The Day After Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th. Supposedly it's a day of bad luck and doom. I'm not one to be superstitious or anything, but I did make sure to not do anything too dangerous. Although, come to think of it, I did swallow way more water than usual while swimming... maybe it is a bad luck day.... 

We had a FANTASTIC day after Friday the 13th though. Mostly because neither of us had to work so we got to spend the whole day together.

Our day started out at 5:30 in the AM. I am not kidding. It was one of the earliest Saturdays I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing <- insert sarcastic tone here. But in all reality it was a great day. We got up early to get Andrew to his race. He ran the Cedar Half again this year!

He looks way too chipper for that early in the morning. I think he was a little bit nervous.... Just guessing by the looks of his crazy eyes....

He did so fantastic! He came in 14th overall... out of close to 700!!!!!! Holy Smokes! He beat his time from last year by 18 minutes! And he came in fourth in his age division.

Unfortunately for him he started feeling sick on Thursday evening, and this race just made that a million times worse. He couldn't even wake up to eat the sandwich I made him... the dogs were all over that one though. 

Speaking of dogs... the little sneaks. This is where I found Katie after I got out of the shower this morning. Curled up and all tucked in in MY spot! And she isn't even supposed to be on the bed. What a turd. A cute turd, but a turd nonetheless. 

 I decided that Andrew was going to need a good dinner tonight after his race and so, sticking with my theme lately, I give you...

Crock Pot Lasagna

Did you know you can make lasagna in the crock pot? Well you can. It tastes exactly the same. 

You don't even have to cook the noodles first, and they can be regular old lasagna noodles rather than the no cook kind. Crazy huh?

  

If you have a lasagna recipe you like then skip down to the bottom. If not, here is a very simple recipe and you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry.

Start off by browning the meat. I just use ground beef because Andrew doesn't like sausage, but a mixture of the two is always fantastic. 

After that throw in your onion and garlic. I also like bell peppers I just didn't have any on hand. 

Mix it all up and let everything cook for a few minutes. 

Now for the sauce. I like a very simple sauce, so this might be the easiest recipe for lasagna you've ever seen.

These are the three things I put in my sauce. A jar of stewed tomatoes (freshly canned by myself and my mother just last week), a can of tomato paste and tomato sauce. And that's it! So throw all that in like so.

Add in any seasonings you like. Salt and pepper are a must for me, along with thyme, oregano, and parsley. 

Mix it all up and let it simmer for a little bit. Remember you don't want all the liquid to be gone because that is what's going to cook your noodles. Most, if not all, the liquid will be gone when this is done and the noodles are soft. 

Now gather the rest of everything else and the fun part begins. You'll need your crock pot, sprayed with cooking spray, lasagna noodles, 2-3 cups of shredded cheese, and your choice of either cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. 

Now you layer just like you would in a pan for the oven. A little sauce on bottom. 

Followed by the noodles. They aren't going to fit perfectly. Something about straight noodles in a round bottom pan.... crazy I know. Anywho, just break them up and make it work as best as possible.

Next comes some cottage cheese/ricotta cheese. I would recommend getting the bigger tub of which ever you choose. I went with the smaller tub and didn't feel like I had enough.

Then sprinkle some cheese. I used cheddar and mozzarella.

 

Then keep going. More sauce, noodles, cheese, cheese, etc....

 I always leave a little extra cheese and sauce for the very top. 

Now throw that baby in the crock pot on low for 5 or 6 hours and your done!

Just look at that hot, bubbly mess of goodness. Yum!

We topped off our Saturday night by studying. This was probably my least favorite part of the day... but really, who likes to study on a Saturday? That's what I thought. It was still good though. It was the first Saturday we've had together in a while and I enjoyed it. 

Happy cooking!

Crock Pot Lasagna

Ingredients

Ground Beef

Onion

Garlic

24oz can Stewed Tomatos

15oz can Tomato Sauce

6oz can Tomato Paste

Lasagna Noodles

Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese

2-3 cups Shredded Cheese

Seasonings to taste

Brown Beef. Add diced onion and garlic and let cook until soft. Add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste, along with seasonings. Mix together and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. In a sprayed slow cooker layer beef mixture, noodles, cottage/ricotta cheese, and shredded cheese. Continue until all the beef mixture is gone. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook on low for 5-7 hours.