Make do lasagna

So I was running around quite a bit today. Trying to help my sister with transfering to a new college and the other sister's car broke down. Kind of a hectic day and on top of that I told my mom I would have dinner ready when she got home. We have been eating together, the whole family I mean, a lot lately and it's been nice. It reminds me of being younger when we all still lived here. So she said lasagna or mac and cheese. Well I can't complete with her mac and cheese but I do a decent lasagna. 

I stopped at the grocery store and got what I needed and really just wanted to cook and be done for the night. Things were going great and dinner was right on schedule until I went to cook the pasta and there were mealworms floating in the water with the pasta! We had no more lasagna noodles, so I improvised. 

Make- do Lasagna

1 lb. of penne pasta 

1 lb. ground beef

1 and a half jars favorite sauce

16 oz. ricotta

2 eggs

10 oz. mozzarella

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

garlic salt

Saute ground beef, season with 1/2 tsp garlic salt.

Boil pasta, 10-12 minutes, al dente.

Mix ricotta and eggs. 

Mix meat and sauce.

Drain pasta pour back into pan and mix ricotta mixture.

Layer large casserole dish with half of the meat mixture, all of pasta, the remaining meat mixture. Top with parmesan and mozzarella. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

It was good, like goulash, but not. 

Baby's First Birthday Party

Sistermom wanted to have a small party for the baby's 1st birthday. I love to throw a party and I was home for the week with nothing to do so I offered to help. Kept it simple, cake and ice cream with a few "snacks".

We definitely took some shortcuts but took the long road where it mattered most.

THE MENU

To Drink

beer ~ light and regular

wine ~ white and red

sangria

 fresh brewed ice tea

lemonade

To Snack

Cheese & Cracker Tray

Vegetable Basket

Mexican Dip & Chips

Peanuts

Chips

Bowls of fruit ~ watermelon, cherries, strawberries

To Sweeten

Raspberry Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream

Cone funfetti cupcakes

Homemade strawberry and vanilla ice cream

Recipes

Sangria - I researched so many recipes and still think this one needs work. I let it soak for about 2 hours.

Magnum of red wine- I chose an Australian Shiraz.

1 lemon - sliced

1 lime - sliced

1 orange - sliced

1 apple - cubed

1/2 cup of brandy

2 cups club soda

3/4 cup orange juice - I prefer fresh squeezed.

Mix and let sit in refrigerator for up to 5 hours. Add the club soda just before serving. 

Cheese and Cracker Tray- I choose a good mix of traditional cheeses and crackers, colby jack, munster, cheddar and cheese curds. Then put a brie and champagne cheddar to challenge the palate. 

Vegetable Tray- Green beans (raw don't blanch!), carrots, celery, tomatoes, and various rainbow peppers. Dip - ranch dry mix, sour cream and juice of half a lemon.

Mexican Dip - whipped cream cheese and taco seasoning to taste. Topped with blend of shredded cheese, diced rainbow peppers and tomatoes. 

Tomorrow is the party. I'll do the dessert recipes tomorrow cause this is already getting to long. 

The garden

We used to have a decent size garden when I was growing up, I have fond memories of picking green beans, lettuce, tomatoes and corn. One year my parents wanted broccoli and got brussel sprouts, which no one in my family ate. Seeing the perfect deep red tomato, reaching my hand to grab it only to encounter a sticky spiderweb. The fun of running through the yard with my sisters stopping to grab a pea pod or handful of green beans and continue on with our play. Good fond memories~ there are pictures of us as babies with piles of tomatoes as big as our heads. 

Having a garden is one of the things I am most looking forward to in my new place. I'll have a yard so I could do a real garden if I was ever there. My parents garden now consists of this... thanks to the deer it has become impossible to plant much of anything and keep it from being eaten.

So I left the Steel City and headed to the homeland, Western New York. I am in the middle of moving so half of my stuff is in the old place and new place. Yet I decided to leave, I am off from the restaurant for 3 weeks and I'll finish moving when I get back. I have no food in the house so I needed to pick up some snacks. Mango Ice Tea from Caribou Coffee- is my summer essential. (I forewent the shot of Captain Morgan's since I was driving.) I also picked up some great local berries. Absolutely beautiful and pretty sweet considering we have been short on sun this season. 

Boys and girls

Men and women think so differently... truly amazing. 

