Lasagna...YUM!

Tonight I attempted my first ever homemade lasagna. Would it be bragging to say it was delish? No? Well then, it was delicious! Okay, the ricotta cheese was green, but that was because I processed the spinach with the ricotta instead of chopping it separately. It was still fantastic, but it was also much easier than I expected. I'll be making it again and next time I'll make a couple of small dishes instead of one large one. I'll also add a little tomato sauce next time, I like my lasagna a little saucier. Like me.

Serve this up with garlic bread and a salad and you're good to go! Oh, and I also found a great use for those pesky leftover noodles. Check out the end of the blog.

Lasagna with Italian Sausage

1 pkg lasagna noodles
28 oz crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
6 cloves garlic, fine chopped
1 med. yellow onion, fine chopped
20 fresh basil leaves - minced
.75 oz pkg fresh oregano - minced
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
2 C fresh baby spinach
4 C ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 C parmesan cheese, divided
2 C mozzarella cheese
1 tsp dried oregano

• Preheat oven to 350
• Cook pasta to al dente, lightly oil and set aside
• Saute onion in olive oil until translucent, add chopped garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant but not brown.
• Add red wine and let reduce. I used Malbec. Cabernet or Merlot also work well with this sauce.
• Once the red wine is reduced, add crushed tomatoes and minced herbs and let simmer while you cook the sausage.
• Combine sweet and hot sausages, crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain the fat and add the meat to your marinara sauce. Reduce or turn off heat. This marinara is pretty thick, so if you like a saucier lasagna, add a little tomato sauce to thin it out.

• In a food processor, combine ricotta, 1/4 C parmesan, the egg and spinach. Pulse until combined. If you don't have a food processor, chop the spinach and mix with the other ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

• Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Add 1 C marinara mixture to the bottom of the pan and spread evenly.
• Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread noodles with 1/4 of the ricotta mixture, top with 1 C marinara mixture and sprinkle with 1/2 C mozzarella cheese. Repeat this step 3 more times.

• Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and the dried oregano.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Most packages of lasagna come with 18 noodles and you only need 12. So what do you do with the other 6 noodles? There are a number of ideas on the internet, my favorite was this:

Fried Lasagna Noodles

1. Heat cooking oil to 375 in a deep skillet.
2. While the oil is heating, cut the cooked noodles in varying shapes.
3. Without overcrowding the pan, add the cut noodles in small batches and fry until golden and crisp.
4. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese while still hot.
5. Serve with a dipping sauce. I used a jar of pesto I had in the pantry. You could also use leftover marinara sauce.

You can make these while your lasagna cooks and enjoy a tasty snack while you're waiting on the oven!

There you have it, my first homemade lasagna!