So Much Food

Today is the day! I'm leaving in a few hours on a jet plane to meet my new little nephew, baby O! I couldn't be more excited to see my family, little man, Florida's weather, and Chick-fil-A. I'll be gone for two whopping weeks. Hubs is going to join me next weekend which will be awesome! But until then we'll be apart and so that is why I spent a lot of yesterday cooking up meals to freeze for him for the next week. Just a little gesture to show him I love him even from far away. Of course, these recipes were easy and somewhat fast. Is this starting to sound familiar? I think I say that during every recipe post. I guess that means I'm not Ina Garten. :) However, they're still tasty so I'll pass them along...non-Ina style. Enjoy!

Also, since I'll most likely be playing on the floor tomorrow morning with little man or holding baby O - I hope yall have a great weekend!

Creamy Slow Cooker Potato Cheese Soup-

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a pan with 1/2 white onion, chopped.

Meanwhile, chop 4 stalks of celery and 2 large carrots
After melting butter and cooking onion add 1/4 cup of flour until smooth. Gradually stir in 3 cups of water, carrots, celery, 1 tbls garlic, salt and pepper. I added a couple of chicken bouillon cubes. Heat through.
Chop 3 lbs of potatoes and place in slow cooker and pour liquid mixture over potatoes. Cover and cook for 5 hours. During the last hour put in 6 slices of bacon or pancetta (I used half the container) and about 1 cup of milk (more or less depending on how thick it's looking) After 5 hours, use a hand mixer to blend about 4 cups of the soup. Add 1-2 cups of cheddar cheese. Done!
I took a picture of the finally outcome but the picture looked unappetizing to say the least! So we'll move on to lasagna.

Easy Lasagna-

Brown 1 lbs of ground beef. Drain and add a couple of minced garlic cloves and a 32oz of pasta sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes
In separate bowl, mix 32oz of cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
Now assemble. Spread 3/4 cup of sauce mixture on bottom of 9x13 pan. Top with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1 3/4 cup cheese mixture. Repeat a couple of times. End with 3 noodles, remaining sauce (if you have any) 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 Parmesan cheese. Add some water around the edges of pan and cover with foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes.
Ta Da
Box Brownies - no directions necessary. :) We ate some tonight.