Brandy's Veggie Lasagna

What you’ll need:

· 1 lb ground beef

· 1 cup of pasta sauce

· 1 1/2 cups water

· 1 ¾ (15oz) Ricotta Cheese

· 2 cups shredded mozzarella

· ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

· 2 eggs

· ¼ cup chopped parsley

· ½ tsp salt

· ¼ tsp pepper

· 12 pieces of lasagna, uncooked

· 1 cup finely chopped veggies (such as carrot, broccoli and cauliflower)

*I’d like to add here that with these ingredients, with using smart choices (such as using ricotta made from skim milk, using Ragu sauce that has a full serving of veggies in it already, and by selecting Ronzoni Healthy Harvest whole wheat lasagna noodles, you will be making this dish a lot better for you and your family! Just saying…but the choices are yours!)

**From one cook to another, my “Quick Tip”: To save myself the hassle of chopping up fresh veggies I buy bags of what’s called “Broccoli Slaw” which contains four types of veggies in it. I scoop a cup of this mixture into my chopper and within a minute I have an easy way to slip my veggies into any recipe!!

Let’s Get Cooking:

Heat your oven to 350*. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat brown your meat and drain. Add in pasta sauce and water; simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together: ricotta cheese, half of the mozzarella, Parmesan, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper, and chopped veggies.

In a 13x9 baking dish, spread about one cup of your meat sauce. Arrange 4 uncooked pasta pieces lengthwise over the sauce. Cover with another cup of the meat sauce. Spread half of your “cheese mixture” over the sauce. Repeat with layers of lasagna, meat sauce and cheese mixture. Top with a layer of lasagna and remaining meat sauce and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and place in oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Let stand another 10 minutes before cutting. This is the perfect time to arrange the rest of your meal, whether its salads, garlic bread or more steamed veggies (got to get them down somehow!!).

Makes 12 servings.

***Side note: I have found when I make this recipe I end up needing more of the “cheese mixture” to make even and multiple layers. Feel free to create a double batch while making it to ensure proper layering. Again, its really up to you and what works best in your mind!

For accompanying sides, I usually make small tossed salads, garlic texas toast and tall glasses of white milk. Sometimes I like to make steamed veggies as well, but I plan this dish to already have plenty of veggies in it, so its not always necessary…and you may go on veggie overload! The lasagna is hearty enough to only need one or two sides max.

This recipe is sure to leave everyone feeling full and satisfied…and you feeling proud of your family eating all of those veggies!

Enjoy and let me know how it works out for you!

~Peace

Disney World...The Most Magical Place on Earth...Literally!!

Walt Disney has really outdone himself...I'd like to think that the great man is smiling down from Heaven at his visionary creation and is proud of the place is has grown to be. He is definitely on my list of people I would love to meet!

I just got back from taking my two-year old there for three days...and besides the fact that I am whipped beyond belief the huge smiles on our faces are enough to counter act the tiredness.

My mom and I decided a few months back that it would be a great mini-vacay to take Nikolas to Disney for a few days...We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, keeping a toddler happy for three days on our own...however we managed to pull off one of the best trips ever!

Let me start by saying that I really should be focusing my attention on the mass of laundry I now have to deal with along with unpacking and cleaning my house...however I couldn't resist sitting down and jotting down my memories from the trip when they are still fresh in my mind. That is one thing that saddens me, how fast some memories fade over time...I hope to remember every second of this experience from start to finish for a long time to come.

We stayed on Disney property at the Caribbean Beach Resort...to sum it up in one word, I will just say WOW! It is an amazing place, the room was perfect for us (a Finding Nemo room!) the pool was perfect and the transportation was a huge time-saver and relief for us as we only had two pairs of hands to work with! We were able to ride a bus to and from the park which was a huge highlight of the trip for our little guy. On top of that, they provided myself and Nikolas with Birthday Pins to wear during our stay and everyone took time to stop and wish us both a happy birthday...in and outside of the park...and I mean EVERYONE!! It was nice to be recognized, and Nik loved the attention! We even had an entire restaurant staff sing happy birthday to us!

