Shopping

Hey all. Planning on taking my mom shopping today. I take her weekly for food and other essentials. It gives her a chance to get out as well. She no longer drives and I know that is hard on her. It is hard to no longer drive when you have for so many years. I am sure the elderly have a tough time giving up their independance.

Eggplant for dinner

Hey all. Here is a great recipe that I found on the Food Network site. I love their recipes. Easy to follow and so many to choose from. I know you will enjoy this one. Let me know what you think. Have fun with it.

Good olive oil, for frying
3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 extra-large egg
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat about 1/8-inch of olive oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is almost smoking, add several slices of eggplant and cook, turning once, until they are evenly browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Be careful, it splatters! Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to paper towels to drain. Add more oil, heat, and add more eggplant until all the slices are cooked.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, half-and-half, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

In each of 2 individual gratin dishes, place a layer of eggplant slices, then sprinkle with Parmesan, salt and pepper and spoon 1/2 of the marinara sauce. Next, add a second layer of eggplant, more salt and pepper, half the ricotta mixture, and finally 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan on top.

Place the gratins on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the custard sets and the top is browned. Serve warm

Great recipe

Hey all. Here is a great recipe for you all to try out. My family really loves it and I am sure that yours will too.
It is a version of lasagna and who doesn't love lasagna right? It is a real family favorite also a great pot luck food. I hope that you give it a try and enjoy. Have fun with it.


Salt
1 package lasagna noodles
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 cans tomato soup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups cottage cheese (small curd)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and arrange in casserole (see below).

While noodles are boiling, brown beef in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, adding chopped onion, garlic and oregano to meat as it cooks. When meat has browned, drain off fat and then add tomato soup and apple cider vinegar. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven for 350 degrees F.

Spray a medium casserole dish with a nonstick cooking spray. Lay noodles lengthwise across bottom of casserole dish. Spread a layer of cottage cheese over top of noodles. Add a layer of meat mixture, then cover with mozzarella cheese and repeat for a total of 3 layers. Finish with a layer of cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Easter Monday

Hey all. How are you all doing? I hope that you all had a nice Easter. We went to my mom's house for dinner. The whole gang was there. She made had and we brought along all the fixings. It tasted great. My daughter hung around as long as she could but then had to head back to college. My son and various other schools has school on Monday as they are all making up snow days in the area. It has been an snowy winter. I sure am glad that spring has arrived. I just wish it would get warmer. Oh well.

Easter coming

Hey all. Easter is just around the corner. We are planning on decorating our eggs on Saturday. How about you? The kids get so excited don't they? I am planning on hiding their baskets as they have requested I do so. At any age they love to find hidden baskets. I am planning on making a turkey breast for Easter dinner. Boy do I love to cook. How about you?

Dinner

Hey all. Time for another great Italian meal. These are a version of lasagna. I found it on the computer and it tastes great. It is a bit time consuming though. You will not be sorry if you make it though. Give it a try and tell me what you think. Any changes let me know too.
Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 large egg, beaten to blend
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamelsauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

IRS Tax Debt Settlement

Hey all. I was on the internet this morning and I came across an interesting site that I wanted to pass on to you all as well.
tax lien is a site that you will find very interesting, especially with the tax season right around the corner. If you face any difficulties with the IRS, who would not require IRStaxhelp . Through the assistance of this site, they will be there for your IRS problems and best yet, the resolution. There can be so many problems along the way that, lets face it, would be extremely hard to attempt it alone. You will not have to as this site will be there for you with all your tax questions. If you find yourself in a position like this, I suggest that you check out this site for assistance.
This is a sponsored post.

Spring Break

Hey all. My daughter is in this week for spring break. We have been hitting the malls. Although she did have to work a few days as well. Time to locate that perfect Easter outfit as well. Can you believe it is only a couple of weeks away. My kids still enjoy getting baskets. Now I make them more suitable for their age group though. I include a new bathing suit every year though. They love that idea.

Flood watch

Hey all. Well here we go again. Another rainy couple of days and flood watches in effect. I am getting so sick of all the rain. Our basement has been getting wet over and over again. Our goal is to repair the problem once and for all and lay down a nice tile floor. I would love to make it some extra living space. It all sounds great, but getting the time and money is another story.

