Lasagna Substitute - Food When You Don't Have Much Time

I'm not what anyone would call a cook, but I do cook almost every day, so I've had to come up with some tips and tricks to disguise my lack of skill in the kitchen. In addition, I have one more problem, and I'm sure that some of you also occasionally have that problem.

Like so many of you who are often short on time, I don't always have either the hours or the inclination (or the ingredients on hand) to do more than throw a few items together and call it a meal. Especially when I'm on a book deadline, I fall firmly into the "if it takes more than 15-20 minutes of prep time, I'm not going to make it" camp. So here is the first of several of my go-to meals when time is at a premium. (Note: I'm not always big on exact amounts for these types of meals. This is more of a guideline than a recipe):

1. Cook and drain whatever kind of pasta you happen to have on hand (I've used spaghetti, rotini and bow tie pasta, but any kind will do).

2. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. If you want to get fancy, you could also saute onions and green peppers with the beef while it is browning, but I'm usually going for fast, and chopping vegetables takes time, so those seldom make it into this dish at my house. (If you're a "must have sausage in my lasagna", now would be the time to brown that as well).

3.Toss some bottled sauce in with the ground beef.

4. When the sauce is hot, stir in your pasta.

5. Add a generous amount of mozzarella and stir in until it melts just a bit. (At this point, if I'm ambitious, I might also add a little "fake ricotta" otherwise known as cottage cheese, but I seldom have it on hand, so usually...no. Just the mozzarella). Note: if you crave a more traditional lasagna taste and you happen to have a hard boiled egg on hand, I suppose you could also chop/crumble some of that in. I haven't tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

6. Pour it all into a bowl and sprinkle generously with more mozzarella. Put it under the broiler (if in a heat-proof bowl) or in the microwave and heat just until the mozzarella topping is melted.

Serve with a bagged salad or a side vegetable (or both) and bread, and you have a meal on the run.

This is one of my favorite go-to's because it's filling and it doesn't look as if I've tried to cheat. So, the question I'd like to ask is...do you have a favorite meal on the run that you make? If so, please share it below. I'd love to hear what other people do in rushed circumstances.

Best Wishes and Happy Reading!

Oh, the Books That You'll Write... - Step Two

So, you've done your research, you've done a lot of reading, you've decided what you want to write and you've gotten into the habit of writing something, even if it's only a grocery list, almost every day. Now you're ready to tackle the book. So, where do you begin?

Depending on what kind of a writer you are, this is either the easiest part or the most difficult. And different writers approach this part differently. Here are some suggestions:

For Any Teachers, Former Teachers or Star Trek Fans

Yes, there is a connection between teaching and Star Trek! Who knew?

Here's a video titled Klingon Night School (via Miss Cellania).

TV & Movie Spoofs Channel
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150 Movie Lines and Catch Phrases

I love movies. If television were mostly movies, I would watch more of it. Still, in the video below I was surprised at how many of the  movies I had seen. WARNING: A FEW OF THE CLIPS CONTAIN VERY BRIEF BITS OF FOUL LANGUAGE, SO PLEASE DON'T WATCH THIS WHILE CHILDREN ARE IN THE ROOM OR IF SUCH LANGUAGE OFFENDS YOU.



Enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Best Wishes,

Trying to Eat Healthy and Stay Green

Staying healthy in this day and age can be real work, can't it? Our ancestors had exercise built into their day, all that lifting and bending and just...doing things all day in order to provide enough food and shelter to survive.

Nowadays many of us work at computers or other jobs where we're more stationary than we might like to be. We have to make an extra effort to get up and move around, things our great-great grandmothers (or great-great grandfathers) never had to do (try to think of a Colonial woman on a treadmill or Queen Victoria doing Pilates. That would be...interesting, wouldn't it)?

Still, we make the effort (stay with me here. We make the effort, don't we? Now nod your head).  And we watch our diets, too. We don't eat too much chocolate, because we have wills of iron, right? (Nod again).

I think we should at least get credit for making the effort even when we (occasionally) fall down on the job.

One thing that helps me is just making sure I have enough information so I can make informed food choices. I try to be a smart shopper and a smart eater (and sometimes I succeed, too). So, yes, I'm not perfect (please don' tell me you're perfect), but I keep working at it. Adding fish to my diet when I grew up as a non-fish eater is one way. But which fish to eat? How do I know the fish I'm eating is safe?

Here's a website that can help. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has all kinds of information about seafood and especially about the best seafood to eat (sustainable, high in Omega 3's and low in contaminants). Try it!

And if you think of any good "good eating tips," please share them with me in the Comments section below.


Stay healthy! You matter.

An Oldie But a Goodie Proposal

I'm not sure why I like this so much. It's a commercial that I posted a link to on The Wedding Planners blog 2 years ago. But there's something so quirky and cute (and let's face it, the actor/hero is the kind of guy I would base a hero on). If you haven't seen it, I hope you enjoy. If you've seen it already, feel free to scroll past...or enjoy it again!


Best Wishes!

This Looks Like So Much Fun!

Okay, the big snow is gone and we're all tired of winter, but this just looks like a great way to spend a day (but an amazing amount of work).  I don't think I'd have the patience to build it, but sledding down it would be fun.

