Fun with carrots

I've mentioned before that Molly and Ellie LOVE carrots! Every week or so we'll give them each a stick of carrot to play with then eat. Last night was carrot night. Frank gave them these gigantic carrots that they tore into tiny little pieces on the living room floor. Apparently they had planned it this way.. it was to stay there as a snack for later! How clever of them. Unfortunately for them I had other plans, the garbage. I did love watching them go play in the other room then come back a few minutes later to nibble on some carrot pieces then off they go to play again.. ahh they're just too cute :]

Dinner last was... superb! Both Frank and I have to agree it was one of the best meals we've had in quite a while. I have finally found the perfect lasagna recipe. Well to me at least, I plan to make a small one for Frank some day with the meat it calls for. I'm sure he'll love it even more then. Since I knew I was making lasagna last night I figured it was perfect timing to try the home made bread sticks again. I made sure to have enough time so I wasn't rushing myself. Our apartment still smelled of the yummy goodness this morning... mmmmm :] I of course needed a little green in there so I made cucumber-mint salad from the no-cook cookbook my mom got me for Christmas. It was good, I loved it the dogs loved it Frank was just okay with it. I had made it kinda early so it was left in the fridge to soak in the apple cider vinegar for a while. I'm guessing that's why Frank didn't mind it so much. It's pretty quick to make so next time I'll make sure to toss it together RIGHT before dinner. Problem solved!

CUCUMBER-MINT SALAD
Ingredients

3 cucumbers
1/4 cup fresh peppermint leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Sea salt or kelp to taste 

Trim the ends off the cucumbers and chop the rest into small pieces (I peeled it as well since the dogs hate the skin on cucumbers). Finely chop mint and gently toss with olive oil, and vinegar (I just eyed both she tends to use too much oil for my liking). Add salt or kelp to taste. Makes about 3 cups.

BREADSTICKS
I found this delicious, and extremely easy recipe at FOR THE LOVE OF COOKING. If you haven't popped on over to check out Pam's meals, it's a must! They are all so wonderful. The only thing I changed is the flour, she uses all-purpose and I chose to use bread flour. I'm craving some now... sad times.

LASAGNA
This is the original recipe with my changes..

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 tablespoon olive oil(I never use it with my noodles)
  
• 1 pound ground beef(of course not!)
  
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage(see above)
  
• 1 (16 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained(again no, only in sauteed foods)
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil(1/2 teaspoon)
  
• 4 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce(I used extra thick & zesty, I swear it made a difference!)
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten(egg white beaters)
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese(I just used however much looked good to me)
  

This amazing dish I got from ALL RECIPES. Once the maintenance man leaves I will be having some leftovers for lunch!