If you know me, then you probably already know that I'm a foodie, but so not like Martha. I just happen to have been lucky enough to grow up with a talented home-ec teacher for my Mom. Endless new recipes landed on our kitchen table for our meal-time testing.
Now I live miles away from Mom's kitchen, but her love of "tweaking" a recipe still pulls at my cooking soul. I can't say I make my family the fabulous meals of my childhood, but thanks to my Mom's inspiration some meals turn out pretty darn deelish. Here's a fall/winter favorite recipe:
Easy Lasagne
32 oz. (approx.) prepared spaghetti sauce or make your own sauce from scratch
12 oz. Mozzarella cheese
16 oz. cottage cheese
1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
8 oz lasagne noodles, uncooked
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 packages frozen spinach leaves
1/2 cup water
This recipe can be modified to fit your taste buds. Feel free to "tweak" it.
- Cut 6 slices from Mozzarella cheese and reserve for topping (if you buy pre-shredded cheese, just save approx. 6 slices worth of cheese for topping). Shred remainder of Mozzarella.
- Combine Mozzarella with cottage cheese, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.
- Place half of spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup water in bottom of 13x9x2-inch pan or lasagne pan.
- Thaw spinach. (I thaw it in on the stove in a steamer, or you can use the microwave.) Drain spinach.
- Layer half of uncooked noodles over sauce; top with half of spinach and half of cheese mixture. Repeat layers.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Top with reserved Mozzarella slices (or pre-shredded cheese).
- If you want to prepare the lasagne ahead of time, then it can be covered and refrigerated until you are ready to bake it. Remove cover before baking.
- Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly around the edges.
One reason I love this recipe is the fact that it is the perfect meal for busy families. This lasagne tastes just as good when you reheat the leftovers the next day.
Ciao
OOOPS.... When I first posted this yesterday, I forgot to add the amount of water you add to the spaghetti sauce at the bottom of the pan. I apologize for the confusion. Try using 1/2 cup water. Now the corrected recipe is above.