Crock Pot Ravioli Casserole

I found this through Pinterest. I am loving that site for recipes! Click here to see the original recipe and and a photo.

1 lb ground turkey (or next time I am trying ground Italian sausage)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed
16 oz bow tie pasta, cooked
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown the ground turkey (or Italian sausage) with onion and garlic. Put in the crock pot and add the sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings. Cook for 6-7 hours on low.

Add the thawed spinach, cooked pasta, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella. Combine and cook for 30 minutes on high. Add the last 1.2 cup of mozzarella on top and allow to melt before serving.

Zombie Buffet 5k

Saturday was a busy day. We got up and headed to Nashville to watch Andrew and Phil run in the Zombie Buffet 5k.

These boys are crazy fans of zombies so it was most likely a dream come true getting to run from them. We met up with Phil and Emily before lunch. The boys headed to Nashville to get signed in and the girls + Colin went to Starbucks to kill time until the race started.

I had Colin dressed in a Zombie shirt. He would growl at you, point to his shirt, and then say "I'm a zombie!"

Then we headed to the riverfront to find the boys. They were ready to go! Couple quick pictures before the race started and then Emily, Colin, and I went for a walk.

We walked over the pedestrian bridge b/c we knew the Zombies were over there and so were Granny and Papa. We knew a few Zombies: Daniel, Megan, and Lashlee. We never found Megan or Lashlee so I never got to see their Zombie attire. But as we were walking over the bridge, the first group of runners weren't far behind us. Which also meant zombies were coming out too. And that is when we got our first sighting of Daniel (Andrew's brother). He was a Zombie dressed in camo. A Marine Zombie.

Um, some of these Zombies were pretty scary. Check out this picture. Emily and I are the right side. And that lady Zombie was pretty creepy. Luckily, we were obviously spectators and no Zombies bothered us.

We had so much fun watching and the boys plan to do it again next year. Hopefully they dress up. We saw some great costumes. The best had to be Mario and Luigi. They brought with them banana peels and "turtle shells" (aka balls) just like in Mario Kart and used those against the Zombies. I heard some of the Zombies weren't too thrilled with that.

I have more pictures, but haven't had a chance to upload them yet. These pictures were some that Emily took and a couple I found on the Zombie Buffet 5k facebook page.

Weekly Meal Plan

Breakfast

• Waffles
• Oatmeal
• Smoothies
• Cereal

Lunch

• Leftovers
• Frozen Burittos
• Bruitto Bowls
• Mac n' Cheese
• Fruit & Cheese
• PB Crackers

Dinner

• Pulled Pork Chili
• Spicy Chicken Tenders & Fries
• Breakfast for dinner
• Crockpot Lasagna
• Lefover Crockpot Lasagna
• Pantry meal

Let's talk lunch: PB&J

It's easy. It's a classic. It's Peanut Butter & Jelly.

Most kids like it and you probably have the ingredients in your pantry or fridge.

So what did I pair it with?

• Half a PB&J - spread the peanut butter on both halves of the bread and put the jelly in between. No jelly gets your bread soggy.
• Potato Chips - we like kettle cooked b/c they are nice and crispy
• Apple slices
• Apple-Strawberry Fruity Flakes (wishing I had some dark chocolate instead though)

Pretzels instead of chips? Cool. Strawberries instead of grapes? Awesome. Almost anything goes with PB&J.

For kids you can get creative. Colin isn't into PB&J, but loves peanut butter crackers. So I try to make these occasionally for him to see if he has come around. To entice him to try it I use different cookies cutters to make them into fun shapes. Most everyone will have a few basic cookies cutters: stars, trees, etc. But every so often pick up a new one just for the little guy/girl. I now have the letter "C" for Colin, dinosaur, football helmet, and Mickey Mouse. I saw a train one at the store the other day and I am kicking myself for not getting it. He would love it.

As for a picture - I think you know what a PB&J looks like so I didn't use my horrible food photography skills today.

Let's talk lunch: Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

What do we have for lunch today?

• Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
• Baby Carrots
• Fruit: peaches & grapes
• Apple-Strawberry Fruity Flakes (from Trader Joe's)

Obviously you don't have to do the same fruits, veggies, and dessert. But I am trying to include at least one fruit and veggie in each lunch, assuming that the main meal isn't a salad. Then I might switch out the veggie side for a bread.