First Trip to the "Beauty Shop" (9.3.12 - 9.9.12)

Monday was the usual pilates and pool so by now you know how that goes :)

Tuesday started out with an early morning of yoga and just got better from there! After many days of opening up our mailbox to find it empty, WE GOT MAIL!!! It absolutely made my day!! We got a card from Jess and the family, a thank you for the backpacks that we got the twins for their birthday! We got a card from my mom just to say hi, that she misses us, and to try out the Grenadian mailing process! And...we got our wedding pictures from Rhonda!!! They were amazing!! And there were so many I couldn't even look at them all in one sitting! It was so fun remembering that day :D
That afternoon, was my first day at Limes, the after school program. The kids were really excited to be there and were definitely ready to play- they have so much energy! I got to teach/play Uno with the kids. Then some of the girls got bored of Uno and wanted to play Beauty Shop. I was one of the first clients. Basically, a few of the girls started pulling and grabbing my hair in what ended up being a very interesting hair-do...haha  After starting over for about the third time, one of the girls says to me, "Sorry I'm not used to doing white girl hair! And white girl hair is a lot different than black girl hair" haha So, I ended up with a little braid on top of my head another braid somewhere else and a big side pony...my friends all said I looked GREAT :/ lol
When I got home from Limes, I tried out something new for dinner! I had found really good looking whole wheat flat bread that I thought I could make stromboli on! Stromboli is basically rolled up pizza without the sauce. Once it is cooked, you dip it in marinara. I made Ashkon pepperoni and veggie stromboli and I stuck with the veggie. It so really good!! Ashkon was a bit skeptical when he saw the flat bread but he ended up really liking them as well!

YUM!

After dinner, Ashkon wanted me to take his bioethics quiz- not for him, he had already taken it but wanted to see how I would do on it! I am proud to say that I got an 8/10 on my first medical school quiz :)

We wanted to go to the pool again on Thursday, however, Stephanie and I got on the bus from campus and it took a bit of a different route. At the roundabout (roundSabout as the Grenadians call it) he took a quicker turn than usual and started taking us to the old campus stop which is also the home for the school buses...We were a bit confused as to why he wasn't taking us to the pool but then it got weirder...He parks the bus, jumps out of the bus and walks away with a machete. Yes, a MACHETE! We didn't know if we were supposed to stay on the bus or get out or what. So we just stayed and then 10 minutes went by, 15 minutes, 20 minutes. Finally, a different bus driver comes, drops his stuff in the bus and then leaves, as well. Just when things couldn't get weirder, the 2nd bus driver comes back, jumps in the bus, changes the radio and drives off as if nothing had happened. We finally made it to the pool but we decided then and there that we would never get on that bus again!! 

At Bible Study  on Friday, we looked at Hebrews 2:1-9. We looked at the difference between the laws of the Israelites and how Jesus changed that law. We talked about drifting and how it requires no action, it is easy, and dangerous because it does not take us to shore- The world wants us as Christians to drift but a growing relationship with Christ requires ACTION and WORK! Our leader gave us a quote that says, "The greater the revelation, the greater the responsibility to listen." It is really easy to hear God's Word, think its amazing and then go on with our lives. But, we were encouraged at Bible Study, to not neglect what we were learning. If we know that we will inherit God's Kingdom as His children, we can't sit around waiting for it. We need to be encouraged by His promises and share His Word with others! It was such a great time of encouragement and a great reminder of how much more real the responsibility God has given me is to do on this earth. Now I just need to remember that each and every day!

I made another crockpot recipe that I found on the SO Recipe Swap Facebook page- Balsamic chicken!

Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion thinly sliced (Not chopped)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp each: dried oregano,basil, and rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste

Preparation:

Pour the olive oil on bottom of crock pot
place in chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast
put sliced onion on top of chicken
then put in all the dried herbs and garlic cloves
pour in vinegar and top with tomatoes

Cook on high 4 hours, serve over angel hair pasta.

