Crock Pot Lasagna

Last night for dinner, I made crock pot lasagna. I’ve never tried it, but I thought, surely it won’t make as much as regular lasagna (since there’s so few of us here) and it’ll be easier. I was right! Here’s the lowdown on the recipe:

2 lbs cooked ground hamburger meat (you could also use turkey)
1/2  onion chopped
2 jars marinara sauce (I mixed sauces, used 1 jar plain marinara, and 1 jar spicy sausage sauce)
1/2 box lasagna noodles (uncooked)
1 (2 lb) tub ricotta cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add a little olive oil to a skillet and cook onions until caramelized. Add hamburger meat to onions (you can add some seasonings here if you’d like. I threw in some salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper) until browned, then add marinara sauce. Simmer while making mixture below. Combine ricotta cheese, salt, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and egg. Spray crock pot with cooking spray (or not, I didn’t) Start layering in the crock pot. Add a layer of meat (doesn’t need to be thick) Then add a layer of uncooked noodles, then a layer of the cheese mixture. You will then repeat those layers one more time. Finish with the rest of the meat sauce and 1-2 cups mozzarella cheese. Cook on low for 3 hours, because if you cook any higher, the noodles will be all burny like. And then, that’s it! Scoop some up with whatever (I used like a small ladle, you can use your best judgment) and that’s that.

I really liked this. I would probably cook it for a little less time, though, when I cook it again. But otherwise, enjoy!

A New Treat

Today was PJ’s birthday, and the rain ruined it. I say this because we had planned to take the afternoon and go snorkeling on a lake/reservoir, but the rain made it so that couldn’t happen. So we went and investigated the new outlets in Lehi. The stores were only so-so, but they had a Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory, so we stepped in for a birthday treat. They had chocolate covered Twinkies there, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Two of my favorite treats, in one!

I was eating it, and to be honest, it didn’t taste as good as I thought it would. It just tasted like a dry Twinkie, and some thick chocolate. Separately: delicious! Together: not very. I was halfway through eating it when tragedy struck.

That’s right. It fell off the stick, and landed on the ground, and I couldn’t finish my treat. As sad as I was that I couldn’t finish it, I wasn’t all that sad because I wasn’t loving it. But now I can add that to my list of things I’ve tried!

Foto Friday

Today, I was just chilling, watching TV for a minute, and then I look over, and see Cookie like this. It legit looks like she’s enjoying watching the TV as well, and I laughed so hard. After I took the pic, of course, because at any noise, she moves, like any dog usually does. Now I know, she enjoys watching things like I do.

Bath Time for Darth

Happy Pioneer Day everyone! I hope you’ve had a great holiday. I had a pretty good one. Good family dinner, good fireworks displays, had a great night. The only person that I can tell that didn’t have a good day today is Baby Darth. He had his first bath today, and he DID NOT LIKE IT AT ALL NO SIR.

Not even a shark towel could make him feel better about it! I know it’s probably mean to laugh at babies that are crying, but this is so funny to me, I can’t help but do it. It’s just so funny that he hated being wet this much. Get used to it, tiny man, you’ll have a million of these.

A Taco Kind of Night

Last night, I went to Chelle’s house, to help her take off her Christmas lights. After doing so (nobody broke any necks or anything, so that was nice) we grabbed a delicious meal at Taco Bell. Nobody gets to talk badly about the Bell – I love that place. The cheesy gordita crunch is where it’s at, and that’s no lie, my friends. As we were placing our order (and the slow realization that I left my wallet at home, so I thank Chelle for picking up my meal) we saw how the sauce packets were arranged:

How awesome! This is exactly how I would organize them! Well done, Taco Bell peoples.

Miscellaneous Monday

I haven’t done one of these in so long! Honestly, this is fantastic, it’s like settling back into old habits. Cookie was returned to me this morning, I had my sister-in-law watch her over the weekend, and was so jazzed to have her back in the house. She was very excited to come home, and after a celebratory jig when she first got here, she celebrated by laying around all day, like she always does. What a lazy, spoiled dog.

