Monday, May 7, 2012

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

Garden Style Lasagna



This is one of my favorite recipes I've tried so far! I love lasagna, but I was looking for a different twist on it besides marinara, meat, and cheese. This is definitely not a "quick" dinner recipe, but it's perfect when you have some extra time on your hands. And with it being only 7 weight watchers points, you don't even have to feel guilty for eating it!

I must warn you, this Garden Style Lasagna is definitely not a "quick" dinner recipe, but it's perfect when you have some extra time on your hands. I promise you, it is worth every minute you spend making it.

**Unfortunately, it looked so good I forgot to take any pictures of it before it was devoured, so it doesn't look as appetizing as it did fresh out of the oven. I will try to get some yummier looking pictures the next time I make it.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped onion
2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil (divided)
2 cups chopped zucchini
2 cups chopped yellow squash
2 cups thinly sliced carrot
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 teaspoon salt (divided)
1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese (divided)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash of nutmeg
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)
9 pre-cooked lasagna noodles



Directions:

1. Preheat over to 375 degree Fahrenheit.

2. Saute onion over medium-high heat until lightly browned (approximately 4 minutes). Add garlic and saute 1 more minute. Place in a large bowl.


3. Saute zucchini and yellow squash, with 1 teaspoon oil, over medium-high heat until lightly browned (approximately 4 minutes). Add to large bowl with onion mixture.

4. Saute sliced carrots with 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat until tender (approximately 4 minutes). Add broccoli and saute another 4 minutes. Add to large bowl with the other veggies. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well.



5. Combine flour and milk in a saucepan. Stir with a whisk to blend. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow mixture to thicken, stirring constantly. When it reaches desired consistency, remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup 
Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and dash of nutmeg. Stir in spinach.

6. Combine cottage cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese.


7. Put it all together! Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. And the layering begins: 1/2 cup spinach mixture; 3 lasagna noodles; half of the cottage cheese mixture; half of the veggies; 1 cup of the spinach mixture; 3 lasagna noodles; other half of the cottage cheese mixture; other half of veggies; 1 cup spinach mixture; 3 lasagna noodles; remaining spinach mixture; 1/2 cup 
Parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.



8.
 Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly/lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!



Sunday, April 29, 2012

Melanie Goes Garage Saling

This weekend was the Freeland Walleye Festival near my hometown. The best part about the festival is the garage sales, every other house seems to have one! Yesterday, my mom and I headed out there in search of.... CANDLESTICKS!

We saw all kinds of interesting things, including a house selling everything from makeup to vitamins, saws to "as seen on TV" products. I think a hoarder lived in that house. There were also garages filled with adorable baby clothes (hard to resist) and some neat furniture. I really wish I knew how to refinish and paint furniture.  Houses were also serving popcorn, brats, and even homemade tamales.

Throughout the day, I managed to find a few good things. 


I found some fabulous tall candlesticks, and a few short ones as well. I've got big plans for these babies, but you'll have to wait until a later date to find out what it is. 



I love the frames I found as well. I may be repainting them to match our wedding decor, but I don't think I can ruin this beautiful white one with black paint. 


I even managed to find some $2 dri-fit shirts for the fiance at the hoarders house!


Needless to say, I was pretty happy with my purchases. Only seven more tall candlesticks to track down!

Has anyone else been hitting up the sales now that garage sale season is getting started? What kind of good finds have you come across?


Friday, April 27, 2012

Save The Dates

I decided to start this blog with an entry on our save the dates. I figured that since this was the first thing our wedding guests have seen, it should be the first thing all of you see as well. Although they were sent out a few months ago by now, I am still extremely excited with how they turned out! 

Our photographer, Jordanne Marie Photographers, designed them using one of our engagement pictures. Adam and I found a calendar looking design a while back, and loved how unique it was.



I have always wanted the save the dates to be magnetic, so when a basic save the date came with our photography package, I decided I would just have to add a magnet myself. So I headed to Michael's with my 40% off coupon in hand and purchased some magnetic tacky dots. These were extremely easy to use, just peel off the paper to expose the sticky part, and stick them onto the back of the save the dates.

Next came the envelopes. I thought it would be cute to put fingerprint hearts on each envelope. I bought an inkpad and then Adam and I got to work. We both contributed a fingerprint to each heart for personalization.  





I LovE how our save the dates turned out! I was a very proud bride when they were all completed. I was so excited to get these suckers into the mail and to our guests. I guess I'm just nerdy like that!

What did you do to make your save the dates more unique or personal?



A Little About Melanie




I'm Melanie.

I'm a twenty-something, engaged, Exercise Physiologist still trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I enjoy scrapbooking, DIY projects, photography, wedding planning, wine, shopping, and popcorn. 


This is my fiance, Adam and I outside our old dorm. We began dating in 2007 after living across the hall from each other our freshman year of college.

We are getting married on August 24, 2012.

I will be sharing wedding planning tips and details on this blog for your enjoyment, as well as other aspects of my life that I find interesting. If you have any questions along the way, please feel free to ask. Also, if you are in the midst of planning yourself and would like me to discuss a specific aspect of  our wedding, let me know! I am more than willing to share my experiences with all of you.