Then, I made my honey Weisser cookies, with the correct ingredients this time. They tasted like home :) MmmmmMMM :)

How much longer???

I'm excited!!

I told him he had to study hard in order to get his cookies :)

Weisser cookies recipe from the Baby Bear Stew Cookbook made by my great grandma Gram
(Sorry to tell you though, they won't taste as good as if a Weisser were to make them for you -that's just how it goes- but you can try :D)

3 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking soup
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oil
1 cup corn flakes (crushed)
1 cup oats
1 cup of chocolate chips [ you may add as you please :) ]

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and milk and beat well. Stir in flour mixture alternately with oil. Add corn flakes, oats and chocolate chips and stir until blended. (We also use our kitchen aid when making these!) Drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. These are absolutely the best chocolate chip cookies ever. Gram keeps these in her freezer all the time and the Weisser's are following in her footsteps with a cookie jar always full of these.

Saturday was the first day it really felt like I was going back to the states on Monday! But this also meant I had a lot to do before I left! I had planned out a few meals that I was going to leave with Ash so that he wouldn't starve while I was away ;) Since we had the whole day free, I wanted to make some crock pot recipes. I made crock pot lasagna and tortilla soup- both which Ashkon loves and both make large quantities! Then I had to start packing...Before we left, my Aunt Megan and Uncle Jim had given us a gift to go out on a nice date! We had been hearing great things about a restaurant called The Beach House and had heard that it was probably one of the nicest restaurants on the island! So, we decided it was perfect timing to go on a nice date before I left :) We were really excited! I got the chicken dish and Ash got swordfish! Even though it took a while to get our food (everything is slower in Grenada!), Ashkon LOVED the bread that we got while we waited! And the wait was worth it- the food was delicious! However, I was maybe more excited about dessert--MUD PIE!!! Layers of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee ice cream with hot fudge and almonds YUM! Just writing about it makes me hungry :D Let's just say we left there very full and very satisfied :D

We were able to catch a glimpse of the sunset.

Ashkon LOVED the bread and balsamic butter (I think he asked for more bread about 4 times hehe)

 

 Soo good! Now...for DESSERT!

The Mud Pie! Our favorite part of dinner :)

Sunday came so quickly and I couldn't believe I was leaving the next day. I started off the morning making Ashkon pancakes and then we headed to CSA! The rest of the day, I pretty much made sure everything was in order for me to go and Ash was settled with food, a clean place etc. I made some more meals for him so that he wouldn't be stressed about having to go to the store or think about what to eat while I was away. I decided to make chili for dinner because I knew there would be leftovers for Ashkon to eat later in the week! It was a recipe that my mom makes but it was the first time I had made it! Ash was very excited and very impressed with how good it was! [He always seems to be so impressed with my crock pot meals...we don't need to tell him how easy it is right?? :) ] We ate it with the delicious wheat dinner bread that we found at the store! Then we got to Facetime with Bethany and Mike! It was a week before their wedding- so crazy!!! It was the first time since we have been here that we got to facetime with both of them! So, of course, we gave them the tour, told them about what we've been doing, school and everything! It was fun to see them really excited about the wedding! It came so fast! I couldn't believe that I would get to see them in a couple days but we were all bummed that Ashkon couldn't come with me :(





Ready for some chili!!


Mmmm it smells so good!



Crock pot chili-3 bean BBQ chili

This makes a BIG batch-serves 12 at least. You might want to do 1/2 a recipe

1 TBS oil
3/4-1 pound ground meat (can use shredded chicken if leftover)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chili powder
1 TBS cumin
1 32 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup worchestershire
1 TBS dry mustard
2 cans kidney beans (15 oz-drain and rinse)
2 cans pinto beans (15 oz can-drain and rinse)
1 can white beans (15 oz can-drain and rinse)
you can use black beans if you prefer

Heat oil in pan and cook onions and garlic, meat and chili powder and cumin on medium to medium high heat. Stir until meat is browned and onion are tender. Place into crock pot and add all remaining ingredients. Cook on low 4-6 hours.
YUMMY!!!