Business Intelligence Training

Hey all. I was on the internet this afternoon and I came across an interesting site that I wanted to pass on to you all as well as I feel that you will find it of interest as well.
business intelligence consultants is a site that deals with the task of improving your business through business intelligence. This site is based in the UK and has been in operation for fifteen plus years. If you own a business and are looking to improve the performance of the business, which most everyone who is self employed is, then look no further as this is the site to check out. This site is sure to advise you and place into operation the most effective BI solutions that in turn will allow your business to become as successful as I am sure that you have imagined it to. Lets face it, those of you that are self employed work many long and difficult hours and hope to reap the benefits of your hard and tiring work hours in the hopes of having a profitable business in the future. With the assistance of this site you are sure to achieve this dream. This site, Contemporary, are the Business Intelligence Experts as the site claims. With the years of experience they have the multiple clients they have successfully assisted I believe that this site may be of great help to many of you out there. If the applications that I have discussed seem to be of interest to you, then I suggest that you check out the site. It is easy to navigate on and you will be able to learn more about the site. Good luck and please check thenm out.


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March is here

Hey all. It feels as if spring is just around the corner when I look at the calender, but not when I look outside. It is still chilly up here in the north. We received about two inches plus of rain last evening and that along with the snow on the ground made a mess of our basement as we had some water leak in. I wish we could some day do the basement over and remodel, but the wetness of the basement has always been a problem. Oh well. We just have to work with the rest of the house. More to follow later.

Naked Naturals

Hey all. I was on the internet this afternoon and I came across a great site that I wanted to pass on to you all as well.
naked naturals is a site that discusses a great new product that I was lucky enough to receive a sample and try it out. It is a great new shampoo product called naked natural. This naturalshampoo is one of the best shampoos that I have ever tried. After just a few applications, I noticed a change in my hair strength. My hair actually felt thicker and stronger and being one the unlucky people with fine hair, this was some thing that I really appreciated. This shampoo contains a product called Keravis which according to the site is clinically proven to make your hair up to seven times stronger. I will agree to that as I did notice a change in my hairs strength after just a few washings. Another feature that I was impressed by this product is the fact that it is an all natural product. This is something that many of us are trying to move towards, using safe for the environment, all natural products. If you are interested in trying out this amazing shampoo, it is available at many fine retailers. You can check out the site to learn more about the product as well. I am sure that you will be as impressed as I was as well.

Snow

Hey all. Hope you are all enjoying the snow as much as I. HAHA. I am really sick of it. I can not wait until the tulips in our yard start popping out. It should be in a few weeks as I planted some crocuses last year and they are the first to pop out. They really get me in the spring spirit. Easter will be here soon as well.

Evening

Hey all. It is really quiet here. My husband is working and my one son is doing his homework. The other one that is handicapped is getting tired. I must go soon and help him get ready for bed. His bed time is usually about 8:30. At ten PM there are repeats of the Office. Not the same as new ones, but better than nothing. I plan on watching them, two episodes. Later all.

Coupon Chief

Hey all. I was on the internet this evening and I came across a great site to help with all the Easter time shopping.
coupons is the perfect site to check out to save on all of your Easter gifts. My list this year starts with my daughter away at college. The perfect gift for her, as always is clothes and I know just the place for her, Gap. This is her favorite store and she does love clothes. Next has to be my son the electronic geek. I would love to get him a new computer, top of the line, of course and the perfect place for that would be, dell . They have a large selection and great deals as well. Oh and we can not forget the dog, a beautiful German Shepherd. I love the selection of doggie beds at boscovs and I hope to get her a big soft one there. If you are looking for great deals as I always am, this is the the site to check out. Great deals are always there and can't beat the coupons available.
Check them out.

Home

Hey all. My daughter that is away at college is planning to come home this weekend. She has not been home in a while, so it will be nice to see her. We are planning on going shopping on Saturday. The weekends just seem to fly by don't they? I think we will go to church on Sunday and have a nice dinner before she heads back. She wants me to make her some hot wing pizza too.

echosign.com

Hey all. I was on the internet this evening and I came across an interesting site that I wanted to pass on to you all as well.
EchoSign E-Signatures is a site that allows you to perform e-signatures. For those of you that manage a business, imagine the time that is saved through the use of an e-signature. No more snail mail waiting for clients to sign important documents. Through the use of this site the signature is accomplished almost instantly. This site can revolutionize the way businesses can be run this day in age. If you believe that this is an application your business can benefit from, I suggest that you check out the site and sign up for a free account. I have also included a press release for you to read and learn more about this application.

PRESS RELEASE
ECHOSIGN 3.0 RAISES THE BAR FOR CONTRACT SIGNATURE AUTOMATION

LARGEST RELEASE IN COMPANY’S HISTORY ADDS POWERFUL WORKFLOW CAPABILITY AND REAL-TIME SALES ANALYTICS TO THE WEB’S MOST ADOPTED
E-SIGNATURE SERVICE


About EchoSign
In just one click, the EchoSign solution automates the entire signature process from the request for signature to the distribution and filing of the executed agreement or form. With nothing to download, learn or install, there is simply no faster or secure way to get your contracts signed, tracked and filed. EchoSign customers close over $100M in contracts each month with an average 'quote to close' time of 42 minutes. EchoSign has won numerous awards including Red Herring Top 100 Private Company, “One to Watch” by Gartner Research, and Best of Show at Office 2.0, and has twice been named by Salesforce.com as an AppExchange Essential. Over 250,000 users at organizations such as AtRoad, British Telecom, GE Capital, Johnson & Johnson, Netscout, and the University of California use EchoSign everyday to get contracts signed, tracked and filed in the most efficient and effective way possible. For more information and access to web service, visit http://www.echosign.com.


