Recipe Review: Pinterest Baked Raviloi

Guys, this recipe is a game-changer. I first pinned it because I thought it looked yummy and would be something different. But what I didn't realize is that this recipe is 

basically lasagna, only a BILLION times easier! 

Photo's and original recipe found HERE

 

The ravioli is just like lasagna noodles, and the filling inside the ravioli is just like ricotta. Its awesome, and so much less complicated! I adapted the recipe a little bit so it has more sauce and includes some protein. 

Here's what you need:

-1 lb ground beef

-2 jars Ragu

-1 bag frozen ravioli (I used Wal-Mart brand)

-2 cups mozzarella cheese 

Here's what you do:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees

-Cook the ground beef, I seasoned with garlic and onion powder

-Drain the beef and then add 1 jar Ragu to the pot and stir.

-Open second jar of Ragu and coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with sauce. 

-Put one layer of ravioli on bottom of pan, cover with ground beef in sauce.

-Do a second layer of ravioli, pour the rest of your second Ragu jar, then cover with cheese. You might think that's a lot of sauce, but it really makes a difference when you're eating the leftovers later. (And you're going to want those leftovers!)

Bake for 30 minutes covered, then 10 minutes uncovered. 

Enjoy this great "lasagna," and keep it in mind for when you have people over or want to make a meal that provides tons of leftovers.

Marley's Room Reveal

I can finally say that I am done decorating Marley's room! And it only took me till she was 13 months old to finish. 

In my defense, when I was pregnant and for the first 3 months of Marley's life we were living with my in-laws. I didn't feel like I could really decorate the way I wanted because it wasn't my home. Now we live in an apartment where they could care less how many holes are in the walls, which is AWESOME. 

These were the Pinterest finds that inspired me:

And here's what I came up with:

 I was all set to make a coat rack myself, but then I found this gem at Homegoods for $15! It was supposed to be for jewelery and came with chicken wire across the chevron pattern for earrings and such. I was able to pop that out so all you see is the cute design. 

I found this M in the cheap section at Michael's (Near the registers) and painted it pink. Then I stapled the ribbon to the back and that's it! Now I have a place within reach 
to put all Marley's clips. 

I made a few more embroidery hoops to hang, and had to re-do the wall after hanging the coat rack. This is probably my favorite part. I just love how it turned out! Here are some closer looks at the fabric:

(Love this one!)

 I saved the banner from Marlene's birthday and hung it over the window in her room. You can find some really cute free banners on Pinterest, I really love this one.

These are printables modpodged onto canvas, super easy! They are
hanging at the end of Marley's crib so she can look at them in the morning. 
The temple one is hard to read but it says "I'm going there someday."

Here are some other things that I've posted already:

Felt Owl Family

Lately I've been working hard on getting Marlene's room decorated. This project was kind of last minute, and I did it all with things I already had on hand. 

I'm also proud of the fact that I did this all "free hand," and didn't have stencils to work with. The only thing I traced was some coins to get the right sizes for the eyes. 

All you need is felt, hot glue (or fabric glue), and somewhere to put them. These would also be cute on a fabric-covered canvas.  

 These turned out so cute! I so excited to hang this little owl family in Marley's room. I showed it to her today and she grinned from ear to ear. 

I'm finishing up decorating her room and I'll post all the pictures soon!

Henderson Update

Figured it was time for another update. Things are going great around here and we're LOVING this spring weather. 

Marley is really enjoying spending time outside, and is quite the walker now. She is very sure on her feet and is getting fast! 

Since she turned one we have taken her off formula and she has two bottles of milk a day. In between those bottles she has 3 meals in the high chair. Its been an adventure getting her to try new foods, but luckily she LOVES protein so I at least feel like she's not starving. 

Her favorite foods are:

Cheesy hot dogs

Turkey

Ham

Sausage links

Chicken

Fruit leather (Gerber style)

String cheese

Veggie straws

and Cinnamon toast crunch 

Its funny, right when we took Marlene off formula she decided that she only needs one nap a day. We didn't have to try and force her or anything, which was nice. She's started taking a little longer nap in the early afternoon and is fine the rest of the day. She usually gets grumpy around 4-ish, and that has become snack time! 

Jason is still in school and working at Olive Garden. Working as a server there has been great, just a little unreliable money-wise and so he is looking for a new job. Tips are great in the summer, but we realized this past fall when things slowed down it would be better to have a set income.

I'm still spending most of my time at home with Marlene, and just working two days a week at TJ Maxx. They are really great about working around Jason's schedule and understanding about my limited availability. 

This past week we made a big decision, and got a new car! My old one died back in October and since then we have been sharing a car that I couldn't drive. (I did learn how to drive his car, but then it started snowing and I didn't feel comfortable.) Jason's car is a stick shift with no air conditioner, so we knew before it got too hot outside we needed a new one.

After our bad experiences with KSL, we decided we wanted to get a reliable car from a reliable person. We didn't want to invest in something that would need a lot of work later on and end up costing more in the long run.

 After months of being stranded at home while Jason is at work or school, I now have my freedom back! I can't wait for all the adventures Marlene and I will have this summer. I'm thinking lots of trips to visit Jason's parents and her cousins, trips to the zoo, 7 Peaks, and so many more possibilities. 

And we also get to drive this awesome car to Disneyland in 14 weeks! 

Printable Pantry Labels

About a week ago I was seriously in the mood to get organized. That resulted in my rearranging our "pantry" (aka a bookself) and wanting to label the bins that 

hold our baking ingredients.

After searching pinterest, I decided to make my own because I needed a specific size, 

and didn't need very many.  

So here you have some very basic labels for standard items in your pantry. Sorry I don't have the chocolate chips label, that was a last minute addition.

Purple

Red 

Grey

The great thing about these is they are the perfect size to be applied using packing tape. 

All you need to do is:

-Print your labels out onto cardstock, and cut them out.
-cut a strip of tape long enough to have at least a few extra inches on either side of the label

-place the label face down  on tape, press down to secure

-carefully apply the tape to your bin, smoothing from left to right to avoid air bubbles.

I love the way this looks! Getting organized is the best feeling. And now there won't be any mix ups if the hubby ever decides to bake on his own.

Toddler Veggie Muffins

Now that we have a toddler in our house, it has been a challenge getting her to eat veggies. She has big issues with things that are mushy and/or slimy and won't even bother 

picking them up to try.

I began to search pinterest for ideas and came across a lot of recipes for veggie muffins. Only problem was, most of these recipes are from scratch...seriously?! 

Repeat after me: "AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!"

This mama doesn't have time to do things like sift flower, and mix together a million ingredients. That being said, my solution was to find a reasonably healthy box mix and then just add veggies. 

I chose a Fiber One blueberry muffin mix because they're a brand a trust, and I figured the "sweetness" of the blueberry would help mask the veggies.

I added 1/2 cup fresh grated carrots, and 1/2 cup chopped steamed broccoli tops to the prepared box mix.

Looks super gross delicious right? Hey, it gets the job done! There are so many other veggies you could add if you have a preference. Zucchini or sweet potatoes would be good choices too, I just decided to start small.  

She approves! In this picture we tried giving her a whole one, and that didn't work out too well. She didn't really know what to do with it. What works really well is tearing it into bite size pieces and pinch it a little to reduce crumbs. 

I made mini muffins so they would store better and be less wasteful (you never know how much they'll eat!). They are good in the freezer for 3 months, and can thaw over night to be ready for breakfast.