Boy Bands, Exercise and the first FLOP :( (8.27.12 - 9.2.12)

Monday, was the usual- Pool day! Before us girls went, we wanted to check out the beginning of the term sale. Unfortunately, there were only two tents set up with not many items. However, I did get some hangers which was nice because we had been needing them! So that was a success! The pool was, as always, amazingly beautiful and tons of fun! I just wish that Ashkon could come with me to see it...maybe someday! :) Until then, I will just enjoy it with the girls :)

On Tuesday, we tried out the Yoga class! It was awesome and the teacher was great! We would be in this relaxing stretch and then all of a sudden she would raise her voice and it would get really intense to tell us to go into the next pose- pretty funny! Then we went to IGA, our grocery store, and we heard Backstreet Boys AND N'sync while we were shopping! You know it's gonna be a good day when you hear boy bands in the grocery store!! haha :D Once I got back to campus, I did my weekly errand to the egg man! We decided to have a beach day so we all met up at Grand Anse Beach. Since we had all gotten just a little bit burnt the day before at the pool [ ;) oops ] we really appreciated the shade trees that this beach has! We enjoyed the water which was somewhat green today (we decided this was because of the clouds) but mostly just relaxed in the shade with some of the other SOs.
When I got home, my sister Jess had given me some great encouragement from Zephaniah 3:17 and James 4:13-15 about some insecurities I had been feeling. We have been able to talk a lot since I have been gone and face time has allowed me to see my nieces and nephews so they don't forget me! ;) :D It has been awesome and so much fun to still be able to see my sister and watch my nieces and nephews grow up being so far away! What a blessing!

"The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."    James 4:13-15

After that, I called my mom and got to see some surprise visitors- Annie Bruce and her daughter Bee who were visiting from New York! A couple years ago, my mom surprised me with a trip to New York for Christmas (kind of a re-do senior trip a couple years late since I didn't have one) and we stayed with them and they were our personal tour guides :) Bee was only a little baby then, so it was really fun to see her all grown up! Tonight, I made an all-American meal- Burger patties and potatoes. Mmmm :)

Wednesday came quick and it was time for Pilates again! Only this time, I was the only one in class- Personal training without the extra pay...Why not?? haha There are definitely pros and cons to being the only one in class but it was kind of fun and I got to learn more about the teacher! She actually has only been in Grenada for a couple years because before that she and her husband quit there jobs, bought a yacht and sailed around before residing in Grenada because they loved it so much! What a life! Later that afternoon, we (the girls) went to try out a new beach: Magazine Beach!

Gorgeous!! Tonight was the night to make Baby Bear Stew, a family classic recipe and soo delicious!!! Ashkon loved it!!

Then, I decided to be brave and try to make Weisser cookies in the toaster oven! Unfortunately, we had baking soda not baking powder and we think that the brown sugar we bought is a little different than the brown sugar from home...Well here it goes! I made them anyways and Ashkon said they were still good! Of course, I had to tell everyone from home who knows just how amazing Weisser cookies are and to say that for the first time they were made in Grenada! :D
My Facebook status on 8.29.12
Just made Weisser cookies in our toaster oven!!! They were somewhat altered due to our great supply of Grenadian groceries ;) but they were close enough! Now Ashkon wants me to create my own cookie so we can have "Bani cookies" :D I don't know if I can make something better than Weisser cookies though...we will see! :)

Baby Bear Stew (Pg 114 in Baby Bear Stew Cookbook- My mom's cookbook for those of you who don't have one)

2 onions chopped
3-4 stalks celery sliced in chunks
2 garlic cloves crushed
2-3 TBS oil
1-2 lbs ground meat (beef or turkey: My favorite is turkey)
4 carrots sliced and parboiled
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 tsp Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
4 zuccini sliced
1 green pepper cut in chunks
2-3 cans kidney beans
(This makes A LOT so you can always cut in half or you can freeze half after it's made)

