I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. My hubby and I continue to celebrate the Christmas season with good deals, good movies and good eats. After all the traditional foods of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we wanted something different for New Year’s Eve. We enjoy a good homemade lasagna and Italian is one of our favorite cuisines, so we decided that we wanted to make one this year. But usually, a lasagna can take a while to make. But we were able to put this one together in only 30 minutes (plus baking time). It was the first time we used oven-ready noodles, which helped speed up the process. We also used a 3 quart Temp-tations dish instead of a glass dish, making the lasagna more compact and really packed in the ingredients for a more hearty taste.
It was as yummy as it looks. Here are the ingredients that you will need to make the lasagna for yourself.
Ingredients:
1 Box of Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles
2 Bottles of Pasta Sauce
1 Container of Ricotta Cheese
2 Italian Sausage Links, sliced
1 Package of Italian Vegetables
1 Cup of Baby Portabella Mushrooms
1 Cup of Fresh Spinach
1 Small Head of Fresh Broccoli
1 Medium Red Bell Pepper, sliced
1 Medium Green Bell Pepper, sliced
1 Cup of shredded Provel (Imo’s) Cheese
1 Cup of shredded Italian Blend Cheese
1 Cup of shredded Colby Jack Cheese
* any ingredient can be omitted, reduced, or increased, to your desired taste.
Directions:
1) In a large skillet, combine Italian Vegetable Package, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Add your favorite seasonings. Cook on medium heat.
2) After the bell peppers soften, add in broccoli and sausage and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.
3) In a 3 quart ceramic dish, add enough pasta sauce to cover the dish.
4) Add layer of noodles, followed by the ricotta cheese spread out over the noodles.
5) Add a layer of vegetables, and then spinach.
6) Add in the cheeses, followed by more pasta sauce to cover all ingredients.
7) Add additional layers in this order: noodles, ricotta cheese, veggies, cheeses, sauce, noodles, sauce and cheeses.
8) Top the dish with aluminum foil, bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
9) Remove foil and bake for additional 15 minutes.
Watch our YouTube video on putting together the lasagna.
This lasagna is great for any occasion: a family gathering, a holiday party or an evening dinner for you and your spouse. And if you have leftovers you can freeze them to enjoy at another time.
Have you made your own lasagna? How as it different than ours? What would you do different? Leave us a comment below and share with us your thoughts.
Looking great on the outside comes down to a number of things. Your confidence, your comfort and how you see yourself are all important for achieving that glow from within. But your health also has an important part to play, and when you feel healthy on the inside, you’ll shine on the outside too.
Take a look at some top lifestyle tips to help you radiate health from the inside out.
Get more sleep Be honest with yourself, are you getting as much sleep as you should? For many people, a busy job and busy family life can make it very difficult to get to sleep, leaving you feeling tired and grumpy and your skin looking a little lackluster. Find ways to sleep better at night so that you start each day fresh and positive, with your skin renewed to give you that gorgeous natural glow.
Eat healthier Healthy eating is vital for ensuring good skin, for keeping your weight down and making sure that your energy levels stay constant. Cutting down on excess sugar, eating more fruit and vegetables and reducing your fat intake are all good ways to maintain a healthy diet. Kitchen gadgets like the air fryer by Kalorik can help you make tasty, low-fat versions of your favorite foods like fried chicken or French fries to help you eat healthier. Start watching what you eat now to feel the health benefits both inside and out.
Move more Exercise is a great way to feel amazing on the inside and look even better on the outside. Even if you’ve never worked out before, you can enjoy workouts for beginners that will help you to build up your fitness over time. Walking is a simple and effective exercise that burns calories and improves your fitness, so why not start walking more each day? Getting fit will boost your energy levels and help keep your weight within a healthy range to help you look and feel amazing.
Drink more water Water is essential for your health, helping to keep you hydrated but also making sure that you give your body what it needs to make it through the day. Drinking water has a lot of benefits for your skin, your energy, and your overall health – so when you drink plenty of water you’ll be giving your body a boost from the inside out. Aim to drink eight glasses a day, and more if you’re active or it’s hot outside. Keep a bottle by your side that you can sip from to keep you hydrated throughout the day.
Feeling confident and comfortable in your own skin takes work, but it’s better to build a healthy foundation from the inside to see results. Curtailing certain lifestyle choices will benefit you health-wise and financially, so if you’ve not been feeling great lately then it’s time to make some changes. Work on feeling good on the inside and the results will soon show on the outside too.
We all want our families to be happy and healthy. That much is true. But we don’t always know the best ways to go about it. It’s often easy to care for your loved ones. From your children to your elderly parents to your pets, you will know the basics that will keep them happy in life. But when it comes to being healthy, this can often be so much more complex. This is mainly because you’re basing decisions on the past or how your parents taught you to take care of your health. But times are changing and new developments are showcasing that there’s a lot you can do with nutrition alone. When you focus on what you eat, you can dramatically improve your health all-round. So let’s take a look at some key ingredients that help you to do that.
