Lazy Lou Lasagna

Lately, I've been trying to find super easy & super fast dishes. But the cheater kind of dishes...you know: any dish that looks like you spent all day, but it really didn't take any time &/or very little effort. In a total "homefaker" sort of way.

My family enjoys pasta night. One of the few dinners that EVERYONE actually enjoys.
In the last few months, we've picked up also serving a St. Louis delicacy: toasted ravioli.

Now we have had toasted ravioli before, but the 3 years we lived in StL, we learned how passionate the city & surrounding areas are about things like gooey butter cake & toasted ravioli.

Most of us enjoy the toasted ravioli. And we get a 4-cheese kind. Usually, we don't have any left over.

Well, in the midst of looking for "easy recipes", I came across a fake-out lasagna recipe. (recipe HERE) However, as a family who has to do what we can, purchasing & using a lot of organic just didn't work for us. And...I didn't want to fix up the ravioli, either. I needed something even easier...

So, after I studied the above recipe, I decided to pair down what could be done to achieve something close to the same thing. And I knew that the toasted ravioli went over pretty well...so...

Well...I cheated in a lot of ways!

But, here's what I did:

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LAZY LOU LASAGNA

Ingredients:

~ 1 lb. ground beef
~ 1/8 C minced onion
~ 48 oz (or 2 24 oz) jar(s) red sauce (I used 2 jars Prego)
~ 40 oz (2 20 oz. boxes) toasted ravioli
~ 1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
~ 1 C shredded Italian-blend cheese
~ 1/4 C grated parmesan cheese, divided


Directions:

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. brown the meat & add the minced onion during browning; drain & rinse

3. while beef is browning, warm the red sauce on lo

4. once meat is rinsed, add to the red sauce, stir & simmer

5. spray a 9x13" dish or pan with cooking spray

6. spread a thin layer of the meat sauce covering the bottom of the dish/pan

7. place a single layer of the toasted ravioli, side-by-side, on top of the sauce layer

9. add a thin layer of both, mozzarella & Italian-blend cheeses, on top of the ravioli

10. Repeat steps 6-9 until you reach the top of the baking dish/pan (mine had 3 layers)

11. Add one more layer of sauce on top

12. sprinkle with half of the grated parmesan cheese

13. cover the dish with foil (use either non-stick or spray the foil with cooking spray)

14. place in the oven for about 45 minutes

15. remove the foil & place back in the oven for another 15 minutes (I placed on broil for about 5 minutes, but wished I'd done the extra 15...but we were in a hurry)

16. pull out the lasagna, sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan cheese & allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes

17. Serve it up

Yield: 6-8 servings

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Take note that this dish is HEAVY! It's probably not good for you, either. But it turned out pretty darn good! And for my kiddos, who hate to try new things & have been dreading this dish, they actually were OK with this one! As a matter of fact, my youngest gave it a 7.8 out of 10! That's a big deal, yo.

My hubby was OK with it, too. He thought maybe the non-toasted version of ravioli might be better, but it was worth the try!

I was bracing myself for it being a "You'll eat it & you'll like it!" kind of meal. But I didn't have to force anyone! Just coaxing them to try it first was the only big step my kids needed!

Plus, my StL friends might find this one interesting with a take on toasted ravioli! And I cannot believe how easy it really was!

Hope you like it, too!

Also, for a vegetarian version, you can leave out the meat, just use the cheese ravioli, and make sure to use a heavy-on-veggie sauce (like one with mushrooms).

ENJOY!

Fake-Out S'Mores

Hey, everyone! Happy National S'mores Day! *glitter confetti cannon*

Have you had the chance to have some s'mores yet this year? Many look at them as a summer staple to go with camping & such. Since there is toasty fire involved & marshmallows make me think of hot chocolate, I like to think of them as more of a fall-season staple. Either way, they are delicious anytime you can work eating them!

If you remember, I made summer camping trail mix that is based on s'mores. (link to the recipe HERE) But I know it's not right in line with a true s'more.

Not too long ago, my family went on vacation to Colorado. We stayed at the Keystone Resort. We found out that every Wednesday night, they offer a free-to-all campfire social. The campfire social does have food available for purchase...but...they have FREE offerings of s'mores! Being on a budget, we just took in the s'mores. But there's were...uh...er...um..."different".

They used a cheater way of part of it. You could still roast your own marshmallows, but they appeared to have a Nature Valley sponsorship happening. So it wasn't really graham crackers & chocolate squares...it was more like granola thins with a chocolate-coated layer of chocolate.

