And while I love to cook, when I'm absolutely worn out, I don't want to work in the kitchen for any extended period of time. I want to sit in the La-z-boy and enter that semi-catatonic zombie state in front of the big screen and hope that my lack of movement will recharge the batteries.
But nevertheless, Mommy, the other boys and I all have to eat. So we planned ahead. We stocked up on hamburgers and chicken breasts so on those warm days, I can let the grill do my work for me while I watch the other kids tire themselves out on the swings. I have some quickie meals in a box (mac and cheese) and sandwich fixings so a meal can be assembled quickly.
But most importantly, we pre-made a few great meals weeks ago and froze them. I've got pans of enchiladas in the freezer. We made bags of tamales that can be extracted at a moment's notice. And best of all, we made a couple small lasagnas.
Continuing with this month's red sauce theme, we're building your basic lasagna. The great thing about lasagna recipes is that every one is a suggestion. Yes, you can follow the recipe to the letter, but lasagna is so customizable, you can put anything in it you want. The only standards are that you use noodles, some sort of cheese mixture and some sauce. You're not even bound to red sauce. I've seen alfredo and pesto sauces used in lasagna, but in this particular one, we'll do red.
When I make a lasagna, I like to include a combination of meat and vegetables. It just brings a great combination of flavors to the table, but if you're a meat and noodle type of person, go carnivorous. I have found that firmer vegetables, like onions, peppers, eggplant and zucchini should be slightly sauteed before adding them to the dish, just so they are nice and tender at the end. I'll use a combination of cheeses: ricotta for its adhesive qualities, mozzarella for its stretchiness, and paremsan for its flavor. But if you want to mix in some asiago, provolone, etc., do it. My only recommendation is to keep the ricotta, because it makes the mixture of cheeses much easier to spread.
Now the dish you see in the picture above is in a 13x9 dish, because we were feeding a number of people. If you're making these to freeze for a family of four, you can build them in a pair of 8x8's or any other casserole dishes and drop them into the deep freeze. An 8x8 pan is more than enough to feed four, so you get two nights of meals out of one recipe.
Lasagna
Feeds 8
1 box lasagna noodles
2 teaspoons salt
Sauce
5 14 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons dried basil
3 cloves of garlic, minced.
Cheese filling
32 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
16 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
Topping
4 ounces parmesan cheese
6 ounces mozzarella cheese
Basil
Parsley
Other Fillings (use whatever combination you'd like)
1 pound browned italian sausage
1 pound brond ground beef
5 ounces sliced pepperoni
2 cups sliced mushrooms, slightly sauteed
2 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups sliced eggplant
1 cup sauteed onions
Prep any of the Other Filling items so they will be ready for assembly. Brown the meat, slice the vegetables, etc.
Onto the sauce and noodles... Place a large stockpot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. While waiting for the boil, in another large saute pan or stockpot, combine the sauce ingredients and allow them to simmer. Add the noodles to the water along with about 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook them until just short of done, then remove, strain and spray with cold water. Lay the noodles on cookie cooling racks.
Create your cheese filling by combining all of the ingredients and thoroughly mixing them with a large spoon or your clean hands. Then gather all of your ingredients close and easily accessible so you can start building the layers.
Grab your casserole dishes and liberally rub with olive oil/spray with non-stick spray. Pour enough sauce into the pan to thinly cover the bottom. Then lay down a layer of noodles horizonatlly across the pan. From here, you can start layering all of the ingredients any way you'd like. I'd suggest using a layer of cheese and meat, a layer of veggies, a layer of sauce, and then a layer of noodles vertically across the pan. Changing the direction of the noodles will create stability when you slice it up later. From there, add another cheese/meat/veggie/sauce combo and then another layer of noodles horizontally. This pattern is not set in stone. If you want to do a layer of just meat and cheese and then another layer of veggies and cheese by all means, do it. Just make sure to change the direction of the noodles each time and use your sauce.
When your pan is full, finish with a top layer of noodles and cover it with the remaining sauce. Then sprinkle all of the toppings (parmesan, mozzarella, basil and parsley) over the top for decoration and color.
Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes covered in tin foil. When the oven beeps, remove the tin foil and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown.
Extract from the over and let it sit for 10 minutes. If you slice it right out of the oven, it'll fall apart. Giving it time to rest will allow the cheese and sauce to solidify and bind the layers together.
If you want to freeze it for a week or two down the road, cover it in plastic wrap and tin foil and do not place it in the oven. Instead place it in the freezer, where it should stay good for 1-2 months. Pull it out and place it in a 350 oven for 70-90 minutes when you're ready to eat it. You'll know it's done when a thermometer placed into the center of the lasagna reads 140 degrees.
So make a pair of these, one to eat now and one to freeze. That way, you can have a great dinner on a night you just don't have the energy to cook. Anybody wanna tend a 3 week old for a couple hours so daddy can get a nap?
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