Tell us Tuesday #9

Welcome to the Tell Us Tuesday party everyone!  We’re excited to see what you’ve been up to this week!  Stop by every Tuesday to link up your latest blog posts and show off what you’ve been doing, then check out the other links and find new bloggers to follow, inspiration for new projects, parenting tricks, or a new yummy dinner idea.

Since this party is hosted by several bloggers, your links will be on multiple sites!

<center> <br /> <a href="http://www.muchadoaboutsomethin.blogspot.com/" title="Much Ado About Somethin"><img src="http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww278/cev0203/Tell-Us- Tuesday-Button.gif" alt="Much Ado About Somethin" style="border:none;" /></a><br /> <br />

Your Co-Hosts

One FineWire – Facebook Page – Twitter – Pinterest - Bloglovin'

Much AdoAbout Somethin – Facebook Page – Twitter – Pinterest - Bloglovin'

Here's what your hosts have been up to this week...

One Fine Wire

Check out how my husband and I have been downgrading financially to make a better cushion for our family.  Budgeting is a great thing!

Much Ado About Somethin'

*Try the best lasagna recipe this week and see what you think!

*Check out some of the neat things that Lauren saw at the coolest antique fair around.

*Our latest little trip - this time we hit Saratoga Springs!

Now for some of the features from last week!

Food Features

We picked mint chocolate brownies because Courtney's Mom will love these.  Can you imagine adding mint chocolate chip ice cream to this!?

Super simple and it looks divine!!!!  Ritz Cracker pie is where it's at!

DIY Features

It's officially Fall and we are always looking for something we could make ourselves to decorate our homes.  I absolutely adore this beautiful burlap wreath!

I have always wanted to do some stencil work in my home and the Domestic Superhero did an amazing job in her dining room.  Check out her beautiful makeover :)

Ladies Tellin' It Like It Is

Ever book a flight or a hotel room thinking you got a great deal but you find a lower price somewhere else?  Check out some sites that help you with that!

If you were featured, grab a button!

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Now to PARTY!  Just a few basic rules we’d love for you to follow:

- Tell us about your recipes, parenting tips, DIY projects, or your family vacation – we want to see it all!

- Follow each of us so you’ll never miss a party.  Follow on GFC, Bloglovin’, or your favorite reader - we’d love to hear from you!

- Add a party text link or button to your blog.  This helps us in exchange for letting ‘ya link up!  The more people that know about the party, the better.

- Click around – find a few links that interest you below and check them out!  Better yet, leave them a comment and tell them where you came from!

- Spread the word – Share the party on Facebook and Twitter so more can join in the fun.  The more people that find out about Tell Us Tuesday, the more it benefits you!  

- We’d also love for you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  We follow back! 

- By linking up, you’re giving permission for us to potentially feature your posts on the blog or social media.

An InLinkz Link-up

Nutella Ice Cream with a Fluff Ribbon

My friend Ann loves Nutella more than almost anything else.  She says Nutella is the Swedish person's peanut butter (they eat it on everything) so when I was thinking of what kind of ice cream to make for our birthday girl's dinner, it didn't take me too long to decide.  Nutella ice cream with a little something extra - a fluff ribbon in the middle!

Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella (or another chocolate-hazelnut spread)
7 ounces Fluff (Marshmallow fluff)

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat.  Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow (about 4 minutes).

Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture, and stir.  Add this mixture back into the saucepan.  Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7-10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer.  Stir in vanilla and Nutella until it dissolves.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight (cool completely) before pouring into an ice cream maker.  Follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze.

Once frozen, transfer half of the ice cream mixture into a Tupperware container and smooth out.  Then spread 5-7 ounces of marshmallow fluff on top of that, then spread the remaining ice cream on top.  Freeze container for 5-10 hours, then serve with an ice cream scoop (reaching all the way through the ice cream so each scoop has a ribbon of fluff through it!

Enjoy!

The Best Lasagna

A good lasagna is one of my favorite comfort foods...and this is a GREAT recipe.

Last weekend, we went apple picking with some friends.  Once we had eaten two dozen apples between us and had picked 75 pounds for ourselves, we all headed back to our house for dinner.  This recipe is pretty easy to put together, can be made ahead of time, and doesn't fall apart when you cut into it.  How many homemade lasagnas actually stay together beautifully?  Not many!

Ingredients
Lasagna noodles
2.75-3 pounds ground beef
1.5 cups minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
1.5 jars of your favorite pasta sauce
20 oz Ricotta Cheese
3 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1 egg
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Thinly sliced mushrooms (8 oz)
Spinach
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Heavy cream
Salt
Dried basil

Directions

Boil lasagna noodles according to the directions on the box.

Brown ground beef, strain, and set aside.  Saute minced onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent.  Add ground beef to onions and garlic, and sprinkle with dried basil and salt.  Add pasta sauce and stir to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, cream cheese, and egg, stirring until combined.  Add chopped, fresh basil and a sprinkle of salt, then set aside.

Now it's time to build your lasagna!  Start with a thin layer of the meat on the bottom of a large Pyrex dish.

1. Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top of the meat.
2. Spread 1/2 of the ricotta/cream cheese mixture on top of the noodles.
3. Spread (just less than half) of the meat mixture on top of the cheese.
4. Evenly distribute half of the thinly sliced mushrooms on top of the meat.
5. Place a single layer of spinach on top of your mushrooms
6. Sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 one more time.
8. Lay 3 more lasagna noodles on top of the cheeses.
9. Evenly spread remaining meat mixture on top of the noodles.
10. Sprinkle more Parmesan and mozzarella cheese on top.
11. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of heavy cream on top and down the sides of the lasagna.