Saute onions, celery, and garlic in oil in a large soup pot. Add ground meat and cook until meat is brown. Add parboiled carrots, stewed tomatoes, tomato saucy, seasonings, zucchini, and green pepper. Cook for 30 minutes. Add kidney beans and cook for an additional 20 minutes. This is the original family special stew served at all functions. This was originally called Vegetable Chili, but Rad, Kerry, and Megan (my mom and her sister and brother) wouldn't eat it because it looked too healthy. So Rozie (my grandma) made up a story about baby bears eating the stew and they've loved it ever since. Hence the name...Baby Bear Stew.

Thursday was another Yoga, Pool day...yes, I know a bit monotonous but hey exercise and lying the sun all day...Yeah, it's the life! Then, after the pool, I was so excited to try to  make Tabbouleh...however, it turned out to be my first FLOP :( And I was so excited because look at the bulgar wheat I found at the store!!! It had my maiden name on it!! WEISSER!

Unfortunately, I don't think I cooked the bulgar wheat long enough so the tabbouleh was not good :( I was pretty bummed but Ashkon tried to cheer me up by trying to eat some and say it wasn't that bad. But, then we decided we could make an exception of our no wasting food rule this one time...it was that bad lol...we'll see how long it takes for me to try to make it again! haha I'll need a tutor session on how to make good tabbouleh when I get home, Mom :)

If you would like to try to make it (and see if you can do better than me haha), here's the recipe!
1 1/2 bulgur wheat
3 cups boiling water
1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup green onions chopped
1 cucumber chopped
2 TBS minced mint
2 large tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 head romaine lettuce (optional)

Pour boiling water over bulgur wheat and let stand 1/2-1 hours. (More like one hour) Add remaining ingredients except romaine lettuce. Chill several hours and serve on bed of shredded romaine lettuce (We never eat it with the romaine lettuce...My favorite is to put it in a pita and eat with hummus!)

  Friday morning, there was a SO breakfast at Le Boulangerie. It was fun to get together and meet some new SOs! Since we are trying to be good with the little money that we have, I decided to eat breakfast at home before and then just socialize at the get together! However, Jo go this cinnamon danish that was HUGE so she let me try a bite and it was really good! It was more like a giant cinnamon roll but more of a flaky consistency! We were also told that it has really good lunch and dinner food! When I got home, I needed to try to find a dessert to make for our on-campus married housing Meet and Greet. I found this amazing sounding cookie recipe online so I decided to try it out! See the recipe and pictures below! The recipe calls to actually bake the cookie on a graham cracker but what Ashkon and I realized is that we liked it better if you just put the warm cookie right on a graham cracker after you took it out of the oven (or toaster oven). That way, the graham cracker was more crispy, which we liked! 

Then, that night was our first women's bible study! We are studying Hebrews so we started right with Hebrews 1- it was a great reminder of how amazing and powerful God is! We also learned a lot about how the book of Hebrews is very parallel with much of what was told in the Old Testament. The last point and a great take home was all about how we should have joy in Christ's salvation and just revel in who He is!! --He is the appointed heir of all things, He sustains all, He is both God and the Son of God, He laid the foundation of the Earth, He never changes, He is Righteous and Anointed--- We serve a GREAT GOD!! Never forget that :)

SMORES COOKIES

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
Cream together butter and sugar until incorporated

Add:
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Beat thoroughly

Add:
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips, or one giant Hershey's bar, chopped
1 cup mini marshmallows
Stir to incorporate

The most fun part about these cookies is that you actually bake the cookie on top of a whole graham cracker.

