Flashback Friday

Trip to Mexico - October/November 2007

I decided to post about our trip to Mexico since we are leaving for Mexico tomorrow! Woot woot!

We went on a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise with Rob's parents and his sister Kathy. I think it was around this time Kathy was dating Michael, her now husband. I remember every night she would go online and check her email and say "Why hasn’t he written yet?!" It was cute - she was very excited about this new relationship. He did write her back a few times, but not as quick/often as she wanted (i.e. daily).

We missed the first couple of days of the cruise because Rob's best friend Mike was getting married. We flew into Mexico and stayed at the Las Hadas Resort for the night and then met up with the family the next day.




Rob and I had been on a cruise once before for our honeymoon, but this experience was a little different. Rob's parents graciously put us in a deluxe verandah suite and had our own private area to get meals and snacks, check email, etc. The most impressive thing in my opinion was the fancy machine that made lattes! Not hot chocolate, not café mochas like you see at gas stations - lattes! I was in heaven. I loaded up 1-2 times a day until about the 4th day I thought it tasted funny, like the milk had expired. A worker opened up the machine to check the expiration date on the milk and to my horror, I saw it was half and half. No wonder it was so yummy! I tried to limit myself to only 1 a day for the remainder of the trip.

Here are some highlights from the trip.

Our room.



Turtle plantation. We released couple day old turtles into the ocean.






Cliff divers.



Church.



Cocktail Hour.



Cutting up coconuts.




Kathy volunteered to make a clay tile.




Beer break!



Papantla Flyers - or as Rob called them, the Papantla Danglers.




Day of the Dead.



Rob HAD to check out the Gold's Gym.



Tequila Factory.




This guy wears many hats.



Largest shell store ever.



This guy killed me. He did an interprative dance - basically the life of a dear from prancing, to getting shot with a bow and arrow. Tragic.





More cocktails.



Going around in Rhinos/ATV/Etc.






Formal night.



The last supper.

Eggplant Lasagna

I made a new recipe on Sunday called Eggplant Lasagna. I couldn’t figure out why they called it Eggplant Lasagna, it didn’t even have noodles in it. Rob had to explain to me that the eggplant replaces the noodles. Oh. Clever.

The recipe was pretty good – Rob really liked it. I’ll keep this one in my recipe binder for sure.

I found this recipe on the weight watchers community recipe swap board.

Serves: 4
Points: 7

2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise; 3/4-inch thick;
salt and pepper;
1 tsp olive oil;
1 cup onions, chopped;
2 garlic cloves, minced;
8 ounces 93% lean ground turkey;
1 cup mushrooms, sliced;
1 tsp dried thyme;
1 (15-ounce) container fat-free cottage cheese;
¼ tsp nutmeg;
¾ cup Eggbeaters (or 3 eggs – increase pts by 1 pt per serving);
1 cup part-skim Mozzarella;
1 tbsp oregano;
2 cups Marinara Sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Arrange sliced eggplant in a single layer on 2 sheet pans. Spray eggplant with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Roast the eggplant until it is soft and golden. Turn slices halfway through, about 25 minutes. I cut some too thin and learned the thicker the better. When they are too thin, they stick to the pan and are too flimsy to pick up with a spatula.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet add 1 tsp olive oil and onions. Sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add ground turkey and sauté until browned. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and chopped thyme. Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl add the cottage cheese, Eggbeaters, ¾ cup Mozzarella, oregano, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper. Mix well. Spray an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Lightly cover bottom of prepared baking dish with sauce mixture. Lay slices of eggplant on top followed by the cottage cheese mixture. Spread another layer of sauce mixture on top. Layer slices of eggplant, cottage cheese mixture, and finish with marinara sauce. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Mozzarella. Bake until golden brown, at 350 degrees, for 30 minutes. **I think the person who posted this forgot to say to add in the layers of the meat mixture. I layered with sauce, cottage cheese, eggplant, meat, repeat.**

Flashback Friday

December 2005 - Our First Home

About 9 months before we were married, Rob and I purchased our first home. We bought a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhome in Santa Clara.

This is us on the day we got our keys.




The lights weren't on so we gave ourselves a flashlight tour.

We planned on living there for 5 to 7 years but in ended up selling it 2.5 years later. It wasn't the best investment but we loved our first home.

Carla's 1st Easter

Grandma Navone




Noni and Grandpa Wagner


Putting the finishing touches on the lamb.


Easter Squirrel








Cheech