Saturday's Story

I woke up Saturday morning at the usual 5:30 AM. It was 33 degrees F. outside! I had a cup of coffee, watched the weather :( and then posted the Blog entry.

I ate an oatmeal breakfast and took my pills. Then I browned one pound of ground chuck for later. I drained it, let it cool and put it in the fridge. I ran the now-full dishwasher. Next I shaved, showered and got dressed.

I left for my 9:00 AM haircut. On the way back home I stopped at Westborn and got a loaf of that Rustic Italian bread, some romaine hearts and some water crackers. Oh, and an impulse buy of a wedge of Pinconning cheese.

Then I went to Home Depot and bought two bags of garden soil and one of potting soil, plus enough Grub-ex to do my whole yard. I wish I would have worn a hat and gloves as the wind was strong again. With the low temperature, it was brutal in the garden area, standing at the checkout and loading the trunk. My hands were numb by the time I got in the car and cranked up the heat!

I dropped everything off at the house. Since I was waiting for my 12:30 PM massage appointment, I assembled my lasagna dinner in the slow cooker. I am using the slow cooker today just to see how this tastes. If it’s good, I’ll add it into my weekday menu plans

As I said, I had already browned a pound of ground beef and drained it. So, I spooned one cup of jarred spaghetti sauce (I was using Bertolli Tomato and Basil, but use your own favorite) in the bottom of my oval slow cooker. I don’t think you could do this in a round one because, as it was, I had to shorten the noodles to get them to fit.

I mixed the remaining pasta sauce with the beef.  Then I placed two uncooked lasagna noodles on the sauce in the slow cooker. I spread 1/3 of the meat mixture on top of noodles. Then I spread 3/4 cup of cottage cheese over the meat. I sprinkled 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the cottage cheese. I added the next layer of uncooked noodles (sort of pushing them down a tad to make them stable), 1/3 more of the meat mixture, another 3/4 cup of  cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of  mozzarella cheese. I put on the final layer of uncooked noodles, the rest of the meat mixture, and another 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese (no cottage cheese on this layer). I sprinkled two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese over top.

I planned on turning it on when I left, because you only cook on low for four hours. I know some of the better slow cookers have timers, but my two don’t. The recipe warns that, if cooked much longer, it gets a bit well done.

One thing else I should tell you. This will be plenty for me, but I don’t think it would work for a family of four without, say, a big salad and lots of garlic bread or plenty of bread sticks. It looks like you would only get three big pieces or maybe four smaller ones out of it (it’s only two noodles wide, remember).

I unloaded the dishwasher and put everything away, killing time. Then I put on my coat, went into the garage and took down the window planter and the porch rail planter that I had stored for the winter. I took them out and set them up. Note to self: With this wind, be sure to fill the window box one with dirt soon or it might just blow off!

I changed my shirt, turned the slow cooker on low and it was time to go. After a particularly brutal massage, I went back home about 1:50 PM. The slow cooker lasagna smelled great, but looked like a hot mess. The liquid was almost up to the top of the stack. Was that how it was supposed to look?

I changed clothes and, despite the cold, went outside to try and at least get a little work done.

The first thing I did was to get the wheel barrow and take the hose box from the garage to its summer spot out back. It wasn’t that heavy, just big and awkward. I took the wheel barrow back up front so I could make my magic dirt.

I put two bags of Miracle Gro garden soil along with one bag of Miracle Gro potting soil in the wheel barrow and mixed it thoroughly with a hoe.

Sidebar: Writing that made me grin. Growing up a country boy, I find it amusing that I now live in a place where “hoedown” has a completely different meaning, lol!

The wheelbarrow of dirt was used to fill the porch rail planter, the window box planter and to top off the raised bed herb planter.

Speaking of the raised bed herb planter, I noticed the parsley and the thyme have started growing, but nothing yet from the basil or rosemary. If the dill starts growing back, I plan on transplanting it to a container. It gets too tall and thin to be raised up in the wind like it was last year. It basically just blew over when it matured.

Next I took the cover off the reflecting pool and cleaned out the winter gunk as best I could. I unrolled some of the hose (not easy as it was stiff from the cold) and filled it up. I tuned the water on slow and let it overflow a while to flush out any remaining crap.

While the water was running, I took the wheel and measured the back gardens and under the play structure. I turned off the water and went inside. It was only when I was transferring the measurements to the old site plan I made years ago that I found out I had completely forgotten to measure the wild garden. I’ll do it on Sunday, when I get the front gardens.

I washed up and ate my early dinner. As I said, it fell apart. I guess I never realized that it’s being trapped in the pan that gives lasagna its structure. So, instead of cutting a piece, I dished out a plate of it with a big spoon. Before I did, though, I cut off three one-inch slices of the Rustic Italian bread and stuck them in the toaster oven. I peeled two cloves of garlic and when my toast was done, I rubbed the garlic on each piece. Then I put a little butter on the toast as well.

Okay, it may have looked like slop, but it tasted great! I even had seconds. And the garlic bread was a nice addition. All in all, it was a delicious, easy slow cooker meal, just nothing you would want to see a photo of!

While I ate, I watched a movie I had taped earlier: "Bound for Glory" starring David Carradine as Woody Guthrie, who was one of my all-time heroes.

B___ called to check in and we exchanged stories. After that, the remaining lasagna had cooled enough that I could put it away. I put the inside crock of the slow cooker in the laundry tub and filled it up to let it soak overnight. Then I went in and watched TV until bedtime.