i just made up this recipe and it worked out brilliantly! it will serve at least 5 people and you can customize what veggies you include. i left out mushrooms, but i feel like many people would enjoy this recipe with mushrooms for even more textures. 3 people barely put a dent in the dish, so keep that in mind when thinking of space in the fridge for left-overs. the preparation isn't hard and it's REALLY hearty. served with a small salad and a glass of wine, this would be a beyond-filling meal. so much fun to entertain with! honorary cuties SHANNON ROWAN and ALYSSA MULLEN got to taste fur themselves! OM NOM NOM. we actually washed this down with champagne, but that's cuz it was on sale at the grocery store for 6 bucks a bottle. we're college kids on a budget! which is another great thing--these left-overs are going to last me over a week. YAYYYYYYYY.
you can add meat to this recipe, too, but i couldn't tell you worth a damn how to cook it!...seeing as i don't eat meat n' all.
here's duh way to do it! all homemade, baby. if i had my own cows i'd make my own cheese tooooo.
ingredients:
-12 oz. tub of ricotta cheese
-1 large package of shredded mozzarella (3 cups)
-shredded romano and parmasan cheese to taste
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/4 cup of milk
- 2 regular cans of diced tomatoes
-1 small can of tomato paste
-3 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves
-1 yellow onion
-1 red pepper
-1 green pepper
-1 package of whole wheat lasagna noodles (NOT THE READY-TO-BAKE KIND)
-spices:
-garlic salt
-fine ground sea salt
-crushed red pepper
-rosemary
-basil
-oregano
-13x9 in. baking pan
-1 shallow cooking pan
-1 medium pot for sauce
-1 large pot for boiling large, lasagna noodles
-1 medium-sized mixing bowl
-aluminum foil
recipe:
SAUCE:
-in a medium pot pour 2 cans of diced tomatoes, unstrained, and bring to a simmer on medium heat.
-add rosemary, garlic salt, basil, crushed red pepper, and oregano to taste.
(a little added olive oil splashed in the sauce helps bring out the flavor also!)
-add can of tomato paste and stir continuously.
-turn heat down to low and let simmer for a while to ensure the tomato chunks get softer.
NOODLES:
-in a large pot, bring enough water to boil to cover a whole package of lasagna noodles
-once boiling, add noodles
-add a couple dashes of salt to boiling water to add flavor to the noodles and prevent noodles from getting sticky later
-cook for 8+ minutes, but do not let the noodles get fully soft. let them be a little underdone. they'll do added cooking/softening once baking. they should be flexible, but not al dente.
-once done, turn burner off and lay a long sheet of aluminum foil out on a countertop.
-strain noodles until dry and lay out each noodle flat on the foil to dry up a bit. if your noodles go into the dish soggy, so will your lasagna be.
VEGGIES:
-finely chop at least half an onion, half a red pepper, and half a green pepper.
-in a shallow cooking pan, pour in 1/4 cup of olive oil and bring to medium heat.
-toss in veggies, stirring frequently in the olive oil.
-once veggies start to soften, turn the burner off. (less than 10 minutes of cooking)
CHEESY INNARDS:
-empty 12 oz. container of ricotta cheese into a medium mixing bowl
-add 1/4 cup of milk
-stir until the ricotta cheese is smooth
-add 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
-mix until the mozzarella is evenly distributed in the ricotta mixture
LASAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGNAAAAAAAAAA:
-preheat oven to 350 degrees
-in 13x9 in. baking pan, lay in one layer of noodles. do not overlap the noodles, but let them touch side-by-side.
-using fingers, scoop up some of the ricotta mixture and spread it across the noodles thinly, but evenly
-lay another identical layer of noodles on top of the ricotta mixture
-spoon some sauce on top of the new layer of noodles, ensuring the sauce is also thin, but even.
-lay down a layer of spinach leaves on the sauce and top off with a thin layer of the olive-oily pepper/onion mix.
-lay another identical layer of noodles on top of the sauce and veggies
-using fingers, scoop up ricotta mixture and spread out a thin layer
....continue until you reach the top of the baking pan.
-on top of the last layer of noodles, lay down another thin layer of sauce.
-cover pan with aluminum foil.
-bake for 1 hour
-remove pan from oven, but leave oven on.
-take off the foil and spread the final cup of shredded mozzarella on top of the sauce
-top off with some shredded romano and parmesan cheese to taste
-continue baking for 15 minutes, uncovered with foil, or until cheese is fully melted and starting to brown.
ENJOYYYYYYY! love, jules.
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