I got to go grocery shopping this morning, and that was fun. I never go shopping during the week, I usually just do it on Saturday, but going during the day during the week feels so taboo, like I’m doing something wrong. I got everything I needed, picked up a prescription, and then came home. About 2 hours later, I got a call from Target, letting me know that I had actually left the prescription in my cart when I emptied it. Good work, Vieve.

When I was in Boise, I wanted to go to a local cupcake shop, since that’s what I do in every place. I finally got to go on Saturday afternoon. When I got there, I found a sign on the door that said “sold out” Yeah, they had sold all of their cupcakes apparently, and closed early. What kind of place does this?! So then, I was telling the friends who we were visiting, and she said she knew of a place I could get a cupcake and it would be good. I said ok, I was kind of excited for her to take me to a cupcake place. We get in the car, and she takes me to… a grocery store. Literally, she took me to a grocery store for a cupcake. I was incredibly disappointed, but I got a cupcake there anyway. When I got back, I found that they had given me the wrong cupcake, so it was a bad time all around. Hopefully. should I go again, I can get a cupcake from an actual baker!

A New Baby

Last night, my baby sister had a baby. She was in labor for about 12 hours, and then finally, came nephew Atticus David. Of course, I’m calling him Baby Darth, and probably just Darth when I get things going, and he can understand words. He has gotten cuter over the last day or so, thank goodness, because at first he just looked straight up like a purple baby worm.

Welcome to the world, baby. Can’t wait to torture and tease you!

A Rafting Adventure

This weekend, I went to Boise with Husband again, for the river rafting. Since this is my third year of going, and rafting, I feel ok by now. I know what’s going on, I know how to do it, I’m ok with it. I’m no longer as scared of it as I was. We get there late Thursday night, and then went rafting Friday. After we went down the river in the rafts, I was feeling pretty adventurous, so when they asked if I wanted to go down in a beetle bug/inflatable kayak, I was like, heck yes, lets do this! And then I got in the water, and I was nervous, but I did it!

Look how jazzed I am at living through the rapids, so jazzed.

So then, we get done Friday, and I have a little sunburn, but not too bad. Then we got out Saturday. And Saturday is when rafting changed. *cue the dramatic music*

The reason we went to Boise this time is because Husband’s friend asked him to guide some rafts down the river. For the friend’s work, (a hospital) they took all the personnel out for a day of rafting. It was different people every day, so it was a whole new group this day. We had 4 people plus Husband in the raft, so 5 total. We got going, and in the 3rd rapid of the Payette, called “Go Left or You’re Fired” (The PC version) and this rapid is a class 3 rapid, it’s the worst rapid of this river. I tell you this to let you know what we’re going into.

Off we go, the 5 of us. Myself, two adult Iron Man athletes Jeff and Patrick, and a 13 year old skinny boy, Ian. We approach the rapid, and he’s telling us to paddle hard, and we are. Husband gets us to the rapid, and we’re going for it. Then, he took us a little bit too far to the right. We hit a hole there, and our boat flips. Now what I know is pieced from my memory and the stories of the boats around us. We hit the hole, and our boat flipped backwards. But before it flipped there, it went straight up in the air, totally airborne. Then, it came backwards. All I remember is, Husband yelling at us to paddle hard, and then all of a sudden, the raft was coming towards my face, and then, I hit the water, on my back. They tell us, if you should fall in the water, do the defensive swim. which is, you get on your back, put your feet straight in front of you, toes pointing up so you can see them. Well, I’m going to tell you something. When you get in the water, and you’re dumped in, your body panics right away, and you don’t do any swim. You just try to stay above water, which you’re not really doing, because it’s shoving you down.

