Big Update!

It's been quite some time since my last blog post, over a year actually, and I apologize. First let me say HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

 As you can see above I'm pregnant, well WAS pregnant. I gave birth to my son last February. When I first found out I was pregnant in early August the plan was to take a little break from blogging to enjoy my pregnancy, but as time went on my pregnancy became more and more difficult. I spent a lot of time on bed rest and had absolutely no energy to do anything.

I suffered with hyperemesis gravidarum all through my pregnancy, was a frequent in the ER, and ended up developing preeclampsia which led me to welcoming my son two weeks early. Very scary!

Meet my son Tristan born February 26, 2014 at 1:21 am. He was 6 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches long. 

After my son was born it was a really big learning curve adjusting to live with a newborn and a 3 year old, believe me there were plenty of days and nights that ended in tears. I really thought breastfeeding the second time around would be a lot easier because I knew what to expect, but I forgot to factor in that I'd have a demanding 3 year old to answer to also. 

Now that 8 months have passed I finally feel like things are starting to get back to normal again, which means I can find time to blog again. 

-Megan

Photo Credit: All images taken by me

Summer is coming to an end...and I'm kind of sad

I haven't updated my blog in a few days because I have to admit I've been a little bummed, the past week hasn't been great, it's been really hot here and I found out my boyfriend got laid off from work. Not good when he's the source of our income and we were trying to move out, so I've been kind of sad I talk about being affected by the economy a lot in my blog posts but I really wasn't expecting this. My parents also got some other job related news that wasn't good so it's just been a sucky week lately.

And now summer is coming to an end, boo. I will admit I'm tired of triple digit days and worrying if the electric company is going to turn our a/c off due to flex alerts and chances of power outages, however; even though it hasn't been very kind to me I really kind of enjoyed summer. No school for me so I can dedicate all my attention to my little princess, BBQ food, swimming, beaches, fireworks, this year the summer Olympics, and quality time spent with my family.

My daughter loves to be outside in the picture above she's playing with the water table we bought her, I swear she could spend hours out there. But we love to swim, I really think she is going to be an Olympic swimmer one day, she can't wait to get into the pool sometimes. I'm going to miss the summer nights we would spend outside just watching the sunset and enjoying the breeze.

The afternoons we spent swimming (like today), and watching her and her cousin run through the sprinklers at night, it's just kind of sad. When hard times hit you it's these special moments that really help you through them, just thinking about all the fun we had together this summer makes me smile, and lets me know that even though things seem bad, we still have our family so I know we will be ok. Sometimes when I feel like I'm going to breakdown and cry, I stop myself and remind myself of all the good memories we've made this summer it helps me make it through another day. So good bye summer I'm really going to miss you. See you in about 10 months. Fall here we come, and please be kind to me.

Super Easy (And quick) Kid Friendly Recipe: One Pan Lasagna

As a mother I know sometimes it can be difficult to keep the house clean, and if you're working, work an 8 hour shift, take care of the kids and still get dinner on the table all in one day. It doesn't help when you have a picky eater and don't you enjoy cooking. And then cleaning up a big mess after... NOT FUN.

Growing up my mother hated cooking, so I learned how to cook by myself at a young age. Since I have years of experience in the kitchen I've learned how to take recipes like this one that I found online, and make them simple so anyone can make them without fail.

 The great thing about this lasagna recipe is that if you have picky eaters or don't have all the ingredients you can make easy substitutions and it will still taste delicious. You can also add more or subtract any of the ingredients in this to your family's liking. For example, my daughter likes hers with lots of sauce so we put a little more in, but if your family isn't big on sauce but likes a lot of cheese you can add more cheese.

One Pan Lasagna

Serves: 6  Prep Time: About 10 minutes Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian sausage (You can use turkey sausage if you prefer or don't have Italian sausage)
Half a box of lasagna ribbon noodles, broken into thirds (I like to use whole wheat to make it healthier but you can use any kind you like)
2 Jars of Marinara Sauce (If you don't like it real saucy then just use 1 jar)
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of ricotta cheese (you can use more or less depending on your tastes)
1 cup of mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon of fresh oregano finely chopped (if you don't have fresh oregano dried works just as good)
1/2 teaspoon fresh basil finely chopped (again dried basil works just as good)

You can add any other ingredients your family likes if you wish like mushrooms, onions, garlic, etc.

Directions:

1.) Begin by dividing all the cheeses except the ricotta into three equal portions (don't worry if it's not exact it will still come out fine) then set aside.
2.) Using a large non-stick skillet* with cooking spray or 1 tablespoon of oil (I like extra virgin olive oil) remove the sausage from the casings into the pan and cook on medium/high heat for about 5 minutes or until sausage is brown. While the sausage is cooking gather the rest of the ingredients.
2.) Once the sausage is finished cooking remove it from the pan and put it aside for later, then place the skillet back on medium/high heat. Add half the jar of pasta sauce to coat the bottom of the pan.
3.) Now we begin layering if you haven't already done this, begin breaking the lasagna noodles into thirds and place them in the pan anyway you like, the add some a sprinkle of sausage, and the first portion of cheese. Now start adding 4-6 small dollops of ricotta cheese over the top with a small spoon. Do this 2 more times while adding the rest of the sauce each time you start a new layer so there are a total of 3 layers.
4.) Once you've added all the ingredients add 1 cup of water to the top making sure everything is covered, if you need to press ingredients down with a spoon gently. Cover and let it simmer on medium heat for 25-30 minutes.
5.) Check the pasta to make sure it's done but pressing down on it with a fork, if the pasta still feels firm let it cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6.) Once the noodles are cooked and the cheese is bubbling, now add the oregano and basil and remove from heat. Let it sit for 5 minutes too cool before serving. Sprinkle additional cheese over the top when serving if desired.

*If you don't have a non-stick skillet make sure you use plenty of cooking spray or enough oil so the noodles don't stick your pan and create a mess to clean, also make sure if you're not using a non-stick skillet that after you cook the sausage and before your coat the pan with sauce, your re-spray or oil the pan.

This recipe also tastes great the next day, so if you make too much you can save the leftovers and eat them for lunch or again for dinner.