Bake at F350°, for no more than 11 minutes (after 11 minutes, the graham cracker will burn).
Some of the marshmallow may toast off the cracker, but simply remove the cracker from your cookie sheet and quickly transfer to a wire rack.
Yields 4 dozen

I was really excited for the Limes Beach Day on Saturday! I had been told that Limes is tons of fun, so a bunch of us decided to go to the beach day kick off right before the kids started the school year! We started where they meet for the after school program and right off the bat the kids were so sweet and adorable! They wanted to know our names, where we were from...Then we walked with all of them to the beach! They love the water! They each wore life jackets and thought it was so neat that they could float on their backs and they had little pillows from the back of their life jacket. Then they thought it was so funny to get buckets of water and dump it on our heads. Needless to say, they had tons of fun and so did we! 

When I got home, Ashkon was at the lab with a few of his classmates, so I went to the gym! (For those of you APUers, I have to tell you, it's worse than the old gym at APU...yes that is possible...but it suffices) I had received the book The Power of a Praying Wife from my sister Rachel at one of my bridal showers and I hadn't gotten a chance to start reading it with all the craziness of moving. But, I decided to start it today. I remember that when my sister gave it to me she said that it did wonderful things for her marriage so I was really excited to start it! It is amazing! I would recommend it to anyone who is married and has never read it!! 

Later that night, we went to a married housing Meet & Greet. Some other couples went, mostly ones we had met, but a few new ones too! It was nice getting to see some people who live on campus other than when we are walking to or from our place. All the desserts were really good and the amores cookies were a hit :)

Sunday morning I tried out a new recipe- Oatmeal pancakes! They were really good! However, since I had made Ashkon buttermilk pancakes the week before, which he absolutely LOVED, I told him that he was not allowed to judge these before he tried them! Surprisingly, he really liked them! I was really glad because it is definitely a much healthier option than buttermilk pancakes but still delicious!

Oatmeal Pacakes
Ingredients:

6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, dry
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Instructions:

In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed. Makes about 10 pancakes.

First Week of School (8.21.12 - 8.24.12)

Ashkon's first real classes began on Tuesday, August 21 where he actually began to learn medical information- He was so excited! I decided to go to the "Egg Man" on campus to see what everyone had been talking about! The chatter was definitely all worth it- I got 30 eggs for 17 EC which is about $6.30 USD (21 cents per egg- about the cheapest thing we have found here in Grenada so far!) Now that I have some more alone time I wanted to try out some new recipes! I have never made my sister's (Jess) tortilla soup, but I have eaten it and it is delicious! Since we brought over a crockpot, I have been looking for new crock pot recipes to try and this was my first! Ashkon said it was a success :) And that's all that matters, right?? :) The recipe will be below the tortilla soup pictures...

I also tried making my mom's salsa for the first time, too! It wasn't as good as when she makes it, but it was still pretty good! We love salsa! YUM! This recipe will be below, as well!

This was an impressed/delicious dinner face if you couldn't tell :)

 Salsa!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves

2 15 oz. cans black beans, undrained (Sometimes I use kidney beans too- just preference)

2 15 oz. cans Mexican stewed tomatoes

1 cup salsa

4 oz. can chopped green chilies (I don't always add these)

14.5 oz. can tomato sauce

Tortilla chips

2 cups grated cheese (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in large slow cooker

2. Cover. Cook on low 8 hours

3. Just before serving remove chicken breasts and slice into bite-sized pieces. Stir into soup

4. To serve, put a handful of chips in each individual soup bowl. Ladle soup over chips. (We usually just eat the chips with the soup instead of putting them in it if you don't like soggy chips) Top with cheese.

Salsa
2-3 tomatoes chopped in small pieces
1 large red onion chopped
1-2 bunches cilantro chopped fine (1cup or more)
1 can 15 oz tomato sauce (Hunts is best but any brand of Tomato sauce is good)
1 small can El Pato tomatillo sauce (use any small can of tomatilo sauce or hot salsa)
Stir all and let flavors blend chill and serve.