Healthy Fats Years ago, we all feared fat. We thought that eating fat made us fat. But in reality, it’s more about the types of fat that we’re eating. Healthy fats like avocados, salmon, and coconut oil are great for you. They can even be great for your pets – there’s more info here on that. When you decide to incorporate more fats into your diets, you’ll notice that you have more energy, and even things like your skin and hair start to look healthier. And no, you won’t get fat by eating healthy fats, you’ll even lose weight.
High Protein From here, it’s also a nice idea to think about going for high protein foods. Proteins are great for giving you energy and keeping your figure in shape. When you load up on foods like chicken, turkey, and lean beef, as well as fish, you’ll be bringing more protein into your diet. But that’s not all, beans and pulses, and even nuts are high in protein, and are great ways to boost your appearance in the same ways that fats do too.
Whole Grains If you’re forever even processed or simple carbohydrates, you may get side effects like bloating, poor digestion, weight gain, and even poor skin. But when you focus on whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, whole grain breads and pastas, these health issues will often be weeded out.
Fruits & Vegetables A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is also essential. There’s nothing quite like being able to get the essentials vitamins and minerals that you need from fruits and veggies. Full of antioxidants, darker and leafier fruits and vegetables are often great to load up on too. If you focus on eating a colorful plate of fruits and veggies, you will notice a difference in how you look and feel.
Hydration Finally, you all need to stay hydrated. And yes, your pets do too. Staying hydrated can be simple when you use things like this info to do it. When your drink more water, your body will be more energized, your digestion will improve, and you’ll even sleep better too. And what’s not to love about that?
FTC Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.
I know we have a lot of readers who are going through Lent right now.
What is Lent?
According to Dictionary.com, it is “the period preceding Easter that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday and so includes forty weekdays.”
Many people will give up sweets, soda, or even entire meals. While others will give up watching television or looking at their social media accounts. Whatever they give up, it is a way to remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made as He prepared for His death on the cross. It is also meant for Christians to draw closer to God and strengthen their faith in Him. If you’re looking for faith-related Easter movies, check out Pure Flix. This year, my hubby and I have decided to give up meat on Mondays. It is a small way for us to focus on our relationships with God and remember all that Jesus Christ has done for us.
While giving up meat is meant to be a spiritual sacrifice, there are also natural health benefits as well; including reducing your risk for heart disease, it lowers your risk for cancer, helps maintain a healthy body weight and living a longer life. In addition, going without meat can reduce your grocery costs and lower your healthcare costs as well (Information gathered from the Meatless Monday website).
It may seem hard to give up meat, but it can be done. With some thoughtful meal planner, it will become much easier as you go forward with it. If you develop a meal plan in advance, you will become aware of how much meat you have been eating; and you can look for alternative choices that don’t include meat. We wanted to share with you one our favorite recipes that we can say doesn’t make us feel like we are missing out on meat. A portobello mushroom sandwich is a tasty choice for anyone who likes mushrooms. By picking portabellas, they almost taste like meat because they are very hearty and have some substance to them. Here is our recipe.
Portabella Mushroom Sandwich
Portabella and Pepper Sandwich with Swiss cheese
Ingredients
— Portabella mushrooms
— 1 tbs. of olive oil
— Sliced onions, red and green bell peppers
— Sliced Swiss Cheese
— Garlic salt, seasoning salt, black pepper; or your favorite seasoning
— Multigrain bread or sourdough bun (optional)
Preparation
— Add olive oil into pan and turn on burner to medium heat.
— Add the desired amount of sliced portabella mushrooms
— Add the onions,red and green bell peppers
— When veggies and mushrooms are sautéed to your liking, top with swiss cheese
— Turn off burner and allow the cheese to melt
— Serve on a slice of your favorite bread or without
— Can be served with french fries and steamed veggies
— Total prep time is about five minutes
** The amount of mushroom, onions and peppers that you use will be depend on how big of sandwich you want.
** We use frozen mushrooms, onions and peppers. If you use fresh, start with sautéing the onions and peppers and then add in the mushrooms.
This is a simple recipe that makes for a quick and tasty meal. It is a perfect choice for Lent or for anyone who is looking for a healthier meal choice.
Are you giving up anything for Lent? Let us know in the comments section below what it is and why you are giving it up.