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Great recipe

Hey all. Who doesn't love meatloaf? My family frequently requests. Here is my favorite one for you to try out. I hope that you enjoy it. It is so easy to prepare. Just the way I like it on those busy days. Tell me what you think and if you make any changes. Have fun with it.
I say the recipe on the food network. What a great station.

4 cups Potatoes O'Brien (recommended: Ore-Ida)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/4 pounds ground pork
1 (5.29-ounce) box Garlic Herb Shake and Bake (recommended: Kraft)
1 (1.1-ounce) envelope Beefy Onion Soup Mix (recommended: Lipton)
1 (4.5-ounce) jar Sliced Mushrooms, drained (recommended: Green Giant)
1 egg
1 (12-ounce) can condensed Cheddar soup, divided
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 (10-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, sliced thin
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms

Place potatoes in the bottom of a 5-quart slow cooker.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, shake and bake, onion soup mix, sliced mushrooms, and egg. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup Cheddar soup and evaporated milk. Add to meat mixture. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands mix thoroughly and form into a loaf. Place in slow cooker on top of the potatoes. Make sure meatloaf does not touch the sides of the slow cooker.

Stir together remaining cheddar soup with cream of mushroom soup. Pour over meatloaf. Top with onions and mushrooms.

Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 1 hour. Reduce the temperature to LOW setting and cook for an additional 5 to 6 hours.

Nasal Spray

Hey all. I was on the internet this afternoon and I came across an interesting site that I wanted to pass on to you all as well as I am sure that it will be beneficial to many of you out there.
Oasis NasaSprayl is a site that sells an awesome nasal spray product that is non addictive and even safe for children to use as well. The saline that is in this product is actually salt from the Dead Sea which has a thirty per cent salt composition, better than any other nasal product on the market. With the allergy season just around the corner, I thought so many of you out there would benefit from this product as well. I have a son in law that is just miserable during the spring allergy season. I can not wait for him to try this product as the thing that sets this a part from other nasal products also is its anti-inflammatory effect. This product has begun to become available in stores across the country, but if is not available where you live, the nasal spray can be ordered online direct from the manufacturer. If you suffer with allergies and are in need of a safe and effective nasal spray then this is the product for you. I suggest you check out the press release I have included to learn more as well.

This is a sponsored post.

Press Release:

An Oasis of Relief for Parents

As a parent, deciding on what medicine to give your children is one of the most fearful responsibilities you have. You hear bad reports on how addictive or how harmful some remedies are in newspapers and on the TV almost every week. It can become absolutely stressful when your child is sick and you then must make the hard decision on what to pick up at your local pharmacy.

This grave concern was not helped when the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a recent recall for over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children. They are now contemplating whether nasal sprays and nose drops are safe for children younger than 12. The FDA is worried that these easy to use congestion reducers have dangerous side effects such as addictive tendencies. But there is hope for parents out there. There is now a safe and effective solution you can buy.

Oasis Nasal Spray and Wash is proud to announce that it is not on the recall list and has a strict non addictive standing. Oasis has released Children's Oasis Nasal Spray and Wash. Oasis’ solution is all natural and produced entirely of purified Dead Sea Minerals. Many nasal sprays contain a saltwater base, which helps release congestion in the nose and is easily wiped away. Oasis nasal spray takes it another step by not simply being saltwater from any ocean mixed with other chemicals like the leading nasal spray, but is all natural and made from the most salty sea in the world.

Oasis Nasal Spray provides the healing powers of the Dead Sea in their products for problems faced everyday; nasal allergies, runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, postnasal drip, itchy nose, recurrent sinus infections, and chronic sinusitis. Oasis Nasal Spray was created by Scott Cordray; Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist. His company Master Solutions has helped to create Oasis Nasal Wash and Oasis Nasal Spray by utilizing the healing salts of the Dead Sea.

Weekend cold and snowstorm

Hey all. We got snow in our neck of the woods on Friday. The kids had school off. I asked my son if he is ever going to have a full week of school. Between the early dismissals and late morning starts along with days off, there has not been a full week since Jan. early. They lost most of their Easter holiday though. Well this week ahead looks nice and so I think there will be a nice week ahead. I can not wait til the bulbs start coming up. How about you?