A trip to the zoo!

This past weekend I went to the Detroit Zoo with some friends to see the art exhibit "Animals A to Z: The Art of Scientific Illustrators." My friend is one of the illustrators and the work displayed is awesome! The exhibit is running until November 30, 2008. So, if you're in the area you should definitely check it out!

It was a chilly day at the zoo, so we basically had the place to ourselves. The animals must have known they had the day off and either a) weren't our for us to see or b) were camera shy and made sure I got a butt shot!

T.G.I.F.

Yippie!

Our hostess-with-the-mostess, Leslie, on election night...great party!!

This week at LaNa....

Garlic bread from Plum Market

Pasta with artichokes, asparagus, and goat cheese.

Sauteed Chard with Pancetta from Cooking Light - yummy.

Halloween at LaNa!

Pumpkin Soup

Must be the fall weather, but I can't seem to make enough casseroles lately!

I voted....

my new polling place is my old junior high....

Boo!

Happy Halloween!

Gotta love casseroles!

I thought I would share this EASY and tasty recipe from a blog that I have been checking out frequently - Cocoa and Cheese.

The "Super Easy Hamburger Casserole" is just that - easy (my kind of recipe!). You can check out the original recipe on their site...although, I made some adjustments to try and make it a bit more low fat/low sodium. And, I started the meal with some yummy edamame!

Turkey Burger Casserole
6 oz. egg noodles
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 can low sodium Tomato Soup
1 can low sodium/low fat Cream of Chicken condensed soup
1 can low sodium Cream of Mushroom condensed soup

Preheat oven to 350˚. Brown ground turkey, celery & onion until celery is tender and ground turkey is cooked through. Mix soup with turkey mixture. Cook egg noodles according to directions on the bag. Drain noodles and add to turkey mixture and pour into a casserole dish or baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Top with grated parmesan and serve immediately.

Enough leftovers to freeze and last me a bit!

T.G.I.F.

So glad that it is Friday! My cousin, Cathy, is visiting from Colorado and we have a lot of fun-filled activities planned for the weekend. I'm sure pics will follow next week....

Until then, here are some pictures from LaNa where fall has arrived.

Courtesy post of Gigi's house and her new lawn art!

So glad that it is Friday! My cousin, Cathy, is visiting from Colorado and we have a lot of fun-filled activities planned for the weekend. I'm sure pics will follow next week....

Until then, here are some pictures from LaNa where fall has arrived.

Yummy cooking sites!

I've been on a cooking kick lately. Yes, me! Can you believe it?

I thought I would share some sites that I have been drooling over lately:

Cocoa and Cheese - has a Cheeseburger Casserole and Pasta ala Vodka that I am looking forward to trying...great comfort food as it starts to get cold.

The Crepes of Wrath - the Tortellini Vegetable Stew is calling my name!

Smitten Kitchen - Pumpkin Swirl Brownies sure sound interesting....

101 Cookbooks - I can't wait to try the Berry Beer Baked Beans!

I'll let you know when I prepare one of the above and will be certain to share some pictures.

Cheers!

Busy weekend!

I celebrated my birthday this past Friday a week after the real thing since I had been so busy with work on the actual day. I had a wonderful time and was happy to celebrate with great friends and fantastic family.

My friend and old SF roommate, Jen, was in town and we kept busy with birthday celebrating, tailgating, UM football (no comment!), and a treasure hunt complete with sword and eye patch! Here are some pics from our activities....

Yummy bday celebrations!

What a crazy couple of weeks! I've been super busy with reunions at work the last two weekends and have been working killer hours! However, I did manage to find a wee bit of time to celebrate my birthday this weekend. Here are some pics from my pre-birthday sushi dinner with Auds (aka Mom!). Thanks Mom!! xo