Lasagna Muffins Recipe and Instructions

This summer I started teaching a new "Yummy Bites" class and it has been a lot of fun!  We have baked Pie Pops, Pie in a Jar, Peach Dump Cake and Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes.  I try to choose projects that are fun and can be served individually.  I also like projects that do not require 50 ingredients and that my residents have not tried before.  Most recently we made "Pinterest inspired"  Individual Lasagnas baked in a muffin tin.  And Oh Boy- were they good!

Lasagna "Muffins"- YUMMY!

I sort of followed a recipe, and sort of did my own thing- which is the way I cook at home.  But I will give you the basic recipe and you can embellish as you please:

Lasagna "Muffins"

Wonton Wrappers
Bottled Spaghetti sauce of your choice
Medium Onion
Ground Turkey
Olive Oil
Cooking Spray
Italian Spices and salt and pepper to taste
1 Egg
Garlic ( I was lazy and bought the minced stuff in the store)
Parmesan Cheese
Ricotta Cheese- small tub
Italian Cheese Mix-whole bag

I originally planned to add mushrooms but one of my ladies didn't like them so I left them out.  But at home we probably would have added mushrooms and since my daughter is vegetarian, made it with zucchini, mushrooms, onion, sun dried tomato and spinach and left the turkey out altogether.

First Brown your onion and turkey in a splash of olive oil.  Add garlic and Italian Seasonings to taste along with a little salt and pepper.

Miss Willie- My Assistant :-)

Once your meat is browned add spaghetti sauce so that the flavors can mix together before you construct your mini lasagnas.

Lightly Spray the muffin tins (Jumbo Muffin Tins, not regular) with cooking spray.

Layer  and overlap your wonton wrappers ( which can be found in your grocer's  refrigerated produce section) into the bottom and sides of your tins (about 3 each).  They dry out pretty fast, so cover them up.

First Step

Mix up your cheeses-  I think the Ricotta Cheese is a 16 oz tub- plus 1 egg, more italian seasoning or fresh parsley, a whole bag of Italian Cheese mix.

Then layer meat sauce, cheese, wonton, meat sauce and cheese and add some parmesan on top.

Ready to go in the oven!

Bake at 350 for about 15-25 minutes or until your cheese browns on top.  It's always best to let lasagna sit for a little while, but we dug in right out of the oven and they were quite tasty.  I can't wait to try a vegetarian version at home!

Hope you try these out- and let me know how you like em!

Till next time-  Stay creative both in and out of the kitchen!

Stephane

Busy Summer!

Wow!  I can't believe I have not had time to post anything all summer!  We've done a bunch of great projects, and I only have a few pictures of recent projects.  I've been really bad about taking photos this year.  And now we are sneaking up on Fall already!

I'll share a little of what we have been doing lately:

I recently started a new class- Yummy Bites Cooking Class.  Although many of the Retirement Communities offer occasional simple cooking classes- I wanted to do something completely different.  And armed with ton's of Pins from my Pinterest pages I have found some great fun and YUMMY food for us to try.

We've already tried Pie Pops- and they turned out just OK.  We used Berry and Cherry filling, but found we had too much crust and not enough filling in the little pies.  We all agreed that it might be tastier to use creamy filling like chocolate, pumpkin or coconut creme.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the finished products.  Recently we baked rainbow cupcakes in ice cream cones.  They were a big hit with the ladies.    Here are a few pictures of our finished cupcakes- they are not perfect, but they tasted good!

Rainbow Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

We made Apple Pie in a jar as well- and these were really yummy.  To tell the truth, we didn't actually use a recipe- we just eyeballed the ingredients, used premade crusts and they came out just fine!  We all agreed that baking in Mason jars was something we wanted to try again!

Ready to go in the oven!

Our finished project- Yummy!

Last week we made Peachy Keen Bars-  and they were very simple to make with only 7 ingredients- French Vanilla cake mix, canned peaches, eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla and cream cheese.  We were supposed to let them cool but they smelled so good, we dug in right away so they didn't quite keep their bar form, but nobody seemed to care.  We all agreed that the best part of class was sitting around the table visiting with each other (reminded us of old times visiting around the kitchen table with friends and family). 

I'll post again soon so that I can share some of our fun craft projects that we completed over the summertime.  Until then-  Stay Creative and Have Fun!

Stephane

Valentine's Day Inspired Projects

I admit it, I am now officially addicted to Pinterest.  I just love trolling the site for hours at a time but my Pinterest habit has seriously eaten away at my blogging and creative pursuits this year.

But Pinterest is a great source of ideas and we have been very busy doing some great Valentine's Day and Winter themed projects inspired by some of my great finds out in the blogosphere, so I'd like to share a few of our fun crafts we have been doing so far this year.

Since it is one of my most popular projects- no matter the season- I've brought back Fabric Topiaries for Valentine's Day.  They have been a big hit with my ladies and always turn out pretty- and so unique- even though everyone starts out with the same exact supplies.  Here are a few of our creations at Franklin Park in Plano.

  

Valentine Topiaries at Franklin Park

Close up of the fabric topiary

I just love this picture of one of my ladies heading home with her masterpiece!

