Savory Italian Sausage Lasagna

I made lasagna for the first time!! Maybe I’m far too excited over this simple pleasure? Whatever! I had never made lasagna before this and barely even liked lasagna, rarely ever ate it, but for some reason I had the biggest craving to make it. So I did! And it turned out amazing!

 

 

The only adjustment I may make it to use minced garlic instead of garlic powder, but in my case I didn’t notice bf had thrown it out until it was too late. Rally, how important are those silly expiration dates anyway? Ha-ha and I may buy extra sauce for leftovers because it got a tad bit dry in the reheating process. Still delicious though!! Also, I think spinach would be tasty in this too.

 

Ok, are you ready for the recipe now?!

Ingredients:

· 12 Lasagna Noodles

· 1 (25 oz.) Jar Pasta Sauce

· 1 lb. Italian Sausage

· 2 C. Mozzarella Cheese

· 1 C. Parmesan Cheese

· 16 oz. Ricotta Cheese

· 2 Eggs

· Spices: Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder, Red Ppper Flakes

Directions:

· Brown the sausage and drain oil

 

 

· Bring large pot of water to boil, add pasta noodles one by one and boil until al dente. Be careful when stirring so as not to break the noodles.

 

· While that’s boiling get a medium mixing bowl and mix together the ricotta, parmesan, eggs and just 1 C. mozzarella.

 

· Pour a thin layer of pasta sauce into the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish.

 

· In a small mixing bowl, mix together pasta sauce, spices and sausage.

 

· Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

· When the noodles are done drain the water and lay them out on a flat surface (so they don’t stick together)

· Start layering! Four noodles, sauce, cheese mix. You should end up with 3 layers.

 

· Top off the dish with the remaining mozzarella and extra parmesan if you please.

 

· Cover with foil & bake for 20-30 minutes.

 

· Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is melty.

 

· ENJOY!!!

 

I served mine with fresh Cesar salad and toasted garlic bread and it was scrumptious!

Hope you love it as much as I did!

Have you made any new recipes lately? Please share!!

Buh-Bye Oily Skin

Oily skin? EW!

Oily skin is one of the worst beauty blunders a girl faces, especially so in the heat of summer! I should know, not only do I suffer from oily skin, but I live in the area of California that’s breaking heat records already in April! It’s going to be a scorcher people! So let’s talk oil prevention and what to do when your face feels like a puddle.

The #1 top most important thing to do, if you do nothing else is just to wash your face!! Twice a day! But if you can only muster up the courage to do it once a day let it be at night before bed! The reason? Because all day long you are accumulating dirt, oil, bacteria and makeup and if you sleep with that on your face all that gunk is being recycled down into new skin cell layers. Gross! Wash it off with a cleanser such as the Mary Kay gentle exfoliating gel cleanser for Combo/Oily skin types ($18).

 

 

As someone with oily skin I always hated wearing moisturizer, I thought I had plenty of moisture going on already there’s no way I’m adding to it. But that backwards thought process was actually hurting not helping the greasy situation! Using a moisturizer made for oily skin such as the Mary Kay Timewise Moisturizer for Oily/Combo skin types ($22) helps to balance out oil productions, giving it to the areas that needed and taking away from the ones that don’t AKA the T-Zone! Once your face has the appropriate level of moisture your sebaceous glands will stop over-producing those slimy puddles!

 

Once you get down your skin care regiment you will see a huge difference in the quality of your skin as well as less oil! But what if you need more oil control? I’ve got suggestions for you! (and trust me, I use them all!)

Any of you use brushes to apply liquid foundation or powder foundation? How often are you cleaning those brushes! Ideally you should do it at least twice a week, if not every day. But really, who has time for that? Luckily for all of us MK just came out with the NEW Mary Kay Brush Cleaner! ($10) This giant spray bottle is so easy to use, here’s how it works: spray the makeup brush a few times to drench in cleaner, then wipe it all off on a cloth and let it dry. Voila! Clean airy bristles with no oil producing bacteria left behind!

 

Need more oil control? The Mary Kay Oil Mattifer ($15) is here to save you! This lightweight gel is applied to your T-zone (or all over) under makeup and helps to absorb oil and mattify shininess all day long! It doesn’t weight you down or make you feel caked on one bit!

For oil control anywhere, on-the-go I recommend using Mary Kay Beauty Blotters! ($6)The thin shreds of oil absorbing papers are used to blot away oil anytime, anywhere you are. I keep them in my purse and use them religiously. If you don’t have any of those handy you can always dash for the public restroom and use a toilet seat cover too!