We checked in early, dropped off our stuff and headed to our main destination for the trip: Magic Kingdom!

With the aside of it being one of the hottest days, we had the best first day. Our goal was to pace ourselves and see as many things as we could before calling it a day and heading back to the resort and the pool. The second day we were smart and took a break during the late afternoon to escape the heat and nap back at the resort. Once our batteries were recharged we headed back for more fun!

Our first stop? Tomorrowland! My main goal was to hop onto Space Mountain quick to beat the rush...however I was soooo close to getting on when the ride ended up having 'mechanical issues' and we all had to be evacuated from the ride...BOO! I was able to ride it later on...and it was worth the wait! On to our next adventure: Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

Now, Nik isn't that familiar with Toy Story yet, but he was in awe of Buzz and had a blast on this ride...we rode multiple times and it never grew old! Mr. Lightyear has a brand new young fan!

We hopped onto the Web Way People Mover and Nik had a blast zooming around Tommorrowland and waving at anyone who happened to pass our way! On next to the Monster's Inc show and Stitch's Great Escape...both excellent shows!

We were ready to venture on and came across Mickey's Toontown Fair...at this point I am grateful that we gave ourselves two days to explore this park...there are a zillion things to do here!! This was the most crowded place due to the water park area, and after a few minutes splashing and cooling off, it was on to tour Mickey's house and to wave at everyone on the train.

Fantasyland...the place where little munchkin's dreams come true! Even for us adults, it is chalk full of fun activities to explore! This place was super crowded as well, but we were able to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Nik's favorite!), Mickey's PhillarMagic (awesome!), Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel and "It's a Small World"...the looks of awe on his face as we went from ride to ride was priceless. It was worth all the sweat just to see this child smile at the sights and sounds of each attraction! We were smart about our timing, and with the use of Disney's Fastpass, we were able to get on everything with little or no wait! Excellent!!

The crowd started to get to us, so we moved on to Liberty Square and the much anticipated Haunted Mansion. We were a tiny bit worried that he would get scared and wouldn't like it, but wouldn't you know my little trooper had a blast with this ride as well! He enjoyed seeing all of the happy haunts in all of there glory.

Frontierland doesn't have much for Nikolas to do at this time until he gets a little bigger, however he and Nana took a small break while Mommy rode on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...I giggled like a little girl the whole time! I had forgotten how fun this ride was! We also were able to catch the Country Bear Jamboree...one of my Honey's favorite shows. Nik had a blast with this show, and it warmed my heart to see that he enjoyed it as much as my grandpa had. Made me wish I had brought the video camera, but I did get many pictures (which I will add as soon as I find time to upload!).

Up next was Adventureland. We were able to ride The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, The Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean (twice!) and loved every second.

We ended our trip with the most amazing Summer Nightastic Fireworks display I have EVER seen, and got great seats to see Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade (in which Alice from Alice in Wonderland personally wished Nik a Happy Birthday!). We were also able to see Cinderella's Castle lit up at night...It was breathtaking...and a perfect way to end the day. After a little shopping, we were ready to trek back to the bus and the resort.

To end the trip, we cleaned up and check out early this morning and headed to Disney's Contemporary Resort to see what we could find for breakfast. We ended up dining at Chef Mickey's...and what an experience this was! Something I will never forget! Nik was able to spend time with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck, get pictures with each and even autographs. What a memory!

We rode the Monorail, which earned extra "ooo's" and "aaaa's" from the munchkin and was able to see the Walt Disney World Resorts in a new light.

I wish it didn't have to end, and that we were blessed enough with the funds to stay a whole week...but that will happen next year! Disney is expensive unfortunately, but I plan to start saving now to ensure of another excellent trip next summer!

Words can never accurately describe everything we saw, felt, tasted, touched, heard, loved and enjoyed the last few days, however we enjoyed every precious second and then some. And I pray that the memories last a lifetime. I am still wearing the biggest smile ever and am sure it will take a few days to fade...

