Mushroom Lasagna

If you like mushrooms, you're gonna love this recipe. It's so full of flavors, it practically explodes in your mouth!! I'm putting together my grocery list and I'm hoping I can budget enough to get all the ingredients I need to make it. I may very well start to cry if I can't!!

MUSHROOM LASAGNA

SAUCE

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups warm whole milk
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 8 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra, as needed
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more, as needed

FILLING

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra, as needed
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds assorted mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake and button, quartered
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 9 spinach-flavored or plain lasagna noodles
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan
• Olive oil, for drizzling

COOKING DIRECTIONS

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Set aside.

Sauce: In a 2-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the flour and whisk until smooth.
Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.
Simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 8 minutes (do not allow the mixture to boil).
Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheeses and nutmeg.
Stir until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is smooth.
Add the prosciutto, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper.
Filling: In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook, stirring frequently until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
Add the mushrooms, rosemary and thyme and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden and the liquid has evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Add the noodles and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
To assemble the lasagna: Ladle 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lay 3 pasta noodles on top.
Spoon 1/2 of the mushroom mixture on top of the pasta.
Ladle 1 cup of the sauce over the mushroom mixture and lay 3 more noodles on top.
Repeat the layers using the remaining mushroom mixture, 1 cup of sauce and the remaining 3 noodles. Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup smoked mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling about 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
Cut the lasagna into wedges and serve.

 

Why Having Toddlers is Like Being at a Frat Party

This is borrowed from Suburban Snapshots


10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.

9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.

8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.

7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone's going to start banging on the door.

6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.

5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.

4. There's definitely going to be a fight.

3. You're not sure whether anything you're doing is right, you just hope it won't get you arrested.

2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.

1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed with you got there.


Your additions?

Dad's Day, B-Day, Old Man

Today is more than Father's Day in our house hold. Today is also my beloved daughter's 5th birthday. Five years ago today I was laying in my hospital bed, looking at that tiny baby in total disbelief that she came from me. God blessed us in such a sudden, unexpected way with Theren. I had a very hard time after her delivery, and though my recovery took nearly two months, it allowed me to pretty much do nothing but lay in bed and hold her, look at her, touch her face and kiss her. Our relationship has changed as she has gotten older {and more independent, thinking she's the boss} but she will forever be my baby girl. I started this thing with her a few years ago, when she was learning how to say her name. I say "hey, who's my girl?" and she says "Theren". It's not much but when things are hard and we're fighting, I'll take a minute to say that, and I can see her face lighten. I hope one day she'll understand exactly how much she means to me. She saved me from unknown mistakes in my young adult-hood and for that she is all the more amazing.

Now on to Daddy's Day. I have two men to celebrate today. My dad. The most patient, loving, generous and humble man I know. For all the shitake I pulled on that man, he returned it all with nothing but love. He taught me how to build model airplanes, how movies work, how to change a tire, and more importantly, how to negotiate. He spoiled the crap outta me and I love him so much for it all. He's sacrificed more than I know to make sure I had everything I needed and most of what I wanted. I'm lucky that my kids get to grow up in his house, just as I did. I hope they learn even more from him than I did.
As for Dominick, I know no other man who has grown more than him. Being a father has made him a better man, and I see it every day. I'm blessed that he chose to stick around when we got pregnant with Tay, and I'm even more grateful that he works so hard to make sure that we are never in want or need of anything. He loves his kids more than life itself. He would give anything for any one of them. It breaks his heart having to work every day because he would rather stay home and play with them. I love watching them all wrestle together, hearing their laughter as Dom tickles them.

On a far more random note, we both commented the other day on how odd it is that our 14-day-old baby looks like an 80-year-old man. I thought I'd share this photo of him with you all. It cracks me up....old man.

breastfeeding 'ventures

Well, it's been 12 days since Oz was born and I think I can say with confidence that I am successfully breastfeeding. We take him in for his 2-week check-up on Friday, and I'll learn then if he is gaining sufficient weight. {my daughter had to be supplemented with formula for a week before I lost my supply} So I'm hoping that doesn't happen again. I'm actually really starting to get a hang of this thing, though. I can tell when it's time to feed him by how my tata's feel, but I'm still trying to figure out the art of feeding from under a blanket, for when we're in a public place. Next pay day we're going to be ordering my electric pump 'cuz right now I only have a hand pump. I've started a storage of milk in the freezer, which I'm excited about, and I'm trying like Abe to stay appropriately hydrated and stress-free. {the two things that my doctor says make a huge difference in upkeeping a decent supply}


I'm so very proud of myself for doing this! Not just because it's cheaper and saving our family an awful lot of money, but because I was not able to breastfeed my first two. I feel that it's sort of a right of passage for motherhood, to be able to breastfeed for at least 6 months.

I'm also starting to discover the pro's and con's of BFing. One very HUGE pro is the fact that now, only 12 days post pardum, I fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes for the most part. One of the biggest con's is that no one can help feed. My poor husband feels a little bit useless this time around, not being able to partake in the feeding and bonding. I tell him he can make up for by changing poopy diapers. {which he does voluntarily.} Although it does feel like all I do is feed this baby. It takes about half of an hour for him to have both sides, including burping in between, then the diaper change and some kisses, and by the time it's all done if feels like I only have an hour before I do it all over again....but really I have closer to two. It certainly makes it more challenging when it take 40 minutes just to drive into town for groceries or what-not. But like I said, we're figuring it out. We're gonna be pro's in no time, just you wait and see!!

Things You Never Want to Hear

Here are a few things that no one, no matter where they are in their walk of life, ever wants to hear....

"uh oh" from the bathroom

"oh Mommy, you better come see this!"

"How good is your insurance?"

"Where's the glue?" as your toddler peers out behind a closed bedroom door

"uh....is dinner supposed to smell like this??"

 "did you get the baby?" as you're driving away

"You have my wallet, right?" at the checkout stand of the grocery store