Virtual Running Date No. 43: Spoiler alert - Downton Abbey!

Hello Crushers!

Sorry for being so absent this past week, but it was a very busy week!

If this were a virtual running date, I would tell you about how Steve and I went to the Wauwatosa Woman's Club because they had a "bring a guest" event to see a guy perform as if you were having dinner with Winston Churchill. This guy was amazing in his portrayal and I can't believe how knowledge able he was!

The menu was not very British, but that's OK since Churchill seemed to spend a good amount of time in America between war efforts and his own travels. The menu included garden salads, beef tips, wild rice stuffed chicken breasts, 4 different kinds of potatoes, green beans, carrots, and pie and ice cream for dessert. It was delicious!

If we were on a virtual running date, I would confess that we went up to the Dells, again. I did not do much shopping, but I am totally going to buy this purse the moment I have a chance:

LINK

I know that buying it in plain black would be more versatile and I could use it all year long, but the stripes! And the coral bottom! And the cuteness! AH!

Anyway, as I said we went up to The Dells again so that Steve and the guys and gals (who didn't have kids along) went skiing while the rest of us took the little kids to the water park. It was a weekend filled with late nights, games, lots of laughing (and cocktails for the non-pregnant folks), and wonderful food. We each took a different meal and made food to feed 11 adults and 6 children of various ages (14 months to 5 years old). Here is what we did:

Dinner on Friday - on your own
Breakfast on Saturday - Jamie made French toast and sliced fruit
Lunch on Saturday - Adam and Erin L. brought all the fixings for a make-your-own sandwich bar with veggies, fruit, and chips/snacks
Dinner on Saturday - 1-2-3 Lasagna, garlic bread, salad and cookies and brownies for dessert (my sister-in-law made a vegetarian lasagna and she brought the bread and brownies)
Breakfast on Sunday - Adam O. made hash browns while Steve and I made blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs. I also baked bacon for everyone. It was so easy and didn't require us to have another thing going on the stove top.

If this were a virtual running date and you hadn't watched Season 4 of Downton Abbey (DA) or the finale, I would tell you to stop reading right now. I LOVE this show and was glad that I got home in time to watch it. Sometimes PBS really has the best programs on. OK, now if you haven't seen it, you've all gone off to other blogs or work or e-mail, right? Good. Now, for the DA conversation...

My friend Courtney said that she did watch it, but was underwhelmed by the story line all season long. Granted, last season was a sob fest between Sybil dying, the house being in mourning and then Matthew's season finale fatal car accident. UGH! So many tears! This season only had me crying once for Anna when she was attacked. The "downstairs" crew had a much better season than the upstairs family. Upstairs had too much "will we save the estate with pig farming?" and "Is Mary allowed to smile or laugh?" and "Poor Edith" and "It's the jazz age!" Also, Shirley MacLaine's season finale appearance was kind of blah. And seriously, Lady Mary? "I don't mind lying." vs. "I can't lie to save Bates." attitude stunk. Pick one! Either you're going to put your big girl tiara on or you're not.

Downstairs had much more realness to it between Alfred's new position at the Ritz, Bates and Anna's relationship, and Mrs. Hughes as the keeper of all secrets. Mrs. Patmore's one-liners rivaled Lady Violet's and Isabel's banter! Bates' did-he-didn't-he intrigue and his other many talents for forgery and pick-pocketing came in quite handy as the Crawley's tried to salvage the Prince of Wales' reputation. The drama (Bates and Anna and Baxter vs. Barrow), the characters maturing (Daisy and Alfred), Mrs. Hughes being all tough and Carsen loosening up a bit. So much more interesting!

Agree with me? Disagree with me? Try and talk me out of buying the coral and striped bag? Let me know in the comments!

1, 2, 3, Lasagna!

Hey Crushers,

Although I was always a very good student and probably would have made a great math teacher, I never really liked math. Long division? No thanks. Dividing fractions? Ah... no. I don't care what equals x or how long the side of that isosceles triangle is. No one does. No one.

It wasn't until junior year of high school that I started realizing that math can be fun. In my advanced physics class, we learned how to figure out the specific heat of macaroni and cheese. That's cool! You can use math to figure out the velocity of a roller coaster? Lead me to the nearest amusement park. Still, those aren't terribly useful things in every day life unless you are a foods scientist or designing coasters (both of which would be awesome careers).

However, if you ask me how to figure out the final price for a dress that was originally $80 that is now on yellow dot clearance for 60% off  and you can take an additional 50% off with a coupon, I can do that in my head faster than you can find the nearest fitting room. (FYI - That's a $16 dress, and I saw it first.) Sale is my favorite four letter word.

