Rachel Ray’s Lazy Lasagna and Going to the Chiro

Today was a dreary, gloomy day. 

It’s hard to get excited about a Monday when it looks like this.

But I sucked it up and it was actually a pretty good day.  After work, I went for my first visit with a chiropractor.  I have never been to one before.  I have thought about going, especially since I had some back pain and muscle spasms not too long ago, but it was one of those things I thought about but never did.  Last week, a local chiropractor came to our school and did mini massages for us, so I booked an appointment at their office.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.

(By the way, that’s my nervous face.  I’m not picking my teeth.)

Today wasn’t scary, though.  I just had x-rays and scans today.  I’ll go back soon for the results. 

I did realize after I took my shoes off that I accidentally wore two different socks.  Oops!

When I got home, I got busy cooking.  I knew I had seen a recipe for Lazy Lasagna recently on a Food Network show.  After some Google research, I located this recipe and remembered watching Rachel Ray make it not too long ago.  This is one of the first RR recipes I have ever made.  Lots of times I am intimidated by her recipes because sometimes they have long ingredient lists.  This one did have more ingredients than I would usually use, but I had most of it on hand, so I decided to give it a go.

I made only a few adjustments.  I only used 1 lb. of beef.  I also cut the wine and stock back just a little bit, to keep it from being too soupy.  I also used 1% milk instead of whole milk to save on calories.

The verdict?  The dish was very tasty.  I really loved the flavor of the meat sauce.  It has a much different flavor than your basic spaghetti sauce, mainly due to the wine and beef broth.  I saw that there were mixed reviews about the béchamel sauce.  I honestly feel that it could be left out.  It didn’t add a lot of flavor.  It gave it more creaminess, but I honestly think the dish could be just as tasty without it.  I also swapped the cloves and nutmeg for fresh basil, parsley, and oregano.  I just thought those herbs made more sense in this dish. 

I also think it is funny that this is called “Lazy Lasagna” because it took me 3 pots AND a baking dish to prepare this.  I was prepping and cooking for about an hour or so.  I don’t know that you could call that “lazy.”  I guess Rachel and I interpret that word differently.  :)  And I did manage to pour boiling water over my hand in the process.  (OUCH!)  But like I said, it was pretty tasty!  Thanks for the recipe, Rachel!

Alright friends… I am going to relax a little.  I am afraid I might be getting an ear ache!  I just mentioned that to Ryan and he said, “You are falling apart!”  Bless my little heart.