Mini Lasagna Cups

I've had these pinned on Pinterest forever, and finally got around to buying wonton wrappers (used instead of noodles).

What you'll need:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1-2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (you can use ricotta, but we had cottage on hand and it works exactly the same and is cheaper)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano, basil
• 24 wonton wrappers
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Brown the ground beef in a skillet
3. Remove from heat
4. Add spaghetti sauce, spices, and salt to the skillet 
5. Grease a muffin pan
6. Line each well with 1 wonton wrapper
7. Spoon cottage cheese, then meat/sauce into each well
8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 two more times
9. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of each well
10. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. The tips of the wonton wrappers will look crisp, but make sure the bottom is done, otherwise it will be doughy.

        

We served ours with french bread and a side of stir-fried asparagus.

Update: I forgot to mention that these were really good!! I liked it better than regular lasagna and I think it was a little easier to prepare. EZ had his reheated for lunch the next day and said they were still really good.

Turkey Meatballs

I'm always trying to find something new and filling to cook while I've been in Hobbs. Its so different cooking for 4 people compared to 1. We had some ground turkey in the freezer and I wanted pasta that night, so I thought of turkey meatballs. After a quick internet search I came across these. I used the recipe as a guideline, but for those of you who like to go by the book here's what you'll need:

1-2lbs of ground turkey
1/2 cup ritz crackers crumbled
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 tbs minced basil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano and thyme
A sprinkle of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup flour for dredging


Mix together all of the ingredients minus the flour by hand and form into balls. In a separate bowl add the flour and dredge each ball in the flour. In a large skillet heat some olive oil. Add the meatballs to the pan and brown on all sides. They should take about 10 minutes to cook. Make sure the insides have cooked through before serving. 


For the pasta I just did store bought tomato sauce and added black olives. We used whole wheat penne pasta just following the directions on the packaging. The meatballs were the best I've ever add, I think because the sour cream made them so soft. 
Enjoy!!

Dog Days

So down in good ole Hobbs the outdoor pools close the weekend after Labor Day. This year they tried something new and the City hosted "Dog Day of Summer." They opened up one of the pools for the last day and allowed all the local pooches to go for a swim!! There were contests with prizes, raffle drawings and goodie bags that will last me and Kahlua for months!! Kahlua had a blast running around with all the other dogs. It was a warm day but not too hot so she didn't swim much. Of course she attracted a lot of male attention, and viciously told them she wasn't interested ;)

 Katy, a new friend for Kahlua (actually its the dog of a family friend)

Some unfortunate dog being pushed down the slide. Kahlua would hate me if I did that to her.

Champ enjoying the toys we brought home, he didn't get to go because EZ and his parents weren't around, and I can't handle the 2 of them on leashes.

This is what the ball looked like after 5 minutes between the 2 of them. I had to take it away when Kahlua start ripping off shreds and leaving them around the living room.

Homemade Tortillas

I failed again to get a picture because I was too busy trying to balance everything on the stove. and EZ walked in the door right when dinner was ready. I've never made tortillas before, and I thought these turned out great. The ingredients are simple, you just have to carefully watch the tortillas cook and take them off at the right time. These don't safe well, so better eat em up while they're fresh!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

Pinch of Salt

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead with hands until a dough forms. Pinch off 1-2 inch segments and roll into circles with a rolling pin (EZ's mom had this neat tool that worked better than a rolling pin; no idea what it was called). Cook like pancakes, waiting for each side to bubble and black spots to appear. A little burning isn't bad, but be careful not to smoke up the kitchen! I managed not to scorch any so I was pleased with myself :). We had ours with taco meat (granny's recipe) and stir fried veggies (mushrooms, green and red peppers). However the best way (my favorite I should say) is to just drizzle them with honey and eat it like a sopapilla! My mom loves to eat them plain with butter.

LSU vs. Oregon

The first win of the season for LSU and EZ and I had front row tickets, well not literally, but we had a pretty good view from our standing room only tickets ;);) I actually sat on the floor and watched the giant screen.

The new Cowboy stadium, aka Jerryworld was incredible. I've never seen anything like it. We spent the afternoon tailgating with some old teammates and good friends. And leave it to EZ to befriend random tailgaters just to get a spot to sit.

We even snuck in some drinks in our handy Vapur water bottles purchased specifically for the game. I can't wait for to watch the Home Opener this weekend! But I do wish I could go back to when I really had front row tickets in Death Valley.

Geaux Tigers!!

Hello New Mexico

It's All Fun and Games Until...

Rosita's Mr. Man knocking me down (good thing the couch was there) while we were playing Rallyball on Kinect...I'm pretty sure this was supposed to be a non-contact sport!!!