Lazy-agna

Are you lazy?
Do you like lasagna?

If you answered yes to both of those questions like I did, I have a recipe for you.

Betty Crocker's Lazy-Day Lasagna. 

It is pretty dang simple.

And really dang delish.

Since we already know we're both lazy, let's just get to it.

Lazy-agna

1 box of lasagna noodles (you won't need all of them, probably less than half)

1lb of ground beef (I went with extra lean 96/4)

1 Jar of Pasta Sauce (I have Trader Joe's Three Cheese)

1 Cup of Water (I got fancy and used tap water)

1 15oz container Ricotta Cheese (I got fat free)

1 egg (free range, holla!)

2 tbsp chives (chopped)

16oz Mozzerella (sliced)

Optional: 1/2 chopped onion, garlic

First up, your yoga pants on.

I totally did.

My yoga pants may have never been to yoga,

but they love helping me make lazy-agna. 

Cook the ground beef.

Drain the grease.

Pretty standard.

Meanwhile...

Chop the Chives, and mix them together with the ricotta and egg.

It's gonna turn out really pretty, like this...

Also, slice up the mozzy. 

By this time, your ground beef will be cooked, and drained.

Pour in the water,

(don't forget like I did the first time I made this...

but if you did, you can always pour some in the dish before you bake it, 

thanks mom for the tip)

and sauce, bring to a boil, reduce to low, and simmer 5 minutes.

Next up is the fun part. 

Spread 1 1/2 cups of the meat and sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Add a layer of noodles.

Spread half of the ricotta mixture.

And top with a layer of mozzarella.

Repeat layering once more.

And spread the remaining meat and sauce over the top.

Cover.

Refrigerate for 12 hours.

And get lazy.

Go catch up on your hulu, netflix, dvr.

Read a good book.

Take a nap.

Eat a bonbon or two.

After all, you already have your yoga pants on.

It's part of the recipe.

About an hour before you want to eat,

pop this into a preheated 350* oven for 1 hour.

Badabing, badaboom. 

Lazy-agna.

And if you are feeling really adventurous, you can even broil the top for about 3-4 minutes before serving.

If not, no judging.

It's lazy-agna after all.

The Final Report:

I have made this twice.

SERIOUSLY, SO EASY.

I was really nervous the noodles would turn out crunchy since I didn't pre boil them.

NOT a problem at all.

The first time, I doubled the meat, and added half a chopped onion.

It was a little extra work, and thickened up the sauce a bit.

(Well, that, and I forgot to add the water). 

I served it to some Hope Peeps, and the entire tray was devoured.

We made sure the pastor got a "double portion".

It went AMAZING with Emily's homemade garlic bread. 

This second batch is on it's way to a new mama and her family.

Along with a salad, and some s'mores ice cream sammies. 

Easy to the peasy. 

Now, go get your lazy on.

Garlic and Brown Sugar, say what?

Garlic.

Brown Sugar.

Olive Oil.

Chicken Breasts.

Do you have ANY of this in your kitchen? I was 3 for 4.
So on Saturday I picked up two chicken breasts so I could make this...

Source: food.com via Kim on Pinterest

Mondays are gym days.
Typically, I get home from work, make a quick dinner - and by make, I mean heat, and rush out the door before 6ish to earn the sexy.

Tonight, I took on a new challenge. Cook a real, legit dinner and get out the door by 6:30.

I threw the garlic and oil in a pan, and things started simmering and smelling SO good.
I mean, who doesn't love garlic!?

They started browning up and getting caramelized.
Oh, so so yummy already.
And THEN the recipe told me to throw in some brown sugar.
That isn't gonna be a problem.

I stirred it all together into a garlicky, sugary crumble.
Spread it over the chicken breasts (which I had sliced in half to make four servings).
Popped it in the oven, and baked for about 15-17 minutes.

I changed into my gym clothes, heated up a baked sweet potato, poured a glass of water, and next thing I knew, dinner was ready.

It was baked, and cooked, and in my belly by 5:59pm.

This is a recipe I can get behind.

Also, are you wondering why I eat dinner in the 5 o'clock hour?

It's the granny in me.

She is trying to get out.

Geriatric dinner time.

Geriatric bed time.

Exceptional amount of cardigans.

When people tell me to act my age, it isn't necessarily because I'm being immature. 

Linking up with Jessica!

Linky party is open all month, have you been PinterTesting?!?

Well Isn't That Pinteresting!

Have you heard of the PinterTest Kitchen?
The PTK is on it's 5th month of linking up!
My friend Jessica is the PinterTest Kitchen hostess, and it's might be one of the most practical linky parties in town!

In case you were wondering, here is how it works...

FIRST...pick out something on your pinterest boards to MAKE or BAKE.
It can be a food, it can be a craft, it could even be a housekeeping tip you want to try out in real life.
The point is to get out there and DO!

Source: joyshope.com via Kim on Pinterest

During Blog Sugar, I stayed at Julie's house - and she made us this TO DIE FOR breakfast bake.
I have been thinking about it ever since.
I decided there was no better time to make it than the present!

Also, what am I going to do with a giant breakfast bake?

I wasn't sure, but my plan was to make first, figure out who would eat it second.

In this case, I decided that Hope was going to be the fantastic recipient of this delicious dish.
(This might be another reason I love pintertest kitchen - all these bloggie church-going folk Pintertest, and then share the culinary goodness).

Head's up, this is one of those "make ahead" kind of dishes.
Thankfully, I knew that ahead of time (unlike last month).

Also, I do most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's - they didn't happen to have evaporated milk. So, regular milk it was.

So I got a little creative....and used 12 eggs to beef it up (instead of 9) and 8oz of 1% milk, instead of 12 of evaporated.

