Turkey Lasagna

Typically I follow directions well. When it comes to cooking it can be a different story though. I like the freedom of experimenting as I go and using a recipe as guidance instead of an end all be all.

I took my Mom’s traditional, very easy Lasagna recipe and made it my own. I have always loved how simply yummy it is, but it has been fun experiencing with it. She gave me the recipe at one of my bridal showers, and I believe she got it from her mother, my Grandma Rabenort.
Mom’s Lasagna Recipe
Preparation Time: 20 Minutes
Oven Temperature: 350 Degrees
Oven Time: 40 Minutes
Serves: 8 Hungry People
1 Pound Italian Sausage
2 Pounds Hamburger
2-3 Jars Ragu
12 Lasagna Noodles
16 oz. Cheddar Cheese Shredded
16 oz. Mozzarella Cheese Shredded
1 Onion (optional)
Brown Sausage, Hamburger and Onion. Drain and add Ragu. Boil noodles according to package. Rinse in cool/cold water. In 9 x 13 pound layer noodles, sauce and cheese. Cover with tin foil and stick in the oven.
I don’t change the recipe much, but to make it a “healthier” option I use Jenni-O ground turkey. You can find Lean Jenni-O Ground Turkey and Lean Italian Turkey Sausage at your local grocery store. I typically buy a pound of each. You can ground the turkey the same way you would hamburger.
*If you find yourself browning meat often I suggest investing in a Pampered Chef Mix N’ Chop.
Then I like to add lots of veggies. I often add onions and mushrooms. I usually don’t finely chop the mushrooms; just slice them up a little especially if purchased whole. You can really add whatever you want. Peppers are great too!
I also use Newman’s Own pasta sauce instead of Ragu. There are many flavors to choose from as well. Some day I’d like to make my own red sauce, but I just don’t have the time at this point to make that happen.
After some mixing, layering, and 40 minutes in the oven I have a meal the hubs loves! It makes WAY more than we need so I typically freeze some and we eat Lasagna for days. If you don’t want a lot of leftovers 1. cut the recipe in half or 2. invite friends or family over to help you eat it!

Introducing Selby Bradshaw

An email I recently shared with close friends,

“Justin and I have been discussing expanding our family for quite awhile now. We were asking all the same questions other couples do when they start seriously talking about it. When will the right time be? Will we be able to handle the inevitable sleepless nights? Should we wait until school is over? Some thought it would happen sooner than later; while others advised us to wait a little longer and enjoy our freedom.

Everyone’s advice has been much appreciated, but we realized it was something we would have to decide on our own. However, we figured it would happen without too much planning, it would be fairly impulsive, and probably one of the best decisions we make, even if at times we feel otherwise.
Attached you will find one of the first pictures of Baby Bradshaw.
xoxo
The Bradshaws”


We got a lot of funny responses back since most people assumed I was talking about being pregnant. Prior to sending out the email Justin and I were at brunch celebrating a friend’s birthday. When a couple of friends read the email that afternoon they were initially terrified. I was a little too committed to the bottomless mimosas that morning to seriously be preggers.
Our first order of business after deciding we were going to go for it and get a dog was picking out a name. On our anniversary we were driving to Saint Paul for a date and spent most of the time bringing up different ideas. We debated for a while and weren’t coming up with anything good. However, we decided we wanted it to be something that involved both of us and maybe something that reminded us of Saint Paul since we love the city so much.


We ended up settling on Selby, as in Selby Avenue. I was living on Selby in 2008 when Justin and I started dating. I continued to live around the Selby area until Justin and I bought our house in White Bear in 2010.

This past weekend we were finally able to meet our puppy. We met the breeder in St. Cloud with the full litter. There are 3 boys and 1 girl. I knew I wanted a girl dog so we put a deposit down to ensure she would be ours. My coworker and her family also met us since they are getting a boy puppy.
Selby seems to be a very mellow dog, but she really enjoyed playing with her brothers in the grass. She is a Miniature Goldendoodle and should be about 30-40 pounds when she is full grown. Justin has always wanted a bigger dog, but I am a little bit nervous around large dogs (traumatic childhood event), so we settled with a medium sized one.
Right now she is weighing in at less than 5 pounds. She is a beautiful apricot color, but they expect her to lighten up a little bit as she grows. She has soft fur and should not shed much at all since she is part poodle. We should be able to bring her home on October 27th. She will be about 10 weeks old.
We look forward to preparing our home and purchasing all the things we are going to need in order to take good care of Selby. We look forward to introducing her to our family and friends but, most of all we look forward to having her as part of our growing family.
First Family Photo of the Bradshaws


