Our house is on the market. The new property has been purchased. The plans aren't finalized, but we're getting there. The wait has begun. It's agonizing knowing how bad the market is and how badly we want to start building. It makes good financial sense for us to sell our house and get the money before we build. The prospect of moving into a rental until our house is ready is a real bummer, but I can do it. I just want to build that house.
The property is on the water. Its called "Pretty Lake" or "Little Creek". It runs into the Chesapeake Bay, so the possibilities are endless. We may not be able to start a house right away, but the dock?? Absolutely:) The process went fast and Chris had a ball building it. The children can't wait to go there after school and hang out. Marshall tosses the cast net and does some fishing whenever he can. We couldn't ask for a better backyard- even without a house on it!
Chris brought home some shrimp last week that he caught from the dock. OHHHH YEAH!!!! I am sooo gonna love this:)
There weren't that many, but I wanted to make a meal out of it. Our neighbor is a commercial fisherman and works on a scallop boat. He brings over gallon-sized ziplocs full of huge scallops when he comes home from a trip. I was thinking a seafood lasagna might be especially good with the shrimp from our dock and the scallops from Mike the fisherman. I was right. You could really use any combination of seafood. I would have used crab, too if I had any.
Seafood Lasagna
12 lasagna noodles
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups half-and-half
1 cup grated Mozzarella
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
dash cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 pound sea scallops, cut in half or quartered if very large
3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9 in. pan with cooking spray.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the lasagna noodles until they are just done, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet and cook the onion over low heat until very soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute more. Over medium-low heat, stir in the flour with a whisk, then gradually add the half-and-half, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly before adding more. When the sauce has thickened to about the consistency of whipping cream, add the cheese and stir well. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper and stir again. Add the scallops and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, then add the shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until the shrimp turn pink. Turn off the heat.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the sauce from the skillet into the prepared pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with 4 noodles, placing them side by side. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles, distributing half of the seafood evenly, scatter half of the spinach over top. Layer 4 more noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, and remaining seafood and spinach. Cover with the last 4 noodles and the remaining sauce. (For the top layer, do not spoon any seafood on top of the noodles; just use the sauce.) Tuck in any edges of the noodles so they're all coated with sauce. Top with the Parmesan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, uncovered, until bubbly. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
I can fret about our house not selling fast enough or the market going kapoowee. I could do that...or, I could sit back and take a big bite of this lasagna and realize I have nothing to complain about at all.
Christmas was a blast! From sporting the swimwear on Christmas Eve day to loads of gifts from the big guy to Jason's Deli with cousin Abigail...we are pooped! Check out the "sew cute" crayon roll I made for Gracie. We exchange names within our family for homemade gifts. Here's what Gracie got...