We love you Nana!

Food for Thought

A random collection of my own thoughts...mixed in with a few thoughts that have caught my attention or pulled at my heartstrings I have come across in my readings:

..."Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it is better to be absolutely ridiculous than to be absolutely boring"...

..."The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in doing what you love"...TDL

..."Let it Rock"...Kevin Rudolf

..."God doesn't give us tough trials to weaken us...instead He is looking to see what we can make out of those trials...and how strong they can truly make us...Trust in Him always"...ME

..."It's a lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself"...Muhammad Ali

..."A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at them"...David Brinkley

..."Badeeep!!"...Scotty M.

..."Pre-nuptial Agreeeeeeeemmmmmmmeeeeeent!!!!!!!!"...R. Howe

..."You are one sad, strange little man"...Buzz Lightyear

..."The best mirror is an old friend"...George Herbert

..."Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now..."...BOB

..."Well that was convenient"...Backyardagains (don't ask...inside joke!)

Stay tuned...more rambling will be along before you know it!!

~Peace

Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday Dear Nikolas...

Well, I did it! I pulled of one spectacular birthday party for my little munchkin...whew! Now my house is a wreck and I have no clue where I am going

to put most of his new stuff...but the party was a success!! He made out like a bandit in gifts, his cake was perfect and his friends had a blast with the slip and slide and the pool we had set up. All in all, it was a great day and even though it exhausted me (to which I am still recovering!) it was worth every second.

The water slide and the pool were a brilliant idea (if I do say so myself!) however once set up a discussion quickly followed on whether or not the slide would be long enough for everyone to enjoy. Which really meant..."Ok, we have a slide for the little guys...but what are the BIG kids supposed to do?!" Well, Uncle Brandon came to the rescue and ran to the wonderful Home Depot to buy the biggest piece of plastic tarp money can buy. Let's just say we were able to set up the coolest looking water slide on the planet and all we really had to do was lay it down, squirt on the baby oil and add a water hose!

It warmed my heart to have my family and friends together on this special day...it is never done often enough! We always say we are going to be better about putting time aside for just visiting, or even chatting on the phone for a few minutes...but it is amazing how quickly we retract on that promise once we get back into our daily routines and the daily grind we are all forced to deal. I make these promises myself...and yet again and again they are broken. I am going to try to change that.........one step at a time.

All in all, my son's million-watt smile as he ran from activity to activity and opened his presents it was worth every tear I shed, every gallon of sweat I lost and a few sleepless nights sprinkled in (the things we do for our kids!)

That's all for now...gotta catch up on my rest!

~Peace

Pitter, Patter goes the Rain...and other Random Thoughts

Good evening!

We are having the fiercest storm here tonight, pounding rain,

booming thunder and lightning bright enough to power my house for a day or so! It is always a cozy feeling to be tucked away inside my nice and dry house in moments like these...although I am hoping the Mother Nature quells her rage by tomorrow afternoon...My Son's 2nd birthday party begins at 1!!

Due to this fact, I have been feeling super nostalgic seeing as how I blinked and all of a sudden my sweet baby boy is no longer babbling and cooing but instead walking (I really mean running) and talking in almost complete sentences!

I went with a "CARS" birthday theme...He is really into Lightning McQueen these days...hence his room decor is pretty much as "CARSY" as you can get (his TV is even shaped like Mr. McQueen himself)! I am very excited for everyone to get here tomorrow and spend time with one another...it just doesn't happen often enough anymore.

I have worked super hard in preparing this party and have no qualms taking FULL credit for it...I just unfortunately have the OCD type personality in which everything MUST be PERFECT or I will possibly have a mini panic attack. Some days this is no issue (though it drives my husband NUTS) but on days like today and tomorrow...everything must go smoothly in order for me to enjoy myself. The napkins have to be just so.....ok now I am scaring myself!!!