So there I am. In the water, in the rocks, being pulled down by the rapids, and shoved back up. There’s not enough time between going under and being above to get a breath, and I can’t swim, and water terrifies me, so basically this is TERROR to me. I am terrified. Right now, as I’m writing this story, a while later, my chest is seizing in terror about the whole thing. So then, finally, the rapids shoot me out, and I’m heading down the river, fast. Jeff from my boat, is yelling at me as he’s next to me. He’s the only person I can see or hear, and he’s telling me what to do, and I’m not listening, because my panic is the only thing I can hear. So then, I listen to him, and I do the defensive swim, which keeps my head above water, but just barely. I’m getting water in my face, and Jeff is telling me I’m doing ok, and I’m ok, and I’m alive. So then, I see one of our people’s boats ahead of me, and all I can think is, get there. So I float over there, and then, I see our raft. The guide of this boat pulls me into their raft, and I’m just laying on the floor there, trying to catch my breath, but I can’t, and I’m shaking, and I’m terrified. Then, they get our raft, and they get it right side up, and luckily, they’ve managed to get all of our oars.

So then, I see Husband in the water, and he’s swimming to the raft, and the other guys are all in the water I can see them. We get Husband in his raft, but I wasn’t ready to get in there yet, so I stayed in the other boat. They get Jeff in the boat, and have to get Patrick and Ian in to the boat, and they’re near the shore, so thankfully, we all get back in there. As they’re getting everyone back in the boat, and I’m still in the other one, I finally lose it. I’m shaking, and I just start crying (NOBODY GETS TO JUDGE ME THIS IS MY GREATEST FEAR ALIVE) and then finally, I calm down. Our raft makes it back over, and I climb back over. There were no more adventures on the way down, and every time we got to a rapid, we all got really quiet and nervous. We all looked over our bodies when we got back in the boat, and we were beat up. I have scrapes and bruises down my left arm, I’m thinking when I hit a rock coming out of the boat. And then both of my knees have bruises and scrapes, my ankles have scrapes. There were a lot of rocks there, so I made it. And sadly, I lose the sunglasses I was wearing, and my chapstick came out of my swimsuit. But I’m alive, and we all made it. I’m sure I’ll make my way down the river again, but for right now, I’m content to stay out.

This is us after we finished the whole river. We made it!

Keebler Elf Cupcakes

I had to make some cupcakes for (yet another) family dinner. After much contemplating, I finally chose Keebler Elf Cupcakes. They were super delicious! An easy recipe, too:

1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sour cream
2 Tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Keebler Fudge Cookies chopped
Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
2 Tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 TB malted milk powder
2 TB milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.In bowl, gently whisk eggs, oil, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract together. Add cake mix and mix until smooth. Fold in cookie fudge cookie pieces with rubber spatula. Fill cupcake liners and bake for 17-22 minute or until a toothpick comes out clean. For the frosting: Beat butter and vanilla extract. Add cocoa, malted milk powder and milk. Scrape down the bowl often. Slowly add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Frost, and add a small chunk of cookie to the top.

They turned out really tasty!

Day 100–Baby Card Box

You guys. We’ve made it. We’ve come to the end of the 100 days. Now, I’m under no illusions of grandeur. I know that nobody was sitting by their computer, waiting for me to post a thing that made me happy that day. But now, we can get to the end of posting every single day, and go back to just posting when I made something, or when I had a fun adventure. So today, with no further ado, I made this card box today. I had too many baby cards, my box was running over. So I took the paper off of a birthday card box, and put the baby paper on.

It ended up pretty cute! I accidentally folded the front part of it, so it’s a little squirrely there, but it’ll flatten down I think.

There it is! 100 entries. Now you guys know what makes me happy, and its usually just…everything!

Day 99–Giant Rice Krispy

Tonight, Husband and I went to dinner at La Jolla Groves, and then grabbed a treat afterwards at the Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory. I went in for an apple, but I saw this and had to get it:

In case you can’t tell, yes, that rice krispy treat is bigger than my hand! It was CRAZY good. I recommend it. I also had some frozen chocolate dipped cheesecake. Also good.

Day 98–Stampin’

Last night we had another fabulous stamp and chat, and made fabulous cards as always!

Adorable! And I think I ate my weight in fruit, but it was delicious and worth it.

Day 97–Getting Clean

Today I went to Webelos day camp for the 3rd year. Unlike previous years, we went to a new place today. It’s only been in use for about 2 years, and you can tell, the dirt isn’t packed down like it is in places where it’s been used for a while. When I got home:

Filth! It felt so nice to get clean after all this.