To use big appliances like a crockpot, we have to plug an adaptor into the wall, the transformer into the adaptor and the crockpot into the adaptor. It took a while to get used to, but I think we have the hang out it now! Not only did we bring a crockpot in our luggage across the US and down the Caribbean, we also brought pots and pans, a blender, a 25-pc knife and kitchen appliance set, and Ashkon's favorite- a Toaster! And my mom gave us a little treat that has been so helpful- a universal pot and pan top! We got amazing deals on these items but it definitely was sad to leave all of our amazingly nice wedding gifts at my parents house. Unfortunately, we forgot silverware lol but we got this little box of plasticware and it has been great...enough haha! We've only lost one in the 3 weeks since we have been using them!  

On Wednesday, I tried out a Pilates class with my friend Jo- it was great! It's pretty close to campus so we can take one of the SGU buses and then walk a couple blocks to get to the gym. The teacher was super nice and there was only one other lady in the class! We did lots of stretching, ab work, and resistance band work! Later that night, we had our first Bible study get together. We all met on campus at one of the girl's apartments and shared a snack or dessert and just hung out to get to know one another! The group is made up of SOs and students so it was neat to get different perspectives on the school, islnd,  how life is in Grenada, and hearing about what we would be studying in the Bible study. We are doing Hebrews which I am really excited about! So I will keep you updated on what we learn :) Oh yea, and then I got stuck in a torrential rainstorm walking/running home. Thank you Grenada...our place was just up the hill from where we were for our get together but I seriously could not run because there was so much rain coming down! The water was above my ankles on the street. I ran in to our place and I think Ashkon just laughed and then got me a towel. I seriously felt like I had just jumped in a pool with my clothes on...I guess I should take a rain jacket with me wherever I go now...haha what an experience!

Thursday was our 2-month anniversary! We can't believe that it has gone so fast and so much has happened in these 2 months! We have been having a lot of fun together- just being with one another, moving to another country, figuring things out together! It definitely hasn't been easy but we have done it together which is the best! I made a new crock pot veggie lasagna recipe that I found online to celebrate! I had to make some adjustments with the availability of food items here but it really turned out great! The recipe is at the bottom of the post.

Even though the meal is easy to prepare and cook with a crock pot, the clean up is not always!

I love lasagna!

The Happy Couple

Can't believe it's been 2 months from this day!!

Once Friday hit, Ashkon was ready for a break! So, we went on a mini date to try out the ice cream on campus :) I got chocolate and Ash got vanilla- it was great! They both had little pieces of chocolate and vanilla shavings in it! The only thing that would have made it better is if there was more of it! :D And because it is so hot and humid here we had to finish before we even got home ha But it's fun having a little something that is not too expensive and that we can do together for a little date once in a while! (There's no picture because we have to eat it so fast there isn't a moment to spare to take a pic lol)

Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients:


-8-ounce package shredded mozzarella cheese, divided


-15 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
(or small curd cottage cheese)

-2 large eggs


-¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated


-1 teaspoon salt, divided


-1 cup carrots, shredded


-3 cups zucchini, shredded and firmly packed


-26-ounce jar roasted garlic marinara sauce


-8-10 regular lasagna noodles (not no-boil)

Directions
Remove ½ cup mozzarella cheese. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, eggs, Parmesan and ½ teaspoon salt.

Cook carrots in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir into cheese mixture and set aside.

In a separate bowl, stir remaining ½ teaspoon salt into zucchini.

Spray Crock Pot with cooking spray.

Spread 1/3 sauce on bottom. Gently break 2 noodles to fill and cover bottom (this part will be hard for you neat freaks — just remember it turns out in the end)

Spread 1 cup cheese mixture over the noodles. Top with 1 cup shredded zucchini. Top with 2/3 cup marinara sauce.

Repeat with a second layer (2 noodles, 1 cup cheese mixture, 1 cup shredded zucchini and 2/3 cup marinara sauce).

Add a third layer of noodles and top with remaining cheese mixture and zucchini only.

Top with noodles and remaining marinara sauce, then sprinkle with the reserved ½ cup mozzarella.

Cook on High for 3 hours. Let stand 15-20 minutes before serving.