So I've been thinking

I think we put too much stock into New Year's resolutions. Why do we make goals about depriving ourselves only to fail by Valentine's day? Then we beat ourselves up because we have only done what we knew we would do to begin with. My wise sister-in-law Julie posted about this on her blog. I have to agree that we should plan on doing things that will make us happier, not make us feel worse about ourselves. Let me also throw in that I'm not advocating over-indulgence. Too much of a good thing is still not wise.

Here's my list of things I'm going to do:

I'm going to enjoy my life more.

This means I'm going to enjoy food more. This does not mean I'm going to gorge on anything anytime I want, it just means I'm going to make yummier food and enjoy every single bite. Dinner time should be an experience not a race.

I'm going to enjoy exercising more. Let me just say that this in itself isn't a resolution. I already enjoy exercising, especially Adventure Bootcamp, I just want to learn new things.

I want to play with my kids more often. And teach them not to cry when Mommy wins every time. And not cry in front of them when (if) they beat me.

I want to spend more time with my friends and family. One of the main reasons of building a bigger house was so we could entertain more. I plan on doing this a lot this year. Who's coming for dinner?

I'm going to go to movies more often. Yes I've seen Avatar (twice) and yes I thought it was amazing. I didn't however think Paranormal Activity was amazing. That was way too much for me. I STILL have to sleep with the lights on. We went to Sherlock Holmes last night and it was good. I just want to say that Robert Downey Jr. is super cute. And that's all I'm going to say about that. ;)

I want to enjoy the outdoors more. I'm probably the biggest baby when it comes to cold weather so I'm going to make a point of enjoying the warm seasons more.

I'm going to enjoy music more. Live from my piano room or recorded from my ipod. And concerts. I need more concerts in my life.

Anyway, that's what I want to do this year. It's not anything new or profound, I just want to make the most of every day. It's the climb, right Miley? I challenge you to do the same. Find things you want more of, not things to deprive yourselves of.

Dinner yesterday was only one item:
The Ultimate Lasagna Bolognese
page 22 of Dinner At My Place
Lasagna holds a special place in my heart. When we were growing up my Mom made a HUGE deal about our birthdays. One of the things she did was we had a birthday place setting that included a home-made place mat that said "You're Special". Yes I AM special, thank you very much! We also got to pick out our own menu for the day. This always included a sugar blasted cereal (my parents only ever bought plain Cheerios or Corn Flakes so yes, this was a big deal), lunch from Dairy Queen (hand delivered by Dad to the school), and our choice for dinner. We almost always picked lasagna. I think the reason this was such a novelty for us is because my Mom took all day to make it. Literally. All day. We were just so impressed that she loved us enough to spend a day making food for us.

When I moved out and cooked lasagna for the first time I was shocked and surprised that it only took me an hour and a half to make. I thought for sure I left something out and it was going to taste wrong. Nope. Lasagna wasn't as big a deal as my Mom led us to believe! This is now a joke between me and my siblings about Mom's all-day lasagna. For the record my Mom still makes the best lasagna ever. And no I'm not just saying that to get a wicked birthday present. (Love you Mom!)

My lasagna I made looked like this:


I have to say, this looks just like the picture in Tyler's book! And it tasted even better! The family loved it too. I've been eyeballing this recipe ever since I met Tyler. I was pretty skeptical because he uses ingredients that aren't on my usual list of things to put in lasagna. Bechamel sauce isn't something I've even heard of until now. Turns out I've used it in many different things, but never for lasagna. It's kind of a glorified white sauce.

You know what else is funny? It didn't take me all day to make it either....it took TWO days! Part of this is because when I was elbows deep in bolognese sauce, Ryan came home and announced we were going out with his brother and his wife in an hour and a half. I had to stop and put everything in the fridge for another time.

The sauce is made from scratch which means putting a bunch of veggies in the food processor and then simmering all the ingredients for about two hours. The noodles are also from scratch. This wasn't as traumatizing because it was basically the same noodle recipe as my Mom uses for her amazing home-made chicken noodle soup. The noodles did however take another two hours to make the dough, let the dough rest, roll it out, and hang dry.

All in all it took about 6 hours to make. I don't think I'll make it with as much bechamel sauce because it was a bit too creamy for me, but I will definitely be making this again.

Tonight we're going to Ryan's parent's house for dinner. Here's what I'm bringing:


Pear Cobbler with Cranberry Streusel
page 224 of Tyler's Ultimate
It is made with halved pears on the bottom of a sugared pan topped with a cranberry crumble. It smells amazing and I can't wait to eat it. Good thing I don't have a resolution to lose weight because I'm going to turn into a Creamy Butterball with all the cream and butter I've been cooking with. You are what you eat, right? I just hope Ryan's mom is making salad for dinner because with the lasagna we had for lunch and this for dessert...I don't know. But I do know my jeans are starting to hate me....