the best lasagna you'll ever have

First, thank you for all the nice comments about my quilt for Rob! He was able to get on an early flight home this morning, so I was extra glad I finished it when I did. He loves it. Success!



I mentioned in last week's scenes from the weekend post that I have a killer lasagna recipe. I've emailed it out to a few readers already, but here it is for those of you who I wasn't able to reply to! It's adapted from the Frugal Gourmet's 4 Cheese Lasagna recipe.

Ingredients:
9 lasagna noodles
2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 really big container of ricotta cheese (32 oz.?)
1 egg
1 large bag (4 cups) mozzarella cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 - 2 packages sliced provolone cheese (12 slices in each package)
1 pound italian pork sausage (I use reduced fat, it's just as good)
salt, pepper, parsley

Cook your lasagna noodles per package directions and rinse them with cool water. Brown the pork sausage.

Mix the large tub of ricotta with 1 egg, and a bit of salt and pepper. Parsley too if your kids don't freak out about it like mine do. Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese.

In a large lasagna pan, cover the bottom with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce then lay down 3 noodles. On top of that, layer a third of the ricotta mixture, a third of the mozzarella, and 4 slices of provolone (I tear them up so that they stretch out. Provolone is expensive here, but if you want more of it in your lasagna then use two packages and just layer on the slices.) Then sprinkle on a third of the sausage, and spread on a good amount of the sauce to cover it all. Repeat one time. For the last layer, put down the 3 noodles, the last of the ricotta mixture, then the sausage and sauce. Finish it with the rest of the mozzarella and provolone, then the remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan.

Bake it for apx. 50 minutes in a 375 F oven or until brown and bubbly. As you can see, I'm not exact with anything. But that's the fun of lasagna! I'm telling you, it will be a hit.

Of course it takes a bit to prepare, and is something we only eat every few months because it's not the healthiest thing in the world. If you're looking for something faster and less artery-clogging, head over to Dani's blog, Little Fists, and check out her skillet lasagna recipe and her other simple supper ideas. She's a genius in the kitchen!