Veggie Lasagna Heaven!

Hi, I hope your weekend is going well!

This is will be my first of many cooking posts! My sister and I were able to make a vegetable lasagna last night, the following is the step-by-step recipe:

First we boiled about 9 or so lasagna noodles (Healthy Harvest - Wholewheat) in a pot of boiling water...we left it unsalted since we are trying to cut down on sodium for about 20-25 mins:

While the pasta sheets boil, we went ahead and chopped our veggies for the filling. 

We started with mincing about 3 gloves of fresh garlic:

Then continued with onions, tomatoes (4 small ones), broccoli, and 2 green bell peppers: 

(For those who would make a meat-filled lasagna now would be the time to cook the ground meat and chop your choice of veggies). The last time I made lasagna, I included grated carrots....so keep an open mind and be creative with your ingredients. 

Fry your onions and minced garlic in either a saucepan with 2tbs of oil until the onions are translucent (we used a wok since it's easier to stir):



We added our veggies into the wok just after....I love the colours!

Next we blended spices separately and added some water from the mixed veggies to drizzle on our filling. Spices includes about 1 tbs of the following: Italian seasoning, oregano, ground ginger, paprika, cilantro, and a dash of salt and black pepper:



Then we added 2 tbs of tomato paste to thicken the mix and some chopped dill to add more flavour:





















Looks good right?

After straining the boiled lasagna sheets, we let them cool for a couple of minutes and began layering within a rectangular glass dish. First with the sheets then the filling:



Then we the spread the (Tex-Mex) cheese evenly. This was my favourite part since I was eating handfuls of it on the side hehehehe



So you will repeat this layering technique again for the top layer.

Also for those of you who maybe feeding a very a large amount of people, you may do a 3 layer lasagna. 

Lastly, into the oven it goes at 380 degrees F for about 30 mins (just enough to solidify the sauce and melt the cheese):

Hmmmmm can you smell it through the screen?

Finally we garnished it with a sprinkle of cilantro for style and enjoyed a good plateful;)

Comment on the recipe and share your cooking secrets!!!

xoxoxo

Lady J

What's Your Skin's "Real" Age?

Photo Credit: Madamenoire.com

Good afternoon everyone!

I found this very interesting quiz called: What's Your Skin's "Real" Age? through Fitness Magazine's website! The quiz is super quick and easy with just 6 questions to answer which analyzes your skin-care regime and lifestyle habits to determine the current and future health of your skin! Enjoy and share your results!

Bonus Tip: Below is my fantastic home-made Exfoliation Recipe that moisturizes and softens skin used 4 times a month by yours truly:

Supplies and Ingredients:

• 1 small bowl
• 1 tbsp of oil (it can be anything you have around the house) ie: canola, olive, avocado,coconut, castor just to name a few
• 1 tbsp of liquid honey
• 1 1/2 tbsp of granulated sugar (the same you would use in your cup of tea or coffee)

Directions: 

• Mix all the liquid ingredients into a bowl with a spoon 
• Slowly pour the granulated sugar into the mix, creating a slushy consistency 
• Spread the mixture around your face, neck and upper chest area in circular motions
• Wait 5 minutes for mixture to slightly harden and feel "tight" on the skin
• Rinse with warm water with a washcloth (optional)
• Pat your skin dry 
• Moisturize lightly if necessary (I find that the leftover oil is enough for my dry skin)

I guarantee you won't be able to stop touching your baby-soft skin after this treatment and your wallet will thank you too:)

xoxox

Lady J