Lasagna Soup!

I love love love lasagna so I was ecstatic to discover this incredible lasagna soup recipe! It really is oh- so- tasty and I'm sure you'll love it too! (If you actually make it that is :) I found the mini lasagna noodles (aka mafalda noodles) at our local Schnucks on the Hill in the Italian section. (I did not, however, find them in whole wheat! Maybe Becky or Antonia could make me some?!;)

Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

2 cups onions, chopped

1 cup carrot, diced

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, chopped 


1 (10 3/4 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup mafalda pasta or campenelle pasta

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1 cup provolone cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded (for garnish)

4 teaspoons thinly sliced fresh basil (for garnish)

Directions

1.
Brown sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots; saute 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and garlic, and saute another 3 minutes.

2.
Add broth, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce, and bring to a boil. Drop in pasta and simmer until cooked, about 10 minutes, or according to package directions. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted.

3.
Place 1/4 cup cheese into serving bowls and pour soup on top. Garnish with Parmesan and basil.

From my Cusine at Home Splendid Soups & Spectacular Sides magazine/also found on recipezarr.com

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The last time (and first time!) I made this soup was on David's Birthday. Since I haven't shared any pics from November or December, here's a couple from the big 2-8 celebration!

We had a small little celebration for the birthday boy this year. (The poor guy always gets overlooked with the "big" holiday and all.) I now realize why I don't usually have a party though-whew! It was a little hectic trying to pull everything off. (Thankfully it was on a Wednesday and my wonderful mother helped me out a ton!! )

Daddy with his ever favorite mint oreo ice cream cake!

Celebrating at g'mas!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sing His Love

by Caedmon's Call

Father, long before creation

Thou hadst chosen us in love

And that love so deep, so moving

Draws us close to Christ above

Still it keeps us, still it keeps us

Firmly fixed in Christ alone

Chorus:

And the world will sing His love

Yes, the world will sign His love

And we'll all join hands

Every woman, every man

And sing His love

We'll sing His love

Though the world may change its fashion

Yet our God is ever the same

His compassion and His covenant

Through all ages will remain

God's own children, God's own children

Must forever praise His name

God so love us, God so loved us

That His only Son He game

God's compassion is my story

It is my boasting all the day

Mercy free and never failing

Moves my will, directs my way

Super Easy Valentine Craft

The Zoo's Imagination Station had these fun crayon's at their art table-it took me back to my childhood! All you do is collect your old crayons, peel off the paper, break them up into small pieces and place them in sprayed mini tins (I used heart shaped ones). Bake them at 250 for about 15 minutes, until the wax melts, then remove and let them cool and harden in the pan. To get them out of the pan, I stuck the tin in the freezer for about 10 min then popped them out. Perfect for a toddler's chubby little hand. ;) You can read on official "recipe" on Family Fun's website.