Yes this is a blog about food ~ breakfast on the northside, eggs, rye toast, yada, yada. 

Good, cheap eats. 

So I got a text message last night. Since when did it become socially acceptable to text message everything, aka, feelings and breakfast invites- I think I am beginning to hate text messaging. Any message with the word "end" in it, especially from a guy I am currently up and down with sends out a red flag. So I approached the diner this morning with much trepidation. Prepared and able to handle the worst news only to find that it was breakfast with me and HIS boys. In HIS message he was simply trying to be sweet. That's why I like food more than boys most days, or at least I wish that statement was true.

Last Day of Work

So I am officially on summer vacation! 

Woohoo! 

Kids were done Wednesday and we celebrated in full, at Lefty's in the Strip no less. Then I had 2 days of paperwork before I could call it quits but today at 2:30 I left the building and headed to the Southside with another teacher. Fat Heads was are , I got a burger she got chicken fingers and we both got strawberry daiquiris. Their food is so good and I ate everything- including all the homemade fries! It was nice outside so we just kept talking and drinking. THREE daiquiris later it was 5 o'clock and I was done. We were both sick from the heat and alcohol- seriously what were we thinking it was 90 plus and so humid. Oh well I came home took a quick nap and now I am as good as new. 

Fat Heads South Shore Saloon

(412) 431-7433

1805 E Carson St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15203

So why go to Fat Heads. Food is good- sandwiches, burgers, wings. Homemade chips and fries. Great beer list, over 40 creative beers plus a full bar. Outdoor patio is relaxing and comfortable, it's just an easy place to be at. 

Rock for Autism

So a couple of friends attended the event at the Hard Rock Cafe. It's a good thing it was a charitable event cause the service there really does suck. But it was for a good cause - we see children overcoming autism everyday! It was nice to sit outside a people watch in Station Square during dinner and then head in for the concert. The music was decent.

Maddie Georgi- She isn't even 16, so for that she is pretty impressive. Here's her myspace. http://www.myspace.com/maddiegeorgi

Finding a solution to the puzzle of autism and ASD disorders is close to my heart. I am even considering doing my research on it for my PhD. One of my most favorite students in the world has an autism spectrum disorder. He truly is my baby boy and I am so proud of the progress he has made in the last year. 

So support autism research.

Dinner and drinks- Cobb Salad (I love cobb salads, but this one was quite nondescript) and Ketal One and cranberry. 

Birthday

So today i turned 26. woohoo! I have made it to my 27th year of life. My birthday last year was such a disaster that this year i was slightly nervous about the whole affair. When you are a child birthday's are handled for you. You pretty much just have to show up and you get presents, cake, attention, the whole shabang! As i have gotten older, birthdays have lost their sparkle, i never worry about my age but the day itself i dread. There was so much build up when we were little it seems inevitable that as an adult we can't help but be disappointed. 

So this year i felt the need to keep it simple, real simple. Mom and Dad randomly showed up yesterday, i took them antiquing and to the Strip. My mom love's Enrico's biscotti- especially the cranberry pistachio and i am in love with Richard of Cafe Richard's - now Cafe Raymond's. Then E and I met them at Domenico's in Cranberry to watch the Pens. They had this amazing spinach artichoke dip and flat bread. I had a great beer too, Strawberry Blonde something. 

So i woke up and had no plans for the day, except my sister was coming at some point. I headed to the annual Highland Park garage sale bright and early. i started at Tazza D'oro on Highland Ave. with a mocha and hit the sales. My parents decided to join me and we met up with a few of my friends. They are complete lovebirds and expecting their first. I wanted to head to Food Glorious Food on Bryant Street before they sold out. I had this Key Lime Cake, a combination of key lime pie on the bottom and a light as air cake on top. Amazing! Cheddar and broccoli quiche which was good too. So we hit some sales. I found some good deals- I'll attach pics later. This great antique milk jug and some juice glasses which work well for drinking wine on picnics. 

My parents headed back to NY and i stopped at a friends for some grilled pizza and a mimosa. Strange but delectable combination. I have been wanting to grill pizza's and was impressed it was just good food. So I think I am going to try it soon. 

I am home. Waiting for my sister to finish the birthday. My mom got me a cooking class at the New York Wine and Culinary Center for my birthday, we are going to take it together.

More later.