We're Married!!

I am finally a married woman! Justin is an incredible husband and we are having such a great time being married. The wedding was incredible, I wish I could relive that day over and over.  Everything went so smoothly and I couldn't be happier about my day.  A special thanks to my photographer Nancy Ray; by far the best wedding pictures I have ever seen!  We cannot wait to see the rest of the pictures.  Here is a link to view a sneak peek if you haven't already!

http://nancyrayblog.com/?p=5913

And, a peek of my bridal portraits! I will put more up soon, and hopefully get some up on facebook.

http://nancyrayblog.com/?p=5785

We spent the most perfect Honeymoon in Playa del Secreto, Mexico, in an all-inclusive resort called the Valentin Imperial Maya.  It is part of the string of resorts that make up the Riviera Maya.  It was PARADISE! We spent 9 nights there and took advantage of all that we could! Seriously, we ate SO much food.  Since it was all-inclusive, we could order as much as we wanted at any meal, so when there were buffets in play, we knew we'd be feeling it later but it was completely worth it!  Justin gained 10 pounds and I gained 6! Thankfully, it has all come back off and we are eating much healthier here at home. Which brings me to my next topic....COOKING!

I have had the most fun time getting our apartment together, gathering gifts and using all that I can to really learn how to cook.  And to my surprise, it has come very easily to me! For our first night here in the apartment, I made Roasted Garlic and Creamy Mushroom Chicken and Risotto. It was a hit! The next night was Asian night...always a big thanks to Trader Joe's for their amazing Orange Chicken and Vegetable fried rice...it's one of our favorites! Definitely a Vidovich staple. Sunday night I tried my Aunt Carol's special Lasagna recipe! My mom has made it for years, so I wanted to give it a try. It is SO simple:

Ingredients:
1 pkg. of Egg noodles
1 lb. of Ground Chuck
Ricotta Cheese (or Cottage Cheese, your choice!)
Mozzarella Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
Pecorino Romano Cheese (we sprinkled some on the top, its Justin's favorite, but not necessary!)
A Jar of your favorite tomato sauce (I use Classico's Roasted Garlic)

Preheat your oven to 400.
1. Brown the hamburger meat in a skillet (I use olive oil) and season with your choice of seasonings.  I used salt, pepper, italian seasoning, Tony Cachere's, and special sandwich seasoning from my grandma.
2. Cook your egg noodles. (this does not take long, read the label for cooking time)
3. Once the hamburger meat is done, strain, and then put back in the skillet with a jar of your spaghetti sauce and turn on low heat.
4. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.
5. When egg noodles are done, drain and pour half of them into the casserole dish. You are going to be layering ingredients, so make sure there are more noodles for the top.
6. Make 2 layers. First layer: Noodles, Meat Sauce, Ricotta or Cottage Cheese. Second layer: Noodles, Ricotta Cheese, Meat Sauce, then COVER with Mozzerella and Cheddar Cheese (or whatever else you'd like to add)

Bake in 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese on top is bubbling and slightly browning. We put parmesan cheese on top of our servings. A must.
Hope you try and enjoy it! I'd post a picture but we ate it so quickly! It makes for great leftovers as well.

Next recipe to come...Banana Streusel Muffins I made yesterday :)

Molly