Sisters…

Sisters are different flowers

from the same garden…

Skyleigh & Liberty

August 2012

Monterey Jack Salsa

Avocados were on sale last week, so I whipped up one of our favorite dips. 
And it’s sooo easy!

MONTEREY JACK SALSA
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
5 green onions, chopped
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
1 large tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
1/2 to 1 cup sliced black olives
1 cup zesty Italian dressing
Tortilla chips
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Allow some time in the refrigerator for the flavors to get to know each other.  Or just dig in, if you can’t wait.  Not that we would do that ;)
I told you it was easy!

Happy Birthday, Liberty!

Early this morning, my new granddaughter, Liberty, arrived! 

How can you look at a baby and not believe in God?
 
A bundle of sweet little perfections…

how could this just happen without a God with a plan?

God didn’t design her so perfectly to just take up space….

God has a plan for her…

A plan that only he can do…

Dear, Sweet Liberty:

May you always seek the God who so beautifully designed you…

and

May you always seek to do the will of the Father

who has big plans for you.

And now for the photos :)

6 pounds, 15 ounces

so prEcIoUs!!

With Mommy:

My big brother Nolan Ryan 
and 
My big sister Skyleigh Claire:

My Uncle Matthew:

My Aunt Lacey (Auntie Bee):

Oops… Almost forgot -
Take a picture of me too, Nana!

Happy Birthday, Libby!!

Love,
Nan

Dutch Oven Lasagna Recipe

Start your coals before prepping the lasagna… we use a charcoal chimney starter.  They work really well and only require 1 sheet of newspaper and no lighter fluid :)

I made the meat sauce and cottage cheese layer at home and kept them in glad containers in the cooler. This makes it so much quicker to get the lasagna cooking:

Start layering.  Break the noodles to fit your Dutch oven.

Layers finished and ready for the hot coals:

Use enough coals to equal 350 degrees.  Here is a general temperature guide for Dutch oven cooking:

Source: scoutingmagazine.org via Prairie on Pinterest

However, I don’t find that it applies well for high altitudes.  So if you are camping higher than sea level and your Dutch oven doesn’t seem to be heating up well, try adding a few more coals :)  At 7600 feet, we needed 17 coals on top, 11 on bottom to equal 350 degrees.  And I added 2 coals to the bottom for the last 10 minutes.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Remove top and continue cooking 5-10 minutes more.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Finished!

Mom’s Famous Lasagna Sauce:
1 pound hamburger, browned and drained
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
28 oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes
8 ounces tomato sauce
1.5 cups water (omit if you cook your noodles first)
1 cup salsa
2 tsp. sugar
1-2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. fennel seed
1.5 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil leaves
1 tsp. salt
Cottage cheese layer: 16 oz. cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced parsley or 1 tsp. dried parsley
4-6 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
9-12 regular lasagna noodles

Combine sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cottage cheese, egg, salt, parmesan and garlic.  Mix well.

Breaking noodles to fit your Dutch oven, layer 1/3 of the uncooked noodles, about 1/3 of the meat sauce, 1/3 the cottage cheese and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Cook with 17 coals on top, 11 on bottom for 45-55 minutes.  Uncover and allow the bottom coals to continue cooking for 5-10 minutes more.  Let stand 5 minutes with no heat. 

Enjoy the view while you dine:

Gray and Orange Tractor Blanket

Did you know that I take custom orders for both my Etsy shops? 

Just finished making a custom blanket for a certain sweet nephew…

His auntie wanted a gray, orange and white colorway with a tractor….

I’ve never crocheted a tractor before and it took a few tries to get a pattern worked out. 

I have to say I LOVE these colors together!

So convo me if you would like a custom item from one of my shops… PuddinToes or thePrairieCottage  :)