Tonights Dinner...Finally after an Evening of Neglect as described by CakeGirls children

So I finally got off my tush and cooked a "real" dinner. Ever so sorry for the "Pizza Hut incident" last night. They will live. We celebrated my holiday free house with a big Italian dinner. Ok so lasagna....mmm it was soo good!! Please, please don't think about using a jarred sauce, you might hurt my feelings. It's truly sooo easy!!

Sauce

1/4 C onion (again I keep a bag of frozen pre-chopped onions on hand at all times)
3 Tb. Garlic
5 Tb Olive Oil
2 Large Cans Crushed Tomatoes 28 oz.
2 Tb Honey
1 Tb Red Pepper Flake (to taste, add more if you like)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 Tb Italian Seasoning
2 Tb Basil (I'm telling you, the frozen little cubes found at Trader Joes are a lifesaver!! Also available, cilantro and garlic)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until softened and translucent. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat.


1 1/2 lb ground beef or Italian sausage
2 Tb Garlic
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Saute' until brown and thoroughly cooked

2 Cans Mushrooms

Drain and set aside (fancy huh??)

1 Large tub Ricotta Cheese
2 Large Eggs- beaten
2 Tb Garlic
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
3 Tb Prepared Pesto (this comes in tubes now at most grocery stores, keep it on hand, this is most useful in several of my recipes)

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

1 large bag shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Add lasagna noodles to boiling water with 2 Tb. Olive oil and 1 tsp salt.

Cook noodles until al dente' (This is almost all the way cooked, but not quite table ready)

Pre-heat oven to 375

Start layering ingredients into greased 9 X 13 pan starting with sauce.

Proceed as follows until you are out of room in dish or out of ingredients. I usually get 4 layers.

Sauce,noodles,ricotta mix,hamburger,mushrooms,shredded mozzarella, sauce....and on and on ending with noodles topped with remaining sauce and cheese.

Bake at 375 for approximately 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Cheese on top will be browned and delicious. I usually cook mine on a parchment lined cookie sheet to prevent spillage in the oven.

Allow to set up for 15 minutes or so while you make garlic bread, salad etc...