This project takes a good amount of prep time in advance- I estimate that each topiary- and these are very small styrofoam balls- takes at least 1/3 to 1/2 yard of material cut in 1 1/2 to 2 inch squares ( depending on how fluffy you want your topiary to be.

And it takes my classes at least an hour and a half to paint their clay pots, paint their stems and poke all their fabric into their styrofoam balls.  Then they have to que up for me to do the finishing touches.

I have never had anyone leave that was not completely happy with their project no matter the season, or their skill level so I would highly recommend this project for all ages!

Button and Scrapbook Paper Framed Hearts

This project was actually inspired by a couple of crafts that I found on Pinterest.  With a couple of tweaks, it was great for both Active Independent Seniors and my Memory Care Residents as well.  Unfortunately I did not get photos of the projects I did with my Memory Care folks- but did catch a few of my ladies at Franklin Park Canyon Creek before they could run out the door with their finished projects.  

This project is fairly inexpensive but the finished product is quite cute!  I always try to use the $1.00 frames from Michael's and love it when they have their 25% off everything coupon.  I used old book pages, pretty Valentine's day Scrapbook papers, buttons and ribbon to embellish the frames in some of my classes.  My small round hole punch came in handy- and I made a template for the large heart out of cardboard.

Here are a few shots of the finished projects:

When we did these projects with the Memory Care Residents, we just left off the background book page and the buttons, otherwise the project looks much the same and my ladies were all very pleased with the outcome!

January has been a very busy month full of fun crafts, Latin Rhythm Classes, Gardening and so much more.  Will share much more in my next post!

Until next time- Stay Creative and Have Fun!

Stephane

It's A New Day!

Late last year I became really busy with my fledgling Seniors Activity business, and did not have much time to post here on my blog, but as the song says:

It's a new dawn,

Its a new day,

Its a new life for me-

And I'm Feeling Good!

I thought this year I might take a different tact with my blog and share more than just craft tutorials and pictures of my proud students.  Since I am a rabid, er, avid Pinterest junkie, I have found loads of great ideas and sources for everything from free printables to use in our crafting efforts to really unique craft ideas to yummy vegan recipes (in honor of my newly vegan daughter) and I am adding more great ideas every day!  I've also started teaching spa indulgence classes and started playing with all kinds of wonderful spa recipes and will share those with you as well and am expanding my jewelry making classes to not only include polymer clay but shrinkable plastic, paper beads and other mediums as well.

This year, I hope to learn how to link to other people's blogs and get more involved with the blogging community at large.  The projects we do at Elder Life Engagement are not only fun for Seniors, but are also great for kids and younger adults as well, so I'd like others to benefit from the creative crafts  and projects we create. So I hope you will embark on this exciting journey with me and let me know how you like the projects and ideas I share with you in 2012!

Hope it is a great year for us all!  Have fun- and Stay Creative in 2012 along with me!

Stephane

It's Fall Ya'll! Let's Make Door Decorations!

I can't believe October flew by so fast and we are already into the 2nd week of November!

I haven't had much time to post about our projects recently but would like to share some of the fun crafts we have been making the past month.  The ladies love to decorate their doors so we put together some fun door hangers for fall including a great Pieced Paper Owl project, a Stuffed Brown Paper Pumpkin door hanger and a Cork and Scrapbook paper Turkey door hanger.  Both the Owl and Pumpkin projects start with  brown kraft paper as their base.  Both are stuffed to add dimensions.  Both are embellished with silk flowers, raffia and scrapbook paper.

Owl Pieced Paper Project

Bonnie and Ora Mae were really happy with their owls!

Mary and Evelyn's owl projects turned out great!

Showing off her Pumpkin with pride!

Happy with her Door Hanger.

My students at Christian Care Center really like their pumpkin door hangers!

Cork and Scrapbook Paper Turkey Door Hanger

The Turkey Door Hanger  base is made from a circle of thick cork, embellished with Fall scrapbook papers, felt gobbler, foam legs and google eyes.

I still haven't got my head wrapped around Christmas yet- but will be starting to make Christmas ornies and decorations this month.  Seems like we just had Halloween!

Till Later-  Have Fun and Be Creative!

Stephane

Patchwork Quilt Bird Collages and Rolled Paper Frame Tutorial

Boy- the month of August flew by in a blaze of glory!  I am so grateful to have a break from the terrible Texas heat.  September is finally here and the holidays are not far behind.

This past month my classes have been hard at work on several fun projects.  We have finished up most of our "Patchwork Bird" collages.  Sometimes my students really hated painting over their collages so I think we will revisit this project and make a collage "painting" next time.   Here are a few of our finished masterpieces:

Unique works of art

Lea's finished collage

Happy with her final result!

