3 Cheese Mostaccioli Bolognese

This has been one of my favorite recipes to make. I do not make a lot of pasta dishes, but this one was a hit with family and friends, plus it makes a ton! It's great for a big get together or if you need leftovers for the week.

3 Cheese Mostaccioli Bolognese:
1 pound ground beef
1 medium zucchini, cut in small pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large jar of traditional Italian sauce (I use the Great Value *Wal-Mart* brand)
1 box of wheat ziti pasta, cooked (GV brand)
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (low fat)
1 cup ricotta cheese (low fat)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (low fat)

First, cook the noodles. While they are boiling, cook the beef and garlic over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini (you can add more garlic/pepper if desired - garlic does go a LONG way) and cook until it's tender (roughly 10 - 15 mins longer). Stir in the sauce.

Once the noodles are finished cooking, mix the noodles, beef mixture, and cheese together. Once it is mixed well, transfer it to a large baking dish (9 x 13 works fine for me). You can also sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top which I do, because I love cheese.

Stick the dish in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Side dish options: garlic bread/rolls, side salad

"I Know I May Be Young, But I've Got Feelings Too."

A very brief recap of some of the craziness the month of August has brought upon us. Work is picking up insainely fast and as a result, this month has FLOWN by.

August 7th was the birthday of my very beautiful husband. We enjoyed a surprise dinner before we went out to a sportsbar - Cabos. Dinner was yummy and Cabos was packed. I have never seen so many people in that place before. There was some fight on so I believe that had something to do with it. Regardless, it was a great time, no drama and the birthday boy had fun.

Dinner

Cabos

Oops - the only picture of the two of us that night.

The following weekend we went to Oklahoma City with the Adams family . It was relaxing and we got to see some old friends. Friday evening we went out to eat and then were forced to go to this hole in the wall/death trap known as the Bamboo Room. We weren't really forced, but I will claim that. We got to meet up with the Spears.

Old Chicago

Ladies at the Bamboo Room

On Saturday, Waffle House was introduced to Adams and Rasheeda. LOVE LOVE LOVE WA HO. That evening our long lost friend Snuggles Delgado flew into OKC. He is currently stationed in Alaska therefore everyone was quite happy to see him. We all went out to Bricktown and luckily no one passed out on a fire escape.

Sky Bar with Snuggles.

Pregame in the hotel.

Rok bar.

"I'm Like Tinkerbell. If You Don't Clap, I die."

Probably my favorite line from the Lady Gaga concert that night. 

Since I don't feel like recapping every single detail, I thought I would share some photos. 

I went to the concert with my good friend CLAWS a.k.a. Rasheeda.

Before the show we saw some very Gaga inspired costumes....Some were cute, others not so much. 

And then there was the concert. She is crazy. 

Gaga on a fired up piano.

A beautiful, crazy costume.

A little um not innocent pose, but I think the paparazzi had just killed her.

Her in the TinkerBell costume trying to escape the FAME MONSTER.

Closing with BAD ROMANCE!

So to recap the concert, it was very interesting. A few times I thought I would actually walk out of the concert because I am way more conservative that most of her following, but WOW. I had a great time! I think Britney's concert was better (not because I am a Britney fan, duh), but because Britney was actually smack dab in the middle of the arena. No matter where you sat you could usually see Britney or at least be entertained by her circus folk. Gaga was at one end of the venue - luckily we were on that end. She sang live for most of the time (I think) and I was very amused by her dancers. I liked that she would talk to the people in the crowd - very cool. But since she only has 2 albums (one that everyone really knows) it was not a concert just filled with music - and that was okay. I had a great time!

Following the concert we met up with our husbands, had a few cocktails, went to Denny's and back to the hotel room. The next morning we woke up and hit up Six Flags in Dallas. We splurged and bought the Fast Pass (it helps you skip the line so you don't wait forever in the heat, but it cost an expensive penny - what at Six Flags is not expensive though) and purchasing that pass was the best decision we made that day. All in all a great weekend with some fabulous best friends.

"Do You Gotta First Aid Kit Handy?"

I am highly convinced that if my office had a reality "The Office" show, we would be FILTHY rich. I mean like "I would never have to work another day again" wealthy. And then I would have my Auburn orange Aston Martin (or Astro Martins as I like to call them).

I saw my first one in Auburn at Mikata. It was amazing.

For those who do not know, I am adopted. I think about finding my birth mother alot, but I have not taken any steps to doing so. I'm not even sure where to begin. So if you have any ideas please share. With this being said, sometimes I wonder if she is ever a customer calling our office (this theory comes from an incident that happened like 5 years ago - I may share it sometime). I have had some very interesting conversations with people in the past few years through the phone. One in particular was a lady who thought I was her therapist and kept me on the phone for 30 minutes. Some of the highlights from our conversation in



"TMJ is like speed."
"My husband and I only get along sometimes - for him long enough to have a baby."


And then the best  looneybird one that seriously freaked me out.


"......But she died because she said the wrong thing to me." - talking about her ex husband's ex wife. Ummm really?

I got off the phone seroiusly thinking I might have been punked........And then there is that weird idea that invades my brain - what if that was my birth mother? Maybe I don't want to find her. Regardless, it would have made great TV.

Chomp! Chomp! It's Shark Week!

If you know me well enough, you know that I am OBSESSED with sharks. Not like the person who sets up their DVR to record Shark Week one time a year so they can update their facebook status and fit in on the news feed. I'm the person who received a shark bottle opener and 20th anniversary shark week DVDs as a wedding present. I'm the girl who was SOOOO excited to tour the Shark Lab in the Bahamas on my honeymoon - that's probably not so weird though. I'm the person who tries to find random shark videos on YouTube year round. When I was younger (probably until like middle school) I had a huge fear of swimming in the deep ends of pools. I was convinced sharks would come and get me. I'm also the girl who would NEVER get in a cage to go swimming with sharks. Why? I am not scared of being attacked by the huge fishes with flesh tearing teeth, but I fear the crane/cable holding the cage would snap and I would drift down and be stuck in the bottom of the ocean, in a cage, surrounded by sharks, and no one would be able to save me. Seriously.

Chicken & Dumplings - Crock Pot Style

I supposed if I am going to randomly blog about food then I should have a picture to go with it.....


I have had chicken and dumplings once in my life (that I can remember). It took place at a Cracker Barrel a few years ago. It was good, but it is simply not one of those meals that I would crave. Regardless, I wanted to try and make it for Justin. I began to research some recipes because I was determined to make it in my crock pot. I was feeling lazy.


I mixed two recipes that I found from my Spark recipe app and went to town. It smelled amazing and the guys who were fed liked it, had seconds, and ate it for leftovers. Here you go:


1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (cubed)
1 can cream of chicken soup (or use 2 cans instead of cream of mushroom)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 teaspoon flour
half of an onion diced for taste (I hate onion, but it gave it flavor)
2.5 cups of water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 large potato (diced - random, I know)
S & P to taste (I heart pepper)

I mixed everything together and cooked on low for about 6 hours. At hour 4, I cut up 5 canned, refrigerated biscuits (Wal-Mart brand - keeping it classy) and placed them on top. I turned the heat to high and mixed in the biscuit pieces. I also added a bit more flour to make it less watery and more gravy like.


The meal was satisfying, made my house smell delicious and probably made about 8 servings. It was easy (I have no idea how else to make this) and received great feedback. Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think.