Tasty Thursday: Mexican Lasagna

Yum.  I love lasagna.  And I love Mexican food.  And my husband loves Mexican casseroles.  Mix it all together, and you've got Mexican lasagna!  I initially pinned the idea from this blog on Pinterest, and decided that I could take the general idea and make it within my "healthy" parameters.

The recipe I made serves 2 easily (3 if you're eating lighter). 1/2 receipe: 695 calories, 13 g fat, 102 g cabs, and 48 g protein.

Use a loaf pan and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grease the loaf pan with canola spray or something similar.

Ingredients:
2 small corn tortillas (the kind that are 50 cal each)
1/4 reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup black beans
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 c. Prego italian sauce, "Healthy" (a new type they make -yay!)
3 ounces ground beef (85% lean or higher), browned
1 can (about 2.5 cups) red kidney beans
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika

After you've browned the ground beef, combine all ingredients except tortillas and cheese.  Layer the ingredients in this order:  mixture, tortillas, mixture, tortillas, mixture, cheese.

Bake at 400, covered, for 30 minutes or until warmed through and cheese is melted on top.

This recipe is great to make-ahead and then throw in the oven when you get home.  If you do so straight from the refrigerator, cook for longer than 30 minutes (probably 45-60) to heat through.

Voila!  My husband helped cook it after we got home from a long day, and served it up more casserole style. Nonetheless, it was delicious!  It would be great with tortilla chips if you wanted to add those in, as well.

Christmas Crafting

 So, today I though I'd share with you a craft I made for a Christmas gift at the end of last year.  We were gifting on a budget, so Pinterest became my inspiration.

You can see the two collages that I made to the right for my mother-in-law.  The craft is pretty self-explanatory, but I thought I'd include a few tips I learned in the process.

First, if you're going to mod podge pictures you've printed on your printer, then make sure you spray them with a clear sealant first.  That way the ink won't smear when you start putting mod podge all over it.  I also recommend Mod Podge for paper - there are multiple types, so pick this one if this is the main project you're working on.

Also, I learned that mod podge takes a LOOOONG time to really dry (cure?) before it's not sticky or tacky. Make sure you let them dry for a while before you stack, wrap, or cover them with something else.

One more thing - the more coats, the better!  I did 2 coats a day for probably a week, which was an easy way to build up layers and know that it would be better quality.

That's all I've got!  Coming up, I've got superhero coasters, a crocheted hat, and cooking something up for tasty Thursday :)

(p.s. - if you want detailed instructions on making this craft, just let me know and I'll post some!)

Technically Tasty Thursday: Cinnamon Stick Wreath

I went on hiatus last week.  Mostly because Thursday was filled with travel time between my parents' house and meeting up with my husband once again.  I was otherwise distracted.

But I'm back, and have been spending the week finishing my "to-do" list around the apartment (which, of course, includes using the AMAZING vacuum we received for Christmas this year!)

Anyway, I haven't cooked anything earth-shattering lately, because, honestly, my New Year's resolution is to lose some weight, and I haven't found any good ones to try out yet.  And I've been avoiding the Food & Drink page on Pinterest because it's just too tempting.

But cinnamon is a food, so I figure, here's my Cinnamon Stick Wreath that I made right before Christmas.  I'd seen lots of pictures, but no tutorials, so I just gave it a shot!:

You Need:

Styrofoam Wreath form

Cinnamon sticks (I used 2.5 bags from Michaels)

Ribbon

Hot glue + hot glue gun

It's pretty simple. I glued 2 layers of cinnamon sticks around the wreath.  You could get a bigger form and more sticks for a bigger effect.  After the 2 layers, I filled in the gaps where I could still see the Styrofoam underneath.  Then, wrap the ribbon around the top and tie a bow, and hang! I used the removable hook "stickers" that come with the hooks to hang on the door.  It's done!

Tasty Thursday: Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

I've decided to dedicate Thursdays to tasty things.  Because I like tasty things much more than un-tasty things.

Anyway, today's recipe is some fabulous pull-apart dinner rolls.  They came to me through Pinterest and Amanda's Cookin.  She deserves the credit, because they're fabulous.

Here's what you need:
1 package quick-acting active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/3 cup milk, warmed (roughly 105-115 F)
3 to 3 1/2 c flour (white or wheat work fine)
3 tbsp oil (Amanda calls for olive oil, but I've been using Canola just fine)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp (or more) melted butter
coarse salt

Dissolve the yeast in warm milk and sugar.  Stir in 1 c. flour, the oil, and salt.  Beat until smooth, then stir in enough remaining flour until soft dough forms.  Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, usually about 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 400F.  Punch dough down in center and fold over a few times to remove the air from the dough.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.  Divide the dough into 12 equal parts.  For each part, divide into thirds and roll each section into a ball.  Place 3 balls per muffin cup.  Brush rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake 15 minutes or  until rolls are golden brown.  If you choose not to use butter rolls may not turn brown on top, but they'll still taste just as good.  Cool the rolls on a wire rack and store loosely covered.

I never get sick of making these rolls, and they don't last long in our house.  I've asked my dearest husband to rate the food I make so I can give you an idea. It's a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being "Please, don't even try this again" and 10 being somewhere around "I want seconds!"  (My husband eats like a bird.  If he wants seconds, it means the food is good.  I mean good.)



Rolls Ratings:  "Can I give it an 11?"

First...

Well, here I am writing yet another blog. Truth be told, I've been trying a lot of new things lately (much in thanks to Pinterest) and have been wanting to share them with whoever will read about it.

So, I've started the blog called "Diversion Creation.". These crafts, recipes, etc. have been much like a diversion to me. You see, I'm nearing the end of my first semester of grad school, and the piles of homework never really seemed to go away. But even then, I needed breathers and ideas of ways to spend my time in between readings and assignments. I've been making a lot of Christmas gifts, which I'll share with you in the new year, after they've been gifted.

Here's one of my first creations this semester, a crocheted afghan made for my husband's cousin and his new wife. I tried to find the pattern I used online, but can't find it back unfortunately!  If I do, I'll update - it was so easy to do!