Virginia is For Lovers

I am not sure if you knew that, but everyone in Virginia will tell you it is true. Perhaps that is why it was so fitting that Justin and I traveled to Richmond, VA for a wedding. A friend from high school married a lovely lady he met while working in Richmond post college. Justin and I arrived on a Friday afternoon and spent two nights in Richmond, two nights in Virginia Beach and one night in Washington D.C.


When we arrived our room was not ready for us yet. We left our luggage with the hotel bell boy (is that pc?) and decided to check out the area.

The first piece of history we found was the Old City Hall. It looks like a building you might find in Europe but not the United States. However, we quickly found out how historical Richmond really is.

On the stairs leading into the Old City Hall building.

After finding the Old City Hall building we decided to head for the capitol which is just a block or two away. Around the capitol were many monuments and memorials. Our favorite represented one of the many civil rights movements. This one was the famous court case Brown v. The Board of Education.
This lady deserves a high five for her hard work!
The Capitol of Richmond, Va. This was also the capitol of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Without the self timer function we wouldn’t have been able to capture this framer.
After our quick 5 block tour of Richmond we were finally able to check in to the first Marriott of our journey. We cleaned ourselves up and got ready to meet some friends who were also staying in the area for the wedding. We had some pretty rockin’ Mexican. Not to mention it was happy hour, which made the long walk home in heels that much more interesting.
Half of the table.
The restaurant ended up turning into a mini dance club after the sun went down. Who knew!?
The wedding was the next day, and it was so great to see another friend’s nuptials. Their wedding ceremony was at a beautiful Lutheran church in Richmond and the reception followed at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It was beautiful!
Aerial view of the reception. Classy.
The groom and I.
After our weekend in Richmond, VA we headed to Virginia Beach. While visiting we ended up devouring some of the best sea food we have ever eaten! We also had one good day to enjoy some sun!
The view from our hotel room.
Waterman’s
Waterman’s famous crab dip. Yum!
Neptune on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk.
The fly overs from a near by Naval base were insane! Justin loved it!
Tautogs- Another insanely yummy place.
Crab nachos.
Justin’s Flounder in a bag. My Salmon and Kahlua whipped sweet potatoes.
And finally, we headed to our nation’s capitol, which luckily, is nothing like the capitol in The Hunger Games. Since I recently read the trilogy I couldn’t help thinking about it!
We spent most of our time in D.C at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum.
Unfortunately the Obama’s didn’t get the memo we’d be in town. They had another engagement in NYC and couldn’t visit with us.
We were able to see the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. It was awesome, and it will probably show up again in a later post.
It was a fabulous vacation for this pair of lovers!

Hobo Packs

Last weekend Justin and I experienced our first camping trip together. We spent two nights at Father Hennepin State Park on Lake Mille Lacs. I was a little hesitant at first since I haven’t been camping in a really long time. Actually, the last time I slept in a tent was in 2007 when I did the 3 Day in San Diego. The tent was pink, clean bathrooms were close by, and a friend was my tent mate.

By the time our much anticipated camping trip came up I was getting pretty nervous. We met four other couples at the camp site Friday night and pitched our tents in the dark. Luckily Justin is a pretty good at camping. His training in the military has really helped him learn how to rough it without much of a complaint. And luckily, Justin knows me well enough to pack an air mattress and make sure our accommodations are as nice as possible.

Each couple was responsible for one of our meals while we were camping. The meal I want to feature was our Saturday night dinner. The Borntrager’s and the Stoks’s teamed up to present the happy campers with build your own Hobo Packs.

