Easter Parade, Lasagna and Super Fabric Find

Good Afternoon:

Weather Report:

There is grass in that there pasture!  It is brown, but there is grass!  The days are getting longer and the puddles are splashy.  Perfect for the returning Canada Geese.  I've even heard a few song birds already. I am not good at identifying who's who in the bird world, but I always enjoy hearing them sing.  Even the Rooster has been strutting his stuff and Cock-a-doodle-doing throughout the day.  Me thinks it is officially Spring!  Yay!

Easter Parade:

Papa loves to make yard decorations for the Little's.  He started with a few fence Bunnies and the Bunny and Egg Parade last year, but he's gone full bore for this year!  I just love his Easter Train and the Parade Characters.  I usually do quite a bit of the painting for him, but have been encouraging him to enjoy the painting process more.  Generally, I usually do the details after he paints the main colors, but he did the entire |Easter Train on his own this time.  It is so cute!  And he even admitted that he was quite happy with the results.  I'll make a painter of him yet!  How can you not smile as you drive down our lane and spy these cuties!

Easter Train at the main entrance

An Easter Bunny and Egg Parade by the front door

Just hanging out on the front gate

Hanging out on the other side of the front gate

Pondering all the chocolate eggs . . .

Another Easter Egg and Ducking Parade.  I had to take this one at night as the back light of the day blacked out the scene.

A few Cuties to great you at the front door

Kitchen Update:

The other day I had a hankering for Lasagna.  I love to have a couple on hand in the freezer for a quick meal, when you don't want to make a fuss.  I have been using the same recipe for as long as I can remember.  Basically, it is just my pasta sauce that I use as a sauce that I layer up for lasagna.  Super quick and delish.  A perfect Crock Pot Recipe!

Lynn's Pasta/Lasagna Sauce

In your crock pot add the following:

1 quart stewed tomatoes

1 pint tomato sauce

1 can tomato soup

1 can tomato paste, small 5 oz size

1 medium onion, diced

1 rib of celery, diced

3 or 4 stuffing sized mushrooms, diced

1 carrot [optional] diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 lbs hamburger - ours is frozen in 1 lb packages - which I put in frozen and break up after it is cooked thru.  Or, you can thaw and add it raw, then break up after it is cooked through.  Or, cooked first then added, if you want to.  It really doesn't matter as it all gets mashed up later.

2 garlic cloves, smashed or diced fine

1 sugar cube [cuts the tomato acidity - it is noticeable if you don't add it!]

2 tablespoons each of dried oregano and parsley

sometimes I add a tablespoon of basil

1 tsp each of salt and pepper

Crank the Crock Pot to High, if your hamburger is still frozen/raw, and ignore the Crock Pot for 6 hours.  Break up the hamburger with a "S" style potato masher or wooden spoon or something to break it into small pieces.  Continue to simmer on Low for another hour or two, if you feel it needs more time.  Often I will put it on in the morning for supper time pasta and sauce or the day before for lasagna.

If you have precooked your meat, then High for a couple of hours and Low for a couple more until sauce is to your liking.  

For Pasta sauce, serve as it is over hot noodles.

For Lasagna, I do mine with 3 layers of noodles.

First step, warm up the sauce if you refrigerated it over night.  Or let it cool a bit if you are making it all in one day.  It goes on much better when warmed.  It doesn't have to be boiling, just heated thru.

First layer:  put a couple of scoops of sauce on the bottom of your greased baking dish and spread it out to cover the bottom.  Place Raw/uncooked lasagna noodles directly onto the sauce.  You don't need to buy the special "ready to use" noodles for this, just generic Lasagna noodles.

Top this with a layer of the following blend:

1, 500 ml Cottage Cheese [not dry you need the moisture]

1/2 cup fresh or dried Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 cup of wilted, chopped spinach [I freeze mine in 1 cup portions for this purpose, then thaw to use]

For a large Lasagna, you will probably use the whole blend.  There is enough here to divide among my three small 9x9 pans.

Add a second layer of raw/uncooked noodles [seriously]

Top this with a layer of sauce, then your favorite grated cheese.  [I used a cheddar/mozza blend this time].  Make sure you completely cover the noodles with the sauce.  The secret to this method, is the noodles have to be completely covered or they won't soften.

Add the third and final layer of noodles.  Completely cover with sauce and more cheese. Sometimes I will add Feta to the very top for an interesting twist.

From here, I cover with foil and freeze 2 of them.  They are the two with the parchment paper liner pictured below, so I can take them out of the baking dish when they are frozen and store them in Large ZipLock Freezer Bags.  I will pop them back into the pans to thaw and bake when I want them.  This keeps my 2 9"x 9" pans free.  

The bottom pan was covered and refrigerated to be baked up the following day. This allows all the liquid to meld into the noodles.

Or, you can go ahead and bake it now, when you make it, as the sauce is warm and it will do it's magic.

Bake 350 for about an hour.  Sometimes I cover it, sometimes I don't, depending if I want the cheese to brown up.  Test for noodle done-ness with a knife.  Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving to allow things to firm up.  Reheats beautifully, if you have any left overs.  

3 Lasagnas, 2 for the freezer, 1 for supper

Lasagna baked for dinner.  Delish!  

Studio News:

I was rummaging thru the Super Stash and came upon this adorable collection.  It too was from many years ago.  This time the Fat Quarters are cut Canadian [20" x 22"] and the coordinating yardage was in meter cuts.  What a Score!  10 fat quarters and 2 pieces each 2 meters and the green purse fabric is 3 meters.  I am assuming that the purse fabric must have been intended for the backing.  

Much looking thru books and online netted a fun pattern that will show off the larger print.  I auditioned white, yellow and pinks for the background color.  My first intention was to use the White, but boy, it Jumped!  Too Loud!  The Yellow was okay, but the darker of the 2 Pinks that I was also considering, really spoke to me.  Project is currently under way!  Yay!

Fabric Stash Score!  This is just too adorable!

Making Strip sets from the 10 fat quarters that I cut up into 2 1/2" strips

Background fabric will be pink.

Auditioning Pinks.  I chose the one on the right.

Auditioning White and Yellow.

First Block assembled.  I like what I am seeing. 

And that is what I have been up to this week.  It was foggy for about 6 days.  Foggy and snowy, but the sun has finally decided to join us.  The birds are singing.  The snow is melting.  All is right in our little corner of the world.

May all your seams be straight - unless you want them curved - then may all your seams be curved!

Until next time.

Regards,

Gremlynn