Enjoyable Moments

Over the past few months, we have all kinds of things happening (Thanksgiving, Evelyn's Surprise Birthday Party, Dellaina's 3rd Birthday, Christmas times 4, Autumn & Myles visit, the Auwater's visit, the New Year, Andi's surprise birthday party, my certification exam, and probably more that I am forgetting...but our camera has been MIA. So, upon finding our camera this week, we decided to document some highlights. :-)

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Athens Locally Grown is a weekly farmer's market composed of local Athens-area farmers. It has a great selection of quality in season produce and many other nifty items. Over the summer, I started reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and got really interested in local produce that has a minimal distance to travel to market as well as using food that is in season for my geographic area....all of which Athens Locally Grown does. (more on ALG later)

Right now, there is not as much produce available as there is in other seasons but there are greens and gourds, both of which are new to me in regards to eating and cooking. So, I decided to challenge myself and experiment.

Spaghetti Squash is a large gourd with a tough outer skin. In order to cook with it, it is necessary to slice it in have horizontally and roast it cut side down for about 30-45 minutes so that the inside is soft and able to be scraped out of the tough skin. Then you can eat it plain or add it to another recipe.

"Did you know that spaghetti squash contains a mere 25 calories per half cup? By replacing the pasta you would normally use when making spaghetti; this vegetable will not only lower calories and carbs drastically, but will also add to you & your family's intake of necessary nutrients. It is a good source of Dietary Fiber (our goal is 30-40 grams daily) Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Iron, and Potassium. " from: www.lucidnutrition.com

Back to my cooking...I decided to use the spaghetti squash in a lasagna which turned out to be really yummy. One reason being that I discovered what fennel seeds are. Fennel seeds are the flavor that is in sausage, so adding this spice to a tomato sauce is delicious! My recipe follows:

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

• 2 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon dried basil

• 1 cube vegetable bouillon

• black pepper to taste

• handful fennel seeds
  

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with a thin layer of cooking spray. Place squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet.

2. Bake squash 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife can be easily inserted. Remove from oven, and cool.

3. Meanwhile, spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking spray. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, basil, bouillon cube, fennel seeds, and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until you have a medium thick sauce.

4. Remove squash strands with a fork. In a glass baking dish, layer a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.

Both, Doug and I, really enjoyed this meal. We would add garlic bread and perhaps a salad the next time we have it. I highly recommend trying this yummy and healthy recipe! :-)

Graduation is just around the corner...

I can't believe that I am about to finish my 2 year graduate program at UGA. My last semester started two weeks ago and I am busy with my internship and job hunting. I would LOVE to find an elementary counseling position in a county near our home, but I am being flexible with the job market.

In November, I decided to apply for the School Counseling Ed.S program and see if I got accepted. It is a one year program from May through the following July. Classes are during both summers and then two days a week during the school year. The program offers supervision of my cases which would be great as a first year counselor, especially if I am the only counselor at my school which is the case at most elementary schools. Also, there is a significant pay increase which seems to be the only way in the public schools to increase your salary (adding more degrees).Saturday afternoon, after my Saturday School, I opened the mail and received my acceptance letter! Yippee! So, even though I am graduating in May, I will still be in school until next July.

Happy Birthday, Daniel! Bananas Foster Style

Saturday evening, after my Saturday School, we picked up Garris and headed down to the Lake for a family weekend and celebration. All of the siblings gathered, along with cousin Joe. The cooks, lead by Daniel, made a delicious dinner of several types of ribs, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. For dessert, Daniel made Bananas Foster for everyone. Dellaina helped by scooping the ice cream and taste testing it. :-)


I am not sure if this is Daniel's favorite dessert or the one he enjoys making the most because of the fire. Basically, you cook the sliced bananas in a mixture of lemon juice(so the bananas don't brown), brown sugar, and butter sauce.

Once it thickens, in a another hot pan combine rum and Kahlua and then set it on fire. Pour the alcohol mixture into the bananas mixture and stir until the flame is extinguished. Then drizzle the mixture on top of vanilla ice cream and enjoy. It was delicious! And fun to watch. Andi and I both tried to capture the action and flames but neither of our cameras could photograph the flames.