Meatless Wednesday-Zuchini Casserole

My husband is the definition of the word "carnivore".  He would be happy with steak all day everyday for the rest of his life. I, on the other hand, am more of a borderline-vegetarian, meat for the most part grosses me out and i only eat certain kinds. Most of our meals contain meat due to my husbands need for meat, but because i can't really stomach it and the baby won't touch it; i have established "Meatless Wednesdays" into my weekly meal-planning. For today's "Meatless Wednesday" i decided to go with Zucchini Casserole(sorry,no pictures today)

Ingredients

2 Summer squash,thinly sliced
2 Zucchini,thinly sliced
1bag of mozzarella cheese
4 cups pasta shells
1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350. In a large pot cook the squash and zucchini ,5-10 minutes,until tender. While the squash is cooking, cook your shells until they are al dente. In a 9x13 casserole dish layer squash,cheese,pasta and repeat, putting a generous amount of cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 15-20. Take out and cover the top of the casserole with crushed Ritz crackers and drizzle with melted butter. Cook an additional 5 minutes and enjoy!

Sharin' the love :)

I firmly believe in giving credit where credit is due, sharing the love and spreading the wealth; so i am dedicating this post to my fellow blogging mama's. The below links will bring you to some of my favorite posts from some of my favorite bloggers on the interwebz. Check 'em out, follow them and savor the awesomeness. :)

Love, Honor & Wash the Dishes - The post the link will take you to, is one of the BEST tutorials on making your own laundry soap I have EVER seen. It is easy to follow, has lots of pictures and is very,very well written. Along with the laundry soap recipe, she also includes recipes for easy, inexpensive, and delicious. Go check her out and share the love!

Bacon In My Pocket - Ma Bacon(as the author calls herself) is the QUEEN of thrifty living, hands down. She shares all sorts of recipes,tips and tricks to keep a little "bacon in your pocket". Her recipes are to die for and the cost of the ingredients will leave a wallet a little heavier. Check 'er out, share the love!

Prudent Baby - This is my favorite site for DIY sewing tutorials! They are easy-to-follow, fun and the finished projects are super,super cute! Check them out!

Have a blog you love to follow? Share it below! I'm always looking for more great blogs to follow :)

No-Mess Pancakes

 For me, feeding BabyCoupon breakfast is the hardest time of the day. Figuring out something to give her that she will actually eat,won't stick too badly to the floor and won't be a nightmare to clean out of her hair is a challenge, to say the least. Throughout the months and months of sticky,messy,oy-vay, trial-and-error, i have found out that pancakes seem to be a favorite of hers. Now, pancakes are easy enough to make and aren't all that hard to clean off the floor or out of her hair.  But, who eats pancakes WITHOUT maple syrup? Not my child, that's for sure!
As we all know, maple syrup is notorious for being sticky and messy and just plain a pain in the rump to clean off of anything, especially a squirmy worm like my 16 month old. So, i set out on a mission to figure out how to give her the same sweetness of maple syrup, without all of the maple syrup mess.. .


. . enter the "no-mess pancakes"! Now, this is a very simple creation, and i am most likely NOT the first person to come up with the idea. Nonetheless, i do feel like a genious :)

No Mess Pancakes

Complete pancake mix of your choice
Maple Syrup
Cinnamon (optional)

Prepare pancake mix according to package. Drop 2 tbs of batter into pre-heated skillet. As soon as the first bubble appears on the pancake, drizzle syrup onto the pancake. Cook 1-2 minutes more then flip, cook until each side is golden-brown. . . VOILA! Yummy,no-mess pancakes that your child will enjoy eating,an you wont mind cleaning up.

Also, for a fun twist, we like to use pancake molds like those show below :)

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Too Hot to Cook??

Whelp, summer has officially arrived in New England. Yesterday and today were in the high 90's and since my stove is a "heater stove" it literally heats the entire house. I had just gotten some fresh zucchini and yellow squash from the farmer's market and wanted to use that up,so i decided to whip up a pasta-salad-like dish that could be eaten hot or cold.  I also added some butter beans to add protein and fiber to the meal for Baby Coupon.

Pasta and Veggie Dish

You will need:

1 medium zucchini

1medium yellow squash

1small can of mushrooms

1 can of butter beans (optional, Green beans would go great with this dish)

Olive oil

seasonings of your choice(i used, Italian, soy sauce,pepper and garlic powder)

Pasta of your choice

preheat olive oil in a medium saucepan for about 2-3 minutes, add chopped zucchini and squash,beans,mushrooms and spices, cook on medium-high heat until the squash is tender.

Cook pasta according to package. Spoon veggie mixture over pasta and enjoy!