Becka's blog

I wanted something different for dinner today and I remembered this recipe for Crockpot Lasagna:

Crockpot Lasagna from Taste of Home magazine

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4-5 cups spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 cup water
7-8 no cook lasagna noodles (oven ready)
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic. Drain off any accumulated grease. Combine with spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning, and water. In a greased crockpot (mine is 5 quart size) spoon 1/4 of sauce. Layer in 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the cheeses. (I used two whole noodles and half a noodle for each layer. I broke the half noodle in half again and put a piece on each end.) Repeat the layers ending with sauce and cheeses. You can assemble this ahead and refrigerate overnight. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. My family really liked this.

Sorry there are no pictures, but you probably know what lasagna looks like. By the time I thought about taking a picture we had eaten about half of it and it didn't look very photogenic, as you can imagine. It does make a pretty good casserole and it's nice because you can assemble it ahead of time.

I bought this crockpot about a year ago and I really have enjoyed it.

You can program the time and after the cooking time it automatically switches to warm so your food does not get overdone. If you have an older crockpot without this feature I would highly recommend purchasing a new one. I still use my older one for soups, beans, etc., but this one works great on Sunday when I am often cooking meats or the occasional casserole.

I did try a new dessert from a recipe I found in the summer edition of Kraft Food and Family. It, too, was very tasty and is something that can be made ahead.
If you need a cool, refreshing dessert, keep this one in mind.

We have berries ripening in the backyard and we were discussing that this might be nice made with raspberry sherbet and fresh raspberries on top.

Becka

It's still a bit cooler than normal here, but I think summer is on its way. Tonight we had an easy supper salad that we both enjoy – Salade Niçoise. I have actually eaten this in France, but all of the ingredients are readily available here. In fact, you probably have most all of them in your kitchen. Here's how you make it:

Salade Niçoise

red skin potatoes (about 1 per person, depending on size of potatoes)
about 1/2 cup green beans per person (can used canned, frozen, or fresh)
1 hard cooked egg per person
1/2 can tuna per person (more if your cats demand a share)
about 1/2 of a nice ripe tomato per person or a handful of cherry tomatoes
Black olives
Italian salad dressing
parsley for garnish

Boil the potatoes until tender. Let them cool a bit and then slice them about 1/3" thick. Cook the green beans if using fresh or frozen. Cool slightly with cold water. Combine the potato slices and green beans in a bowl and drizzle with the salad dressing. Portion onto a serving plate. Top each serving with some of the tomato slices, a few olives, an egg cut into quarters, and then the tuna. Garnish with parsley if desired. Serve with crackers or the bread of your choice.

This is especially nice with fresh green beans and a nice juicy tomato from the garden!

Becka

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? I had never tried it until recently. Both Rob and I really like it and it is very easy to prepare. I can find it here in town at the Farmer's Market.

Here is how you can cook it:

Wash the squash and then cut it in half – this is probably the hardest part of cooking the squash.

Remove the seeds from the squash and discard.

Place the squash cut side up in a baking dish, add 1/4 cup water, and tent loosely with plastic wrap.

Place in the microwave and cook on high for about eight minutes or until you can insert a knife into the squash easily.

When the squash is tender rake across it with a fork and it will separate into strands.

We ate ours tonight topped with some spaghetti sauce with some chopped up leftover roast beef and some cheese. It was really good, so don't be afraid to try it.

Becka

The other night I wanted to sew something but didn't want to start a big project. I remembered I had some cute fingertip towels that I had found in the dollar section at Target. I decided to make some baby bibs for future baby showers. These bibs are easy to make and I remember enjoying them when my girls were little because there were no ties to get caught in their hair. They just pop on over the baby's head.

Here are the directions: (I didn't take step by step pictures of the process, but I will try to insert a couple of staged shots for explanation.)

About 1/3 of the way down from the top of the towel cut out a five inch circle of the fabric. Divide the circle into quarters and mark with pins or chalk.

For the band you will need a strip of knit ribbing 3" wide by 12" long. Seam the short ends together in a 1/4" seam. Fingerpress the seam open and then fold the neckband so that the seam is on the inside. Divide the neckband into quarters and mark with pins or chalk.

Match the pins on the neckband and the pins on the towel. Pin the neckband to the neckline.

Stitch the neckband to the neckline in a 1/4" seam. I usually straight stitch this seam and then go around it again with a stretch stitch of some kind. You could also serge this seam if you wanted to.

If you are using a plain towel you could add ribbons or trim or an applique. Since my towels were already embroidered and had rick rack on them I was finished. Here are the completed bibs:

This is a fun little project and I hope you will try it sometime.

Becka

Oatmeal Muffins is another one of our favorites. I originally got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Deb, who has given me many very good recipes over the years. These muffins don't have any fancy ingredients but when all are combined together they produce a delicious muffin. I really like to use buttermilk in a variety of baked goods. It helps to tenderize cakes and muffins and gives them a nice flavor. I have tried substituting the powdered buttermilk in the past but in my humble opinion it's just not as good. I try to keep a carton of buttermilk in the refrigerator at all times and use it for biscuits, muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc. I find it will keep for at least a month.

Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup oatmeal (dry)
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

In a small bowl combine the oats and buttermilk and let stand for a few minutes. After this add the egg and oil.

In another bowl whisk together the brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Briefly combine the wet and the dry ingredients. Scoop into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 mins.

I hope you will give these a try sometime. They are good for breakfast or as a bread with soup or something similar.

We are enjoying our guests from Germany. They are learning new English words and phrases and we are learning German as well. One night we had fun teaching them how to play Chicken Foot Dominoes. We tried to think of a game that was pretty easy to explain and where you didn't need a great deal of English vocabulary. They caught on quickly and we had a fun evening.

Becka