Summer Bucket List Final Update

With summer coming to a close, I thought I should give a final update on our bucket list. We didn't get to all the things on the list, but summer was a blast!

Original List:

1. Have a sleep over with friends.
2. Make a back yard splash pad.
3. Plant a garden
4. Run a lemonade stand
5. Short stay-cation
6. Go to local carnival
7. See the animatronic dinosaurs at the zoo
8. Go hiking
9. Have a picnic at the park
10. Visit friends

What we accomplished:

1. Sleep over
2. Back yard water mattress instead of splash pad
3. Garden
4 Went to 2 carnivals (We love Carnivals!)
5. Visited friends
6. Had several picnics in the back yard.
7. Short stay-cation

Our stay-cation was the most expensive item on this list. I would like to share with you how we did it on a budget. We went to Chicago for 2 nights and 3 days. Initially we were going to stay in a friend's condo, but we had to change the date at the last minute and stayed in a hotel. I used hotels.com to book our room. I highly recommend this site for booking hotels. We stayed in the Best Western at Grant Park. We went to the aquarium, the Willis Tower, the beach, Buckingham Fountain, and Lincoln Park Zoo. As you can see we crammed a lot into a few days, but the beach and Zoo were free (you pay to park at the zoo). I prepaid our tickets to be able to bypass the ticket lines at the Willis Tower and aquarium. I didn't think Bubba would do well standing in long lines.

As for food, it is difficult to find a inexpensive hotel in the city that offers any kind of breakfast, so we brought our own. I also packed the individual drink mix packs and water bottles for the kids. This saved on drink costs. Whenever possible, we (the adults) would share a meal with the kids. We did have one nice meal out with friends at Gino's East. Our very generous friends paid. A big thanks to them for that fun dinner. I did splurge on Starbucks coffee since there isn't one where I live. I was in heaven for a few minutes everyday.

Whenever we could, we walked to our destinations, however, that isn't always feasible with two small kids. We did take a taxi three times. The kids thought that the taxi was so cool because they didn't have to sit in car seats!

For all this fun we paid just under $1000.00. This price in includes everything from gas to my Starbucks. However, the best part was all the fun we had together.  

Zucchini Lasagna - They Will Eat It

Every summer my parents grow a wonderfully large garden. Since it is just the two of them, they always have extra vegetable to share with family and friends. I love getting free stuff, so I am always happy to reduce my grocery bill by taking some extra veggies off their hands. However, I don't always know what to do with veggies like zucchini. My kids are little, so they are hit or miss when it comes to food. My husband thinks he might just die if he (knowingly) eats a vegetable, and I think zucchini bread is disgusting.

I turned to the Internet to see what people do with this vegetable. I found several posts on how to make zucchini lasagna. Everyone in this house likes lasagna - well actually if red sauce is put on it we will eat it. After reading about four recipes, I chose the one that seemed the easiest and began making the delicious dinner.

I used this recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/zucchini-lasagna.html , but changed it to fit with what I had in my pantry because I wasn't about to run to the store.

Here's what you need with my changes to the recipe:

• 1 lb 93% lean beef                                                                 (I used venison.)
• 3 cloves garlic                                                                        (minced garlic)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tsp olive oil                                                                         (vegetable oil)
• salt and pepper
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes                                                   (Jar of Ragu)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil                                                     (Didn't use )                                                    
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick                                     (1 large)
• 15 oz part-skim ricotta
• 16 oz part- mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Parmigiana Reggiano                                                 (store brand)
• 1 egg

Steps:

1. Slice the Zucchini and sprinkle it with salt. This will dehydrate the zucchini some so it won't be so watery.
2. Brown the meat with the garlic and onion drain the fat.
3. Put the meat and the sauce back in the pan and warm it.
4. In another skillet, place 1 TBS olive oil and heat up. Place the zucchini in the hot oil 2 minutes on each side.
5. Once all the zucchini is seared,  mix together the ricotta, reggiano, and egg,
6. Place a layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Then layer with zucchini and ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Repeat till you run out of ingredients and top with shredded cheese.
7. Cover and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
8. Freeze left overs.

I hope your family likes it as much as mine!