Sometimes They Get Along

These two are a funny pair. Lois Lane (the black one) is the only female dog we have and is aloof and thinks of herself as a Queen and a person moreso than a dog.  L.B. (the red chiweenie) is a total dog who loves his toys and wants to play with all dogs, no matter their size, breed or color. L.B. is quite wary of Lois Lane though as she isn't much the playing type and doesn't really seem to care for L.B. too much. Once in a while we'll catch her playing with him, but mostly he steers clear of her and her gnashing teeth.

So imagine my surprise to snap this shot of them bird watching out of the bedroom window. They like to do this while I work out (our workout room is the other half of our bedroom), but generally will only lay there one at a time. They laid like this throughout my entire workout watching their birds together today. Maybe they are growing to love one another!

Three Cheese Vegetarian Lasagna

Photo: Brian Woodcock

Recipe modified from Cooking Light

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided (about 1 1/2 cups) 
• 1 ounce fresh Parmesan cheese, grated and divided (about 1/4 cup) 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten 
• 1/4 cup torn fresh basil
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 (24-ounce) jar lower-sodium pasta sauce 
• 9 cooked lasagna noodles
• Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.


2. Combine ricotta, 2 tablespoons parsley, oregano, thyme, salt, black pepper, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, and egg in a small bowl. Combine basil, red pepper, garlic, and pasta sauce in a medium bowl.


3. Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce mixture in bottom of a small glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over pasta sauce mixture; top with about 2/3 cup ricotta mixture and 3/4 cup pasta sauce mixture. Repeat layers twice, ending with 1/2 cup pasta sauce mixture. Top evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until bubbling and cheese begins to brown.

NUTRITION INFO:

• Calories: 339


• Fat: 11.8g


• Saturated fat: 6g


• Monounsaturated fat: 3g


• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.5g


• Protein: 20.2g


• Carbohydrate: 39.2g


• Fiber: 2.6g


• Cholesterol: 66mg


• Iron: 2mg


• Sodium: 564mg


• Calcium: 424mg

Succulent Arrangements

This year we decided to plant mostly succulents in our outdoor landscaping pots. They are very easy to care for, require very little maintenance and come in a large variety of shapes, sizes and colors. In addition we have Wandering Jews in our hanging baskets on the covered porch. And on the fence row and in a couple of other pots we have our begonias, which also are low maintenance, very pretty and explode over the summer months.

Wandering Jew

Vacation Rocks!

This is the view from our campsite at our first stop of our camping vacation at Nashville Shores in Hermitage, Tennessee.  This campground overlooks Percy Priest Lake and the view and weather is perfect, especially for May!  More to come later on our trip - it's been an interesting one already!

Giant Dawg Validates my Magnet

I <3 Big Mutts magnet + Giant Dawg in the back seat = entertainment watching the people in the cars behind me, especially at red lights.  :)

Laila Bug

Laila is growing up so fast! She just turned eight months old and is starting to try to crawl and has a couple of teeth coming in. She's very interested in everything, very talkative and trying very hard to be mobile! It won't be long before she's being chased around everywhere!

Golden Hour

Another beautiful Kentucky sunset!  I actually took this photo for my Flickr All New Scavenger Hunt group for "Golden Hour".  Pretty appropriate, eh? This beauty also was found in Flickr's Explore and has received over 10,000 views. That makes me feel special - especially since it was my second Explored photo this week.  :)