The last suggestion I have for my fellow oily friends is to finish your look with the NEW! Mary Kay Makeup Finishing Spray! ($18) Not only does the spray set your makeup and keep it set for 16 hours, but it inhibits oil production! Personally I saw at least a 60% decrease in oil on the days I spritz. That’s amazing! The spray is a light and refreshing spray that does not weigh you down and can be re-sprayed throughout the day. I love this stuff!!

 

 

 

All of these amazing items can be purchased by visiting my website http://marykay.com/kimberlydeese

or be emailing me at kimberlydeese@marykay.com

 

USE CODE MOM13 TO SAVE 10%

EXPIRES MOTHERS DAY MAY 12TH!

Bands for Boobs ~ Pinup Contest

Miss Bands for Boobs Pinup Competition!

The group that puts on Bands for Boobs, an annual music and vendor event benefiting breast cancer also organizes other events throughout the year. The second annual Miss Bands for Boobs pinup competition grew exponentially this year equipped with a bigger space, a DJ, a raffle, vendors and a ton of fun.

Over 30 women came out to pose for the camera with classic cars. One picture for each model will be posted on a website (to come) and are voted on from now until Bands for Boobs in April. Each vote is $1 and the pinup that raises the most money will be crowned Miss Bands for Boobs! I really want to win!

The event went from 11 AM to 5 PM (or more like 7 pm) and was so much fun!! I had a Mary Kay booth there and got to run it with fun Mary Kay sisters! Friend and superb stylist, Jordi Haines did my hair in the biggest victory curls of the event! The photographers took single shots and group shots and we even made the front page of the local paper!! 

It was such a fun day and I hope Bands for Boobs raises a ton of money to fight breast cancer.

A month ago

It took me long enough to post this, but better late than never right! The last week before the Spring semester began was filled with fun adventures that need to be shared!

The last week of January was so much fun! Not only was it my last week of freedom before the Spring semester started, but it was the boyfriend’s birthday, and one of my best friend’s birthday. Lot’s of fun things happening!

The 23rd was his birthday and I always like to surprise him with his gifts, so the night before I wrapped it all up and left it on the front seat of my car. In the morning I asked him to get my makeup form the car and I could tell her was irritated, ha-ha! When he came back in he was all smiles as he checked out his birthday gifts.

That night after work we set off for San Francisco, got the cutest eco friendly hotel there ever was. It was called the “good hotel,” on top of having contemporary décor the hotel came with free bikes guests were encouraged to use around the city and a water recycling system attached to the toilet flusher.

We went to a club called epr, it’s only on Wednesdays and has DJs spinning some of the best dubstep, trap, and all around electronic music out there today. It was a rally cool place, actually very large too. The second story had white leather booths surrounding the place and they were free for anyone to sit in, not just reserved for VIP. The place had dancing cages (no I didn’t make it in there ha-ha) and two stages with people everywhere dancing and enjoying the night. There was a mini bar (even with 90% of the crowd under 21) and it had incredibly cheap drinks for anywhere especially for the city. The vibes were awesome, the people were nice and it was a great night.

The next morning we went to the beach and had breakfast at this little historic dinner right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The view was beautiful and the food was a delicious energy regenerator.

Next stop down the road: Baker Beach. Do you ever make to-do lists? I do. Every single day, many, many lists. Visiting Baker Beach and taking pictures has been on my “things I want to do” to-do list for a few months. This place is beautiful, a tourist hot spot, a nude beach and surprisingly deserted the day we visited. The Golden Gate Bridge backdrop, the crashing waves, the sunny skies above and clean sandy beach was the perfect day at Baker Beach. We walked along the shore, made a few fury friends along the way and of course, took a ton of pictures.

Just a few days after that was Princess Alisha’s birthday! Friday night we went out to Sacramento to Laughs Unlimited. Comedy shows are so funny! I don’t care if you know the comedian or not they always put on a funny show. Except the “comedy cop” who seriously sucked. He was horrible, thankfully he was not the main act! Afterwards we went to Townhouse, one of my favorite bars in Sac! They have DJs and electronic music and pretty lights and a fun crowd!

The next morning we spontaneously decided to go to San Francisco! Maybe it was a result of our Baker Beach bragging? Whatever the reason we set off for SF! We went to pier 39 and saw the walruses, ate at Bubba Gumps, did the tourist thing, made one last stop at Twin Peaks and called it a day.  

phot cred melissAloha

Such a fun time! Now it’s back to school – here’s to a great spring semester for you and I both!