Rubber Ducky, you're the one...

So this is my adorable little niece Mikayla ( a.k.a, "kayla-bee"). Last weekend I was able to go home to S.L.C. for a very quick trip. My sister was in town with her girls and I just didn't want to miss the opportunity. After a very long day at work last Friday, I flew out that evening to find the little kiddos sound asleep.

We played all day on Saturday and Sunday.

I bought these adorable sunglasses for Kayla-bee at Children's place.I got Audrey sunglasses as well, but....she seemed to prefer Kayla's.Mom, Abby, and I went on a little hike Sunday afternoon. We still had our dresses on from church along with our tennis shoes. I refused to go home without doing a hike... I miss the mountains soooo much (the hikes in Arizona just don't compare).

My brother, Isaac, with the caramel popcorn tower. He made his special "mixed drinks" (non-alcoholic of course).After a fun-filled weekend, I flew back very early Monday morning and drove straight from the airport to work (I made it there by 9:00 and worked 10 hrs... let's just say I was sooooo exhausted).

Calling All Recipes

Steve and I love to eat out. This could really be considered one of our hobbies. Over the past few months we've tried to cut back and limit ourselves to only once or twice a week, but it just didn't seem to work. Luckily we are both active and the effects haven't shown up on the scale, but it really isn't the best thing when you are trying to be health conscious. Eating out also isn't the best when you are trying to budget (although, you can find some really good deals out there).

A couple weeks ago, I decided to start planning meals for the week and then make a grocery list according to the menu.... it totally worked! Steve and I didn't eat out at all that week, and I actually liked the things that I cooked. It was nice to come home from work and know immediately what we were having for dinner and not having to worry about missing ingredients. We then made the goal to do this for an entire month. So far things have gone pretty well. We went to Olive Garden last week because we had a gift card. Interestingly, we both kind of felt sick after because we ate too much and the food was really rich. I guess our bodies are getting used to the healthy home cooked meals.

Since I am still working on my domestic side with all this cooking, I would love to get any of your favorite recipes (hopefully they aren't too complicated, I am still a beginner). So, my challenge to you is to write a post or leave a comment with your favorite recipe to share. I know many of you are awesome cooks!

Here is mine:

Macaroni Lasagna

Ingredients:

*2 1/2 cups of macaroni/elbow noodles

*1 lb of lean ground beef or ground turkey

*1 cup low fat cottage cheese

*1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese (I like to use cheddar).

* 26 oz can of spaghetti sauce (about 3 cups)

*1 tbs of dehydrated onion

Directions:

1. pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. cook noodles until tender, set aside.

3. cook ground beef/turkey with dehydrated onion (I like to use seasoning salt as well for more flavor).

4. spray/grease a 9x12 baking pan (I use a stone one, but glass works as well).

5. place a small layer of noodles in the bottom of the pan (about 1/3 of the noodles)

6. next layer some meat, continued by the shredded cheese, cottage cheese, and then some sauce.

7. add another layer of noodles. Repeat above step 6 above.

8. add one more layer (as said in steps 6 & 7) ending with the shredded cheese so it is on top.

** all of the ingredients should be divided into 3rds so you can layer each ingredient 3 times (the layers should be small).

9. cook at 400 degrees for about 30-45 min.

Time to Say Goodbye...

In only a few hours the cast and crew of E.R. will take their final bow. Many of you may know how big of an E.R. fan I am. In 1994 the first pilot season of E.R. was shown on NBC. It became a huge sucess and I became a true blue fan at the age of 11. Ever since then, there are very few episodes I have missed. In fact, I can remeber many times recording the show so I could watch it over and over again. The cast has completely changed over the years. I was absolutely devistated when Dr. Ross left (played by George Clooney). It's somewhat strange that I had a huge crush on that guy when I was only 12. I must say that the original cast was my favorite, but I have continued to watch it even with the changes. I will miss my Thursday night E.R. ritual, but it seems that Grey's Anatomy is also becoming a favorite (it does not however amount to E.R.... there's a little too much drama in it for me).

The original cast...

Dr. Doug Ross...

Dr. John Carter...
The current cast...