not your mama's lasagna

I don't get to cook much at home, but when I do, I want it to be amazing! So I usually go all out and buy the EXACT ingredients the recipe calls for, no matter how extreme, obscure, or expensive. It's one of my quirks.

Well, last fall I found this amazing recipe for lasagna and I followed the directions. It was a huge hit in my house. Considering it had spinach, mushrooms, and ground turkey in it, I was surprised. My dad is more of a beef and potatoes kind of guy, and even he raved about it!
 

 Since then, I have made little tweaks and changes, making the recipe my own. And now it is my signature dish. Oh and it tastes even better the next day! (if there is any left!)

Well, apparently it is so great, my dad asked me to make a dish of it for him to take to his company's state meeting. Oh, and my family requested I make another dish just for them!

So, I doubled the recipe and made two lasagna's before heading to work.
Here's my ADHD friendly recipe with a few pictures.

NOT YOUR MOM’S LASAGNA

• 1 box lasagna noodles
• 1 jar Classico sweet basil sauce
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 6 cups fresh baby spinach, washed
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 Tbsp fresh basil chopped*
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning*
• 1 tsp garlic powder*
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes*
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper*
• 1-2 cups finely grated reduced-fat mozzarella 

In a large sauté pan brown the ground turkey over medium heat until almost cooked through.  Add the mushrooms and let cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes, Classico sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper; stir to combine.  Let simmer for at least 5 minutes.  Whisk together the ricotta, milk, Parmesan, egg, and fresh basil.  Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and layer:

• Just a little bit (about 1/3 cup) of the tomato sauce on the bottom;
• 1/3 of the lasagna sheets;
• 1/3 of the ricotta mixture;
• 2 cups of the fresh spinach;
• 1/3 of the tomato mixture;
• NEXT LAYER
• 1/3 of the lasagna sheets;
• 1/3 of the ricotta mixture;
• 2 cups of the fresh spinach;
• 1/3 of the tomato mixture;
• NEXT LAYER
• 1/3 of the lasagna sheets;
• 1/3 of the ricotta mixture;
• 2 cups of the fresh spinach;
• 1/3 of the tomato mixture;
• Cover the top with mozzarella cheese!

Cover pan with foil and stick it in the fridge until dinnertime.  To bake, preheat oven to 375.  Tent foil (so the melted cheese doesn’t stick to it), bake at 375 for about 1 hour, then remove foil and let it bake another 10 minutes or so until the top is bubbly and brown.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

*Add more or less to taste.

NOTE: If using oven-ready lasagna noodles, omit Classico sauce.

NOTE 2: Wheat lasagna noodles can be used to make it even healthier. However, the taste and texture will change slightly.

Because I was working I wasn't home when the Lasagna came out of the oven for an amazing after picture. But believe me, if I can make this lower fat, healthier lasagna, and my family loves it, then it must be tasty!

"People who love to eat are always the best people." -Julia Child

I have to agree with you, Ms. Child. They most certainly are!

campfire trail mix

In the midst of finishing lunch, pre dinner prep, potty trips, packing a toy/activity bag and ballet bag, and trying to arrive at the bus stop on time, somehow I remembered snack.

After a full day of school and swim practice last night, I knew E would need a decent snack. Because we were out of bread and bagels, my usual fallback, a pb or a strawberry cream cheese sandwich, were not options.

The say necessity is the mother of invention. Today, campfire trail mix was born, so I would have to agree.

Pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows, teddy grahams, and a few peanuts (gotta have protein!) were thrown together in a snack bag.

"Sooo....what's for snack?" E wanted to know as soon as she hopped and flopped her way into the car. Instead of saying "we had a little bit of a lot of things and I threw them together along with the kitchen sink," I told her we were having campfire trail mix.

You know it's a successful snack when both W and E stick marshmallows onto pretzel sticks and decide they are roasting marshmallows for s'mores!

Somehow, both kids finished their snack during the car ride to ballet and I managed to get Ella dressed and ready for class on time.  

WHEW! Today was Ella's first day at a new ballet school and it was my very first day of ballet ever. Only thing I messed up was hair. Now to Google a YouTube how-to video on the ballet bun, complete with hairnet and bobby pins.

apple pie minus the pie part

After apple picking two weeks ago, our apples started going bad. Who wants to eat a rotten apple? Not me! And neither do the kiddos. Solution?  
Cooked Apples

• Chop up the apples that are going bad. Remove anything that looks disgusting. Add at least one good apple. Mixing up the apples seems to help. 
• Place in a frying pan or wok of sorts. Add enough apple juice to sufficiently cover the bottom of the pan. 
• Sprinkle cinnamon all over. 
• Add some vanilla. 
• Cook several minutes on high heat, stirring as much or as little as you want. 
• Add more cinnamon. 
• Continue cooking until apples are soft and juice evaporates leaving behind a small amount of almost syrup consistency.

*Today's recipe was brought to you by 6 apples, 1.5 organic apple juice boxes, a tablespoon of vanilla, and a LOT of cinnamon.*

The results are in and the judges are raving! And believe me, a 3 and 5 year old are tougher judges than anything they show on "reality" television! And the apple juice didn't have added sugar! Bonus points for no sugar highs! Nanny Poppins strikes again!

Nanny Poppins, reporting for duty

They call me Nanny Poppins, or so I like to think. I am introduced to friends, family, teachers, and neighbors as the "childcare provider extraordinaire." Everyday has good and bad moments. At the end of a day, I'm still thankful for my nanny family kiddos and love what I do.
With a 3 year old and an almost 6 year old, everyday is different, full of surprises and disappointments. Some days we spend extra time cuddling and reading, while other days we race around town running errands, going to practices, and trying to time it all perfectly with making it to the potty in time.
If you're lucky, we might just let you dance with us in our next performance!