Lasagna Cupcakes for Kids

I am so unbelievably far from a food blogger, but this is such an easy peasy thing to make that I thought I'd pass it along.  What makes these a genius kind of meal is that you can modify them individually in the muffin tins to cater to individual tastes, and they're mistake-proof enough that kids can help.  Well, not sixteen-month olds, but you can feed them little pieces of mozarella while your three-year old helps.


You'll need:


Muffin tin
24 Wonton wrappers (they're in the produce section, near the tofu and mushrooms at my grocery store)
Spaghetti sauce
Shredded mozarella (between 1 - 2 cups depending on how much your kids snack during the preparation)
Small-ish container of ricotta
Maybe a cup of shredded or grated parmesean


You can add:


Baby spinach (cooked into the sauce or added whole as a layer)
Ground beef, turkey, or sausage (cooked into the sauce)
Shredded carrots or zucchini (cooked into sauce)
Pretty much anything else that sounds good in lasagna


Prep Work:


Get your sauce ready (I told you I wasn't a food blogger - I opened a jar of Garden Style Ragu)
Season ricotta if you're so inclined (I used a couple teaspoons of Italian Herbs and garlic powder)
Mix ricotta and parmesean cheese together
Preheat your oven to 375
Spray your muffin tins with non-stick spray


Assembly:


Press a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each muffin cup
Add ricotta mixture to the bottom of the cup (approximately a tablespoon)
Cover ricotta with sauce (again, approximately a tablespoon)
Sprinkle with shredded mozarella
Press another wonton wrapper on top of the mozarella
Again, some ricotta
Then some sauce
Finish with mozarella


Bake about 18 - 20 minutes at 375 degrees (cheese will bubble and brown)
Let stand for about five minutes before eating to allow the lasagnas to firm up a little


I hope you're not laughing too hard at my goofy attempt to explain my cooking, but these are seriously so easy and my kids liked them a lot.  (If you like the idea, you can find other, better recipes with a quick search, I'm sure!)

my pathetically small counter space

and jarred spaghetti sauce

and bagged shredded mozarella

the milk is just there for Abbey to drink 

the top nine have layer one completed

the bottom three have the second wonton wrapper added 

layer two - some with just ricotta/parm mixture, some with ricotta and sauce 

the finished product

I guess you could make them look prettier by folding in the wrappers?

Turning Three

Three years ago today, my world changed forever.

Before that day, I was a woman, a wife, a daughter, a teacher, a runner, a writer, and so many little things jumbled together to define me.

Three years ago today, we welcomed Abbey into the world.

Three years ago today, I became a mother.

Through her eyes, my world has been redefined.  Moments stretch for an eternity, engrossed in a book or crayons or a pinecone, all invaluables treasures.  Years pass too quickly; it's impossible that my first baby can be three years old today.

I told her today that her birthday was special for me, too.  I told her that before her, I wasn't a Mommy.

"I'm sorry you weren't a Mommy before," kisses and snuggles and smiles, "Mommy, I love you."

Happy Birthday to my girl, my first born, my spirit.  I love you, too.

her party is next weekend

but we shared cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday three times

because three years old is a big deal

The Party

I had big plans for the cake

I wimped out

the Cake Boss can keep his job

peek-a-boo

boo is (kind of) his newest word

still no "mama"

grrrrrrr

a little cupcake with a little candle

far, far away from little fingers

(he's a grabber)

Abbey exclaimed, "A beard like Grandpa!"

the big kids playing with the train table

this is the closest Dylan got to his gifts all night

Abbey and Madison opened them for him

the boys checking out Dylan's new ride

thanks Aunt Col!

Abbey's lucky he doesn't mind sharing

checking out his future girlfriend working on her crawling

Frosting - The Gateway Drug

Our little family celebrated Dylan's actual birthday with cupcakes.  Much like his sister, he was unsure about the whole thing at first.  What happened next is better captured in pictures...

it's my brother's birthday! 

I'm not sure about this 

notice the cupcake on the edge of the table 

I'll just have my water

hmmm, what's this soft stuff?

it's pretty sweet 

I might like this

I like it!

I really like it! 

and this is the end of his frosting bender

the cupcake remained untouched

we thought he devoured it, because it was just gone

I later found it near the train table, discarded and unwanted 

Abbey has no shame

she wiped Dylan's face with her fingers

then licked her fingers

such a helpful sister

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and best friend!  Ryan has been studying like crazy lately, and that means working late on Wednesday nights.  Since he wasn't going to be home for dinner, the kids and I met him for some Baja Fresh and cupcakes at lunch time.  Abbey was really excited that it was Daddy's birthday (and also excited that she got to eat a cupcake!) 

Abbey also told me what I should buy him for his birthday, and she was very certain about it.  The first thing she suggested was cake, and we did that by getting the cupcakes.  (We tried the new place cup.cake and thought it was yummy.)  Then she thought for a while, and said, "Buy Daddy a present."  She didn't elaborate until earlier this week, when she decided she wanted me to buy him a toy dump truck she saw in Walgreens a couple of weeks ago.  That request was (sorry Abbey!) not honored.

Dylan, the sweetheart, slept through lunch but was awake when Ryan got home.  We love you, Ryan!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It wasn't that long ago that St. Patrick's Day meant drinking some green beer at PT O'Malley's at Michigan State.  What can I say?  The school's official colors are green and white - practically an invitation for a special St. Pat's celebration.  Not to mention that Ryan and I ran into each other the day after St. Patrick's Day one year.  Ever the liberated woman (LOL), I asked him if he wanted to get dinner sometime.  Without that forward move on my part, today's celebration might never have taken place!

Hooray for little boys in green!  Dylan was really living it up.  We didn't name him Dylan Patrick for nothing :)

My girl sporting her green...

...and pink and yellow and purple.  She picked the leggings herself.  Really.

Abbey has been talking about cupcakes since her birthday.  We decided (well, I guess I decided, since I am the only one who can reach the KitchenAid mixer) to make some green cupcakes to celebrate the day.  I had the ingredients for the cupcakes on hand, but we needed to go to the store to get the stuff for frosting.  Thankfully, the weather was absolutely beautiful (in the 60s, which is unseasonably warm for this time of the year), so we all piled into the double stroller to go to the store.  Dylan slept later than normal in the afternoon, so we didn't have time to frost them before dinner, but Abbey enjoyed her frosting-less cupcake anyway.  I finished the sweet treats after dinner.  There was no green beer in sight, but I think even the most thirsty of St. Patrick's Day partiers would have enjoyed our cupcakes at the end of the day!