setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Snowflakes

Winston and I had a fun time tonight cutting out some snowflakes. He was feeling a little down because his older brothers didn't want to play with him, so to cheer him up I suggested we open the art kit that Santa had brought him for Christmas.  He started out drawing a picture of our house and then a picture of a snowflake.

Looking at his snowflake picture, we decided to cut out a few of our own to hang in his room.  I haven't cut out snowflakes for years and it took me a few tries to remember how to fold and cut to get a decent looking one but we kept trying.  We hung up our best ones on his bedroom wall.

Snowflakes are such a fun project. The possibilities are endless and they're perfect for January - especially this year.  It's been the coldest January we've had since Winston was born.  I'm actually hoping it will snow some more soon to bring the temperatures up out of the single digits.  Brrrr! 

A Recipe to try - Salted Caramel Apple Pie

While I was looking online for some recipes to try for Thanksgiving, I came across this one.  I printed it out planning to try it for Thanksgiving dinner but ran out of time - happens to me all the time.  I always think I'll have more time to bake than I do - when it comes to baking I can be completely unrealistic. 

I still plan on trying this but it'll have to wait for now so I thought I'd post it here.  Unfortunately, the printout didn't list the website I found it from so I can't give credit to the creator of such a fabulous idea -a caramel apple pie!  I'm thinking I'll have to make this pie in the next few weeks - a mid January treat to brighten these long cold winter days. 

Picture found here.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut in pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water



Filling:

6 -7 cups tart apples, peeled and sliced (Jonathan or Granny Smith)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter



Directions:

For the crust: Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds. (You can also do this by hand or with a pastry cutter!)



Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide in two. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two discs. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

When chilled- roll out one disc and place inside a pie dish with a small over-hang around the edges. Let chill in fridge until filling is ready.



Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.



For filling: Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 8-10 minutes, until apples are soft and the liquid has turned golden. Turn into pie shell.



Cover with a lattice top or just drape the whole second crust over the filling and crimp the edges. If you don't have enough over-hang to turn it over to seal the pie, use my trick: roll out a thin 1/2 inch wide strip of extra dough and place it around the edge. Use a fork or your finger to decorate the edge.
Brush the top of the crust with heavy cream and bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly.

Another Year

It's crazy to think that another year has come and gone.  I can't believe that it's been 6 months since my last post.  It's true what they say about time flying - the older I get the faster it flies by.

Summer time was soooo busy, I just fell out of the habit of posting.  I do miss sharing my random thoughts though so at the start of this new year I'll begin by getting back into  the routine of blogging.

Happy New Year!

I Did It!

Yesterday was the Utah Valley Half Marathon.  I signed up to run this race with my friend Laurie Petersen back in January thinking I had plenty of time to train - I was sure I'd be more than ready to run.  I started training in February - stepping things up in March and April.  I was actually doing pretty good until May arrived. 

I pushed myself a little too hard on a long run, injured my lower back and had to pull back for a few weeks.  Then work got crazy busy and Brad got sick and ended up in the hospital for a few days.  Needless to say, I didn't get  much running in during May.  A week before race day, I was only able to run for about 7 miles before tiring out.

Feeling discouraged but still determined to do this race, I decided to just focus on finishing the race in under 3 hours.  Laurie was great about it - saying she hadn't enough time to really train either and we would plan to walk as much as we needed. 

Going in with lowered expectations took the pressure off and I was able to relax and run so I did much, much better than I expected!  With Laurie's encouragement I ran most of the way - stopping to walk only at the aid stations to grab a quick drink and one pit stop.  I ended up finishing in 2 hours and 33 minutes!! 

I'm pretty sore today since I wasn't in shape for that long of a run but it's worth it.  The run felt great and I'm so glad I stuck it out.  Now, on to the next race in August.  :)

A friend posted this on Facebook and I really like the message - it's one I need to remember.  Sometimes I stop putting in the effort to accomplish something that takes a lot of work - at other times I can't seem to find or make the extra time needed to squeeze everything in.

When I've plowed through, made time and stuck with something, the sense of accomplishment has always made it worthwhile.  I just need to keep telling myself - "Don't give up, you'll be glad you kept going."

Lemony Lemon Brownies

I've been neglecting my blog.  It's not that I meant to - in fact I really miss posting my random thoughts, but life has just been really busy so far this year.  I realized tonight that this month is all but over and I better hurry up and get a recipe posted. 

I saw this one on Pinterest and it intrigues me.  Lemony Brownies, doesn't that sound interesting?  You could call them Lemonies instead of Brownies.  I've got to try these out so I'll be making them this weekend.  :)

Source:  Becky Charms

Lemony Lemon Brownies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour {King Arthur All-Purpose Flour}

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt {Sea Salt}

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Tart Lemon Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoon lemon juice

8 teaspoons lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease/Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with butter/cooking spray and set aside. 

Zest and juice two small/large lemons; set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. 

Pour into baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.  Do not overbake, or the bars will be dry. {even with the yummy glaze}

When brownies are cooled completely, make the glaze...sift the powdered sugar, add lemon zest and juice, and whisk together all three ingredients. Spread 1/2 the glaze over the brownies with a rubber spatula.  Let glaze harden.  Spread the remaining glaze over the bars, and let it harden.  Cut into bars, and serve!

81st Birthday

Today would have been my Dad's 81st birthday and I've been thinking about him and missing him today.  Just a little bit of trivia about my Dad, he loved cashews.  I do too, in fact they're my favorite kind of nut.  My mom loves pistachios and my dad loved cashews. 

Sometimes when I eat these nuts, I think back to when I was young - watching a movie together or playing a family game and sharing these yummy nuts with my parents.  I love the fun memories and good times associated with these nuts.  Cashews always remind me of my Dad.  Happy Birthday Daddy!  Love and Miss You!