Lasagna

I can't believe lasagna isn't on my blog yet.  This is my moms recipe because as we all know, nobody's lasagna is as good as moms.  Ever.  So I understand if this is the recipe on my blog that you never try because it just isn't your moms lasagna.  But if your mom didn't ever make lasagna and you therefore don't have a "moms lasagna" that is your favorite, step into my mom's kitchen, into my childhood, and sample some of her lasagna. 

 

1 lb ground turkey (or lean ground beef)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp basil

1 tsp salt

1 1-lb can tomatoes

2 6-oz cans tomato paste

10 oz lasagna noodles (buy the pre-boiled noodles to save yourself time)

1 egg, beaten

3 C dry cottage cheese or Ricotta

1/2 C grated Parmesan or Romano

2 Tbsp parsley

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated

Brown meat.  Spoon off any extra grease.  Add garlic.  Cook for 30 seconds.  Add basil, salt, tomatoes, and tomato paste.  Simmer with lid ajar for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cook noodles (unless you bought the pre-boiled noodles).

Combine egg, cottage cheese/ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, pepper, and mozzarella.

Layer half the noodles in a grased 9x13 dish.  Spread half the cheese filling followed by half the meat sauce.  Repeat (noodles, cheese, sauce).  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  

Note:  If you assemble it early and refrigerate before baking, increase the cook time to 45 minutes.

A funny story (or maybe I should say a yucky, awful story):  While I was cutting up the basil and stirring it into the tomatoes, Geoff asks, "Did you wash that basil really well?"  Yeah, why?  "Well," he says, "I might have sprayed it with insecticide yesterday when I was spraying the nearby rose bushes."

WHAT!?  Might have sprayed it?  What do you mean might have sprayed it?  Did you spray it or not, now is the time to remember.  He couldn't remember.  So I didn't add the other leaves of basil I was planning on, though it was too late for what I had already added to the tomatoes.  Hope I washed them well enough.  I appreciate his help in the garden and, after throwing away the remaining basil I had cut, informed him that we have some organic sprays that are for the herbs so we don't have to worry about poisoning ourselves.

Little Boy is, as always, enjoying his food.  He recently had his first Mangoes.  He often gets these with plain yogurt and it looks so good, I'm tempted to eat some, too.

For Mangoes, peel the fruit and cut the flesh away from the center stone.  Puree fruit (no cooking necessary).  Add water if necessary to reach desired consistency. Freeze in ice cube trays or muffin tins.

This is Isaac's "feed me" face.  "Can't you see that my mouth is open?  Why is there not food in my mouth yet?  Faster Mom, faster."