For me, I am striving to eat healthy and to live a healthier lifestyle, so I can live longer and stronger. One stipulation, as I often hear from other people, is that the food needs to taste good. My hubby enjoys cooking and likes to create his own recipes. I asked if we could share one of his favorite creations? He said, “Sure, that would be awesome.” He calls this concoction, Cheesy Chicken Southwestern Fiesta. It is amazing what can happen with a combination of chicken, some veggies and cheese. And depending on how you make it, he suggests eating it as a dip for an appetizer or as a soup for lunch.
Cheesy Chicken Southwestern Fiesta
Cheesy Chicken Southwestern Fiesta
– 8 oz of frozen pre-cut pieces of chicken
– 1 Tbs. Olive Oil
– Chili Powder or Season Salt / Pepper to taste
– 8oz. of frozen red and green sliced bellpeppers / sliced onions combo
– 8oz. of frozen black beans/corn combo
– 1 medium Zucchini squash sliced in 1/3 inch slices or to your liking
– 1 medium yellow squash sliced in 1/3 inch slices or to your liking
– 1/3 block of Velveeta cheese or jar of Tostito cheese dip
* Add the chicken with the pepper / onion combo to a wok or a large pan. Pour in the olive oil and begin cooking on medium heat. The chicken can be purchased already precut; but you can also slice a fresh chicken breast. The precut bag of chicken are often sold for making fajitas or for soups.
Chicken and grilled peppers / onions
* Allow chicken and veggies to cook for a few minutes before adding one medium zucchini squash and one medium yellow squash, each sliced into bite size pieces.
* When the zucchini begins to soften, add in the black bean/corn combo. If the frozen combo is not available in your local grocery store, you can also add a small bag of frozen corn and a can of drained black beans.
* Add your favorite seasoning – chili powder or seasoning salt/pepper.
* Cooked the veggies to the consistency that you like. I like my veggies slightly al dente (A little crunch, a little soft).
* Finally, add in the cheese. You can add 1/3 block of Velveeta cheese or a jar of Tostito cheese dip. Allow the cheese to melt into the mixture.
* If eating as a soup, you can add more cheese.
* If you are eating it as a dip, you may want to add less cheese, but that is up to you.
* Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.
So, how would you eat it? As a soup? As a dip? Or both? Let us know how you like it or if you would add in different veggies.
I know you have been seeing everything from hearts to stuffed teddy bears to chocolates for Valentine’s Day. I am wishing everyone a Happy Lovers’ Day, Happy Love Yourself Day, A Happy Be Good To Me Day, a Happy Be the Best You Day! I want to see a smile on your face. Another person doesn’t define who you are, so don’t get caught up in why you don’t have anyone and you are feeling alone. You can’t get caught up in that because you are already pretty terrific because God made only one you and that’s even if you are an identical twin.
I thank God for my husband; but you know what? I never thought I would be married. I never dated because I grew up in a strict household and I never thought that I was that attractive. For me, being married is totally God’s plan.
I wanted to share a Valentine recipe that my husband and I have made. It is delicious and easy. The scrumptious Chocolate Nut clusters are fun to make and you can store them in the fridge in a covered container. Lets get to the recipe.
Milk Chocolate Nut Clusters
Delicious Nut Clusters
Ingredients 24 oz. bag of Nestle milk chocolate morsels or dark chocolate morsels
Unsalted peanuts, cashews, pecans or walnuts
Peppermint Oil (Optional) Utensils Glass bowl
Saucepan
Tablespoon Wax paper for pan
Directions First, place all ingredients on countertop so that everything at is close at hand.
Put a 1 1/2 inches of water in a sauce pan on the oven burner and bring the water come to a boil.
Melting the Chocolate
Place a glass bowl on top of the saucepan, like a double boiler. Add the chocolate morsels, (I used milk chocolate morsels in this recipe) and begin to stir until it is smooth and silky. You can also add in a few drops of peppermint oil if you enjoy the flavor. If not, can definitely leave it out.
When the chocolate is fully melted and stirs easily, take the bowl out of the saucepan and place on a towel.
Adding in the Nut Clusters
Add in the desired number of peanuts or other nuts and continue to stir. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the chocolate and nuts onto a 9″ x 12″ pan that has been lined with wax paper (parchment paper). Depending on how large you make your clusters, you may need more than one pan.
Place the pan in the refrigerator until the clusters are firm. After they are firm, place the clusters in a secure bowl with cover for storage. Enjoy!
On Valentines Day, enjoy yourself whether you are with the love of your life, with friends celebrating, or a night in watching a great movie reading that favorite book. Be good to yourself and get a chocolate nut cluster with some tea!
Learn More About JT Bubbling with Elegance and Grace is a place for life long learners. The Bubbling With Elegance And Grace team was created 14 years ago. A passion for fashion sparked a lifestyle blog for our Elegant Community to enjoy. We are thankful and in gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for those who have been with us from the beginning and those who have just started riding with us on this lovely journey.
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