Happy Friday everyone!!! One of my favorite days of the week…..usually because it means I can sleep in the next day (well not sleep in but not have to jump out of bed to get boo!) but this weekend I look forward to a date night tomorrow night with friends of ours that are always a lot of fun! This Momma is in need of getting out! We are trying a Japanese Steak House in the town that we moved to a few months back. Hey when you can’t enjoy a margarita, sip on a martini or glass of wine with a girlfriend to gossip and catch up, food is just everything when dining out OK!!
Speaking of eating out……..let’s talk about our Co-Host for today! Stephie blogs over at Eat Your Heart Out. How cute of a name is that, gosh I’m always blown away at the names that people come up with, I sure which I had more experience when I started blogging because the name of my blog is just BORING!! So let’s say hi to Stephie and see what her blog is all about.
Stephie is a 20-something year old who lives in the suburbs of Chicago who loves to cook in her “one-butt” kitchen as she describes it. All I know is who cares how small her kitchen is because the recipes she has created and shared, the photograph’s this girl takes…………WOW is all I have to say! Stephie learnt to cook and bake from her mother who also learnt from her mother. (love those stories!) Here is a quote from the Co-Host that sums up what food means to her “Cooking is not simply something I “do”. To me, cooking for others and sharing food is an emotional experience. It is something that comes from the heart. Good food brings people together in a way that few other things can. Some of my favorite memories take place around the dining room table; even in the worst of times, it is around the table that my family has found the strength to smile and laugh.” I think that is the perfect way of describing a passion for cooking and what she cooks up.
One thing we don’t have in common is Stephie is not a fan of chocolate (oh boy!) but don’t worry we won’t come down on her too hard because we are all aloud our own taste buds right??!! Hey I’m jealous! I wish I didn’t like it, would help on the hips! However something we DO have in common is our love for our fur babies. She’s got two, and they are too cute for words, I often find myself missing my fur babies, not because they are gone, they are here with us, I just don’t get the time with them that I used to before Boo came into the picture. Of course we also share the love for reality shows and shoes as well!!!
Now let’s talk about her scrumptious menu! Her Mango Banana Smoothie is something going on my list for this summer! Another recipe I want to try of Stephie’s is her Frosted Orange Rolls. I love Orange flavored everything and anything! Plus it will consist of me having to use my Kitchen Aid mixer and I just need an excuse to use that baby! I’m not sure why I’ve always wanted to make my own bagels but I have……..I try to not even eat bagels because they are so high in carbs but if I could make these mini bagels like Stephie suggests.……I may just give it a shot! Her Pasta with Sun-dried tomatoes & Feta Cheese is one of those dishes I’d make that my husband would swear he wouldn’t like but I’d make it without him knowing what’s in it and he’d love it……..you know how I feel about my pasta dishes! This one looks like a must try! Oh what’s that you say?? You want me to tell you what I did end up making?? OK……….well I made Stephie’s Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna.
I had never made a Vegetarian Lasagna before and I had a new Pampered Chef tool I wanted to try out on this one! The only change I made to the original recipe was I added carrots into the vegetable mix because I always try to sneak as many veggies in as I can for my daughter…….though that was a waste of time!!! Wait until you see the picture of what she did!
This was an awesome dish! My mother-in-law came over for dinner, it was an off School day so I didn’t have much time to prepare anything so the thought of throwing something in my crockpot really made my day! It was easy to prepare and throw in while she was napping, it was ready in 3-4 hours and it was a simple clean up because I actually remembered to use a crockpot liner for once!
Everyone loved it. Even Madison……….even if she did pick out the veggies!! Little brat! Yes she did folks…….picked them out one by one and ate every other last bite! Well here she clearly did not want her picture taken!
Here is the proof, she ate every bite but NOT the veggies!
I say great dish Stephie! It’ll be one I try again and it’s just proof that we do NOT need meat in every dish! Make sure you go over and visit and tell Stephie that this Momma sent you!! Thank you for Co-Hosting with me today, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you and your blog!! I’ll be back for more yummies!
Thanks for the feature, Tammi! So glad you loved the lasagna – and make sure to try those orange rolls sometime soon! You’ll swoon. 🙂