On another note, tomorrow will be one of those days in which I will feel that familiar pang that is associated with missing my Brother. He is overseas right now on his first deployment with the U.S. Navy. Needless to say I am EXTREMELY proud of him...but the fact that I haven't seen his face in a few months now tends to pull on the heartstrings. He did however manage to call me yesterday which lifted my spirits tremendously. I have come to cherish these stolen moments, even the ones that have to last only seconds (classified issues, etc.)

Another pang that hits this time of year is that Sunday is my Honey's (grandpa) birthday...he was taken from us 5 years ago and is now walking with the Lord and pain-free...but it saddens me to this day that my son will never get to meet this wonderful man I had the privilege to grow up with. I can only share stories with him as he grows up...

All in all, it has been a pretty productive day. It only takes having a massive amount of people over to get my butt into deep cleaning mode...which really should be done weekly, but lately I do what I can and spend as much time with my son as possible...so shoot me...and take that OCD!!!!!

~Peace

Skinny Down-Home Chicken Pot Pie

I borrowed this recipe from a girlfriend, out of her cookbook "Cook Yourself Thin"...we decided to give it a whirl and put our culinary skills to the test...now keep in mind however as we went along, we decided to improvise on a few ingredients so if they seem a little different in this recipe from the book that is why!

This recipe serves 6 and only has 372 Calories per serving!

You Need: (Remember I changed a few things around!)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup flour

1 small onion-diced

2 garlic cloves-minced

1 leek-chopped

1 large carrot-chopped

3 red potatos, skin on-diced

1 cup radishes-diced

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts-shredded

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 small can of fresh lima beans-drained

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

6 sheets of phyllo dough

1 tablespoon olive oil-for brushing

1 9x9 cake pan

What you do:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Thaw 6 sheets of phyllo dough at least one hour prior to using. Bring the chicken broth to a slow simmer and keep warm.

2. In a large pot, combine flour and olive oil and cook lightly golden (about 3 minutes). Add the onion, garlic, leek, carrot, red potato, radishes and stir with a spoon making sure the bottom does not get to dry. Add the shredded chicken, bay leaf and thyme and continue stirring for about 3 minutes coating everything evenly.

3. Add the warm chicken broth, stir and bring to a boil while constantly stirring (to keep from burning). Bring to a low simmer and cover. Simmer about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Take 6 sheets of phyllo dough and with a knife, cut out a square slightly larger than the rim of the cake pan. Brush with olive oil and set aside.

5. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs from the chicken mixture and transfer to the cake pan. Top with phyllo dough and press down firmly with your hands. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

7. Enjoy!

Now the secret is to use ingredients that fit you and your tastes...that made all the difference for us!

I can honestly say our bellies are full and we are two happy ladies...it came out wonderfully and I will definitely use this recipe again. It was the perfect home-cooked meal...and even though it does take some work to put together there is no need to worry about side dishes...everything you could possibly want is in this dish!

If you try it be sure to let me know how it turns out...I am always curious as to what other think of recipes and how my 'alterations' turn out!

~Peace

Disney...Dreams Really Do Come True!!

First of all, I would like to comment on how cute my little boy is when he is sleeping...just precious!

Next, it would seem that I was a bit premature when it came to unleashing my aggression on booking a Disney trip...(however it IS still costing a pretty penny...or two...). But the look I will get to see on my son's face will be worth it all...and then some! After all...the last time we went to Orlando we stood in line for hours just to see Winnie the Pooh...only to discover that once we reached him it was incredibly magical to my son...you could see it in his face!

We will be staying at the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort (ooo! aaaa!) and will be enjoying every perk we can manage! The Magic Kingdom is HIGH on our priority list among a few other things...We are just looking forward to spending quality time with my Mom...time is one thing we never have enough of lately...and its neccessary to take step back, slow down a little and just...BREATHE!

Needless to say I am super STOKED for this trip...it cannot come soon enough...in the meantime I have a toddler birthday party coming up on Saturday...including a slip n' slide, 500 water balloons, a water slide and all the pizza you can eat...(yeah, I am that crazy!)...so it would seem I need to get off of here and attend to a few last minute things to check off on my dreaded "To-Do List"...

~Peace