Day 96–DEATH

This morning I walked in the bathroom, turned on the light and saw:

Can you see that? It’s just a HUGE spider is all. Now seeing a spider doesn’t make me happy, but killing it did. And yes I know that trapping it and taking it outside to get away and live freeeee is an option, but I kill spiders. It’s in my house, trespassing, I do what I want.

Day 95–Ice Cream Cake

Yesterday, we had a family birthday dinner for Husband, and I tried my hand at making a new dessert. Husband’s family is obsessed with ice cream cakes. They have them for every birthday, every time. Now myself, I hate an ice cream cake. Depending on where you get it, there usually isn’t a cake involved, there’s a crappy crunchy nothing in the middle. But I found a recipe online for an ice cream cake, and it looked pretty good.

It’s basically a layer of chocolate cake, ice cream, Oreo’s, 3 times, and then topped with Cool Whip and more Oreo’s. Delicious it was!

Day 94–A Pup Feeling Better

Since we’ve gotten the carpet in, Cookie has been sick every day. She is sick at night, she is sick during the day, both vomiting and…otherwise. Finally, yesterday morning, we had decided that it was a good idea to take her to the vet. Husband thought it out, and googled new carpet and dogs, and we found that dogs get sick after putting in new carpet, they can smell the fumes longer than we can, and it makes them sick. So we opened every window and door in the house today, and made sure Cookie was outside for a chunk of the morning. Then last night, when we were relaxing, she seemed to be doing better than she had all week. She was super snuggly.

She wouldn’t let go of her toy there, no matter how hard I tried. But she was a cutie, and luckily today she hasn’t been sick, so maybe she’s better! Fingers crossed, everyone.

Day 93–Birthday Celebrations

Today is Husband’s 30th birthday, so we spent the day in mellow celebration. We had a chill morning of airing the house of the carpet fumes (still, those are hanging out after these many days) we saw a movie this afternoon, 22 Jump Street. Then, we went and got an ice cream cone.

And got some cake for later.

We couldn’t choose on flavors, so here we have a Spumoni one, a Root Beer float, a Chocolate Fudge Sundae, and Elsa Vanilla (just vanilla, but why not capitalize on a recent beloved movie?). We then went to dinner,

When Husband gets to choose, we usually get sushi. I did my best here, but these ones were so fishy tasting, I couldn’t stand it. Luckily in addition to the sushi I ordered us some beef, so I could just eat those. We came back to the house, and the neighbors were shooting off some fireworks, so we got to enjoy those. Happy birthday, Husband!

Day 92–Independence Day

Happy Independence Day! Today I did what I do every year, run the Freedom 10K, decked out in my finest.

Some boy on the course called me Tinkerbell. I think more like PatrioticTinkerbell is more like it. Hope everyone has a fabulous day, and enjoy the fireworks!

Day 91–Peach Cobbler

For some reason today, I really wanted some peach cobbler. My sister talked about how she was making one, and it just sounded like a good summer treat. I don’t really have the patience to make one, or the time today necessarily, so I wanted to find a cheater recipe. Pinterest delivered, naturally. Here’s how I made it:

1 box yellow cake mix
2 cans of sliced yellow peaches
1 stick butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350. Put the peaches (with juice!) in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the dry cake mix on top of the peaches, top with the melted butter. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

So, easy-peasy. And it was super tasty.

This might actually be the “before” picture, and I can’t find the after! You get the idea, though.

Day 90–Left Treats

So today, I spent the whole day cleaning. I put everything back where it was, vacuumed every surface, mopped the other surfaces, and it took forever. While I was doing the stairs, I glance down and see this:

I have no idea how it got here, I don’t know who did this. But there it is, a perfectly cut in half Oreo. Maybe a ghost? Maybe a kid came in, I don’t know. But underneath it, you can see the new carpet!

Day 89–Canada Day

Happy Canada Day! In addition to putting in the carpet, we’re also celebrating the fabulous day. We had some fun, food, and fireworks. Husband came home with a whole slew of them

And then that evening, we lit them off. We had some really good ones.

Hope you celebrated it too!