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The next time you’re looking for a restaurant-quality meal, whip up this homemade and healthy baked ziti recipe in your Plymouth Square apartment kitchen.

Event though I am in no way Italian, I have a huge guilty pleasure for Italian food.  At least twice a month, I over indulge on some type of pasta and leave myself in a food coma.  Over the years of trying to cook Italian food, I’ve discovered ways to twist traditional dishes into healthier versions of the classics.  Besides pizza (which is arguably not even considered real “italian” food), baked ziti has always been a favorite of mine hands down.  Of all the baked ziti dishes I’ve created, I must say the recipe I’m about to share with is by far the best.

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs organic cottage cheese
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 oz. parmesan reggiano, freshly grated
• 1 lbs whole wheat ziti, or similar shaped pasta
• 2 tbsp organic olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 28 oz can organic tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt
• Pepper
• ¾ tsp cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz. soft mozzarella, cubed

Directions:

1. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup parmesan reggiano cheese in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cook off pasta in another bowl according to directions, until just before it’s al dente.

3. Heat up a large skillet to medium high heat and add olive oil and garlic. Cook just until the scent begins to fill the room and then add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano. Simmer until it thickens a bit, about 10 minutes. Take off the heat and add sugar, basil, fresh oregano, salt, and pepper.

4. Combine cornstarch and heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer until it thickens for about 3 minutes. Be careful not to scorch or overcook the cream. Take off the heat and add to cottage cheese mixture.

5. Add heavy cream to cottage cheese mixture and combine with a spoon. Add pasta in and combine thoroughly. Add tomato sauce mixture and mozzarella and carefully combine.

6. Add into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish and cover with remaining parmesan reggiano cheese. Bake for 30 minutes covered tightly with foil. Remove the foil and bake 30 more minutes. If you’re making it ahead, you can wait to bake it off until just before you need it.

(Image via Flickr user robot-girl)

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With the Minnesota State Fair happening right now, I’m sure you calendars are packed.  But if you’re new to Plymouth Square at 37th, the city of Plymouth, or the state of Minnesota, then you may be curious as to why we Minnesotans sound so funny.  Well, luckily for you the Plymouth Playhouse has a comedic-educational music to help!

Since it’s adaption from the original book, the musical “How to Talk Minnesotan” has entertained audiences at the Plymouth Playhouse with its homegrown humor since 1997.  With over 1 million people satisfied, the hilarity is back and funnier than ever this September at the Plymouth Playhouse.

Adapted for the stage by Howard Mohr, with music and lyrics by Drew Jansen, How to Talk Minnesotan is your one stop musical shop for all things unique to Minnesota.  With lessons in learning exactly what “Hotdish Hallelujah,” “Not too bad,” and “can’t complain” are, along with learning the power of the negative and how to accept food on the third offer, you’re sure to be a bona fide Minnesotan at the conclusion of the show.

Get your tickets today and come out to the Plymouth Playhouse to celebrate the Minnesotan in all of us.

Let the rides, greasy food, and good ol’ family time commence!  The 2010 Minnesota State Fair has begun and I have the weekend’s hot attractions and events for our Plymouth Square residents.

Today is day one of the twelve days festival extravaganza known as “The Great Minnesota Get-Together.”  The annual event, which begun in 1859,  has quite the impressive line up of musical acts, adventure park rides, animals, competitions, exhibits, and just plain old family fun all around.  The event runs until September 6^th and is a must for all Minnesota residents.  Since I was a kid, there were only two things that interested me at the State Fair: music and rides.  In other of that, I’m going to highlight a few events that are sure to entertain you this weekend.

Music:

National acts of today and year’s past highlight this weekend’s musical attractions.  Country star Tim McGraw performs on Saturday night and is sure to draw the largest crowd of the weekend.  Not too far behind him though is Canadian rock legends Rush.  They’ll be performing their slew of hits including, “Limelight,” The Spirit of Radio,” and “Closer to the Heart.”  Tickets are still available for all shows.  See below for details on these shows and other big name performing acts.