Hobo Packs are basically a bunch of raw ingredients wrapped up in tin foil and then cooked over the fire. It is perfect for camping. For our Hobo Packs we were able to chose from: Potatoes, Mushrooms, Onions, Green Peppers, Carrots, and little Meatballs. It helps to throw a teaspoon or two of butter on top and sprinkle Lawry’s Salt for seasoning.
We each grabbed a strip of tin foil and helped ourselves to the lovely spread. After we wrapped up our pack we placed it over the fire.
It took about 30-45 minutes to cook each pack. It did vary depending on which packs were the closest to the fire, how hot it was, and if it was double wrapped in tin foil. Keep an eye on them and flip half way through to ensure things are cooked evenly.
If you can’t find time to go camping but still want the good eats, Hobo Packs can also be cooked on your gas or charcoal grill at home too.

Irish Crunch Dessert

Last night Justin and I hosted a little family get together. We celebrated Justin’s and Cory’s August birthdays! Justin turned 34 on the 11th and Cory is turning 24 on the 27th. My parents, Justin’s parents, Mark & Georgia and Rick & Cory were all able to share a meal and laugh together.

I decided for dessert I wanted to make something that I had at one of my bridal showers. A neighbor of Justin’s parents, who I have actually known since I was a little girl, co-hosted a shower and made a wonderful dessert. After enjoying it myself I insisted she email or Facebook me the recipe. Luckily she did! Below is the recipe for the little, frozen piece of heaven.
Irish Crunch Dessert
1 package Nabisco Chocolate Wafers (found in cookie aisle)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 gallon of Peppermint BonBon Ice Cream
1 jar of fudge
1 8 oz. container of Cool Whip
Crush package of wafers. Melt butter and combine with wafters. Reserve 1/2 cup of crushed wafers for topping. Spread cookie mixture at the bottom of 9×13 pan.
Freeze.
Spread 1/2 gallon of ice cream over cookie layer. (Leaving ice cream out for a few minutes makes it easier to spread.)
Freeze.
Spread jar of fudge over ice cream layer. (Heating up fudge makes it easier to spread.)
Freeze.
Spread Cool Whip over fudge layer. Sprinkle reserved wafter crumbs on top.
Freeze.
Once the final layer is frozen: cut, serve, and enjoy!

Keen-wa is Soop-ah!

Over the past year or two I have really started to develop an appreciation for cooking and baking. This is surprising only because “cooking”, to me, used to be sticking something in the microwave and returning when I heard a ding. Today I really try to “cook” in the more conventional sense. Using fresh ingredients, learning about when and how to use spices, and of course using other means to heat food other than radiation.


I can’t be the only newly married woman who has felt incredibly lost, confused and down right scared in a kitchen while trying to prepare her new husband an award winning meal. Who are we kidding anyway? The vows have been said and the papers have been signed so he isn’t going any where whether the cooking is good or bad. However, I think it makes every girl feel good to hear, “Mmm. This is really good, (insert favorite pet name here)” or maybe, one day, “This is better than my Mom’s recipe.”

Of course you don’t need to be newly married to want to brush up on your cooking skills either. So I welcome all to learn along with me and feel free to send me your recipes and tips as well.

Today I got off work around 1pm so I got a good head start with my homework which allowed me more time to plan for dinner. I have read about Quinoa a time or two before in different health magazines and cookbooks, but I never really knew what it was or how to even pronounce it. A co-worker brought it up to me the other day and it finally clicked what it was and how to say it! After a strong recommendation I decided to give it a shot…tonight!

Quinoa, pronounced Keen-Wa, is a tiny little grain. However, it is a very powerful grain. It is a complete protein grain, therefore, it contains more high quality protein than any other grain. It doesn’t contain gluten, so it is great for those on a gluten free diet. And one of the best benefits of all, it is easy to digest! Also, since it is so high in protein it is a great food for my vegetarian friends to eat, but I am sure they already know that.

So, tonight I decided to make it for me and the hubs. All I did was follow the instructions on the box.

Organic Ancient Harvest Quinoa
*172 calories for 1/4 cup dry.
2 cups of water
1 cup of Quinoa
Bring Quinoa to boil. Reduce to simmer and cover and cook until all water is absorbed. (about 10-15 minutes.)

First thoughts and reactions- “This smells like dog food!” “No, I take that back. This smells like a fish tank!” Once it boiled, I covered and decided not to think much more about it. That is a good idea for me. Maybe I will share the Japchae story with you some day so you can better understand what I mean by that. After the timer went off I had a fluffy-ish side dish. I did add a little garlic salt for extra flavor. I made it with stir-fried teriyaki chicken, with zucchini, red bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, garlic (actual clove, not salt this time!), and celery. It was pretty dang yummy and even JB liked it!

