Today in a nutshell

This morning we got up, Stephen started studying and I went off to the Mac store to find someone to help me with my iPhoto disaster. Luckily everything is back to normal and all of my pictures have been restored- hooray! Then it was off to JoAnn's and Target. Can I just say I love Target during Christmas time?! I was pleasantly surprised to find that "muddy buddy" mix I mention in a previous post and a few other fun things including this ornament...

... which just happens to look a lot like the KitchenAid I have :). Stephen and I are continuing one of my family's traditions of picking out a vintage glass ornament each year that represents us in some way or another. So far we've got a pretty fun collection. I think it will be cool to see what it looks like in a couple more years. Anyway, after going to the stores I headed over to Katie's house to help make some mason jar "winter wonderlands" like we made here. 

I made some snowman ornaments I saw at Target and decided it would also be fun to try to make other "festive" ornaments with those handy dandy clear ones. So Rudolf it was.

Once Emme woke up from her nap she joined in on the craftiness by playing in a bowl of fake snow, ringing jingle bells and making little foam Christmas trees. 

When we were done I headed back home to see how Stephen was doing. We were both really hungry so for dinner I made a lightened up lasagna. I was a little worried about putting raw zucchini and squash in it, but I baked it a little longer than I normally would and it turned out great- husband approved.

Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients

1 (10oz) package frozen spinach, thawed according to directions on package

1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

1 yellow crooked neck squash, sliced into thin rounds

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (14.5oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6oz) can tomato paste

1 c. part skim ricotta cheese

1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese

1 c. low-moisture part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp. oregano

1 tbsp. fresh basil (I use the Gourmet Garden squeeze tubes)

1 tbsp. fresh parsley (I use the Gourmet Garden squeeze tubes)

2 tsp. salt

1 (10oz) package lasagna noodles

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring pot of water to a boil. Place lasagna noodles in and cook until al dente (they will finish as they bake).

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan over low heat, saute 1/2 of the minced garlic and 1/2 of the diced onion. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a low simmer.

3. In a small mixing bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, cottage cheese, 1/3 c. mozzarella, beaten egg, oregano, basil, parsley and remaining salt, garlic and onion. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. 

4. Begin assembling by spooning a small amount of sauce over the bottom of a baking pan. Arrange noodles, overlapping if necessary to cover bottom.

5. Place half of the sliced zucchini and squash over the noodles. Then spoon cheese mixture over. Place remaining vegetables on top, covering them with a layer of sauce. Cover with remaining noodles and spoon remaining sauce over. Sprinkle with 2/3c. mozzarella and place into oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.