Our Valentines Day plus a couple of recipes thrown in

Just in case anyone forgot, Valentines Day was yesterday! I have been lucky enough to have the most amazing valentine since 2002; which makes it our 10th Valentines Day together! WOW!
We haven't been in Huntsville for Vday in a long time, but yesterday was a lot of fun. Justin told me not to make lunch plans, and I went over to house to find this.....



He had his dining room table all set with a sushi lunch for us! It was awesome! We love love love sushi, and he got my 2 favorite kinds :)




He also got me this beautiful red rose! We finished up the day by going to our Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class to learn about our credit! It was a good day! :)

My mom got me this amazing cup cake stand! Isn't it the cutest?! It is going to look so great in my future bakery!


We also had GiGis cupcakes!!!! They are addicting, but so incredibly rich. I can usually only eat a couple of bites at a time! I love them though!



And now on to the recipes....


Weight Watcher's Crock Pot Lasagna

6 servings; 6 points for each serving. Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 360 mins

• 1lb uncooked lean ground beef (you could use chicken or turkey also)
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 med. garlic clove minced
• 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
• lasanga noodles uncooked
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Heat large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add beef, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Let cook about 5-7 min or until no longer pink; stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes. Simmer 5 min to allow flavors to blend.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Here is what my mixture looked like while it was simmering

3. Spoon 1/3 of the beef mixture into a 5 qt crock pot. Arrange a layer of lasanga noodles over the mixture, top with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.

4. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste.

5. Combine remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese and sprinkle over beef mixutre. Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 mintues.

These are the spices that we had on hand that I used.

I didn't get a picture of the finished product, but it was very tasty! I suggest you try it for sure!!!

Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1 lb mushrooms quartered ( I didn't have any on hand)
• 1 box of Long Grain & Wild Rice prepared by box directions
• 2 cooked chicken breasts cubed
• 1 cup broccoli florets (I used frozen broccoli)
• can of Cream of Chicken Soup
• can of Cream of Celery Soup
• 1/4 cup light mayo
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. prepare rice per instructions. in a heated pan add 1/2 tbsp olive oil and cook mushrooms and onion until golden brown and remove from pan.

2. Steam/cook broccoli per directions. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Cook in baking dish uncovered for 30 minutes and let sit a couple minutes before serving because it will be very hot! Enjoy!

this is what my casserole looked like before baking...







And this is what it looked like after baking!!!