Ingredients list
This one was a challenge. Not in the actual making, just that I had some pork cutlets that had to be cooked before they went bad, and I wasn't really hungry on Saturday evening, but I wanted to make the lasagna so I could take some of it to share with a friend . . . I managed to cook the pork (and save most of that for lunches this week) and I made the lasagna, although it didn't even hit the oven until nearly 8 PM. But anyway ...
I did end up going to the pasta shop. I walked in and asked "how big are your lasagna noodles?" I quickly realized that this was akin to asking "how long is a piece of string?" Bottom line is that they were approximately right to fit into my 13 x 9 baking dish, so I bought three and left it at that. I got spinach flavor, because why not?
Everything else was pretty easy to buy. Of course buying a single carrot is basically impossible, and after last week's surprise of finding Kroger actually labelling "medium" onions, I was flummoxed a bit by needing a "small" one. So I chose the smallest one in the bin.
First part of the perparation was to beat the eggs in a medium bowl, then mix in the cottage cheese, ricotta, and Italian seasoning. Once well combined, that bowl got set aside. Next up was to melt the margarine (I used butter, because, ummm, I like butter) in a large skillet, then saute the onions, garlic, and mushrooms until tender. I should note here that I bought a container of sliced mushrooms. I don't know if it was more or less than the called for 2 cups, but I figured I'd just use what I had on hand. After everything was nicely sauteed, I tossed in the flour and pepper, then added the milk "all at once". That bit of instruction always throws me off a bit. I'm not sure what the alternative is -- dribble it in really really slowly? Anyway, everything got stirred up and combined and cooked up till the liquid was "thick and bubbly." It all cooked for an additional minute, then got removed from the heat.
Once off the heat, I stirred in the spinach and carrots and sprinkled in some salt, and added 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
So then I had a bowl of eggy cheese mixture, a pan full of vegetable mixture, and some pasta sitting on the counter. Assembly time! I'm just going to list the order here, with an additional comment to come later.
Into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan ....
One third of the spinach mixture
One third of the noodles (for me, this was one of the sheets of fresh pasta)
One half of the cheese mixture
One third of the spinach mixture
One half of the mozzarella
Another layer of noodles
Remaining one half of the cheese mixture
Remaining one half of the mozzarella
Another layer of noodles
Top with the marinara sauce
and the remaining Parmesan
My issue here with the way this was written in my clipping is that the last part of the list said "Top with remaining cheese mixture, mozzarella, noodles and spinach mixture." I had to assume that I should go in the order that sentence was written. It seems to have worked out.
The final product went into a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. I let it sit for about an hour before placing in the fridge overnight, the recipe says to wait at least ten minutes before slicing, if serving immediately.
The next day I cut a slice and warmed it up in the microwave.
Verdict: Pretty good, although missing a little something. Maybe it needed more salt - the recipe said "to taste" and I didn't actually taste the vegetable mixture prior to baking. The friend who I shared with said maybe more of a less mild cheese. So I'll hang on to this one, make a couple notes about blandness and see if the next time could be a little better.
Lessons Learned - nothing new this week.
Tools needed - nothing new this week.
Skills needed - nothing new this week.
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