I Tried This

I've had some time on my hands and so decided to try out a few new things.

PLANT NOODLES

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

So far I haven't tried either of these with meatballs and tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese. But it's coming.

MAKING IT EASY

BUTTER ME UP

I had a choice of two butters.

The differences are very slight. The plant butter melted fine on my baked potato and tasted just as delicious as the regular butter.

Coffee Break

CRAFT sort of

Welcoming Spring and it's holidays can be a little difficult when you can't get out to get the craft materials you need and they aren't in your stash.

I'd gotten this plaque from $ Tree before the Pandemic.  Crafting makes me feel better. 

Left - the plaque as I bought it from $ Tree

Right- outlined the eggs with markers. Painted the rabbit, added features and a cowboy hat. Painted the burlap tie yellow and added glitter. Highlighted the greenery. Added a pink jeweled nose. Highlighted the wording, "Happy Easter."

I wanted to add more  because it still looks too plain but this craft fix will have to do for now.

Keeping me company while blogging were these two albums.

That's it***

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients

·         2 (12-ounce) packages frozen butternut or winter squash puree (about 3 cups), thawed

·         2 cups (490 grams) part-skim ricotta cheese cottage cheese

·         3/4 cup (185 grams) reduced-fat 2% milk

·         1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

·         1 (10-ounce or 285-gram) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

·         1 1/2 cups (170 grams) shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese Monterrey jack

·         1/2 cup (55 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

·         9 no-boil lasagna noodles

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

·         Combine squash, 1 cup cottage cheese, milk, sage, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

·         Combine spinach, remaining 1 cup cottage cheese 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterrey jack, and 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese in another medium bowl.

·         Spread 1 1/2 cups squash mixture in bottom of baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles over sauce (noodles will appear small but will increase in size as they cook and absorb liquid). Top with 1 cup spinach mixture. Repeat 2 more times with 1 1/4 cups squash mixture, 3 noodles, and 1 cup spinach mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Monterrey jack and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheeses.

·         Cover loosely with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes or until lasagna is bubbly and cheese browns. Let cool  5 minutes. Cut into 8 portions.

It was DELICIOUS. I will make this recipe again but with a little more salt and pepper.

Here is the nutritional value just in case you're interested.

Nutrition Information

Serves: 8 |  Serving Size: 1 slice (4.5 inch-by-3.25 inch or 228 grams)

Per serving: Calories: 309; Total Fat: 11g; Saturated Fat: 7g; Monounsaturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 38mg; Sodium: 513mg; Carbohydrate: 33g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Sugar: 4g; Protein: 20g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 489mg; Iron: 11%; Vitamin A: 221%; Vitamin C: 21%; Calcium: 47%

END