8/26- BoDeans and Big Head Todd & The Monsters 7pm

8/26 & 8/27- Boyz II Men 8:30pm (Free Show)

8/27- An Evening with Rush 7:30pm

8/28- Tim McGraw w/ Julianne Hough 7:30pm

8/29- Brandi Carlisle w/ Amos Lee, The Watson Twins

Rides:

What is a fair without rides?  This year’s fair has a great mix of new and timeless rides that are sure to get your adrenaline pumping.  Classic rides such as Tilt-A-Whirl, Zipper, and Sky Wheel will bring out the kid in you again.  While 2010 will christen brand new rides such as Hard Rock, Rock It, Magnum, Daytona, and Magic Maze Glass House.  All of these rides and more are available with the purchase of a $10 Midway and Kidway ticket.

Music and rides are just two highlights of this year’s Minnesota State Fair.  For a full listing, head over to the official website.  Bring the family down and celebrate Minnesota’s rich agricultural history.

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Support Local Farmers

Tomorrow evening, August 25th, come on out to the Plymouth Farmers Market from 3pm-7pm in the parking lot of Lifetime fitness.

If you’ve been buying your fruits and vegetables from a big box grocery store, I highly recommend you switch it up this week and purchase directly from your local farmers.  Participating in buying local has many positive effects on the community.  Not to mention, fresh and organic produce!  This has been the inaugural year of the Plymouth Farmers Market; and what a first year it has been!  The turnout has been great as people have been able to stock up on the freshest produce around at competitive prices.  With only a few weeks remaining in the season, be sure to come out and support your local farmers!

Per the official Farmers Market website:

The mission of the market is to create a sense of community and to enhance community health with fresh, locally grown produce and plants as well as locally made breads, jams and honeys. Plans are in the works to also offer locally raised meats and eggs.

Plymouth Square residents, grab the kids, loved one, and/or puppy and make the short trip from your apartment home to the Farmers Market and see what all of the rage is about!

This fall, avoid these buying into these 5 things and save some serious cash along the way.

With the summer coming to an end, the beginning of the college school year is right around the corner.  College tuition is expensive, not to mention housing, food, back-to-school clothes and supplies, and textbooks.  Whether you’re a freshman or senior, there are some things you don’t need with you this year at school.  Give your wallet a break by avoiding these unnecessary money-wasting purchases this fall:

1. Private loans-  Avoid the extra debt after college by sticking with a fixed-rate federal load.
2. Campus health insurance- Regardless of your child’s year in school, they should still fall within eligibility on your insurance plan.  Many campuses offer a free clinic that your student can attend when absolutely necessary.
3. Super meal plan- The school and dorm will try to sell you the largest meal plan available.  As much as your child would enjoy 20 meals per week, it is just unnecessary. Start with a lower per-week meal plan and move up if necessary.  Be sure to inquire about plans that allow the unused meals to roll-over to the next week.
4. Car- Most schools do not allow freshman to have cars on campus their first year.  Even if you student is allowed a car, do some research to see if public transportation is easily accessible.  Depending on the campus, it may be set up to walk to all of the places needed.  Leaving your car at home will save money on gas, repairs, and insurance.
5. New textbooks- New textbooks can cost up to $300 per book!  All school book stores offer used copies, but they do go fast.  So be sure to reserve your books as soon as your classes are picked out.  You can also check online book shops like Chegg.com, Bigwords.com, and CampusBookRentals.com.

Next Friday, August 27^th at 7:30pm, come out to Target Center to enjoy the performance of the Top 10 Finalists from the past season of American Idol.

With the future of American Idol in the balance, there is a small chance that this past season is the last quality group of performers that will graduate from the shows competition into stardom.  Like in seasons past, the Top 10 finalists join forces to tour the country after the show ends.  This year, America’s #1 show has 49 live shows across American from July 1^st to September 14^th.  The roadshow makes it’s stop here in Minneapolis next Friday, bringing in this season’s favorites Lee DeWyze, Casey James and Crystal Bowersox.  Check out some Behind-the-Scenes footage.

There are still a limited number of four-pack ticket packs available for only $75.  This package includes four lawn tickets.  Grab some tickets, jot down these directions, and have a good time next Friday!

If you’ve ever eaten at Davanni’s Pizza & Hot Hoagies, then you can guess the next thing I’m going to say.  Delicious!  I honestly don’t think I’ve had better pizza in my life.  With 35 years of pizza tossing history behind them, Davanni’s does Italian right.  I use the term “Italian” loosely; but one bite of their pizza, lasagna, or chicken parmigiana hoagie will overwhelm your senses to the point of delicious confusion that you might as well be in Italy.

