Daze of Adventure

Gluten Free Veggie Lasagna

January 23, 2012 By jenn p. 1 Comment

I dread the nights we get home late from sports and look at each other wondering what’s for dinner?

Kim at Write Shop mentioned the other day that her family had become a huge fan of Pioneer Woman’s vegetable lasagna.

Uh, yeah … who wouldn’t, right?

We will be gone all day tomorrow, have sports tomorrow night, and will once again have a late night. Yet, thanks to our concoction of dinner tonight, we won’t be left wondering what’s for dinner. We have enough leftovers for days.

mind you:: i thawed ground chuck today for my lasagna. knowing the entire time i was planning to make veggie lasagna. y’all, i really think i am losing my mind. i am guessing we’ll now be having tacos or meatloaf at some point this week.

We used Ree’s recipe as a base and altered it to make our version of Gluten Free Veggie Lasagna.

Ready for the goodness? Here is what we used … (y’all know I have a bad habit of not measuring, so adjust as you see fit)

1 lg onion, diced
3T minced garlic (i really think it was more)
1C diced bell peppers (we used a variety)
16oz diced fresh mushrooms (this makes the dish!)
10oz gluten free lasagna noodles (we used De Boles )
4 zucchini squash, diced
1 can whole tomatoes
1tsp red pepper flakes
1/2C white wine
2 eggs
4C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2C parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what we did::

In a very large skillet (because the one I used was too small), sauté onion and garlic.

Add peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and spices.

While simmering, (per Ree) use your hands and squish the whole tomatoes.

(thank you, ree. this was nicholas’ favorite part)

Add tomatoes to the skillet, stir well and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime, in a separate bowl, mix eggs, ricotta and 1/2C parmesan cheese.

check it out:: the instructions on the noodles we used read do not precook.
easy-peasy.

Maggie-Peyton assigned herself a job. (why, hello, self-governed child. i am so glad you have arrived)

She volunteered to ‘apply’ (paint) the noodles with ricotta. And, by all means, why shouldn’t she??

The messier the better for kids, right?

Working together, the kids layered veggies, mozzarella cheese and noodles (smothered in ricotta mix) until pan was full.

We covered the pan with foil and baked at 350° for 30ish minutes (note: our oven is old and seems to take longer than most)

We removed the foil, coated the top with (a lot of) parmesan cheese and baked for another 10 minutes. (We let it set for 10ish minutes before serving. Not that we were happy about that.)

Voila!

While I was making dinner tonight, a friend was texting me about going to a dinner tonight with George and Laura. Bush that is.

(if she wasn’t such a great friend…)

{I jest}

As the four of us sat down to eat, she texted me a picture of their menu for tonight.

Y’all, if you’re not eating dinner with a President, hear me when I tell you this gluten free veggie lasagna is the next best thing.

Far from low cal with all that cheese, but nothing less than delish!

@dazeofadventure

Filed Under: in the kitchen

Mini donut maker

January 16, 2012 By jenn p. 5 Comments

Nicholas has been asking for a mini-donut maker. I almost bought one a month or so ago, but I didn’t thinking ‘they are just trendy. we’ll use it for a while and it will end up at Goodwill.’

MawMaw thought differently and mailed him one last week. (thanks, MawMaw)

I posted this picture on Instagram yesterday morning and tweeted …

Some of the answers made me laugh.

The brilliant little invention came with a recipe book. But of course we only had 4 of 5 of the necessary ingredients on any given recipe. So, we improvised.

And made our own.

Surprising, huh?

(grab a pencil to add to your grocery list. you are going to want to try these. i promise.)

1/2C Gluten free Bisquik
3oz box Cheesecake jello
1 egg
1T oil
2T French Vanilla CoffeeMate
3T Lignon Berries
Powdered sugar

Pre-heat the mini-donut maker and coat with non-stick spray. Sift dry ingredients into bowl. In separate bowl, mix egg, oil, and CoffeeMate. Add to dry ingredients. Add berries. Mix well.

The hardest part for me was getting the right amount of batter into the slots and not covering the donut hole.

hint:: don’t worry about covering the holes; you can use the end of a nutcracker to pop out the holes to make them ~~picture~~ Pinterest pretty.

