Fun with the Inlaws, Part 6

After work, Thatboy headed over to spend more time with his family, while I copped out and snuck in a nap. He ended up spending just time with his parents, since (surprise surprise) TBIL, TSIL, and the kids had ditched them again for the day.

They arrived a little early for dinner, so they could use our washer and dryer to clean their clothes. It's nice to know we're good for something - food and laundry. Isn't this supposed to wait until we have our own kids and they go off to college?

Sangria
Green Salad with Italian dressing
Garlic Bread Sticks
Lasagna in Meat Sauce
Tiramisu

TMIL had never had Sangria before, so I thought I'd whip some up. I modified it a bit, since she's a HUGE wine drinker (a bottle a night) but not much other alcohol. So I limited the alcohol to just wine, and sweetened it with sugar instead of triple sec, brandy, or grand mariner. Of course this meant it wasn't as strong as my usual stuff, but I think it was better that way.

Sangria
2 cups OJ
1 bottle red wine
1 orange, sliced
2 peaches, peeled and sliced
1 lemon, sliced
confectioner's sugar
club soda

1. Mix together the oj, red wine, orange, peaches, and lemon and refrigerate 4-6 hours.
2. Add confectioners sugar to taste, until it's sweet enough.
3. Add a splash of club soda and serve over ice.

Thatboy loved the garlic breadsticks I made a couple weeks back so much, he asked me to make them again for his family. Y'all already know how accomidating I am, so garlic breadsticks it was.



I've been making a ton of lasagne lately, which gave me a good base to figure out what kind of lasagne to make for my inlaws. Thatboy suggested a meat-based lasagne since his family isn't really vegetarian friendly. (If it doesn't have meat, it's not a meal.) TMIL is a little out of touch - she confided that she hasn't made lasagne since the boys were little because it takes so long to make. I confided in her that it's one of my easy meals because it only takes about 40 minutes to put together and cook because I keep marinara in the freezer. Then she let me know that most of the time she just bought storebought, because it was as good as her's anyway. Thatboy told her mine was always way better than storebought.

Lasagne in Meat Sauce
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
4 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes
3 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 box lasagna noodles
1/2 lb mozzarella, grated
3 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 lb parmesan cheese, grated

1. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and cook, stirring until they are lightly browned.
2. Push to the veggies to the side of the pan and add the beef, cooking it until browned.
3. Puree the tomatoes in a blender and add to the meat and simmer 15 minutes.
4. Add the butter, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Partially cover and simmer 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 375. Cover bottom of baking pan with 1/3 of the sauce.
6. Put a layer of noodles over the sauce, sprinkle with 1/2 of the mozzarella and 1/2 the ricotta.
7. Top with another layer of noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta.
8. Top with final layer of noodles and sauce.
9. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese and bake 20 minutes.

We finished the evening with my all time favorite dessert - tiramisu. I think it was the first time TFIL had ever heard of it, because he kept calling it "Mee-su" and missing the "Tira" part completely. Thatneice fell in love with this dessert. She even asked for seconds. Thatnephew was concerned because it "tasted like coffee" which I'm assuming they're not supposed to have. He ate it anyway.