Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Kitchen Tools

This week is a week of kitchen love! Many of my blogging friends love to cook and share amazing recipes... But it's the tools that make a kitchen of amazing value.

So this week it's time to share your favorite kitchen friends! 

1. My pink kitchenaid. Duh! 

2. My Food Network magazines. 

3. A good slow cooker. (Nothing beats a crock-pot on BUSY, BUSY days)

4. My J.A. Henckels knife block.

5. Hand lemon juicer. (My popsicle gave them to me)

6. My Built ny lunch box. 

Isn't it cute?

7. Pyrex pans with snap on plastic lids.

8. Spatulas. They are the all around perfect kitchen tool. 

9. My meat thermometer. 

Makes baking and grilling a no guessing kind of game. 

10. Pink sponges. 

They make cleaning a more joyful experience!

Friday Fancies!

I tried this out last Friday and people seemed to love it... So I'm going to go for it again. :)

I want a puppy. Specifically one of these... 

I'd name it Stitch.

My wedding dress... Don't you wish you could see it? 

Weekends at home with my sweet family. 

Running miles and miles with Mama Bird. 

Text messages. 

(not my texts)

My NIV and Message side-by-side Bible.

My studio apartment where everything is just where I left it. 

Planning my dream wedding with my dear J at my childhood home. 

Country Music... Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Sugarland, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, ... I'm not picky!

(and that my mom and I are going to the Stagecoach festival at the end of the month!)

Shows like Cops, Jail, Locked Up, and Prison Wives. 

(I got it from my Popsicle)

American Eagle jeans. 

Sanuk June bugs. 

Wearing workout clothes to the small office I work in since I'm on the phone all day. 

My pink hard hat. 

(I work in construction and have to be site ready!)

Pearls. 

All the sweet words you all leave for me. 

(My heart feels so encouraged through it!) 

What do YOU fancy this Friday my friends?

What I'm Fancying this Friday!

Friday seems to be a casual time... Offices that require you to wear fancy clothes accept jeans. Instead of cooking dinner it's time to go out on the town and get some fun time in... If the week has felt particularly long you can always take the day off, why? Well because it's Friday of course!

So this very lovely Fri of a day, I'm going to share why I fancy...

Thus, Fancy Friday!

This might be something I make regular, but don't quote me on that one yet... sort of depends how it goes. 

When I don't bit my nails because they are painted and pretty.

My new graduation present watch.

(It's so shiny!)

Nap time, it doesn't happen often, but when it does!

Sunshine!

Yay for warm weather, I love it!

Hard workouts that make my body exhausted.

Running before the sun is up.

(it's hot I tell you!)

A funny April Day today!

A sweet book club.

A God who never fails to amaze me.

Fresh fruit from the Farmer's Market.

My engagement ring.

(I've had it for four months, but can't get enough of it)

Dinner with family to remind me where my heart is.

Stripes.

(on walls, on clothes, on bags, on shoes... I just fancy them)

An alarm that rings to remind a new day is here!

My dear J.

What a good looking chap!

What do you fancy this Friday friends?

(I have a heartfelt post and a new award in line to share... Holy smokes life IS so busy!)

Top Ten Tuesdays

I have never really watched the David Letterman show, mainly because staying up that late is just impossible for me, but I love lists. I mean I love lists! I write a to do list every day, many versions of the same list with different things every day. I write lists for now, for later, for when, for then... I truly love the order that lists provide.

Not only do I seem to love lists, but I have found lots of blogging friends who love them as well... So I decided to start a little Tuesday Link Up for every week. (If it gets too overwhelming, I'll move it to every other week!) but on Sundays I will post what the theme of top ten list is going to be for the following week. Then on Tuesday I'll do a link up post that will include my list as well as links to all of yours!

Hope you're all as excited as me! I'm going to go ahead and give you the theme for this week since it's just a day early!

Our theme for the week: 

Your top ten life essentials

We all have different things that make life possible for us... But think of it like this, you are going to be dropped on a deserted island, what ten things would you bring? I know, ten seems like not so much with all the things you love; I'm having the same problem. 

Stringy Cheesy Calorie Free (just kidding!) Eggplant Lasagna

I am slightly allergic to milk and struggle with ice cream, cheese, and yogurt. Ironically, one of my favorite things in any meals is stringy, melty, delicious cheesiness. So, pump myself full of lactaid (the natural version from Henry's for other allergic foodies out there!) and indulge is my take on Italian, Mexican, oh who am I kidding anything!

Enough about milk already, time for the recipe! This delicious little number has eggplant (YUM! One of my top favorite foods!) and enough melty cheese to... well, I'm not sure what you'd do with melty cheese, but you'll get your fix here!

Ingredients:

• Two eggs
• 1/2 of the 15 oz container of Skim Ricotta Cheese
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• One 16 ounce jar of Ragu (or your favorite pre-made sauce)
• No-boil lasagna noodles (so easy!)
• One 2 cup bag of shredded Italian cheeses
• Sprinkle of salt and pepper (to your liking)
• One sizable eggplant

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and drizzle 1/2 tablespoon olive oil on each.
3. Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.
4. Place half of the eggplant slices on each pan.
5. Turn to coat with the oil, then arrange in a single layer.
6. Bake until tender and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
7. Remove eggplant from the oven.
8. Cover the bottom of the 9x9 casserole dish with spaghetti sauce.
9. Place noodles on top of the sauce, making a single layer.
10. Mix together the two eggs and ricotta cheese in a bowl.
11. Add the two cloves of minced garlic and sprinkle in salt and pepper.
12. Mix together ricotta cheese mixture.
13. Cover the noodles with 1/3 of the ricotta mix. Make sure to spread it solidly across the noodles.
14. Add another layer of sauce over the ricotta.
15. Place eggplant slices on the sauce in a single layer.
16. Add another layer of ricotta.
17. Add another layer of noodles.
18. Add another layer of sauce.
19. Add the final layer of eggplant.
20. Add another layer of sauce.
21. Add the final layer of ricotta.
22. Add the final layer of noodles.
23. Add the final layer of sauce.
24. Cover the top of the sauce with the Italian cheese. (This can be done to your liking. I happen to love cheese -did I mention that yet?- so I use a lot!)
25. Once topped to your fancy, cover the top tightly with tinfoil and pop into the oven.
26. Let cook for 40-45 minutes -until the cheese on the top is all melty and warm.
27. Remove from oven, let stand as long as you can resist (only five minutes in my kitchen!)
28. Enjoy!

Jason's rating: only 3.5 stars. He doesn't accept cheese as a legit protein. I thought the hot italian sausage I put as a side on his would work, but he said there needed to be a real protein in the lasagna. Oh, technicalities!