New Mom Gift After New Baby

I have been searching for a fun, thoughtful, reasonably priced gift I could bring to New Mom's in my neighborhood or circle of friends after they have a baby. It feels like Moms get so many new things for the baby, but hardly anything just for them.

I came up with this gift bag in the theme of a prescription (the way the pharmacy always gives you your meds in a white bag with instructions stapled to the front). The paper stapled to the bag is in the form of a prescription pad. The bag includes- a bag of microwave popcorn, a bar of really good chocolate, bath salts, suckers and a onesie for the baby.

I blurred out the personal info on the bag, but here is a close up with the personal info taken out:

The great thing is you can make up a bunch of bags at once with all the elements except the "Rx pad" info. Then there is no stress trying to find a gift for a New Mom you care about when the time comes. A meal or freezer meal makes a great addition too!

Delightful Quote of the Day

While driving in the car in total silence...

Annalise:     "Mommy, I want to be a giant."
Me:            "You do? Why's that?"
Annalise     "Because giants have magic beans and grow big bean-stocks and live in the clouds."

At first, I was totally amused, but on second thought, that actually does sound kinda nice :)

Cupcakes for Kaleb

About a month ago I heard the story about a 9 year old boy in our community who was fighting a long battle with cancer. He is so brave and his story moved me so much that I wanted to be a part of of a fundraiser held for him last weekend. So I did what I do best, made cupcakes!

About a year and a half ago I started a small catering company doing cupcakes and cookies for events. I loved it and business was rolling in, but my kids were very small (18 months and newborn) and they would cry when I would bring out the mixer because they knew Mommy would be occupied for awhile. I knew I couldn't be the best Mom I could be while doing this so I made the painful decision to quit.

When I heard about Kaleb, I wanted to do something and since everyone loves cupcakes, I made some and brought them to the fundraiser. His favorite colors are navy, white and orange. I had so much fun making these for Kaleb and think he is an amazing kid!

Delightful Quote of the Day

Today was shopping day! The kids and I went to Target to get some new spring/summer clothes and, boy, did they have some cute stuff! I walked around and said, "Look, Annalise, isn't this adorable?" She totally took that and ran with it grabbing clothes and saying, "Look Mom, adorable!" She said this over and over, and pretty soon little Jonah started grabbing dresses and skirts saying "dorabul" which means "adorable" in 20 month old speak. The kicker was when Annalise put a very girly little knit cardigan on Jonah and then said, "Oh, this won't work, it's too small."  But Jonah was having too much fun with it and wouldn't take it off and insisted on carrying it around the store. A couple of ladies standing near just bust up laughing at their little interaction.

Lesson Learned...

20 month old boys should not be given access to watercolors!

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork

This is a recipe I pinned on Pinterest- tried- and loved! I have made it twice and my hubby just raves! I used a 2 lb. pork loin and am excited to try a pork tenderloin next. Now, I am not a lover of balsamic vinegar, but the taste of this glaze with the balsamic isn't too strong and definitely delicious! 

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork 
Pinned from http://www.candcmarriagefactory.com/

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage (I did't have this at home, and it tasted great anyway without it)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens (it will have a look to it like molasses). Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Strain the liquid from the crockpot and serve over pork- so good! 

My Perfect Lasagna Recipe

...8 years in the making

I have been having this on again and off again relationship with lasagna for 8 years- about 1 out of every 5 times I made it it was heavenly, the rest were too dry, too saucy, too mushy, too ugly (you know what I mean by ugly lasagna? Very unappetizing) So I have been perfecting this recipe, writing down the things I did different when it actually came out right and I am ready to share it!

There are some very strict rules when it comes to making this a perfect lasagna so read carefully:

Side-note: I have NO loyalty to these brands or affiliation with them. They are just what I have used and what works for me.

Lasagna (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)
Sized to to fit a 2 qt. square casserole dish

Ingredients:

6 "no boil" lasagna noodles

I would never tell you to buy premade tubs of frosting or cake mix, but trust me, don't be ashamed to buy the "no boil" lasgna noodles. Not only do they taste the same (I think better) but it is so much easier to spread the ricotta on them than trying to layer things on top of slippery noodles. 

1 26.5 oz. can of pasta sauce

I use Hunts Traditional Style Pasta Sauce because it is a thinner style of sauce with no chucks of tomato or veggies. I found a thicker sauce makes it dryer.

15 oz. container of ricotta cheese



I just use the Great Values brand from Wal-Mart in the "part skim" variety


3-4 cups of finely shredded mozzarella cheese

 If it is shredded too large, it will get clumpy.


1/4 cup parmesan cheese

I like the real shredded cheese you have to find in the refrigerated section as opposed to the powder variety.

1 egg


Palm size square of ground beef


Get the fat content you like for everyday cooking, but if you really want to make this lasagna at it's best for a special occasion, get the 80% beef to fat ratio because the meat will remain soft and juicy.\


Sprinkling of onion and garlic powder

Directions:


Place your ground beef in skillet and start chopping it apart with a sturdy spatula. Try to get the pieces as small as possible. While it is still cooking and is spread apart, sprinkle with onion and garlic powder. (You can cook the meat with large pieces of onion and garlic if you have it, but take all the pieces out after it is cooked, it is just for flavor). Cook until no longer pink.

Place cooked ground beef in a POT (yes, you will have to dirty something else but cooking the sauce in the pan makes it taste different-use a deep pot instead). Pour the sauce into the pot, stir the meat and sauce together and heat until just hot, don't over cook.

In a bowl, crack and beat the egg. Mix with ricotta and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Pour 1/4 cup of meat sauce into the bottom of 2 qt. casserole dish. Layer two noodles on top of sauce- side by side. Take 1/3 of ricotta mixture and smooth on top of noodles with the back of a large spoon. Pour a scant 1 cup of meat sauce on the ricotta cheese mixture. Pour a scant 1 cup mozzarella cheese onto meat sauce.
Repeat 2 more times:
-noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, mozzarella, noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, mozzarella- STOP! You are done layering, yay!

Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Take off foil and bake another 15 minutes.
Then to get a nice brown, bubbly look to the top I suggest broiling for another 2 or 3 minutes.

Then most important of all- LET IT SIT!

Unless you want to make mush of this deliciousness, you need to let it sit for 15 minutes. Cut pieces with a sharp culinary knife and dish out with a small, study spatula. This way your lasagna with look as good as it tastes!

Enjoy!