Zucchini Lasagna

This is what we had for dinner last night. Zucchini Lasagna. It was a recipe I found on pinterest...

And it was soooooo good! I knew that I would like it, but I was nervous for the rest of my family. I have the world's pickiest eaters for kids, and my hubby isn't very fond of trying "different" things. This lasagna is "different" because the lasagna noodles are replaced with thinly sliced zucchini! It got my family's approval! Yay! I love that it is a healthier version of a yummy classic, but it still had all the flavors of the classic. This is a keeper recipe! And I found it at the perfect time, when I have lots of fresh zucchini from my garden!

Want the recipe? Here it is:

Zucchini Lasagna
1 lb 93% lean ground beef
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
salt & pepper
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
15 oz. fat free ricotta
16 oz. reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg

On a grill or in the broiler, grill zucchini on each side, until cooked, about 1-2 min. per side.

In a medium saucepan, brown meat & season with salt. Drain then add garlic & onions & saute for 2 min.
Add tomatoes, basil, salt & pepper. Simmer on low for at least 30-40 min., covered. Do not add extra water, the sauce should be thick.

In a medium bowl mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and egg. Stir well.
Preheat oven to 350.

In a 9x13 casserole spread some sauce on the bottom & layer the zucchini to cover. Then place some of the ricotta cheese mixture, then top with the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. Top with sauce & mozzarella and cover with foil.

Bake 45 min. covered, then uncover 15 min. Let stand about 5-10 min. before serving.

London Olympics

We are so excited for these next 17 days! We will be staying up way too late and not getting enough other things done, but that's ok..... It's the Olympics!

Go Team USA!

Seaside: OtHer FuN!

When we go to Seaside, we always stop at the Carousel for a ride.

We tried to fly Porter's Shark kite, but there must not have been enough wind, cause it never got up very far;)  Luckily Morgan & Jordyn's kites were flyin high, so Porter still got to fly one!

We also always make it to this cool hat shop when we come here. We all love trying on all the different hats!

Cousin Ryan had his Birthday while we were there, so to celebrate, we went to dinner at Mo's. Here's the whole clan!

Guess what we've been dealing with? Yep, Brody's doing the same thing Hudson used to do! Taking his diaper off during the night! It must be the age! Here comes the onsies, duct tape, and undies:)

Our balcony looked out over the Seaside turnabout. We loved to sit out there and people watch!

At the base of our building was a cool little shark museum. I actually learned some cool facts about sharks that I didn't know. Did you know that sharks don't ever stop growing? Or, that their teeth are not meant for chewing, only ripping huge chunks of meat? Yikes!

And because of the lovely Oregon weather (insert sarcasm) we decided to spend an afternoon inside, so we took Porter & Hudson to Brave. Cute movie, but could have done without the naked bums! They liked it, though, and it held their attention, which is hard to do sometimes!

Seaside: The TiDepOoLs!

We got up eeeearly one morning (well, early for being on vacation, anyway) when it was an extremely low tide and headed to Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach to explore the tide pools. This was one of my favorite things we did while at Seaside! It was cold and rainy and could have been miserable, but it ended up being so much fun & interesting! 

And I just adore this picture of my four guys!

Seaside: The AqUArIuM!

We walked to the tiny Seaside Aquarium. I wouldn't recommend it for older kids, because it is just one small room, but for my young kids, it was fine. And it helped that they were free! 

It's hard to tell from this pic, but Porter got to feed some seals! Hudson wouldn't even get near the seal food, which was little fish:)

Seaside: The PoOl!

If we weren't at the beach, most likely we were in the pool! My boys are love, love, loving swimming! Luckily there was a large pool, a kiddie pool, and two hot tubs to choose from! And luckily all the pools were very warm, so we went swimming daily, rain or shine!

I just loooove this picture! I pulled a tired Brody out of the pool to dry off & this is the look I get! Hahaha!

Hangin' out with some of the cousins in the hot tub:)

Seaside: The BeAcH!

We had a lot of fun in Seaside with Brandon's family this year! The weather was typical Oregon Coast weather, so not every day was nice and sunny. The days when it was sunny, we headed down to the beach!

I'll let the pictures tell the story:

Here's our condo we were staying at.

This is a view of the beach from one of our balcony's. Beautiful!