Three Cheese Seafood Lasagna

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Growing up most of us have our own set of holiday traditions. Some people travel and have huge family celebrations. Others stay home with just their immediate families. Whatever they are, we know we can expect them every year. We know the joy the season and tradition will bring.

I don't know about all of you but getting married makes this a challenge. Not a bad challenge, just a challenge. We have to find a way to balance. To make sure to honor each others traditions.

Then come kids. They are the game changers, am I right? For our family, having our own kids meant that it was time to stop hopping from home to home on Christmas morning. It was just too much work and everyone ends up cranky.

Last year, after about 4 years of Christmas' we found a schedule that worked. Earlier in the week with my in-laws, Christmas Eve with my side of the family and we get Christmas. Now that we have a schedule it is time to start our own traditions. We've done birthday parties for Jesus every morning and that of course will remain. Dinner however, is all new.

How many of you get tired of the traditional holiday meals? Don't get me wrong, I love hams and prime ribs as much as the next person but after having it at numerous parties, I'm ready for something simple. Like pasta!

So starting this year, pasta it is. Pasta dressed up for Christmas though. This year, I'm serving up a Seafood lasagna as our main course.Since hubby isn't always a seafood fan and I was stuck on serving this, I knew a trial run was in order.

So I ran to my local Vons where I knew I could find everything I needed in one go...I have four kids, no store hopping for me. And they currently have a promotion of $1 off the purchase of one box of Barilla® Lasagne and one Barilla® Sauce. If you don't have a Vons near you, the promotion is available at all Safeway stores.

Monday night, I crossed my fingers and cooked it for hubby. Of course he was sold, like I knew he would be.

Here is the recipe to our Christmas meal. A Three Cheese Seafood Lasagna for you to enjoy.

Ingredients:

Barilla Lasagne Noodles - Prepared with instructions on the box
8 oz Ricotta Cheese
Bag of Mozzarella Cheese
Bag of grated Parmesan Cheese
1 egg
2 jars Barilla Roasted Garlic All Natural Pasta Sauce
8 oz Lump Crab Meat
1 lb Raw Jumbo Shrimp - Peeled and De-veined  
1 Small Onion - diced
3-4 handfuls of Spinach
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Italian Seasonings
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl combine your ricotta, egg and half of your seasonings (1/4 tsp of each).

Heat 1.5 Tbsp of oil over Med/High heat. Add your shrimp, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until pink, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to pan and begin sauteing your diced onions. When they begin to soften, add in your spinach.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop your shrimp and mix it into the lump crab meat. Add the remaining seasoning and 3/4 jar of your Barilla Roasted Garlic All Natural Sauce.

Once your spinach is fully wilted, add to the ricotta.

Grab a casserole dish. Spray the bottom with cooking spray and then pour about 1/2 jar of Barilla sauce. Make sure to distribute it evenly.

Place a layer of your prepared Lasagne Noodles to dish. Then a layer of the ricotta and a layer of your seafood mixture. Top with a handful of mozzarella and a handful of Parmesan. Repeat until the ricotta and seafood is gone.

Top with one more layer of  Lasagne Noddles and pour about 1/3 of a jar of sauce over the top. Top that layer with another handful of both cheeses.

Bake for 30 minutes in your preheated oven.

Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve and enjoy.

 I often save time on my own pasta dishes by skipping homemade sauces and using Barilla. Barilla's Facebook page is also loaded full of some great recipes. Go follow along so you don't miss out on any of the yumminess.

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Easter morn and a New Tradition

Since yesterday was Easter, I will not be doing an I {Heart} Mondays post. However, I do think you will seriously L-O-V-E our new Easter tradition.

This is the first year that Rhi was old enough to kind of grasp the concept of Easter. We of course put the emphasis on Jesus and the resurrection. She understood it to an extent but really we couldn’t expect much from a 2.5 year old.

I started really teaching her about it all on Friday. We explained Good Friday and how Jesus died for our sins and how because of His blood we are washed clean. She screamed “sins gone” That was music to this mommas heart. Later that night we covered it all again. After a long talk, we sat outside looking at the beautiful sunset. Steven told Rhi that God had painted the sky pink just for her. She cupped her little hands and yelled “Thank you Jesus”. Ah! She is understanding.

Sunday morning came and I refreshed her little memory, asking a couple questions about Easter and what it meant. Our Conversation went something like this.

Me: happy Easter
Rhi:Easter?
Me: ya, remember mommy told you how Jesus died and rose again?
Rhi: Jesus died, rose again!
Me: cool, huh?
...Rhi: sure.
Me: Sure? It's really cool! He did it all so we could live Forever with Him in heaven.
Rhi: oh ya. Silly me!

After church we came home to our new tradition. I was gonna tell you all about it but how much more fun is it to actually watch it going on. This is how we will be finding our baskets every year. Of course it will get more complex as the kids grow.