Viva Las Vegas

First off I would like to tell everyone about the BEST Lasagna EVER. My favorite boss Ellen at Ann Taylor made this lasagna and I had to have the recipe. Now I am going to share it with my blog friends. Here it is. You will be so happy you made it
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

and whala you have this


Everywhere I've lived the last 5 years I have carried around my Super Nintendo. Al and I set it up when we moved to Vegas,but never played it until I decided to buy Super Mario Allstars which has Mario 1, 2, 3, and the Lost Levels. I figured it was worth twenty dollars, but had no idea I would unleash the video game freak in Al. He has to keep playing until he wins. Thank goodness we finally beat Mario 2 so I think the video game phase might be over.


On Saturday we got tickets to see the Utes play in the MWC. Personally I would just like to watch the last ten minutes because that's all that really matters, but it was a close game so it was a little more exciting. Even better the Utes won. Woot Woot



3 days until my mom comes to visit Al and I in Vegas. We are going to eat lots of sushi and do lots of shopping. Hooray!!

The Next Babe Ruth

The only sport I really understand is Basketball and I've been trying to learn more about Baseball which is Als favorite. Al was in a Softball league when we first came to Vegas, but he has been looking for a Baseball league to join instead. I knew he was good, but didn't know I was living with the next Babe Ruth until he got this email from Sean on the Softball team.

What's up Al, It's Sean the SS from softball. I talk to Jason yesterday and he told me you didn’t want to play. I was so upset to hear that. So I'm going to try in talk you in to playing. First I need you on the team. I have been playing with them for about year and a half. Most of them don’t know what they are doing out there. I had the best time last season playing. Mostly b/c you were on the team. Someone that knows what they are doing out there. We turned so many double plays. I could go on and on. So come back in play with us. It's only one night a week. Get out of the house. You will have fun.. Come on buddy. We will have the best middle infield in the league. So call Jason in tell him YOUR BACK!!! Talk to you later buddy...

March Madness

My famous husband called sports talk radio again and won tickets to the Cubs vs White Sox spring training game. Being that I have a huge love for Baseball I couldn't wait to go to the game. I even packed Al seeds to chew. Now I must say Baseball games are a little different in Vegas. I couldn't tell if people were there to watch the game or buy beer and dogs. The guy selling the beer in the aisles couldn't even walk past 5 rows before he was sold out. These people were not there for the right reasons like us!!



Notice the pictures of Al and how he poses different in pictures at sporting events. Thanks for taking me to the game Al 5.
On Saturday we ran a 5k with Bonnie and Jarom. It has been really warm in Vegas the past week so none of us thought about checking the weather. We got to the race opened the car door and felt a gust of cold wind. It was soooo cold. Bonnie found a ski coat in her car and let me wear that. I think everyones ears and hands were about to fall off, but we all finished the race and Bonnie got 1st for her division. Good Job Bonnie Bell and Happy Birthday.


Last night we met up with a couple peeps I used to work with at Stores Online....Joanna and Brian!!
We decided to try out the new club XS at Encore. Words can't even describe how amazing it is. Supposedly they spent 100 million building it. You walk in and look out over a sea of people and see the pool with Encore behind it.
Outside by the pool they have gambling which is where we ended up. Al has a thing for Black Jack and loves to watch people play it especially people playing $100 hands. I think he secretly wants to be in the movie 21.
They played House music and sweet Hip Hop Mixes,but of course the House was better. 3am rolled around and Joanna and I didn't want to leave because the club is so beautiful. When we walked outside there was still a huge line to get in and I was thinking what is wrong with these people, but then again we were probably the only sober ones. Mom we are going to XS in two weeks. Get ready!!



It was great to see you Joanna. Come back soon:)

Weekend Fun

On Friday I joined the Kappas for the fundraiser Reading is Key. We hosted our own reading event with 100 3rd graders and purchased 100 books so everyone would have one to take home. We read them the book Amazing Grace and then they got to decorate Kappa bookmarks. Afterwards they got to leave with a treat and a book. It was great to see how excited all of them were.




It has been so warm in Vegas this past week we decided to go on a hike just past the Hoover Dam. The hike is called Arizona Hot Springs and is one of my new favorite hikes(you know how I love hiking:)) It starts right off the road and I was like what is this hike?? Nothing like the Rocky Mountains thats for sure.

As we scurried along our way the scenery started to get better.

and then after 3 miles we ended up at the Colorado River which was so pretty. Al had to have a snack, so I snapped some more pictures.


Last but not least we found the ladder we had been looking for that led us to the hot springs or should I say public bath. There is something about sitting in a natural hot spring with 20 other people that I love.



After our relaxing soak we said goodbye to all our new hot spring friends and headed back. Best Hike Ever however you definately don't want to do that hike in the summer heat:)
My legs look weird in this picture because I was trying to avoid my feet from getting wet.

The Next American Idol Is....

We were watching American Idol the othe night and Al was so happy someone was singing Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. He sang it better than the guy that was on American Idol. lol He can do anything
PS Pause the music at the bottom, so you can get the full effect of Al singing

In My Spare Time

I have so much spare time these days that my mind thinks of things like coloring the bottom of my Barbies shoes red. Why Red? I dream of wearing Christian Louboutins someday. Everytime I walk by a window and see a glimpse of red on shoes my heart flutters.
The shoes are beautiful and the shiny red bottoms complete everything. I'm not sure why I care so much, but my love for fashion and shoes is something I love besides Albert. I'm sure most of you reading this blog can agree that something in your life is as great as Louboutins are to me:) Now back to reality. I have figured out that Al eats likes all the foods that my 13 year old brother does, so I bought him grape squeezits and he got to drink all 6.
Work at Ann Taylor has been going good and I must say it's super stressful working ten hours a week. I got to do visuals last week and dress manicans which I loved. It may be the first and last time since I dropped her and she now has a hole in her side...lol Hopefully no one finds out:) This is just between me and you bloggy readers. Have a good week.

My Husbands Famous!!

Today Al made it big in Vegas by calling in to Sports Talk Radio to talk about Texas Tech. Now I must say I haven't seen him this excited since we ate at the Brazilian meat restaurant. Of course he wanted to tell me everything he said, but I didn't understand anything. I'm guessing that's what he thinks when I talk about clothes or shopping. Anyway they let him talk for like ten minutes and he said something like that means they liked what I said because usually they will cut you off after one sentence if you don't know what you're talking about. Give it up for Al for being a star. I always knew their was something special about him when we worked for the Utah Jazz:)
Here is a picture of him from highschool baseball. Look at that swing