Don't get me wrong, still pretty good. And my daughter was totally taken by these little snack squares. And while the boys were off doing their own camping thing, my daughter & I decided to fake some s'mores one night. We used the Yahoo! Shine version (you know...the one that made folks grumpy - link HERE) to inspire & make some of our own munchies at home.

Here's what I did:

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FAKE-OUT S'MORES

Ingredients:

~ 1 box Nature Valley Granola Thins (we used the dark chocolate variety this time)
~ 1 pk Jet-Puffed StackerMallows

Directions:

* Place oven rack as far to the top as possible & turn the oven onto broil (I set mine on HIGH)

* Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or lay down some parchment paper

* Open up individual granola thins & place on the cookie sheet with chocolate side up

* Place one stackermallow on top of each chocolate granola thin

* Place the cookie sheet onto the top rack in the oven

* DO NOT WALK AWAY! Watch for the browning of the marshmallow - I left mine in for maybe 2 minutes!

* Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven once the marshmallow has the perfect golden-to-brown color for you

* Either place a separate granola thin on top of each marshmallow OR stack up a marshmallow layer on top of another marshmallow layer for a thicker s'more

* Squish together & consume

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Does this totally make up for a good campfire s'more? No. But they were still pretty tasty!

Don't get me wrong...I'd rather have the graham crackers, chocolate squares & fire-toasted marshmallow...but sometimes you just gotta make something else work.

So here is just another way to celebrate National S'mores Day.

ENJOY!

Blue-Faced Arnold Palmer

Through these last couple of months, I have been taking part in a really fun photography-type scavenger hunt contest. There were several categories to enter pictures into, and there were 100 pictures on the list. And there was no way I'd be getting some of the topic requests on the list, but it made me do some searching...and take some additional creative moves.

One of the categories on the list was "Colors"; one of the photo topics was "a blue mixed drink". I really thought I'd be in the vicinity at some point of SOMEONE with a blue mixed drink! That was not to be. But I got thinking. Yes...this can be scary sometimes, but I came up with a non-alcoholic mixed drink that is blue in color!

OK...stay with me:
On the last day of submissions for the contest, I was trying to get as many photos in as I could. I was determined to get that mixed blue drink! My hubby & I are wine drinkers, so blue liquor was nothing we had on hand. But I do have kids...and I have so many packets of Kool-Aid, it's ridiculous.

I used to make cupcakes with Kool-Aid mix that was raspberry lemonade flavored. Boy, was it ever tart!!! I didn't have any of that on hand, but I did have blue Kool-Aid, lemonade...and I needed to make a jug of tea.

I made a version of an Arnold Palmer (you know...lemonade & iced tea) that would be perfect for this photo challenge as well as for the future...

Here's what I did:

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BLUE-FACED ARNOLD PALMER

Ingredients:

~ 1 envelope Kool-Aid, lemonade flavor
~ 1 envelope Kool-Aid, berry mix flavor: MUST BE BLUE (I used Berry Blue flavor)
          * makes 1 gallon

          OR

~ 1 or 2 envelope(s) Kool-Aid, raspberry blue flavor (if available)
          *1 envelope for 2 qt or 2 envelopes for 1 gallon

~ brewed unsweet, slightly sweet or sweet tea, iced
~ crushed ice


Directions:

* Mix the Kool-Aid to package directions, chill in the refrigerator (I used the 1st option mix)

* Brew tea & add the selected amount of sweetness, if any; chill in the refrigerator

* In a glass, add crushed ice, then begin to add 1 part tea & 1 part blue Kool-Aid (you may do 2 parts 1 drink to 1 parts the other drink, if preferred)

* Marvel at how pretty & adorable this drink is & consume


NOTE: 
- If the appearance of layers is good! It gives the drink a really awesome appearance. It may layer better if you pour the tea first. (so it looks more like the right side of the above picture)
- If you put this in a taller glass, use a really fun straw! Add an umbrella, too.
- Before filling the glass, wet the rim & dip the rim in sugar for presentation
- Yes, you can spike this if you'd like, but this way is definitely family friendly...and Arnold Palmer does order his nonalcoholic...with a wink.

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This drink is so fun & so yummy!! Your kiddos will love it, too!

And be sure to go visit my friend, David, at Hipstabear Photography (website HERE) and on his Facebook page (HERE). He's the one who actually inspired me to make this drink...all for a photo challenge! And his photos are really spectacular, too!!

ENJOY!