Lasagna Roll-Ups

10 - Lasagna Noodles, cooked and drained
1 jar - Tomato pasta sauce (any flavor)
1/2 lb - Lean ground beef
1 cup - Shredded mozzarella cheese

For Mix:
1 container - (15 oz) Ricotta cheese
1 package - Frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 - egg, beaten
1/2 tsp - Salt
1/4 tsp - Pepper
1/4 cup - Grated parmesan cheese
2 - cloves garlic, finely chopped

1. Pre-heat oven to 350*F

2. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.

3. Mix together ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic. Spread 1/3rd cup of mixture over each noodle. Roll up each noodle and place in baking pan.

4. Brown beef in skillet, once browned, add tomato sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Pour sauce mixture over the rolls in the baking pan.

5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top and place back in oven (uncovered) for another 10 minutes.

6. Take out of oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Fruit Salsa - Yum!

Here is a recipe for delicious fruit salsa and cinnamon sugar chips! You can modify with other types of fruit (kiwi, plums etc). The original recipe I found for this had more sugar in it, but sugar draws out the fruit juice so I cut back the sugar a bit and used sugar free preserves. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1lb strawberries
2 apples
1-2 cups frozen peaches
6oz raspberries
3 tablespoons strawberry preserves
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
10 inch flour tortillas
Sugar/cinnamon mixture
Butter flavored cooking spray (can't believe its not butter)


1. Chop strawberries, raspberries, and frozen peaches (no need to thaw).
2. Add the strawberry preserves and brown sugar. Chop and add the apples last (to prevent browning).
3. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for about 15 mins.

4. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Fill tupperware with mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
6. Coat both sides of the tortillas with the butter spray and cut them into wedges.
7. Dip the wedges into the sugar/cinnamon mixture to coat both sides.
8. Bake a single layer of the tortillas for 10 minutes. (repeat for extra wedges)

-Kris

Decorative Tile Coasters

I've been wanting a set of coasters for several months now (after purchasing coffee and end tables made partly out of wood). As I searched, I never found a set that I really liked, that matched my living room or that I thought were worth the price tag. So my conclusion...to make my own. This was a little trial and error for me, since this was the first time I had ever used mod podge. I think the overall product turned out well though.

Supplies:

Cheap ceramic tiles (apx 16-17 cents at Lowes or Home Depot)

Scrapbook paper (design of your choice)

Some type of footing to go underneath tile (foam, felt or cork)

Acrylic Spray

Mod Podge

Foam Brush

Scissors or Paper cutter

Ruler

-First measure the width of the tile. Take that measurement and reduce it by 1/4 inch. Use that measurement to cut the squares from the scrapbook paper.

-As you can see, there is a glue stick in the picture...it's not recommended...lol. I originally used the glue stick so that it would be easier to center the squares on top of the tiles. Once I started applying the mod podge problems occurred since the paper was not solidly glued down to the tile.

-So what I ended up doing is applying 1 layer of mod podge on top of the tile (do this one tile at a time as the mod podge dries fast). Apply the scrapbook paper square on top of the tile and center (fast). Squeeze out any air bubbles under the paper. Repeat this step on each additional tile until all tiles are complete.

-Next apply 1 layer of mod podge at a time as directed on bottle (every 15-20 mins or till dry). I did 4 layers, but I was pretty generous with the amount I used per layer. Do as many layers as you feel is needed. Make sure you are doing this on top of plastic or some type of non-paper surface, as to not glue that to your tile accidentally.

-I let the tiles then dry over night. The next day I took the tiles out on the porch (well ventilated area) and sprayed the tiles with a layer of acrylic spray (follow directions on can) to provide a waterproof surface.

-Finally I affixed the little foot protectors on to the bottom of the tiles (to protect the tiles from scratching my furniture).

Side Note: If you live in a house with curious pets as I do, it's recommended to keep a pair of tweezers around during the mod podge process. This way you can remove any stray pet hairs that may try to glue themselves to your coasters.

-Susan

Decorated Jumbo Clothespins

I thought it would be fun to decorate some jumbo clothespins to hold pictures/recipe cards. I ordered them here since I couldn't find them at Michael's.

Supplies:

• Clothespin
• Scrapbook paper
• Paint
• Mod Podge/Sponge
• Glue stick
• Embellishments

First I painted the clothespin dark brown and used the glue stick to apply the scrapbook paper. I used the sponge applicator to gently sponge paint the edges to camouflage my uneven cutting (straight lines and I do not get along!). I put two coats of mod podge over the clothespin to seal the paper and then added my embellishments. The smaller clothespin at the end I decided to use as a photo holder :)

-Kris

Cheese Ball Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 packages cream cheese
• 1 small package corned beef (2 oz)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon mayo
• 1 small bunch of green onions
• Mustard to taste

Soften cream cheese. Finely chop green onions and corned beef. Mix Worcestershire sauce, mayo, onions, and corned beef in with the cream cheese. Add mustard to taste (if desired). I served this w/ socialbles :)


-Kris