Italian Cooking

There are a few things I can always count on my kids to eat when it is put in front of them.  They are Mexican Food, Italian food, pizza and hamburgers.

So I decided to do an Italian dish that was vegetarian.  The kids were skeptical when they saw me cutting all the veggies up, but as the smells permeated the house they knew they could trust my culinary skills.

Here is the recipe...

Vegetable Lasagna

olive oil for greasing pan, lasagna noodles (cooked or the no cooking ones and 1/3 c Parmesan cheese)

roasted vegetables

2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 red bell peppers, cut into chunks
1 large red onion
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

tomato sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
large onion, chopped
1/2 leek, thinkly sliced
1 medium carrot, grated
1 celery stalk, thinkly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 cans (14oz) chopped tomatoes
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper

cheese sauce

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c greated gruyere cheese
pinch nutmeg
1/4 c mascarpone cheese
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

1)Preheat oven to 400*F.  Put the roasting veggies in pan and mix together with olive oil, salt/pepper
2) cover with foil and roast for 30 minutes and then uncover and cook for 20.  remove from oven and cool slightly
3) for tomato sauce- head oil in pan and saute the onion, leek, carrots and celery until soft. add garlic and cook for about a minute.  add the canned tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, salt and pepper, let simmer for 30 minutes.  let mixture cool and blend to a puree using a hand blender or food processor (I used my blender)
4) cheese sauce-melt butter and stir in flour, whisk in milk a little at a time.  when it thickens remove from heat and add in the cheeses, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  mix until well blended and the cheese is melted.
5) layer lasagna pan that has been oiled for nonsticking.  start with cheese, then layer of noodles, then half the veggies then half the veggie sauce and then cheese sauce.  repeat, noodles, veggies then tomato sauce.  Then noodles.  Cover top with rest of cheese sauce and parmesan cheese.  Cook for 35-40 minutes at 400*F (I did mine at 375*F.)  I also covered mine with foil except for the last 15 minutes.

Super Yummy and full of veggies!!

Arrow of Light

 Adam earned his Arrow of Light at the last pack meeting we had.  He finished all his requirements for it before his 11th birthday, but the pack meeting wasn't until tonight.  They had a great program that included a bridging over to 11 year old scouts.  We are so proud of him for working hard to finish before the deadline and to earn the highest award in cub scouts.  It's great he got the Arrow of Light, now on to boy scouts and an Eagle Award! (photos were done by Lily)

New School Year!

 The new school year is upon us.  It's a little earlier than what we are used to, but we are managing it ok. Running to 3 schools at 3 different times has been a tad-bit rough.  Hopefully things will go smoother as the weeks go by.

 Lily is a 3rd grader and didn't want me to take any pictures at school.  I had to beg her for each one.  The kids got to walk on the red carpet and have the cheerleaders from the high school cheer them on as they entered the school.  They were even greeted by the school mascot. This is a big year for Lily because it is the first time that she will be at school without one of her brothers there.

 Adam is a 6th grader now and he chose to go to a different school than Noah for middle school.  It makes me a bit sad because they won't go to the same school for 3 more years, but academically we felt it was a better choice for him.  It's a uniform school.  He wasn't excited about that, but has accepted it.  This is also his first year of going to school without a sibling around. 

 Noah is in 8th grade and is excited to be the big man on campus.  He gets to go to a brand new school.  He is so happy about his friends, his classes and the new school.  Hopefully the excitement will last all the way through June.

 We can't forget about Damon.  It's his first year of MBA school.  I took this picture the first day of school for him (which was back in July).  He's enjoying it and learning to balance his time between school, work, kids, exercise and his wife.  Hopefully he will continue to find balance and continue to enjoy all that he is learning.

 As for me... I was hired by the school district to be a substitute teacher and I will continue to do the things I need to do in order to renew my teaching license. 

Our Family Theme for this year is Family Unity.  It's kind of funny that I picked that theme for the year because we seem to be going in all different directions now.  I guess it's important now more than ever to be united as a family.  I'll have to step it up a notch.

Lily's Baptism

 Lily was able to be baptized today as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We are so happy for her and for her decision to be baptized.  It was a wonderful event.  She just glowed all day afterwards.  We are so grateful for the friends and family who came and participated in our activities today.  We feel very loved and blessed. 

  Lily and her friend Myra.  They have known each other since they were 2.  They used to live near us in San Diego and now they live near us here.  It was great to have them there. 

 Aimee and I decorated the house and planned the menu for the luncheon after the baptism.  It was a wonderful gathering. 

 Here are some pictures of Lily that Damon and I took a few days before she was baptized.  They turned out great.

Adam is 11!

 Can't believe Adam has turned 11. We can't believe he is off to middle school either.  Seems like he was that sweet little 3 year old who used to drive me absolutely crazy with his zest for life.  We are so glad he is part of our family and can't wait to see what the next 11 years has in store for him and us!

Adam got a few extra days of celebrating.  I can't seem to understand how my kids manage to drag out there birthdays for days on end.  His nana and papa were here on Sunday and were leaving before his birthday so he wanted to have his birthday dinner with them.  This worked since on his birthday Damon was going to be at school all night.  Adam had his favorite dinner with his favorite family :)

 Tuesday, his actually birthday, we had a birthday breakfast!  He had pancakes and got to open his presents with his dad around.  Tuesday afternoon he got to go water skiing with some of his friends.  He did a great job doing that and told his dad that we needed to buy a boat.

Wednesday I actually threw him a birthday party.  He hasn't had a friend party since he was 5 and I felt like he needed one.  Well, he had a luau when he was eight, but it was more family than friends.  So we had 6 10-11 year old boys over here.  They had pizza, played games, had water balloon fights, played on the wii and managed to squeeze in a nerf gun war and minute to win it games.  Fun was had by all!

 Happy Birthday Mookie!!

A Special Date

 For Lily's birthday we went to Los Angeles with her friend, Lucy, to visit the American Girl Doll store.  It was quite the affair.  We had lunch at the cafe, shopped and enjoyed spending time together.  It was a great day!  The girls were so preoccupied with their spoils they didn't realize how long we were in the car together!

The Dolls got to get their hair done at the salon!

 We met Lucy and her mom Debbi way back when the girls were 3 and 4 taking ballet lessons together.  It's been so fun to stay friends over the years!

Leaving San Diego is never easy, but Lily had Emma to entertain her and keep her company!