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.

Our house.. in the middle of the street...

Things have been happening over here. First, let me get it out -  We're buying a house!!!

It's been a whirlwind few weeks.  About 5 weeks ago, we decided that instead of moving into yet another apartment and dealing with landlord frustration and short-term living, that it was time to look into our options. As we discovered that it was indeed an affordable alternative, plus all kinds of other benefits, like owning your own place, paying money toward owning something, doing what you want with a space, and bigger space, we decided to take the plunge.

So, after a first time home buyers' seminar, meetings with the mortgage lender, and jam-packed outings to houses that were in no way what we were looking for, we found it.  And we made an offer.  And the offer was accepted!

So, with the full disclaimer that we're still in between the accepted offer and closing, we are so excited!  Our next steps include a home inspection, an 8-hour Saturday class, lots of little details, and then we close at the end of April!

We're just so excited, we had to share.

Tasty Thursday: Baked Mozzarella Sticks!

Love mozzarella sticks, but don't want to have to go out to get some?  Wish they weren't so greasy from the fryer? I found this recipe online (from Gina, who else?) and had to try it!

Here's what you need:

4 sticks string cheese

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1/4 c. flour

2 eggs (or egg substitute!)

To start, cut your string cheese sticks in half.  Put them in the freezer.  By freezing your sticks, they'll be more rigid, and they'll cook up better in the end. When they're frozen, take them back out.

Put your flour, egg, and bread crumbs in three separate bowls.  Dip the sticks in flour, egg, and then bread crumbs.  Make sure to shake off the excess egg before you go into bread crumbs, otherwise you'll end up with a crumby mess!

When all of your cheese sticks are covered, put them back in the freezer until you're ready to bake them.  If you don't do this, your cheese will melt increasingly faster than your bread crumbs get all nice and crispy.

Bake at 400 on a baking sheet.  Bake 4-5 minutes, and then turn and bake another 4-5 minutes. Again, watch closely to ensure they don't melt away, and then they'll melt in your mouth!  These taste great with tomato or marinara sauce, too :)

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!)

Tasty Thursday: Stuffed Zucchini

Hello friends! Today's tasty recipe comes to you from SkinnyTaste.  I've recently discovered this website and Gina has a lot of great recipes that taste good and are good for you, too!  I was inspired by her Turkey Stuffed Zucchini recipe and modified it slightly to fit my pantry and tastes.  

We had this for our Valentine's Day dinner.  It was a bit involved, so I wouldn't recommend adding it to your daily arsenal, but it is tasty for special occasions!  

Here's your nutritional information:  1 half, stuffed: 241 calories, 298 mg sodium, 9 g carbs, 23 g protein

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini

1 tsp butter (or butter substitute)

1/2 c. finely diced onion

3 cloves garlic

1 oz. white wine

10 oz 85% lean ground beef

1/4 c. egg substitute

1 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 c. beef or chicken broth

1 slice low calorie bread (like Village Hearth)*

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp basil

salt and fresh pepper

*You can also use bread crumbs.  I use a slice of frozen bread that's low calorie and turn it into bread crumbs, using a food processor or hand blender.  I have yet to find bread crumbs with as low of a calorie count as my own invention.

I always use my Vidalia Chop Wizard when I'm chopping vegetables - it saves my fingers and time!  If you don't own one, I highly recommend getting one!

Preheat your oven to 400.  Cut the zucchini in half and hollow them out like boats, leaving about 1/4" edge.  Chop the scooped out zucchini into smaller pieces.

In a frying pan, melt the butter and add in onions and garlic.  Cook on medium-low until onions are cooked through.  Add in zucchini and a bit of salt, cook for another 3 minutes or so.  Add wine and cook until the wine has reduced.  Add in ground beef, season as necessary.  Cook until beef is cooked through.  Add in the remaining spices and cook for at least another minute.

When your mixture has cooled (or at least, stopped being so hot!), add the Parmesan and egg substitute, and mix well.  Fill the hollowed out zucchinis with your mixture, pressing down as necessary.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Pour broth into the bottom of your baking pan and then place zucchini in.  Cover pan with foil and bake 35 minutes.  Zucchini walls will be flexible and mixture will be heated through.

Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy! Even my hubby, who's not a huge fan of diverse vegetables, gave these a try and enjoyed them!  Plus, they really are filling - I thought I'd eat 2 for dinner, but was full after one and a side!

Still Fighting It...

Hi there.

I'm still here.  Promise. In fact, I have thoughts about blog posts I want to do this Thursday.  I made yummy stuffed zucchini for our Valentine's day celebration, and I want you all to enjoy its yumminess.

That said, the start to the semester has been busier than I anticipated, so that means that I've kind of slacked off in the blog realm of things.  I'm coming back.  Also to come, a gatsby-style crocheted hat.  I'm pretty proud of it.

The biggest reason I've been away is because my grandfather passed away in January.  We called him Granddaddy, and he was like a grand daddy to me.  I'll always remember his style, his laugh, and his joking around.  His sense of humor will stick with me forever and I hope one day to tell my kids (that will come one day) about the reason that I recommend putting mayonnaise in your hair.  Or why I love the harmonica so much.  Or even why we play so much Up and Down the River.  It's because of him.

So, I leave you with promises of blogs about creativity soon.  And a pictures of my Granddaddy.

My grandparents immigrated from Holland in the early 1950s

 They came to visit often!

 On their 40th wedding anniversary (they were married 60 years!!)

He always looked like he was up to no good....!

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!