Skillet Lasagna

Today's dish is "Skillet Lasagna"

For a 10-12 inch stainless steel skillet (or cast iron), you will need the following:

1lb lean ground beef (or 1/2lb ground beef & 1/2lb Italian sausage)
1/2 box Pasta Barilla Mostacolli or Farfalle
1- 2lb+ jar of Spaghetti Sauce
4oz sour cream
3 slices of American cheese
2cups shredded mozzerella

Brown and drain meat. Boil pasta at the same time, cooking a few minutes less than the box's suggested cooking time. It wwill finish cooking in the oven. If pasta is done before meat, simply drain and set aside.
Return meat to skillet, add 3/4 of spaghetti sauce, stir with meat.
Break up American cheese slices into quarters and drop in sauce. Then drop spoons of sour cream in to the sauce. Mix/blend lightly. Sour cream should most remain in "dollops".
Then add pasta. Mix until coated, but don't over blend.
Top with all of shredded cheese.

Place your skillet, uncovered in a preheated 350-375deg oven for 20 (no more than this, it will get mushy). When 20 minutes is up, broil the top until lightly browned (like pizza looks). Let sit on stove-top for about 10 minutes before serving. This will allow it to thicken and be perfect temp for eating.

Let me know if you try this. It's a favorite in my house! My own personal creation :)

No Sex & The City

Being married with a child in the midwest is not an HBO series in the making; it's more like Animal Planet or some late night PBS special that nobody wants to watch. Most girls dream of marriage and the wedding...later having his babies and watching them grow. I said most girls...

As I sit here typing, my now 3yr old is crawling over me, telling my "Daddy's not a boy, he's a man". I'm tired. I've been up since about 6:45am, made breakfast, spent my entire day at church. Got a small 30-40 min nap in because I was not about to miss Big Brother, LOL. I've given in to him watching TV in my room, in my bed because I'm about to fall into a benedryl coma. That, and the fact that it's just easier to not argue or should I say deal with headstrong toddler at this hour.

Marriage was never high on my priority list, though I did want to be married by 25, and I was able to do so. Not sure why I picked that age. Looking back now, that's so incredibly young! But I'm grateful to have a husband, and not be out there looking for something that's about the same in every man...and that's the truth. Same can be said of women, I'm sure.

As much as I love shoes, and often have wardrobe changes during the day....I'm no Carrie Bradshaw. There are no Louboutin's or Manolo's in the closet. No car service waiting to pick me up for tonight's big event. No "Big". And my best girlfriend brat pack is divided all among the US. Being a wife, mother, friend is exhaust. Though I suppose that's the escape and appeal women find in TV shows as such. Funny thing is, before I got married and had a baby, life was no Sex & the City then either. Nothing glamorous, just plain old daily life!