What's For Dinner? Lasagna Rolls!

I can't say it enough... Meal planning is a life saver!  Today's menu called for Lasagna Rolls!  I had everything I needed except garlic bread, which I purposely wait until the "day of" to buy so it doesn't go bad.

I really don't mind cooking... cleaning the kitchen afterwards is a whole different story... but the cooking part, I don't mind.  Sadly, I'm not the kind of person that can just throw a bunch of ingredients together and create some amazing, new dish.  I search recipes, I pick a few that have ingredients that I like, then I combine them and make it my own.  So this recipe I'm sharing will be similar to others you might see with a few different ingredients and really bad measurements (I hate measuring! LOL :)  I know there's many other recipes out there.  I'm sure I probably do all kinds of things wrong and every Italian cook out there is probably cringing at the thought of store bought noodles and sauce... but my family likes it and amazingly I've gotten many compliments from others as well, so it can't be that bad!

So here's my version of a simple Lasagna recipe.

Get your pasta ready!

While the pasta and meat are cooking,

I start getting the cheese blend ready.

(I really only needed to cook about 1lb of meat but I cooked

extra so it'd be ready when I make tostadas in a couple of days. :)

A tub of Ricotta 

I used about a cup of the Parmesan blend

About a cup of Mozzarella

Add an egg and some spinach if you'd like

Mix

Add meat or sausage to your desired sauce (or not)

I like to work with dry pasta so I lay them one

at a time on a towel... spread the cheese mixture

on each strip

Roll, pour some (meat) sauce over the top, sprinkle

some Mozzarella on tops, bake at 375 for about 30 mins.

or until bubbly and cheese is melted!

These are really filling! I made six rolls and had one left over.  My teen was the only one with enough room in his belly to serve himself seconds!  I served it with a salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by! :)

Constipated Yawn...

Yawn:  v.intr.

A yawn is a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching of the eardrums, followed by exhalation of breath.

Yawning is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation and boredom, though recent studies show it may be linked to the cooling of the brain.

In humans, yawning is often triggered by others yawning!

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn)

I bet you're fighting the urge to yawn right now!  Well, for the past few days, I feel like I have to yawn... and it goes and goes and I never get that last bit of inhalation that leaves me feeling satisfied.  I imagine I've looked like this a couple of times... yup... attractive.

So I've been 40 for over a week now.  What's different? Nothing and everything... if that makes any sense?!?  One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is how greatly my interests change from one year to the next.  One moment, I'm all about cooking, then sewing, then gardening, then painting, then nails, then fashion... (Adult ADD?)

One thing for sure, I miss drawing.  I have all my supplies staring at the side of my head right now.  Begging for some attention.  I miss it... but not feeling it lately...

The last time I doodled with my Prismacolors was when I drew these girls.

This one got smeared and had to throw her out :(

This one is waiting to be colored in...

This is waiting for completion...

Waiting for completion...

She's not done either... She's my favorite tho :)

Some friends and family have expressed missing my videos.  I used to video myself drawing and painting.  Honestly, I stopped because I couldn't take the negative criticism.  Yup, there's some nasty, competitive crazies out there.... But here I will sign off leaving you with an oldie but goodie.

If you haven't seen it before, I hope you enjoy it.

If you have, I hope you enjoy watching it again!

Click here to watch:  Violet Blu

Goodbye 30's...

We've had some really good times,

We've had some really bad times.

I cried a lot,

but I laughed a lot too.

I've given in to some things,

and I've fought harder for others.

I've learned that turning 40 is not old,

It's mature and can be quite sexy!

I'm learning to forgive myself,

and to be honest with myself...

I've learned to stand up,

and speak up!

I've learned that experiences hold more value,

and materialistic things fade.

I've learned that I love "giving",

but that doesn't necessarily mean that "I'll be getting".

I've learned to let go of the bad in my life,

In order to make room for the good...

I've learned that when I'm not at my best,

My family suffers...

I've learned to live intentionally,

Not to just "exist"...

I've learned that turning 40 brings me freedom,

and some things aren't as important anymore...

I've learned that it's okay to be me,

and people can either love it or leave it.

I've learned that forgiving others,

Feels so much better than holding grudges.

I've learned that no matter how nice I am,

Some people may not like me and that's okay...

I've learned that acts of kindness,

go a long way.

I've learned that failure sucks!

But not trying is worse...

I learned I have the power to BELIEVE,

and the choice to be HAPPY!

So CHEERS to me! I've reached the top of the hill...

I think it's time to make my way up a mountain!