GRAND RAPIDS – Lilly Laubenthal “Lilly-fies” her cooking.

She’ll take a recipe and boost it with herbs and seasonings until she gets it just right.

Her husband, Todd Otis, coined the phrase “Lilly-fy.”

Laubenthal did that to her Veggie Stuffed Lasagna Rollups.

She took a basic ricotta-stuffed-shells recipe and made it her own by adding chopped mushrooms, asparagus, spinach and onion to the ricotta cheese base.

“I go by the philosophy that I want to add veggies into anything I can, just to make regular meals a little bit healthier,”Laubenthal said.

She said she had planned on sharing the recipe for the stuffed pasta shells, but as she couldn’t find them in any stores, she substituted lasagna noodles, stuffed them with the filling, then rolled them.

Laubenthal said there was no trial and error before she came up with the vegetable combination for this dish.

She said she modifies recipes to her taste, and guestimates how much seasoning she puts into a dish. She goes through her spice cabinet and if her selections smell good together, she tosses them in.

Her grandmother taught her to bake, but she found there is no room for creativity. Laubenthal started cooking basic recipes until she mastered them, then started “Lilly-fying” them.

“I just enjoy being in the kitchen. I always have. It brings back good memories with my grandma, cooking and baking.”

Laubenthal admitted there was a lot of trial and error with her macaroni and cheese. It took a while to get the cheese combination just right, she said.

She wants to work on grilled fish and play with flavors.

“I’ve never really been a good seafood fan, but now that I know flavor profiles, and how they can enhance a dish, I’d like to start playing with fish a little bit.”

Laubenthal does like to grill salmon and puts homemade pesto on it.

This dish is freezer friendly, and Laubenthal said it’s one of her best dishes when she needs something quick and easy. She vacuum-seals the prepared dish and when she wants some, she takes it out of the freezer, thaws it then bakes it.

“It’s perfect for a nurse,” she said.

Laubenthal used to work at Toledo Hospital but is now a travel nurse with the goal of making enough money to build up the couple’s five acres and add gardens and livestock.

She was in Phoenix for three months at the start of this year and plans to work at the Cleveland Clinic this summer.

A 2012 Perrysburg High School graduate, she has been married since September. She and Todd have been together eight years.

She has books specific to Midwest gardening with what time to plant and harvest. Her plan is to have tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, snap peas, squash, cucumbers, melon and onions. If it flourishes in this region, she will plant it, Laubenthal said.

The whole point of gardening is so she can do more canning. She now cans fruit butter and sells it.

Laubenthal also wants pear, peach, apple and cherry fruit trees and bees for honey, goats and cows for milk, and steers for beef. She already has chickens that are providing her with fresh eggs.

“I like the concept of knowing that I know how my animal was taken care of before it was sent to slaughter,” she said.