One of my favorite projects we tackled recently was our Rolled Paper Bead  Frame.  This project is a little labor intensive and takes several classes to complete, but the finished project is really fun and unique. Everyone was very excited about how the frames turned out.  Here is a quick tutorial for the rolled paper frames:

Supplies you will need:

Magazines
Scissors or Paper Cutter
Wood Dowels/ Skewers
Glue Sticks
Tacky Glue
Acrylic Paint
Foam Brushes
Varnish
Lots of Patience



1.  Rip out colorful pages of your old magazines- old calendars are great for this project as well.

2.  Cut lots and lots of strips- about 1 1/4 inch wide (or the width of the frame you will use).  Focus on the design at either end of your strip because that is what really shows up after you roll the paper.

3.  Get to rolling.  I used wood dowels, but you can use straws or wood skewers to roll the paper on.  Important note:  only glue the last 2 inches of the paper- do not glue anything in the beginning, just tuck the ends under and start rolling.

4.  Paint your frame- let it dry.

5.  Glue your paper beads onto your frame- Tacky glue is great for this purpose.
 

Final step is varnishing your frame

6. Once your frame is completely covered, then apply a light coat of varnish or Mod Podge to the finished piece to protect it and add a nice gloss coat over the painted frame.

7.  Then add a photo and give to someone you love!

Finished Frame ready to be given as a cherished gift

We've also been very busy playing with our Polymer Clay and are learning a lot about Poly Clay techniques and Jewelry making.  I usually am so busy during class that I forget to take pictures of our work, but will try to take some photos of our next projects to share.

So till next time-  Have Fun and Stay Creative!

Stephane

Having Fun with Fresh Flowers

I love flowers!  I love growing them ( when it isn't a scorching 110 degrees), I love making them out of clay, paper and  paint, I love working with silk and dried flowers.  But I have to say- one of my absolute favorite past times is working with fresh flowers.

Recently we started a fresh flower arranging class at Horizon Bay in Plano.  I teach everything from Wine Appreciation classes to Arts and Crafts there- and this is our newest endeavor.  Yesterday we made homespun table centerpieces using quart size Mason jars.  They really worked out great!  We finished up just before dinner time- and they were a big hit with all the other residents.

I took the  circular lid out of the mason jar and cut a piece of chicken wire to fit just inside the top to create a floral frog.  It really helps to hold the flowers in place well.  Before we started working with the flowers we talked about some basic ideas of floral design, learned how to properly clean and prepare the flowers and how to care for the arrangements so they will stay fresh looking for several weeks.

Everyone really had a great time putting their unique spin on our project-  We made 21 arrangements in only 1 1/2 hours.  Here are a few pictures of our class:

Beverly hard at work!

Miss Flo working away-  i think she put together 4 or 5 all by herself!

Our group in action

One of our finished centerpieces

A cart full of flowers ready to go to the upstairs Memory Care dining area

The flowers really brighten up the dinner tables!

From the reactions we received from the other residents- I expect to have a lot more help in class next time!  Well- gotta dash!  Today we are finishing up our "Milk Carton Bird Feeders" at The Courtyard in Mesquite- and I have about 12 bird feeders to prep before class.

Till next time-  Stay Cool ( and I mean that literally) and Be Creative!

Stephane

Winding Down Summer Already

Wow!  Can't believe it is August 1st already!  This summer has just rushed by.  I am already planning Fall projects for my classes and thoughts of Christmas projects can't be far away.

This past month  I became obsessed with collage and multimedia projects.  We put together some fun collages working with watercolor, tissue paper and scrap booking paper with some great results.

This is my class at Silverado Senior Living in Plano:

Lorraine was very pleased with her watercolor collage!

Miss Helen is always a fast worker with fun ideas!

Miss Ruth always enjoys participating and had extra special help today!

Miss Ruth and her "art assistant"

 At Chambrel  at Club Hill we experimented with eggshell mosaics with some very interesting results.  We did some watercolor crosses then embellished with acrylic painted egg shell to create a "stained glass" looking mosaic.  I also started an eggshell mosaic butterfly and think this would be a really pretty project as well.

Our Eggshell Cross Mosaics:

Our new class member practicing meticulous brush strokes.

These eggshell mosaics take real concentration!

Who knew you could be so creative with eggshells?

Evelyn is a fast study with the eggshell mosaics!

July is Zooming By!

I can't believe it is already the middle of July!  With the July 4th holiday this month seems to have started with a "bang" (pardon the pun).  This post will be a quick one, but I would like to share a few of the fun projects we have done this past month.  In honor of the 4th of July we put together patriotic wreaths and painted red white and blue birdhouses.

We have also been trying some fun polymer clay projects this month- starting with a simple rose project and moving on to some fun red white and blue beads and pendants.  I think our first try on making necklaces turned out pretty great!

Evelyn with her new patriotic necklace

 

 

Another success!

Lots of discussion during the creating stage!

A girl can never have too much jewelry!

Every bead is handmade and unique!

Looks good!

Happy with her final result!

The polymer clay beads take several sessions to make.  We actually worked on this project in 3 different classes.  2 classes were spent making beads and we finished the cured beads and strung the beads in our last class.  We learned a lot during our first try and are excited to try this again very soon!

Gotta run!  But will post again soon.  We have been doing some great collages this past week using mixed media and am planning to do an eggshell cross mosaic today.  Will try to get some additional photos posted of these projects soon.

Until next time-  Have fun and Stay Creative!

Stephane