My Husband's Top 5 Dinner Choices, Part 1

Being that I was married less than 2 years ago, I still consider myself to be in the "experimental" phase of cooking. I didn't do much cooking at all until we got our own place and even then I was hesitant. Recently, I've made it a point to try new recipes at least a few times a month. 

I usually gauge my success for a meal based on my husband's first bite. It's the way his eyes open wide as soon as his taste buds send the message to his brain that it is pure deliciousness-or lack there of. This Creamy Beef Lasagna is a keeper and a constant go-to in our dinner repertoire!  It's all but painful not to lick the bowls clean of both the cheese mixture and sauce (Go ahead! Personally I like to try both together-IRRESISTIBLE!) Of course, I'm going to give you the recipe because how mean would it be to just talk about it and provide a picture? I didn't promise it is healthy. However, I added notes next to items that can be altered to make it more health conscious. Please know, however, that I have not used any of them except for the swap between ground beef and ground turkey.

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Creamy Beef Lasagna (Recipe Courtesy of Taste of Home's Pasta Cookbook)

1.5 lbs of ground beef (Want less fat? I've substituted ground turkey before and you can't taste a difference.)
2 cans (15 oz.) each tomato sauce
1/4 c. chopped onions
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened (Want to save calories? Try Neufachatel cheese.)
1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream (Want to save even more calories? Use low-fat or FF sour cream.)
1/4 c. milk (I've used both 1% and 2%. No taste difference.)
18 lasagna noodles (cooked and drained)
1 c. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in tomato sauce, onion, sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic salt. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, and milk until smooth.

In a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish, layer a fourth of the meat sauce, six noodles, and a third of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

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Sure, it makes a lot for 2 people but we end up getting 2 dinners and 2 lunches out of it. :) Not a budget buster at all! It would be great if we had another couple, or two, or 3-heck make it 4 over for dinner. However, I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I can cook at least semi-good enough to invite people over to eat.

The "Face" Behind the "Name".

You're probably asking yourself, "What is there to explain?" It's obvious, right? I'm a crafter and I live in the suburbs. You're right but I'm also so much more than that.

Those that know me, whether it be for 20 something years or 2 weeks, may say I'm boring. I've learned something, though, boring doesn't mean I'm not interesting.  No, I don't like to go to the bars. Yes, I'd rather go out to dinner and to see a movie or even stay home. No, my life's ambition isn't to be CEO of a company or to receive the teacher of the year award. Yes, I'd rather stay home with my children and raise them. No, I don't like to talk about investments, the stock market or politics. Yes, I'd rather talk about Disney World (my happy place), my favorite TV shows & movies, or places I want to go on vacation to or have been. Like many of you, I'm a wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, babysitter, friend and one day, I'll be a mom-and that's good enough for me.


I've been into crafts ever since I was little. I was the kid who chose to stay inside at summer camp and make a frame out of popsicle sticks instead of playing dodgeball in the blazing summer sun. Scrapbooking and sewing are my two favorite things to do. Sewing has recently become an everyday hobby of mine and I've quickly become attached to my machine. I dabbled  my "foot" in it over and over again for many years but it just never caught on with me. Thanks to a basic sewing class (thanks to my neighbor who invited me to go along with her) and my new sewing machine (thanks to my mom that purchased it for me), I can now say that I love to sew! Plus, did you ever go to a craft store and see all of that amazing wonderfulness that is fabric? I could get "lost" for hours just choosing coordinating fabrics for my latest project!

Scrapbooking has been something I have been "in to" for over 10 years. I owe my increased interest and ability to be more creative as of late to my mother and father in law who gave me the Cricut for Christmas last year. That little gadget opened my eyes to a whole new world of creativity in scrapbooking. It's so much more than pasting pictures down onto pretty paper. It's expressing how you felt at those moments in those pictures through the use and with the help of all those materials and tools. I love to relive those memories every time I create a scrapbook page.

So, for now, I'll leave you with this because I've never been very good at conclusions and I like to think that there is a song lyric to define every moment of my life: "I love this crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful, beautiful life."-Darryl Worley