Slow Cooker Lasagna

I am looking for more and more recipes for crock pots and slow cookers. I work full time and my job waiting tables is during the graveyard shift. This.... well... stinks. So it is easy for me to come home in the morning and throw it into the crock pot and go... I would love to say I then could sleep, but, that would be a lie. I don't sleep... ha... well like 4 to four hours a day... it is not a good thing. But, it is nice to have time to play with Carlie instead of cooking in the kitchen all of the time... unless she is with me helping. We love cooking together...

I ran across a recipe for slow cooker lasagna at six sister's stuff. Please click the link and go visit them. They have a ton of great recipes.

As usual I had to alter their wonderful creation as there are just some things my family expects of me when cooking. I am sure that their recipe is wonderful just the way it is however. Below is the original recipe posted on their site, and then notes on the bottom telling what I did differently.

Again go and check their site out... you won't be sorry. And... who can resist the love and respect that sisters share. This will be no different.

Slow cooker lasagna It states that she found this on a kraft food box or package....

1 lb. lean ground beef (could be substituted for italian sausage)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 c. water
1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese (we used skim ricotta to save some unneccesary fat haha)
1 pkg. Kraft Italian Cheese (approx. 2 cups)
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp. parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

***(My adds... I also added four boiled eggs sliced... (used to be popular in the 50's when making lasagna. My mother in law still has a cut out box top in her recipes with this... and it has just become a habit not to add them when I make lasagna.) I added sliced mushrooms, and sliced zucchini in the layers. In my house, if these things aren't added I will have a war on my hands. I also added some drained canned tomatoes in the layers. It was so good... oh... and I added minced garlic and onions to the hamburger when I cooked it. )

Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. parmesan, egg and parsley.

Spoon 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles (3 noodles broken up per layer), broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

Cook on low 4-6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted. *

*Ours only cooked for about 3 1/2 hours because I had a hungry husband and it was fine! Plus the meat is cooked beforehand so it is safe. :)

Mexican Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells

One thing that I love about blogging is finding new recipes. I found this recipe along the way. It is called Mexican Chicken Stuffed Pasta Shells. It can be found at Busy at Home. Please check out her blog and her wonderful cooking recipes. I found it through a secret recipe project that looks fun. I just need to hurry up so I can have 60 recipes posted so I may join. YEAH... just my type of thing....

First of all, I have a hard time following a recipe beginning to end. I have to find a way to make it mine. This recipe was fantastic how it was, but I needed to adapt it to my version and what my family would love and is used to... (me tinkering in the kitchen with recipes.)

This is the original recipe.... I will add at the bottom how I changed it to make it mine.

• 4 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 green onions, diced
• 1/2 each of red, green, yellow, & orange bell peppers (or 2 whole bell peppers of your choice), diced
• 3 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles (don’t drain) (Rotel or store brand, either works)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of picante sauce
• 38 large pasta shells, cooked al dente

My changes were as follows. I increased the cumin to 2 tsp. We love cumin. I added a can of green chilis. I added a can of sliced olives. I crushed up some frito chips and also added some drained, canned, sweet corn. I put enchilada sauce on top of the shells and just rested them on the bed of tomatoes and picante sauce. It was so good... this recipe is a winner the way it is... but feel free to add to it.

Instructions

1. Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente (still have a little bite to them) If you cook them too long, they will be difficult to stuff, plus they will have additional cooking time, once they are stuffed. Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling.
2. Cook, drain and dice enough chicken breast to make 4 cups. I always have homemade chicken stock and pre-cooked diced chicken bagged in my freezer. You could use canned chicken broth if you prefer.
3. To make the filling, mix diced chicken, drained black beans, green onions, diced peppers, and cumin in a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken stock and undrained tomatoes with chiles. When thoroughly combined, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix well. (If you have trouble incorporating the cream cheese and tomatoes, you can heat it slightly in the microwave.)
5. Spread 3/4 c. picante sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan. (I used 13x18x2, but I’m guessing that two 9×13′s would also work.) Reserve the final 1/4 cup, for later.
6. Using a spoon, or your fingers, fill each of your cooked and cooled pasta shells, setting them into the picante covered pan. Continue until all shells are filled and arranged in the pan.
7. When the pan is full, drizzle the shells with the remaining 1/4 cup of picante and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
8. Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy and please stop by her blog and show her some love... very good site....

Sweet Kisses From Bella Boo...

Today I was missing Bella so very much... so I text to see if she was awake. Her mommy said I could come down... and snuggle on her sweetness. Made my day. She is crawling so fast now and balancing on everything standing... made me a little teary. Soon she will be walking and then the next stage and so on and so on. I want her to stay my little Miss Bella Bean for awhile longer. I want her to be a baby...

