1st Attempt at Lasagna

After running 5 miserable miles in the heat yesterday and another 8 miles today I decided to make some comfort food for dinner.
I love lasagna but have never attempted to make one before. In the past I have purchased one that comes already prepared in a box where all I have to do is take it out of the freezer and pop it into the oven. Simple but not always the yummiest.

Below is the basic recipe that I used and I tweaked it a bit to my liking.

1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 can of mushrooms or fresh (sliced)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 package of cottage cheese (16 oz)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pint of part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 package of lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet brown the hamburger. Once browned add the mushrooms and onions. I also added some garlic for some extra flavor. Cook until the onions are transparent then add the spaghetti sauce. I also added one can of Fire Roasted tomatoes (Drained very well). Heat through.


In a medium bowl combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese and eggs.

As for the noodles I know they make lasagna noodles that don’t have to be precooked however I wanted to cook mine to ensure that my noodles we cooked all the way through. It’s up to you if you want to cook your noodles or not (and how much time you have to prepare it). It takes about 8-9 minutes to boil lasagna noodles.

Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Layer with noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, and then meat mixture. Continue to do this until all is gone, keeping some of the mozzarella cheese reserved to put on top during the last 10 minutes of cooking. (1/2 cup-ish)

Cover with tin foil and cook for 35-45 minutes at 350-because I cooked my noodles before hand I only cooked mine for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle remaining cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes for the cheese to get nice and melted. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving…this allows the lasagna to set up nicely

Early Morning Get up and Go

I have started my full marathon training, my husband has as well. With our little one at home one of us usually has to get up early morning (5am-ish) to get our miles in.
The first day I got up early I just had a quick and easy 3 miler to do. I got dressed, laced up my shoes, stretched and out the door I went.

I quickly realized that I had forgotten to eat. After some thinking about this mistake I decided to make some strawberry banana muffins. A quick and easy thing to eat before heading out the door.

The recipe I used is pretty simple. I modified it slightly and just used one banana (it calls for two).
They turned out really yummy and after trying one before my 5 mile run this morning, they did the trick to keep my stomach happy while running.


Here is the recipe I used…remember you can add the 2nd banana if you choose too!

½ Cup (1 Stick) of Butter (melted)
¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 or 2 Bananas (Mashed)
1 Cup Fresh Strawberries (Cut into bite size pieces)
2 ¼ Cups Flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cupcake pan or use cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl slightly beat the eggs, add brown sugar, vanilla, and the melted butter. Add the mashed banana and mix together.

In a larger bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the strawberries a little at a time and make sure the pieces are well coated so that they don’t sink to the bottom of the muffin while cooking.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until blended but DON”T over mix the batter, it will cause the muffins to be chewy.

Fill up 12 muffin liners with the batter and cook for 20 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). Remove from pan and let cool on rack.
Enjoy!