Romantic Quote of the Day

A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea.
Honore de Balzac


I love romantic quotes like that. I hope you do, too.

Childhood Movies and Memories

On Facebook yesterday, a friend (Hi, Julie!) mentioned the movie, Cinderella, starring Lesley Ann Warren. I'm not even going to mention the year it was out, but it was once a cherished childhood memory, aired yearly and, without VCR's or DVR's, you had to make sure you were in front of the television when it came on, or it was gone for an entire year.

In truth, watching this clip, it hasn't held up that well. Production values have come a long way since this was made, but it was movies like this that sent me along the path to writing romance, and I'm fascinated by what books, movies and events have had an impact on other people. Everyone has a few favorite books, some movies we wanted to watch again and again, music we played so often that our parents probably wanted to bang their heads against the wall. Sometimes we look back and want to bang our own heads against the wall, wondering what we saw in (name your movie or music here), but if you think very hard (or maybe not so hard), you can put yourself right back in that moment when you were a child and totally entranced. Those are precious moments that helped make each of us who we are today. Amazing.



I hope you enjoy (or at least get a smile out) of this Cinderella moment. (Oh, and in case you're looking for your own copy of this movie, the DVD appears to be out of print. You can buy a new one for $118+ from an Amazon seller).

Coming Up This Week

This week we have a couple of fun videos, something romantic (of course) and some health and fitness information (sigh. I'm one of those people who would rather just enjoy myself, settle in with a good book and never think about health or fitness, but it's got to be done). Come back and visit!

Oh, the Books That You'll Write - Step One

(Some posts that appear here will also appear on other pages, so that those with a particular interest will be able to find them easily. This is the first post geared with writers in mind, so look for it on the Articles page):

Writing, It's the ultimate dream, right? (Okay, maybe not as ultimate as being a rock star or a famous athlete or owning your own island, but for some of us, the thought of being a writer is really...hot).

Still, it's scary, too. Maybe just thinking about sitting down at a computer, staring at an empty screen and wondering how to type the first word (let alone finishing a masterpiece) makes you want to curl into a fetal ball and suck your thumb.

Living Life to the Fullest...

This is a video I found via this blog. It's about people taking control of their lives, following their passions and doing meaningful work. Inspiring!

MatadorTV: "Breaking Free" from The WereHaus™ on Vimeo.

My Favorite Naming Site

Whether you're a writer trying to name a character or a prospective parent trying to come up with something new or clever (or traditional), sometimes it helps to have a resource. And while there are plenty of baby name books that will do the job, Name Voyager is my website of choice because it offers something that those others don't. You plug in a name and it instantly graphs the name, showing you the popularity arc from the 1880's through the present (or at least as far as statistics are available).

It's fun and sometimes I find myself trying out different names just to see the historical pattern of each name. If you want to give it a try, the website is babynamewizard.com.

Love, Romance and Wedding Post of the Week: Wedding Songs

When I was writing The Wedding Planners with Shirley Jump, Melissa McClone, Susan Meier, Linda Goodnight and Melissa James a few years ago, I spent a lot of time researching weddings. Here's a former DJ who posted a video of The Top 10 Wedding Songs.


Are there songs not on this list that you would choose if you were planning a wedding?

The Strawberries are Calling My Name

I know it's only February. It isn't really spring. This warm stuff, this incredible warmth that is slowly melting the snow is just an illusion, because spring is still a whole month away. But I'm already envisioning grass, leaves, flowers...strawberries. I can smell them (the flowers and the strawberries. If I only had smellovision (or would that be smelloblog?) you could smell them too. But maybe you can. Use your imagination and breathe in deeply. I'll help with this picture. See? Strawberries? Let's go pick some!

Baylor Students Go Gaga

I'm a total sucker for anything clever and musical (YouTube videos, flash mobs and yes, I'm proud to be a Gleek), so this video created by some Baylor students and based on Lady Gaga's Bad Romance won me over. I know nothing of what it's like to be a medical student, but it was good to see that students can still take the time to kick back and just have fun, even if they have incredible IQ's and are under a lot of stress. Enjoy!

Romance (and Food) in Fun Places

I'm working on plotting a book in a fun place (possibly another Las Vegas book), but even if I weren't, I'm always interested in intriguing places to visit. There was an article circulating this week on America's Most Romantic Restaurants. All of them looked fascinating and, yes, romantic, but one in particular caught my eye. It's the Simon Pearce Restaurant in Quechee, Vermont. Simon Pearce is a glassmaker, which snags my attention right off the bat. I love artistic glass. Plus, the restaurant is right over the falls on the Ottauquechee River. One of the tables is actually situated right over the river. Amazing and beautiful and exciting. I want to go there! Right now.

source

Have a great day!
Best Wishes,

I've Changed My Look!

I just wanted to touch base with everyone. As you can see, I'm revamping the site and will be slowly putting things back in order (right now this is the only post and none of the other pages have anything on them yet). I'm not sure I'm keeping the title, either. I was in a quirky mood when I came up with it. Feel free to chime in with suggestions, comments (or slams). Any feedback is welcomed. 



Best Wishes, 
Myrna