She is shaking her head no to everything... but when she does it she shakes her whole little body and I laugh... it looks like a little dance. She repeats it over and over and we laugh uncontrollably. Such a fun stage of life, being a grandma. It is heaven.

Loved my time with Little Miss Sunshine today. I needed her little lovies...

Soyu Chicken Hawaiian Style Plate Lunch

I miss so much about Hawaii. When I was 23 and left Hawaii as home, I didn't think I would miss it. I lived in a rough area. I lived in a beautiful environment that cost me an arm and a leg to live it. I went through a very sad divorce at a very young age to someone that I thought hung the moon and the stars. (Ended up being the best thing for me, but who would have known back then). So, I returned to Spokane... aka Spokavegas.

I miss the laid back lifestyle that they have there. I miss the music. I miss the early morning rain and the rainbows it left behind. I miss the smells of the plumeria flowers. I miss the shaka sign, wearing slippas all day outside and always being bare foot inside. I miss shave ice from Wiola shave ice and I miss L and L bbq and Zippys Chili over rice.

I went back a few years ago... well six and a half now... and I realized how much I missed it. I went with G and the kids and I was pregnant with Carlie. Dinner Cruise, hiking even when my ankles were the size of stumps... We ate fresh pineapple with sliced pepper jack cheese every morning for breakfast, (might sound gross... but the combo is fantastic... don't stand in the way of a pregnant woman and her yummies) We would have Leonard's Bakery Malasadas each day... my favorite were the coconut cream filled ones, and the guava filled ones... NOW MY MOUTH IS WATERING. Again, did I tell you I had shave ice daily... it was planned into our budget... ha... I would have ice cream in the bottom of it and and condenced milk drizzled over the top.

I try to bring Hawaii into my kitchen often. There is such an Asian influence there... so I get to cook Asian food, and Hawaiian food... and life is good. I will make a point of making spam musubi in the next couple of weeks. And Beef Tomato, and Short Ribs, and Beef Brocolli, and Loco Moco, and chili over rice... and... and... and... and....

One of my family favorites is Soyu Chicken. If you say SOY... you have it wrong... trust me here. It is pronounced Show You. Say it together... there ya got it. OH MY... I need to cook some Lomi Lomi Salmon as well.... so good... back on track Wendy, Back on Track...

So again... No perfect measurements... bodda you? I hope not...this is my kitchen we are talking about... just a very simple walk through. Oh, and a fantastic memory. I cooked over 300 pieces of Soyu chicken one year as a fundraiser for my job at Wachovia. I had four big kettles boiling on my stove all day... finish one batch and start another.... there was so much moisture in my kitchen it actually blew up my microwave that night when we used it that night... well at least I am pretty sure now that is what it was caused by...

So... here is how I make Shoyu Chicken... oh... man... now I thought of Chicken Long Rice... I will try to make chicken long rice as well...


Soy Chicken...

Chicken Thighs work best with this recipe. I buy the big pack of thighs
4 cups of soy sauce
2 cups of water If you don't do this step it is going to be very salty
3 cups brown sugar
1 Tbls chopped garlic
3 inch piece of fresh ginger grated on a ginger grater... it turns it into a paste, this is what you want.

Add all of the above to a pot on the stove. Bring to boil. (You can actually marinade your chicken in this over night as well if you would like... Add chicken. Place lid on chicken. After it boils I put it on medium and cook for about an 45 minutes or until chicken is done. The trick at this point is to take the chicken out of the marinade and place on a cookie rack and broin under broiler to get a crispier skin, and not soggy. We always have ours with fried rice and mac salad. Ono!

This is a great recipe fo shua... ono ono, Hawaiian Style...

Today I have to think....

Today a good man was put to rest. Today, the final good byes, yet, not the final tears for those that love and admire him. The way he touched others lives so genuinely and completely with his heart. That is a sad day. There are good people in the world, and he was one of them. He was one of the good ones.

I sit, and I think of my life. He didn't leave that day to go for a ride knowing he would never come home to his wife and kids. He just didn't. Unless we are dying of a disease that will take us, most of us don't know when that moment is going to be. None of us really know... ya know. We might know an end is near... we might know we need to make memories now with our loved ones and our friends... but we don't know that moment.

