kick-starting birthday week & a recipe

today was the first day of birthday week! it is so strange to think that i will be 21 on saturday... feeling very old! i started out birthday week with lunch at aubrey's with my parents! it is one of my favorites and i had been craving their baked squash. it was delicious as always and it hit the spot!

yesterday started quite early since the football game started at noon! it made for a long day, but it was  fun nonetheless. the extended family came up for the game along with a few extras and we all went to the game together and then dinner. homecoming winners were announced at halftime and though alpha chi omega-phi mu didn't place, i still think we did a phenomenal job throughout the week competing. the game wasn't much fun to watch and it was quite chilly (you should have seen me all bundled up) but we stayed until the very end. i always love sitting with my brother at games and this time we had the added bonus of his friend travis who was entertaining to say the least. after the game we all went to ye olde steakhouse, a knoxville tradition, and had dinner a table away from Josh Dobbs and Marquez North. they were so nice to give autographs and take pictures with some of the little kids who came up to them! i had a steak kebab and steamed vegetables that were very good and of course finished dinner off by sharing a piece of peanut butter pie with my dad. ye olde's peanut butter pie really is a slice of heaven.

tonight for supper i tried out a recipe that i had seen floating around Pinterest: skillet lasagna. it is a different take on lasagna that doesn't demand the time-consuming layering and baking that traditional lasagna requires.

skillet lasagna

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 eggplant, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans Italian diced tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato sauce

3 basil leaves

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup skim ricotta cheese

1/2 c part-skim mozzarella cheese

about 6 ox broken lasagna noodles (fully cooked)

parmesan cheese, for serving

parsley, for garnish 

1. heat oil in large skillet. add onion and cook until softened over medium-high heat. add eggplant and garlic and cook until eggplant is softened and garlic is fragrant. add in tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil and pepper. cook until mixture thickens up a bit, about 5-10 minutes. 
2. add noodles to skillet and stir into the mixture. spoon the ricotta cheese into the mixture. add in mozzarella. cook about 2-5 more minutes, until thickened. 
3. serve topped with parmesan and parsley.

• eggplant could easily be swapped out for mushrooms or any cooked meat would also be a great addition to this recipe. 
• i modified the recipe a tad from The Realistic Nutritionist to use things i already had on hand. i didn't have any ricotta or mozzarella so i used a couple of wedges of Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb cheese and it was still delicious! i also topped mine with feta instead of parmesan! 
• this dish paired with a side salad full of veggies is the perfect meal! 

i am headed home thursday for birthday celebrations and i could not be looking more forward to it! i already have the whole weekend planned out and can't wait to spend time at home. mom and i also have tickets to christmas village so i am looking forward to that annual trip to nashville! this week is at school just consists of the usual schoolwork, tests, workouts and alpha chi meeting. nothing too stressful! lastly, a special happy birthday goes to the late, great, barefoot queen of pink queen, Lilly Pulitzer! may her prints be celebrated forever!

xoxo,
clp