Fractions, percentages and even geometry (hello, crafting) are useful everyday mathematics. However, there is no better way to use math than in cooking. You need it to figure out how many people you're going to feed, how to double, triple or halve a recipe, and how long to cook it for (specific heat not necessary).

When I have a group to serve, I like to go with easy, "big" recipes like a roast, family-style pasta or barbecue. This weekend is the 9th Annual Girls' Weekend for a group of friends from college. We've graduated from cramming a bunch of girls in two plain hotel rooms with delivery pizza and lots of indoor waterpark time to renting a large-ish condo, cooking our own meals and doing some outlet mall shopping. I'm in charge of the main dish for dinner, so I'm going to share a recipe that is so easy, you can do if you can count to three and still make a delicious meal for a crowd.

1, 2, 3 Lasagna!
Serves 8-12 (depending on how big the servings are)
Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef or turkey (thawed)
1 cup of diced onion (about one medium to large onion)
1 jar of marinara sauce
1 16 oz tub of ricotta cheese (small curd cottage cheese works too)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (if you can, buy a wedge and grate it yourself - great nutty richness!)
1 egg, beaten
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning (I like to use Penzey's pasta sprinkle)
3 cloves of garlic, minced (2-3 tsps of minced garlic in a jar works too) 
4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
10 lasagna noodles (3 layers of 3 noodles, plus a "fixer" noodle)
Optional: as many other diced veggies as you want! I included zucchini and peppers. I would have included mushrooms if I had them. You can also add in some red wine, but since two of the ladies are soon-to-be-mommies, I am leaving the alcohol out.

Directions:
You are going to need four containers ready: 1 big bowl for mixing, 1 large skillet, 1 large pot, 1 13 x 9 inch baking dish (lightly greased).

In the large pot, get water boiling and cook the pasta according to the directions. After you have that started, start browning the meat in the skillet and break it up in small bits. It's easier to spread later. I had ground turkey on hand, so that's what I made this time. When it is about half-way done, toss in your veggies and garlic to cook with the meat so they get a bit soft. (This is where you could throw some wine in if you choose.)

Brightly colored veggies = lots of vitamins and nutrients!
If you add zucchini or spinach, make sure and let it cook out some of the moisture.

In the big bowl, mix the ricotta (or cottage) cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese and the Italian seasoning together while the meat is browning and water is boiling. This will be the glue that holds it all together.

When the meat is done browning, pour in the jar of marinara. Yes, I will learn how to make my own at some point. Until then, I like to be a good consumer! That should heat through by the time the pasta is done boiling. Please be careful when you drain the pasta. This was the first time EVER that I didn't rip a noodle or two. If you are going to be baking this right away, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

It's time to start counting to three!

Step 1, put 1/3 of the meat sauce in the bottom of your baking dish and spread it out evenly.

Usually I save that last noodle to patch up where I ripped other noodles.
Instead, I just layered it in since I didn't rip any other noodles. Miracle!

Step 2, put three lasagna noodles on top of the meat side by side to cover the sauce. Step 3: put 1/3 of the cheese on top of the noodles and spread out.

Tip: Put a spoonful of the cheese mixture on each noodle and spread across length-wise.
It's much easier to spread that way than the short way.

Put about a cup of the mozzarella cheese on top of this cheese. Repeat the meat, noodle, cheese layers 2 more times (total of three layers). Make sure you have plenty of mozzarella cheese for the top.

If you are going to be baking this now, cover the top of the dish with aluminum foil, but tent it up a bit so it doesn't stick to the cheese. Bake for 40 minutes. Take the foil off for the last 10 minutes (total cook time 50 minutes) so the cheese gets a little golden brown. If you're going to be baking this later like I will, cover and put in your fridge or freezer.

SHAMELESS PLUG FOR FRIEND:

My friend Rachel is a wonderful baker and cook. She makes the best flourless chocolate cake in the world. She is also a whiz with a sewing machine. For a Christmas present this year, she made me a baking dish carrier complete with matching pot holders to keep your hot foods hot and cold foods cold. So cute!

I'll be using this adorable dish carrier to take my lasagna to Girls' Weekend. If you would like one of you own, please visit Rachel's facebook page: facebook.com/remadebyrachel

Comfort Food

Hi Crushers,

I find it unique that when major life events happen, people make you food. New baby? Have a casserole! You're moving? Let's have pizza and beer while you pack. New promotion? Let's go get drinks! Death in the family? Here's a lasagna.

Well, I just got news that my aunt, who is also my godmother, passed away today from battling with liver cancer. Although I'm a Christian and I know that she is celebrating eternal life in heaven, it still sucks.

If you could all do me a favor, go hug your aunts. And your uncles. And your siblings. And your parents and everyone.

Thank You.