Artichoke Spinach Lasagna

Here is my latest favorite vegetarian recipe from allrecipes.com:

Artichoke Spinach Lasagna


cooking spray
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 oz.) can vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 (14oz) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 (28 oz.) jar tomato pasta sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (4 oz.) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp. Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.
4. Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 cooked noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.
5. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Christmas in October!

I love my husband! It is not often that Mike is able to truly surprise me with gifts. The only reason is because I am in charge of all our finances, so I'm aware (pretty much on a daily basis) when money leaves our checking account or is charged to our credit card. But yesterday Mike was able to surprise me with the new Amazon Kindle! For those of you who don't know what it is, it is an avid readers dream.

Last Friday, Oprah revealed the Kindle on her show as her new favorite thing. I was immediately hooked. Luckily I had DVR'd her show. So after I watched the segment on the Kindle, I rewound the show to the beginning, paused it, and left it cued up ready to play for Mike once he got home from work.

After Mike watched the show, I knew that he realized just how much I would like a Kindle (I don't usually get excited over electronics, but this little machine was making me bounce around and giggle like a little girl). Since they are pricey I figured (if I was lucky enough to receive one) I would probably be getting it for Christmas, but no big deal because I still have a whole shelf of books at home that I can read between now and December.

To my surprise a little brown box was delivered to our house yesterday afternoon. Even though the box was addressed to Mike he insisted that I open it. Once it was opened this is what I found...

Christmas came early:) I love it! What a great surprise. Thanks honey, you're the best!

Tasty Lentil Tacos

I wanted to share with everyone this yummy vegetarian recipe. I have fixed a few dozen veggie recipes and this so far is my favorite (it is from allrecipes.com). Enjoy!

Tasty Lentil Tacos

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
1 cup salsa
12 taco shells
Taco Toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, shredded cheddar cheese & sour cream

1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly.
2. Stir in salsa. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with desired taco toppings.

"Pumpkin-Palooza"

Now that the cooler weather looks like it is here to stay I decided it was time to decorate. As most of you know from a previous post, I love fall. I especially love to decorate for the season, but I just can't make myself decorate when it is still 80 degrees out. This past weekend the weather was perfect for decorating.

I guess I should start out by thanking my wonderful husband for at least pretending like he is interested when I am doing something girly & creative. Our weekend started out on Saturday by heading downtown to the Farmer's Market where we could buy pumpkins and mums for my planned decor. We get to the market and are surrounded by pumpkins and gourds galore, but absolutely NO mums! Zero, zilch, none what so ever! So I hid my disappointment and kept a smile on my face, after all I have dragged my husband to the Farmer's Market on a Saturday. We picked out all the pumpkins and loaded them in the car, made a few other purchases, and headed home.

Once at home Mike tells me he has to take a nap before we can do anything else. I oblige and take some time to relax myself. After about a 30 minute nap we get back in the car and head to Lowe's hoping that they have mums. Thankfully Lowe's had a few left. I definitely learned not to wait so long next year to purchase mums. It's just not fall without mums:) Once back at home we unloaded the car, potted the mums, and placed the pumpkins.

Now we have come to Sunday. After church and a bite to eat I knew I needed to clean/gut the pumpkins so they could be carved. But I had one dilemma, and it involved Sunday Football! I didn't want to clean the pumpkins by myself, but after everything Mike did with me/for me on Saturday I knew I couldn't ask him to give up his football. So I came up with a compromise...If Mike would agree to help me, I would set up a table in the middle of the living room to clean and carve the pumpkins so Mike could watch football. That is what we did. Mike helped me clean all 9 pumpkins. What a man! So here are some pictures from yesterday's "Pumpkin-Palooza."

Chilly Morning

I was downloading pictures this morning and came across a couple that I took last weekend of Martini. Last Saturday I woke up first, which means I am responsible for taking Martini out to potty and feeding her. As we were coming in from outside I noticed she was shivering. I checked the thermostat to see what the temperature was reading...58 degrees! Since Mike was still warm and cozy in bed, I bundled Martini and I up and we went about our morning routine. Enjoy:)

Favorite Things

I have recently found two things that have now been added to my list of "Favorite Things." It is probably no surprise that they both are food items:)

Bhuja Snack Mix- My mom actually found this snack mix in Whole Foods when she was here visiting. There are four different mixes and they are great! especially for people who love Indian Food. They are a little pricey (around $4.00/bag). So it definitely won't be something I keep stocked in the pantry, but it doesn't hurt to splurge every once in a while.




Amy's Meals- These are great since I am eating only a vegetarian diet I can grab these in the stores and don't have to worry about what is in it. They are also very tasty too. I haven't found one of the meals that I haven't liked. The only downside is they can be expensive (around $4.50/meal), but I only buy them when they are on sale.

If you haven't tried either of these, you must!

"SNL"

Most of you know that I am not a supporter of Sarah Palin, but I have to give her credit for her performance this past weekend on Saturday Night Live. She was really funny! If you didn't get to see SNL you have to watch the Opening Skit and Weekend Update. Kudos to Govenor Palin!