I hope I die a death when I know it is coming soon. I hope the doctors, at that time call my family and tell them the time is near. I hope I am with my kids and the people I love when I close my eyes for the last time. *** Note to anyone in the room with me when it is my time... if I die with my eyes open.... for GAWD SAKE please close my eyelids.... please. SMILING but so serious. Please... if you are with me when I die...give my kids a hug and tell them how much each of them meant to me. Please get the letters I will leave for each of them, and each of my grandkids under my mattress.... please give them time to read it on their own, but be there for them in case they need someone to talk to. When I die... please play Garth Brooks song, we will be free.... and when that is done... please play another Garth Brooks song... I got friends... and please sing along. Please give my kids a cd I will also have made for them... with *our song* that I have with each of them... and the song, Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler, and It Will Be Me by Melissa Etheridge. I will write the story of each of the births and put it in each of their envelopes as they will want to hear it one last time... they way they still do. I will tell them of how excited I was to hold each of them and look in their eyes the moment I held them. I will write how I was moved to tears in awwwwww of how much they owned my heart. Yes... God... please let me live a long and slow death so I can do all of these things. I love food. You better do a potluck, and there better be good food. Kday, you better open a cookbook and cook a recipe from that cookbook... and laugh the whole time... knowing how much you hate to cook but you are doing it for me. Rhonda, you go and talk to everyone and let it be cheery and smiley... as that is just your way... the nurturer. Kara, please convince Kday to lick her plate when it is done just for one last laugh. Holli can perform and tap dance for everyone... or better yet... do some fabulous song from Broadway. Dawn, mix the margaritas, Paula, sing Ice Castles... No... better yet... sing Photograph by Kidd Rock... Dawn can be your Sheryl Crow. Kerri, comfort my son, he will need it the most. Carol and Dru, please plan the after ceremony at Mo's. Don't buy me a fancy coffin, put me in a paper bag for all I care. Do it the cheapest way possible... I don't want to burden people with expense. I will be gone... I won't care. Keep your satin and ribbon. Don't worry about roses or big sprays of flowers. Pick me dandilions like my kids used to do. I love the dandilions. They make me smile. I am not going to tell you not to cry. CRY. I am a crier... and I will be watching... and if you don't cry, I may haunt your house. SERIOUSLY!!!! Kim will tell you stories of my older kids as children and Taylor puking on her wood floor from eating too much pepperoni on Christmas Eve. Dance... and sing... and hug... and remember times of laughter. That is what I want. I want to wear something that doesn't match... at all. Seriously... we put too much thought into our appearance... I will be at a place in my life... that I don't care... DEAD... I just won't care. Lynda, you can smoke one cigarette that day if you must... but only one... Krysta... I would like you to put a cup of coffee in my paper bag... I want into the pearly gates with a cup of coffee.... and stand up and yell as loud as you can... Wendy ordered some HAWT WANGS... and you better have truck loads of HAWT WANGS to share with everyone... it can be with blue cheese or ranch, I don't care. Tell G he is a good man and I am glad he is the dad to our children. Tell those that hurt me, I am ok, and I forgive them and I am sorry if I hurt them as well. Tammy will teach people the hustle... 70s style... and she will rock the dance floor. Eat cupcakes and mudd pie. Listen to my brother Troy tell stories, you will laugh your ass off... and my brother Jared will join in. My sister, Cami, she will know that I cherish the bond with her. She will dance to Rag Doll by Aerosmith if you really push her to. Ask Brandi if she will bake peach pies for everyone to have a slice... I am not sure if she will but, I hope she will. Play, sometime during the night... Happy Trails by Van Halen, as that is always a good memory of leaving school. Roger will show a soft side to himself, and not the tough cop exterior he hides behind at times... but the sweet caring man that has been my best friend since Alaska. Penny and Pam will cry... they are criers too... and Laurel... she will be passing out maple bars topped with bacon... as our adventures will fill her head, and she will smile. The men that hurt me, you are welcome to join... as I forgive you. Without you I would not be the woman that I am today... strong... well, trying to be strong. Yes, GAWD, please let me know when I am going to die. Don't donate my parts to others... my parts are worn out. Put them to rest. If I was healthier, younger, that would be one thing... but this body has seen its share of hurts... BUT... if I have any kidney stones at the time... have them extracted and plant them in the drink of someone that pissed me off in traffic. That is much better than flipping someone off for sure. So I have coffee in one hand, in my paper bag... someone please put a coor lite with bloody mix in it, in the other hand... I will drink it fast on my way up... this will be most appreciated if it is hot out. While I am laying there, please make sure I am sucking in my gut and I don't have anything in my teeth. Some of you read this and think I am kidding... I am not kidding. Out of all of this... what I want you to remember most... is to love on my kids and my grandbabies and tell them that they are my world. They are all that is good.... they are my riches and my wealth. They are what makes my heart so very happy... and I am so blessed to be their mom. Each of them has helped me grow in differnt ways. God knew I needed each of them in my life... He knows all...