And for those who have no idea where to find Quinoa in the grocery store, it can be found in the Organic/Natural Foods section with the gluten free products.
For more information you can go here.

Edamame Hummus

I wanted to pass on a recipe I have made for two different parties. Both times it has been a huge hit! The recipe came from the December 2010 issue of Self Magazine. Fitness magazines seem to be my favorite source for healthy recipes and motivation these days. Most recipes are quick and easy which is exactly what I need!


I first made Edamame Hummus for my annual holiday party with my high school friends. Self Magazine featured it as a holiday dish due to its color. However, you can really make it year round. I made it again this past weekend for a bachelorette party. The bride’s wedding color is green, so the color worked out really well again.

I hope you enjoy it!

Edamame Hummus
Serves 8; Prep time: 25 minutes

1 bag (12 oz.) frozen shelled edamame
3 whole-wheat pocket pitas (cut into triangles)
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 large red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced into strips

Cook edamame in saucepan according to directions on bag. Drain in colander and run under cold water. Pulse edamame, garlic, tahini, juice, oil, salt, cumin, and pepper in food processor until mixture is the consistency of guacamole; add water 1 tbsp at a time if too thick. Cover; refrigerate until party time. Serve with pita and peppers.

*pitas can be baked if you choose.

When I first found this recipe my first thought was, “What the H is Tahini?” So I pass this on to you if you thought the same. Tahini is a middle eastern paste made of ground sesame seeds. It is one of the main components of hummus. I had the best luck finding it at Kowalski’s.

What is it All About?

In one of my marketing classes the professor told us that there are three things that make you do what you do.


1. It gives YOU pleasure or happiness.
2. It makes other people happy. That makes YOU happy.
3. YOU don’t want to feel bad because of not doing it.

Basically it is all about YOU. I think we all know that, but most people spend their lives denying it. I think it is ok if you do things for yourself, you just have to make sure you are doing things for others too, and it is ok if it makes you feel good!

Duchess of Windmill will be about things I encounter in MY life. One of the main topics I look forward to sharing is the process of becoming domesticated. Being a homeowner and a wife offers a lot of new learning opportunities. That includes cooking (yum), cleaning (boo), and yard work (did you say something?). I will also dabble in fitness, book reviews, celebs, marriage, and whatever else might enter my mind.

The Making of a Blog

I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time now. There were two main things that were holding me back.


1. Time. Being a full time student/full time worker doesn’t allow me much time to just write down my thoughts. Twitter’s 140 character limit seems to be the best fit for a busy person who still wanted whoever was willing to listen to hear her.
2. Blog name. I am convinced a blog name really sets the tone for your blog. Many of my friends have blogs and their names have all be creative. They really set the bar high.

In order to successfully start a blog I had to over come the two things that were holding me back. I have decided that I am going to do my best to make the time to blog. As a future Public Relations professional I really need to get this blogging thing down. I recently joined Twitter (follow me @bettybshaw) and LinkedIn so I could become more well rounded. For now, I will treat my blog posts like homework journals or something like that.

The blog name came to me after a couple of weeks of writing down ideas, talking to friends, asking my parents, and doing random google searches. I was sitting next to my husband on Mother’s Day at my parent’s house talking about something I cannot remember. (blog is off to a good start, eh?) And for some reason I told my husband he needed to call me, “Duchess of Windmill.” After it came out of my mouth he looked at me and said, “I think you just came up with your blog name.”

Duchess of Windmill will surprise no one who knows me, especially those who know me well. I am not a self proclaimed Princess, however, the title was bestowed upon me at an early age. I was the only girl sandwiched in between two boys. I am assuming I was often called the Princess to battle the middle child tendencies I had/have. Hello, pay attention to me! Then came the tiara. I didn’t ask for the tiara, but my Aunt and Uncle decided to give me one for my birthday one year. My 21st to be exact. You know what they say, “If the tiara fits…” So, I wore it out and it became a staple item for many birthdays to come. I came to the realization that the only thing I could do for the people was to graciously accept my title. In the Fall of 2010 the dream of having my own “royal wedding” came true when I married, what many people referred to as, my Prince. We bought a house on Windmill Drive, and I was officially then known as, Duchess of Windmill.