If your lasagna is overflowing (or close to it), it's a good idea to put some weight on top of the dish and refrigerate it for a little while to compact it a little.

Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  Cover the lasagna with a foil "tent" for the first 30 minutes, then remove foil and continue cooking.  Your lasagna will be done when it's bubbling and the cheese begins to brown around the edges.

Let the lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it.  This will help keep the pieces from falling apart when you cut it to serve.

Enjoy!

Brimfield Antique Show

Last weekend, we made our annual pilgrimage to Brimfield, MA (about an hour west of Boston) for the Brimfield Antique Show.  Brimfield happens three times a year (one week each time), in May, July, and September. It's the largest outdoor antiques show in the world!  Each week, over 130,000 people come to search through over 6,000 dealers' booths.  These booths stretch about 1 mile down the road and go a few hundred yards back on each side!  SO much stuff.

No matter what you're looking for, you'll find it at Brimfield.  Every year we go, we're amazed at how much we see, but how little progress we make down the street!  We've never made it further than 1/8 of a mile down the road...and that's after 5-6 hours.  You could seriously spend an entire week there.

This year, our friends Dave and Kirstin came with us.  We arrived (as always) early in the morning, because things get pretty packed later in the day and parking is next to impossible.  Plan on being there around 8am.

Here are some of the neat things we happened upon:

The tiniest watch parts - gears, springs, backs and faces.  So cool.  I bought a whole handful of these for a later project!

A piece of home!  It was giant, so sadly we couldn't bring it home with us.

Dave was on the hunt for old Presidential buttons and found a few awesome ones.

Travis was on the hunt for old instruments...I didn't let him come home with this guy.

In addition to the watch parts, here are a few other things we came home with...

Travis got a french horn marching bugle to add to his instrument collection.

This hillarious book about relationships.

Three antique crates - whisky, soda, and explosives!

It was a fantastic day.  If you live even remotely close and love antiques, you NEED to make sure you make a trip next year!

Tell Us Tuesday #8

Welcome to the Tell Us Tuesday party everyone!  We’re excited to see what you’ve been up to this week!  Stop by every Tuesday to link up your latest blog posts and show off what you’ve been doing, then check out the other links and find new bloggers to follow, inspiration for new projects, parenting tricks, or a new yummy dinner idea.

Since this party is hosted by several bloggers, your links will be on multiple sites!

<center> <a href="http://www.muchadoaboutsomethin.blogspot.com/" title="Much Ado About Somethin"><img src="http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww278/cev0203/Tell-Us-Tuesday-Button.gif" alt="Much Ado About Somethin" style="border:none;" /></a><br />

Your Co-Hosts
Much AdoAbout Somethin – Facebook Page – Twitter – Pinterest - Bloglovin'

One FineWire – Facebook Page – Twitter – Pinterest - Bloglovin'

Here's what your hosts have been up to this week...

Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Almond Butter recipe!  

A weekend trip to Saratoga Springs.  We hit the horse track, ate great food, spent time downtown, and drank from 12 natural springs!  So cool.

A fun craft and healthy snack to do with your kids, complements of PBS Kids & one of their new shows.

Courtney has a fantastic giveaway going on over at One Fine Wire - win a free blog makeover!  You have until September 25th to enter.  She's even got a 35% off coupon code you can use.  Check it out.

Now for some of the features from last week!

Food Features

Hershey's chocolate syrup doesn't hold a candle to Katie's homemade hot fudge.

I've been loving all of Jazzy Gourmet's cooking tips.  Her latest tip is how to keep a pot from boiling over - so smart and easy...it's a must-do.

DIY Features

Me, Myself, and Jen put together a fantastic tutorial for custom french picture boards.  Check this out and make a few!

It's almost time to start decorating for Halloween, and these mummy jars are super cute!  Craft night with your kids!!

Ladies Tellin' It Like It Is

Leslie over at Lamberts Lately has put together 6 different fall looks, complete with links to the products themselves.  Are you ready for warmer colors and sweaters?

Have you defined your blog niche?  Check out how Amy from Fabulously Ordinary helped pinpoint what her blog is about!

If you were featured, grab a button!

<center> <a href="http://www.muchadoaboutsomethin.blogspot.com/" title="I've Been Featured"><img src="http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b578/lalford0609/Ive-been-featured-button_zps27c0779f.gif" alt="I've Been Featured" style="border:none;" /></a><br />

Now to PARTY!  Just a few basic rules we’d love for you to follow:

- Tell us about your recipes, parenting tips, DIY projects, or your family vacation – we want to see it all!
- Follow each of us so you’ll never miss a party.  Follow on GCF, Bloglovin’, or your favorite reader – we’d love to hear from you!
- Add a party text link or button to your blog.  This helps us in exchange for letting ‘ya link up!  The more people that know about the party, the better.
- Click around – find a few links that interest you below and check them out!  Better yet, leave them a comment and tell them where you came from!
- Spread the word – Share the party on Facebook and Twitter so more can join in the fun.  The more people that find out about Tell Me Tuesday, the more it benefits you!  
- We’d also love for you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  We follow back! 
- By linking up, you’re giving permission for us to potentially feature your posts on the blog or social media.

An InLinkz Link-up