From now until then... I need to figure out if I am living my life right. I need to check my bucket list... what is it that I need to cross off...

Singing karioke solo style... fat chance...
Rocking sick babies in Africa (for all of you that sit and think of half of them having aids, which you so freely share with me... and those that think I need to give within my country... well... I will be safe from the AIDS... and I do help with things within my country... do you?)
I want to cater... I want to have a bake shop/deli
I want to have a food truck to serve food to hungry construction workers, and soccer players, and baseball players...
I want to hike through Europe...
I want to watch anther sunset in Alaska
I want to let all those that I love, just how special they are to me...
I want to see a sunset in Maine
I want to travel through New England in the Fall
I want to get my kids all to Southern California yet again... as that is what they like to do
I want to forgive more freely
I want to volunteer more of my time to my community
I want to go in a movie theater and laugh so hard that I can't stop and they ask me to leave... that kind of laugh...
I want to see the ballet
I want to travel through Europe... hiking....
I want to go on a tv game show... just for the fun of it...
I want to walk up to someone in the grocery store and pay for the cart of groceries...
I want to have coffee in a diner and leave a 100 dollar bill... again
I want to sit with all three of my siblings and just tell them how much they each mean to me. Not in actions.... but choke through the sobs and let them know how they meant so much to me as we grew up....
I want to reach 500 people in one day handing out sack lunches downtown. The most I have done thus far in one day is 200...
I want to go to Georgia... and see the trees blossom
I want to go to Mardi Gras...
I want to go back to Flatlands and learn more....
I want to run through the sprinkler with the kids... let them forget they are adults... and just run through the sprinkler with Carlie and Bella...
I want to kiss and dance in the rain...
I want to find Dawna Clark...
I want to go to Seattle with Krysta...
I want to see Carlie swim with dolphins just like my other two kids did....
I want to backpack in the mountains...
I want to over come my fear and hike down the Grand Canyon


I will keep adding onto this... as there is way so much I want to do...

I want to be the kind of mom my kids remember me fondly
I want to be the kind of friend my friends remember and they laugh... or cry...
I want to be the sister and aunt that my family knows they can depend upon me...
I want to be a worker that is responsible and reliable
I want to be a neighbor that is good to the others
I want to keep volunteering in my daughters school so that she knows I care and it helps the kids
I want to advocate for kids that need someone to have a voice in this world, those that are forgotten
I want to take Carlie to visit the elderly in nursing homes, as often they are also the forgotten
I want to sit with a homeless person for a full night... and learn their story.

Tuesday Tens... things that make me sad...

1. Seeing people being unkind to each other....
2. Two people not being able to talk things out calmly ...
3. Missing Tuesday Night Meetings as I don't want to be real and really dig in deep how I feel...
(I skipped tonight) Gotta process before Linda gets ahold of me... she digs... no digging tonight.
4. Missing my kids. I don't do well without them. I don't like being far from them.
5. Misunderstandings...
6. Losing the love and respect of a friend...
7. Death... the final chapter... so sad...
8. Regressing... instead of progressing in life...
9. When I hurt someones feelings. I would much rather be on the receiving end...
10. When people do things to hurt children. Do they realize they may never recover from that
trauma?

and although I know I said Tuesday Tens... one can't go without saying...

C*A*N*C*E*R.... if there is a hate that I feel... cancer would be the key word...

Today I got to spend the day with Carlie... always a good day...

After getting back from two and a half days of running and some sorrowful moments, I was able to just sit and be with Carlie. My mind was racing today... I try to keep my mind busy... but... I need some down time as well... so... today... we sat.

I really needed to go to the grocery store to pick up some things. I had some recipes that I wanted to try them out. It is good she went with me as my arm is still a bit sore, but, all in all, I refuse to complain about it... but is whining allowed? Just a little? My fingers were swollen by noon and the hot poker reappears to remind me to take it easy.

I finally got around to getting somewhat ready... if brushing your teeth and brushing your hair could be considered getting ready. No eyeliner even... just wanted to get it done and over with. I asked her to be a big girl and get herself ready and we were going to go and get some things to make peach cupcakes... recipe will follow later. She loves picking out her own clothes... getting herself ready... so this was fun for her.

Soon she came down in a little summer dress she wears around the house and a COWGIRL hat. How could I make her take it off? The answer is... I couldn't... so we went to the store... and she wore her cowgirl hat...

That's my girl.... so my girl...

PS... she had on lip gloss and perfume to boot.... ha...