Colorado Springs

I picked up Mat in Colorado Springs, CO coming from Haiti. Why? Because Mat's brother and his family live there and we thought it would be a great time to visit over the Labor Day holiday. They moved there the same time we moved back West.  We had a good time with them on the East coast and the cousins are very tight not to mention the same age. Jocelyn is also an excellent cook and I always gather many recipes after I visit, which I will share at the bottom of this page.

After a yummy breakfast, we drove up to the top of Pike's Peak



Very chilly up there, and there is a brake check half way down the mountain. It is quite a climb.


They live on a ranch with 5 acres of wilderness and wild life. It's beautiful. Mat sorta gotta a gut ache from Haiti, hence that's why he is holding his sides. 

Becket was free from chores and school, so he was one happy child and cracking us all up!

Next, we went to Manitou Springs, a hippie town and very quaint. You know how I love my hippie towns!


They have a spring in the sidewalk where you can taste soda water. It was fun to see the kid's reaction when their tastebuds got a taste of the bubbly.


Fitting seeing how his new Mountain bike is almost the same size.


I wasn't kidding. He got it just before the trip and he goes biking every chance he has.You should have seen me try to put in onto the car.  I came up to the handle bars.


The have some arcades for the kids around the corner too.




Onto the recipes:
Pumpkin Pancakes with syrup. Sorry to make you see double, but these are good if you can read it.

Also a keeper, for my donut party in the Fall.


No Noodle Lasagna for those of you who have zucchini left--this is awesome.

For the noodle layer: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray, arrange zucchini slices and season with salt and pepper. Bake zucchini slices for 5 minutes on each side, then remove from oven. Set zucchini slices aside and lower oven temperature to 375 degrees. 2
For the meat sauce layer: In a large non-stick skillet, cook meat until it’s browned. To the skillet, add the veggies, seasonings, and the entire jar of spaghetti sauce. Simmer for about 10 minutes, (or until veggies are de-thawed/begin to soften), stirring occasionally. 3
For the cheesy layer: Mix the cottage cheese and parmesan cheese together, ( this can be done right in the cottage cheese container!) 4
Put it all together: Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Begin by spreading 1/3 of the meat sauce in the bottom of the pan. 5
Follow meat sauce with a layer of zucchini slices, followed by a layer of cottage cheese. Repeat the layers until casserole dish is full. 6
Finish it off: Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. 7
Remove foil and bake or broil another 5-10 minutes until cheese is browned. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing, and serve warm! Ingredients For the Noodles: 6 large Zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips1 For the Meat Sauce: 1.25 lb Lean ground turkey meat 1 large Onion, diced 2 cups Fresh or frozen broccoli 2 cups Fresh or frozen cauliflower 2 cups Fresh or frozen chopped spinach 1 25oz jar of spaghetti sauce 1 tbs Garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced Pinch Salt and pepper, or to taste Optional Seasoning: 2 tbs of Italian Seasoning For the Cheese Layer: 1 16oz container light cottage cheese or light ricotta cheese 1/2 cup Grated parmesan cheese 3/4 cup Shredded mozzarella cheese Note: If you don’t want to use zucchini for the ‘noodles’, you could also use a large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips, or 1 box no-boil lasagna noodles! 7 WWP+*