Never to Busy for Lasagna!

I have been working my little tail off for the last two weeks. I have been so busy, I haven't even be able to publish the articles on my blog that were already written! You might think that also means I didn't have time to cook, but I do have my priorities straight!

Last weekend, at JR and BC's request, I made lasagna for the first Patriots game. I LOVE lasagna. It's a bit of work, but almost impossible to mess up, and everyone thinks you are the worlds best chef when you make it. The leftovers also get better and better and there are always lots of them.

My recipe is from my mother and it's as healthy as lasagna can be. Follow along and you can have your very own!

Step 1: Arrange all the ingredients around your lasagna pan, including -

1. Lasagna noodles - I have used both regular and whole wheat. I do pre-cook them in boiling water.
2. Vegetables - shredded carrots, sliced zucchini and mushrooms. This is much easier to make now that I have a Cuisinart. If you don't have one, I highly recommend using whatever vegetables you can get pre-sliced at the grocery store.
3. Cheeses - Mozzarella, parmigiana, and ricotta. Mix the ricotta with some egg, parsley, and the parmigiana cheese.
4. Red Sauce - I saute lots of garlic, onions and peppers. Then I add a couple jars of pasta sauce and tons of basil, oregano, rosemary and red pepper.


Step 2: Spray the bottom of the pan with Pam, add a couple spoons of sauce and build a layer of noodles. This gives you a base.


Step 3: Then add some plops of the ricotta mixture, followed by some more sauce. Mix the two and spread them out over the noodles.


Step 4: Start adding your veggies. Begin with the mushrooms. I don't like mushrooms much, but in lasagna, I don't even notice them, so I add them for JR.


Step 5: Add the shredded carrots (and think about how beautiful it looks!)


Step 6: Finish off the vegetables with the zucchini.


Step 7: Cover the vegetables with mozzarella cheese, and start back at the beginning with the noodles. Keep building until your pan is just about full. Then finish off with a layer of noodles, sauce and cheese.


Step 8: Admire your mess! This is where JR comes in. He knows a lasagna is quite a bit of work because of all the dishes it makes. But he agrees that it is totally worth the effort. It's also much much better now that we have a dishwasher.


Step 9: Bake the lasagna, covered, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Then allow it to stand for 10 minutes. This is the hardest part! It's a true exercise in patience.


Step 10: DIG IN! (Note: There are no photos of the lasagna all served up waiting to be eaten because it didn't hang around long enough to be photographed!)

Lasagna is super easy to share or store. We brought one of these over to JR's sister and ate the rest for dinner all week. You can freeze single servings in tinfoil and they are great on nights when you don't feel like cooking or for weeks when you are too busy to blog!