Ode to Pioneer Woman.com

I have a confession. I love being in the kitchen. Especially when I have a good day cooking/baking/creating in the kitchen. I can't wait to design my kitchen for our dream home. Then I might sleep in it too. Today's afternoon was spent in the kitchen and I thought I would blog it step by step purely for curiosity's sake as well as comical relief. Here we go:

Time- 2:04pm. Dace is napping and I don the apron. Today's choice of music (which is critical in having a good kitchen day, fyi) Harry Connick Jr's Greatest Hits.

First, I make 50 chinese dumplings. These things rock and are highly addictive. Time check- Just after 3. I hear the bubbas. Perfect timing. Fish him out then back to the kitchen....

Next, I decide to use some of the 1500 lbs of free tomatoes we got last week to make fresh tomato sauce. Five tomatoes, an onion and 5 cloves of chopped garlic.

I take the onions and garlic and get them sauteing. I also add five fresh basil leaves. Oh the delicious scent of it all!


Add the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, dried oregano and parsely. Simmer down for 40 minutes.

Puree into this beautiful, buttery, smooth sauce. Added a bit of brown sugar to cut the acidity and presto! perfection. But wait! What has Dace been doing to occupy himself?

Freeing his goldfish. Swim free, fishies! Swim free!

So now we are going to use the sauce to make veggie lasagna for dinner. Layer one. Isn't that sauce the most gorgeous thing ever? okay these pictures really don't capture its essence but trust me on this one.

A layer of garden veggies. Love all the color! Today's selection- yellow squash, zuccini, red onion, carrot, green pepper. The first time I made this, after a few bites Dallin commented, 'wow, you don't even miss the meat." I haven't made meat lasagna since and that was almost 2 years ago.

Another layer of noodle and sauce then a mixture of spinach,ricotta, an egg and pepper.

Final layer of noodles, sauce then pour on the cheese. I am a Racicot. Therefore I only know one amount for cheese- LOTS! Bake uncovered @350 for 35 minutes.

Do I clean as I go? No. I get that from my mother. I think it is the one habit Dallin can barely stand about me. But isn't that how it works? I cook, you clean. Isn't that hidden between the lines of every wedding vow out there? I think so.

But wait, where's Dace now? This is Dacebook after all. Here he is! Playing in the tupperware once again. Uh oh. The camera and I have been spotted.

No touchie!


End result- bubbly goodness that is lasagna. End time- 6:04pm. Did I mention I'm 19 weeks pregnant? Someone give me a She-ra award....or a footrub would work too.