Saturday Happenings: A Wedding!

If you followed our last post, then you know we enjoyed spending our Friday evening inside, relaxing, and cooking Texas Chicken Burgers. The rest of the weekend, however, wasn't so laid-back.

On Saturday, Jesse graded some papers for class and I worked on some school work myself.

After a quiet morning/afternoon, Jesse and I got semi-dressed up to attend a friend of Jesse's wedding. I must say that even though I knew no one at the wedding, I actually had a fun time. Of course, if you got there at 7:07 pm and not 7:00 pm, all you came for was the reception and not the wedding at that point. I think it's safe to say, and Jesse would agree, that it was the shortest ceremony we've ever attended.

Still, though, it was nice for  Jesse to see her friends from her home town and from her time at The University of Louisiana at Monroe.

We didn't take many pictures at the wedding, especially of the food--we thought that might be rude. The food, though, wasn't bad. There were quite a few local favorites to choose from: jambalaya, blackened chicken alfredo, mini muffalettas, and crawfish bread. 

Surprising as it may seem to Jesse, I actually started reading other people's blogs and found some interesting recipes to try out. One of the recipes that looked interesting to me was a slow cooker lasagna. Of course lasagna always sounds delicious, but the ease of the recipe really grabbed my attention: mix the ingredients and walk away, come back and serve. You had me at "walk away."

So I decided that if I'm going to be making some fun recipes that maybe it would be fun to show us actually making them in a video. So the video below is our first experience at a cooking video; don't worry, they will improve over time.

Slow Cooker Lasagna Makes 6 servings Nutritional Facts (per 1 serving): 363 Calories, 16g Fat, 77mg Cholesterol, 670mg Sodium, 88mg Potassium, 30g Carbs, 1g Fiber,  15g Sugars, 22g Protein, 9% Vitamin A, 25% Vitamin C, 31% Calcium, 14% Iron
Ingredients: 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef 93/7 15 oz. Ricotta Cheese Part Skim 1 bag Kraft Italian Cheese 2 Tbsp. Shredded Parmesan Cheese 24 oz. Tomato Sauce (6) 2 oz. Lasagna Noodles, Uncooked 1 Egg
Steps:
1. Brown the ground beef.
2. Drain the beef, then place back in the pan.
3. Add tomato sauce, egg, 1.25 cup italian cheese, parmesan cheese, and ricotta cheese.
4. Blend mixture together.
5. Pour 1-1.25 cup of mixture into the bottom of the slow cooker.
6. Layer the lasagna noodles across the mixture.
7. Add a layer of the mixture and then add a layer of lasagna.
8. Add the remaining layer of mixture and cover.
9. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until the liquid dries up.
10. At 3-4 hours add the remaining Italian cheese.
11. Serve and enjoy.

Mardi Gras 2013

We skipped our workout this Tuesday in favor of this:

Originally on the agenda for Mardi Gras was a simple trip to the gym and some more prep cooking, but a sudden spur-of-the-moment trip changed the day's plans. I had the great idea to take hold of the tradition we were raised around, Mardi Gras. We decided to take a quick trip over to Lafayette for some parades and lunch. Our trip to Lafayette for Mardi Gras included many fun adventures, including checking out my old stomping grounds, THE University of Louisiana........ at Lafayette. (Sorry, I'm waiting for Jesse to jump in about all the massive branding around campus saying University of Louisiana, with no "at Lafayette" attached to the name.)

*Rant from Jesse: I get angry about UL-Lafayette branding themselves as The University of Louisiana. There are multiple universities in the University of Louisiana system, including my alma mater, The University of Louisiana at Monroe. Eventually Stephen will get tired of bringing up our rivalry ;)

One of my favorite things about campus is the face that we have Mardi Gras parades roll right through it.

Only in Louisiana will you find two different
Crossfit locations sponsoring Mardi Gras floats

Before we left the parade and ULL's campus, we stopped by my favorite spot on campus, Cypress Lake. Since the business building was only twenty yards from Cypress Lake, I visited often when I was a student at ULL. I enjoy being able to brag to others that my university has a real swamp in the middle of campus and legitimately has over a dozen alligators in it, some ranging up to 6 feet in size. The university has an agreement to remove the alligators at 6 feet and move them to the Atchafalaya Basin so that it does not stun their growth, and then they replace those with baby alligators.

An alligator covered in marshy swamp water

Us standing near the swamp

I brought Jesse to a place I grew fond of when I was spending a lot of my time in Lafayette for school, Prejean's Cajun Restaurant. Not only do I find this restaurant to be some of the best food in South Louisiana period, I also enjoyed visiting friends who worked there while listening to the live Zydeco bands playing the night away with Cajun music. We both enjoyed some delicious food as you can see below.

Prejean's Restaurant near Lafayette, LA

Almost anyone who knows me knows that I'm a very picky eater, especially when it comes to vegetables, but put a few Cajun dishes in front of me and I forget the meaning of the word vegetable. Granted, at Prejean's I went with my all-time favorite Cajun dish, Fried Alligator. Most people think it would be disgusting or taste like chicken, but I'll be the first to tell you that the flavor is all of its own and either blackened or fried, it's delicious to eat. I actually buy the alligator tail meat to cook at home sometimes. I think people underestimate wild game. The meat is delicious to eat as well as being rather low in fat and calories.

Jesse decided to try a dish I have eaten on numerous occasions, as well as my mother's all-time favorite Prejean's dishes, Crawfish Enchiladas. The mixture of crawfish, cheese, and flavorful vegetables are like none other when this dish is served.

Stephen's choice (Top Picture): Croc de Jacques
(Fried alligator and hushpuppies)
Jesse's choice (Bottom Picture): Crawfish Enchilada

Here is one of Prejean's slogans.....