Tonight's Menu

Bowtie Lasagna Bake

This recipe was adapted from Tasty Kitchen one of my go to sites for recipes. I've altered this recipe a bit to make it a little more tasty and let's face it... a lot more fattening!

Here's the link:

http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2010/07/a-tasty-recipe-bowtie-lasagna/

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Chuck
• 1 box  of Bowtie pasta
• A jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce or if you have the time your homemade spaghetti sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning 
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• ½ cups Sour Cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. Brown beef and drain off excess fat.  Next cook noodles according to package directions. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cooked noodles. Pour in your spaghetti sauce into the pan with your cooked hamburger meat, add all of your seasonings, the mozzarella cheese, heavy cream, and sour cream into the pan. Stir together and allow it all to combine and melt together, over low heat, for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Stir in your noodles. I like to let the flavors get to know each other a little while and then I cover the mixture with more cheese. Place the skillet in the oven and Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 Enjoy! 

This is a easy peasy, quick recipe that is sure to please any Italian lover and all of your picky eaters. Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. 

I've included my Aunt's homemade spaghetti sauce for those that were interested. 

Aunt B's Spaghetti Sauce

2-8oz. Cans of tomato sauce

1 tbsp of minced onion

1 tsp of basil

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1-6oz. Can of tomato paste

1 tbsp of parsley 

1 tsp of garlic powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp celery salt

Combine above ingredients and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

Our Weekend Round Up

This weekend, our calendars were completely empty. There was absolutely nothing that Christopher and I had to do. This is a rare occasion but a much needed one. Saturday, I pulled out all my fall decorations and set our dining room table. I must be ready for company, cooler weather, and Thanksgiving!!! Slowly but surely fall is arriving and I could not be more excited. Here's my fall setup. I would certainly like to incorporate more but this is my existing fall decor stash.

Later that day, we took Peyton to Shelby Farms which is a definite perk of living in large city like Memphis. Shelby Farms is a community treasure with 4,500 acres of green space. Included in that space is more than 100 acres of off-leash land for you and your four-legged friends. Shelby Farms also offers ponds, trails, buffalo, horseback riding, kayaking, paddle boating and bike trails. It's the perfect place to get away and escape the city.

As you can tell, Peyton absolutely loves it!!! 

We spent Sunday morning in church. I just love our Sunday School Class. They truly have been a light in our lives. We have met so many great couples through our young adult couples class. Each one of them holds a special place in my heart.  Take a look at how pretty our church is. 

Our First Home

Our First Home was such a beauty. We decided to rent our first home due to our unfamiliarity with the great city of Memphis. This house was the first rental property we viewed. We knew we wanted a house with a yard so our sweet golden retriever, Peyton would have a place to play. Once we viewed this property, Christopher and I were both thinking "absolutely not". This 3 bed 1.5 bath house had a ton of potential but given we were just going to rent, we knew we could not possibly make this house work.
After searching Memphis from top to bottom and side to side, we ended up coming up empty handed.

We then made the decision to "make it work".  The very first property we viewed became our new home for the next year. (Aug.2012-Aug.2013)

Pros                                                     
location                                              
established neighborhood                                                  
retirees as neighbors  

Cons      
faulty electrical
1.5 baths
no backdoor
1 covered parking space
washing machine location (it was adjacent to the kitchen sink)

            
                                                                 
                                                                 

Intro

Hi Everyone! So... I thought I would provide some explanation as to why I'm starting this blog. Two years ago, I made the decision to follow my fiance to the great state of Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee to be exact and oh what an adjustment that has been for the two of us. For the first time in our lives, my now husband, Christopher and I had to figure things out on our own. Never did I ever think finding a place to live in a city we knew nothing about would be so hard. After the initial culture shock, we became a little more comfortable in our surroundings. We have met some amazing people, joined a wonderful church, ate some amazing food and made some unforgettable memories. Our first year of marriage has been one incredible journey and I look forward to sharing some with you.

I am not a flawless writer by any means, so please ignore any writing, grammar, and punctuation imperfections.

With Love,
Kayla