Days at home with Logan

Putting the animals to sleep.

"Playing" football on the 'puter.

No-school-day fall craft @ home

Had fun making this little gal this morning with the boys.

The train!

We set up the new train the other night for a little while. The boys had great fun! Looks like many hours of enjoyment from this!

Even built a tunnel for it. That's a boy for ya.

The last Monarch...

...has flown away. Summer is truly over. I'm just hoping it wasn't too windy for her and that she finds all her friends en route to Mexico! Aufwiedersehen!

Yummy recipe to share...the kids loved it and it's cheap to prepare!

Corn Tortilla and Mixed Bean Lasagna

1 t. extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, chopped (2 c.)

2 medium bell peppers, cored and chopped

2 T. minced garlic

1-15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1-15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes, retain some juice

1-4 oz. can mild or hot chopped green chilies

1 T. chili powder

2 t. ground cumin (I used 1 t.)

1 t. salt

12 white corn tortillas

2 c. grated reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese (I used Cheddar Jack)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onions, bell peppers and garlic. Saute until the vegetables are soft, 5 - 7 minutes. Stir in both beans, the tomatoes, chilies, chili powder, cumin and salt. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a 9 x 13 in. baking dish (or other 3-quart shallow baking dish) spread 1/2 c. (or more) of bean mixture. Arrange 6 of the tortillas over the bean mixture, overlapping them slightly and having them come about 1 inch up the sides of the dish.

Spread half of the remaining bean mixture over the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 c. of the cheese, then arrange the remaining 6 tortillas on top. Cover with the remaining bean mixture.

Coat one side of a piece of foil with cooking spray, then tightly cover the dish. Bake until the lasagna is bubbling and heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 5 minutes more, or until the cheese is melted.

NOTE: To add meat to this yummy dish, I cooked several chicken breasts beforehand (seasoned with salt, garlic and thyme), chopped them up and sprinkled them over the 2 bean mixture layers. Enjoy!

Very cool garage sale!

Found an awesome train set for my boys...all 3 of them! HO scale with Santa Fe locomotives. Great fun for this winter.

And found some fun stuff for me at an estate sale. I love old stuff! I've always wanted a fan like this ...and you can never have too many pitchers.

Useful kitchen info

Here's for all you out there who are like me and put a pan of apples on the stove to boil and forget to add water. :-) ha! Thank goodness for Google Search.

http://whatscookingorem.com/2009/08/charred-pan/