For the topping, I heated 3T of lignon berries and 1T CoffeeMate in the microwave for 10second increments, stirring after each time, until I got the consistency I wanted.

This hodge-podge of ingredients made some of the best gluten free mini-donuts evva!

I see donuts being added to our monthly menu on a regular basis.

For the kids. Not Mommy.

Seems when you surpass 35, you have to limit the number of mini-donuts you consume in your life.

Because, unfortunately, these bad boys aren’t fat-free.

This morning, we had our version of pumpkin donuts. Which, sadly for me, are even more addictive.

@dazeofadventure

Filed Under: in the kitchen

Ringing in a New Year

January 1, 2012 By jenn p. 8 Comments

We had no intentions of seeing the ball drop last night.

We were all in our jammies by 9p.

But the people around us had other ideas. We are staying at our home away from home this week – for a change of scenery. And to relax and rejuvenate.

I didn’t even consider that the fireworks on the beach would be non-stop and keep all four of us up until 1a. (nor did I ever expect all my peeps would sleep until 1030a this morning, but they did)

I wish I had a picture of the four of us at midnight – it was (almost) picture perfect.

The four of us – in our jammies, piled in our bed watching the turning of the calendar – and each naming things we’d like to do or accomplish this year as a family.

We have big plans. We each have goals – dreams.

…. just as we did last year.

2011 was life changing for us in so many ways. We worked together as a family and accomplished more than we ever imagined – and were blessed with opportunities we would have never dreamed.

Business opportunities arose, relationships were healed, personal goals were achieved. And much more!

Hello?? NASA … you changed my life forever.

2012 already proves to have a lot in store. No, there won’t be a final shuttle launch, but there will be new adventures.

New business. New travels. New friends. New opportunities.

As much as we can plan and pencil-in our fresh, new calendars – there will be the unexpecteds that arise. Will we be prepared?

Probably not.

But we will enjoy the journey.

As a family.

Because isn’t the journey what life is really about??

@dazeofadventure

Filed Under: family daze

How we save money

December 27, 2011 By jenn p. 31 Comments

We scrimp in some area so we can splurge in others – like coffee.
Ya’ know, the important things in life … {I jest}

Here are ten {simple} ways we save money::

:: we turned off cable – we haven’t owned a landline for almost three years. for years, we have wanted to turn off our tv. {i could list 101 reasons why. to start, we can’t monitor all commercials. period.} we only kept basic cable with comcast, because it was less expensive for us to have basic cable and internet than just internet. finally, we bit the bullet and turned off our cable and cut back our internet speed which reduced our bill $20 a month. but in the big picture, we save $240 a year.

:: we do not use paper towels – as of february 2011. not only do we no longer spend $40+ a month ($480+ a year) on the bulk packages of the quicker-picker-uppers, but our trash has been easily reduced by a third.

:: I am married to my cabana boy. and my yard guy. – we no longer pay a pool service. or a yard guy. we do it ourselves. not because we are green thumb people …. but because it was one of those ‘un-necessaries’ that could go. and did.

:: we make our own laundry detergent.

:: we upcyle/recycle clothes – have you seen how fast our kids grow? we share hand-me-downs. works like a charm.

:: we shop in bulk.

:: we turn off the air. easier done this time of year than in the middle of July, but we do it. (in case you don’t remember …. we live in south Florida. and it gets hot as blazes here) when the weather starts to change, we are probably some of the first people in our area to turn the power switch to off and to turn on the fans and open the doors. we would rather jump in the pool to cool off than to have to spend our ‘fun money’ for a.c.

:: we purchase a museum pass – we renew our membership each year with the Charlotte County Historical Society for a whoppin’ $35 and we have access to 200+ museums around the country – including a handful of our faves in our local area. pack a picnic lunch, and voila! it’s a fun-filled day on a budget!

:: we travel with a crockpot. for real. (more on this soon)

:: we shop with Amazon Prime – we pay approximately 80$ a year and receive not only bulk pricing, but also free shipping on many of our household staples. Amazon is where I buy most of our gluten free flours.

…and here’s a bonus … we give first – even in the hardest of times, we give first. if you don’t believe me that it comes back to you, try it. or don’t try it. and see how that works for ya’ ….