Davanni’s originally opened in 1975 in St. Paul under the then name, “Pontill’s Pizzeria,” down the street from the College of St. Thomas.  Since then, they’ve introduced Minnesota residents to menu items such as 15-layer homemade lasagna, award-winning desserts, and hot hoagies.  Give Davanni’s a look on review sites such as Yelp or City Search, you’ll see exactly how happy they make their customers.

If you can’t make it out to one of their locations, head on down to your local “full service” grocery stores and look for Davanni’s in your frozen food isle.

Touting an impressive 22 locations in Minnesota, there is sure to be a location near you.

Plymouth Square at 37th residents follow their Twitter and Facebook to get coupons and daily deals!

As summer winds down (Sorry, but it’s true!) and our activities slowly move inside, now is a great time to kick that laziness in the tail with a  hardcore workout strategy.  Sticking to your own workout routine is a hard thing to do, and will be even harder once the air turns crisp.  Lucky for you, Living Social and BCOR have teamed up to offer Minneapolis residents a great deal with 71% off one month of unlimited boot camp classes.  Now I know what you’re thinking, and no this isn’t run by a drill sergeant at 6am.  It is, however, run outside by top level fitness instructors.  You can choose your level of intensity- beginner, intermediate, or advanced- and plan to burn 500-1,000 calories per session!

This deal is only good for 20 more hours, so head on over to Living Social and map your route from Plymouth Square at 37th apartments to discovering the new healthier you.

(Image via Living Social)

Save hard earned money by shopping SMART

SAVING MONEY in this economy has become one of my favorite past-times! Anytime I hear that extra jingle in my pocket from the coins I DIDN’T spend, it’s like music and I find there’s a little skip in my step.

In a previous post I shared 5 Rules to Gain Control and Resist Temptation while shopping at the grocery store.  I was speaking to myself more than anyone else because I aim to be the SMARTEST shopper in the world. But alas, my love for cooking can sometimes get the best of me at the supermarket.  I’ll see or smell  something delightful and think to myself, I could do something magnificent with that, plop it on a plate and eat it!! Before I know it, my grocery cart weighs 500 tons, hyperbolically speaking of course.

The 5 rules I shared earlier will certainly help in taming the wild shopping beast in you, but those were just for starters!  For instance, did you know that you can save big bucks by making your own cleaning products? It’s not only easy to do and cost effective, but you WILL see the same results using your own concoction that you would get with fancy name brand items! Scooch over Mr. Clean!

Stocking up on deals at your local market is another great idea to save some Benjamines. Unless the world stops spinning, there are a lot of items that you always need and will always use no matter what.  So, if there’s a huge sale, stock up! Things like toilet tissue, tooth paste, deodorant and shampoo all have a long shelf life and are staples in your linen closet.  Even if you have plenty at home, take advantage of a good sale anyway. It won’t be wasted money!

Another trick, peruse the BOTTOM SHELF of your grocery! In my previous post I talked about the science behind the grocery store set up.  Every single item is strategically placed based on demographics and price. Make no mistake about it, your local grocer has YOU tagged like a rhino on a Preserve.  Look high and look low for steals and deals and for goodness (and money’s) sakes, SHOP ALONE.  When you’re by yourself and you BUY YOURSELF, you’re more likely to take your time and weigh your options.

There are many more Ways To Save at the Grocery! How about you? What are your money saving tips?

Dave Matthews Band, with special guests Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, come to Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m for their acclaimed Summer Tour 2010.

The Dave Matthews Band continues to garner raving fans as they play to sell out crowds all over the nation.  Given the emotion behind this tour, it’s no wonder they are stirring up the crowds.  Summer Tour 2010 is a tour in support of their Grammy nominated platinum-certified 2009 album Big Whiskey and the GroGrux King. The album features a few of the very last studio recordings of LeRoi Moore, founding member and saxophonist, who passed away in the summer of 2008. If you’re a major DMB fan, you probably already know … this is it for touring until 2012. The band has decided to take a year off the touring circuit for 2011.

Buy TICKETS today!

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