Also, Julie said she made us the Kielbasa man-version.
Kielbasa and I are recent friends (have you met my old friend HulaKebab? You should).

I set my alarm (or so I thought) for Church, leaving time to do my bible in a year reading, and pop this sucker in the oven, and get ready.
Sadly I overslept, but thankfully, still had just the right amount of time to cheese this sucker up and pop it in the oven.

The timing was perfect, because I threw it in my insulated carrier as I ran out the door, and it was still toasty warm by the time people were approaching the hospitality table.

Totally making this again for our next Communion Sunday potluck. I already have the hashies and kielbasa in my freezer. 

I'm gonna sass it up a bit, and add some red peppers, green onions, and maybe a few other snazzy garnish goodies.

Julie promises that your pan will come home scraped clean.

I was thrilled when it was 100% gone like this...

Two minutes later, the literal scraping of the last bits of eggy cheesy sausagey goodness commenced.

Total recipe win!

So, that is how you PinterTest kitchen.
Go get your Pintertest on, and link up! Consider yourself invited, Jessica keeps the party open all month long!!!!

Linking up over here:

InstaFriday: From 4s to 13.1

My 4s arrived last Friday, and hopefully,the pictures around here are a bit more exciting.

Snow White is out, and Snow White 2 is in.

That is her in the cute panda case.

I also had to get some panda apps to go with it.

Obviously, right?

 I mean, every iPhone in a panda case needs an app that just has random pictures of pandas, right?

Oh, and they painted my teal front door red. Could be better. Could be worse. 

Just don't get me started on the orangey-red railings. 

They're just plain UGLY. 

Also, Snow White 2 was present for the homecoming of her iPhone siblings Betty (White) and Big (Black).

Uh, yeah, I ran wogged a half marathon on Sunday.

Yeah, I'm still talking about it.

I say if I'm still in pain from it, I can still talk about it.

And show you my swag.

Since I am no longer "not-training" for a half marathon and trying to get runs in before dark (and by not-training, I mean doing a half with three weeks notice), I had time to do some actual cooking the other night.

Followed by some baking.

Don't hate, I ran wogged a half marathon, REMEMBER?!?!

PS, I call these my crack brownies. They are kind of hard to find. And not be confused with cheesecake swirl brownies. Which are not as hard to find. I may or may not stock up and hoard boxes of these in the back of my kitchen cabinets.But if you touch them, I will kill you.
If you're really lucky I might make you a batch.
I said might.

Somebody got her cochlear implant activated.

Or, as I say, beast mode activated.

Either way, she is super cute.

And does a mean bat impression.

 

Hope knows how to party.

You got it Hayden. It'll be our little secret. 

Linking Up With Jeannett:

Artichoke Dip of Deliciousness

So, Patrick and Emily are having a baby!

A sweet little girl!

And Jessica and Niki hosted a lovely shower for her.

I rsvp'd via text message.

Seriously people. If you are having a party. Let me RSVP via text.

If I'm having a party.

Please RSVP via text.

Please RSVP.

It's just convenient.

My artichoke dip is probably my #2 most requested party food.
Following,
THE BRIE.

It used to be #1. But then, the brie happened.

Artichoke dip had to take a back seat.

But, she is back, and ready to conquer the party food spread.

I discovered this little gem several years ago when I bought this cookbook at a Southern Living at Home party.

I had just moved into my condo, and I think I only had one other cookbook.

As soon as I got it, I went through and tabbed all of the things I wanted to make.

First up, artichoke dip.

I don't think I ever got past that.

Well, and the 7 Layer Bars...condensed milk, YUM.

Super simple.
Only a few ingredients. And it can be made in one bowl.

And yes, mayo is a main ingredient.
I don't like to think about that.
But, I use LIGHT mayo - which is KEY - and lots of cheese, so it all swirls and mixes together into an ooey gooey cheesey delight.

First up, and my favorite part, chop the artichokes!

I don't know why I like this part so much, but I just do.

Next up, mince the garlic.

Another totally helpful, totally worth it kitchen gadget?

This garlic peeler.

It's just a little piece of rubber shaped like garlic. This isn't it, but its does the same job.

You roll it around the garlic clove, and then using the palm of your hand roll over it. You will hear a little snap as the paper skin on the clove releases from the clove itself. Totally awesome.

And I'm not exactly sure why this clove had a purple skin...but, just roll with it...

Then, I throw everything a bowl - the artichoke, garlic, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and parmesan cheese.

YUM.

And here is how I make it my own...I add anything I have laying around do it.

This time I added a little bit of grated pepperjack. To add a small kick.
And my favorite sweet & spicy mustard.

And, as for the parmesan, I buy the pre shredded cheese.

It always comes in a pack of 1 1/2 cups.

Recipe only calls for 1 cup.

So one cup goes IN the dip.

Half cup goes ON the dip.

Which makes a really yummy cheesey layer on top.

Now, here is my other secret - this is totally a "you can make ahead of time" recipe.

I stir it all together, cover, and refrigerate until I'm ready to cook it (350* for 20 min, plus a little broil time to cook up the top layer of cheese, yum).

You don't have to make it ahead of time, but it works out well for party prep!

And serve, with SOURDOUGH BREAD.

This isn't a suggestion.
It's a command.

I don't believe in regular french bread.

Sourdough or die.

Final Tip: Like I said, use the light mayo. It makes a HUGE difference. I have seen this dip made with regular mayo, and that with the cheese, the dip is just super oily. The light mayo cuts back on a lot of that, and the dip isn't just tastier, but it also looks prettier without a layer of oil sitting on top.

And, PS award for my favorite gift at the shower goes to Margaret.

#cute

TOO FUNNY.

Linking up over here...