Tuesday's Menu - lasagna

It's lasagna night! You can use the recipe on the box of noodles, or the recipe below. Either way, this can be made a day ahead, or it can be made a week or two ahead and frozen until you get ready to make it. Regardless of whether you're making it fresh or making it ahead, DON'T COOK THE NOODLES! It's not necessary to cook them, and it makes it harder and more time consuming to put the dish together. Just pull the noodles out of the box and layer them.

Later on, I'll share an easy recipe for making your own lasagna noodles, but for now let's used the pre-made boxed kind. I'm also using jarred pasta sauce instead of making my own because it was cheap at the store this week ($1.88 a jar for Prego) and I don't have a ton of time today to throw everything together. If you have a bit of hamburger for the sauce (half pound or so), or some frozen spinach (a cup or so, drained) for the cheese filling, add it in. If not, just have a cheese lasagna.

Lasagna

1 28-32 oz jar pasta sauce
2 C cottage cheese
1 15oz container low fat ricotta
8 oz shredded mozzarella (reserve 1/2 cup for top of lasagna)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1 T vegetable oil or butter
2 eggs
1 16 oz pkg lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (of course leave this step until read to baket if you're making ahead). Saute the mushrooms and onions until caramelazed (medium to dark brown). Mix with the pasta sauce and set aside. Blend together cheeses and eggs (add thawed spinach at this point if using).

Layering: Pour about 1/2 C sauce onto bottom of 13 x 9 inch baking pan (I spray the pan with cooking spray). Tilt the pan to coat with the sauce. Add a layer of noodles, about 5. If needed, break noodle into pieces to fill in empty spots. Don't worry if the pan isn't entirely covered. Add half the cheese, followed by 1/3 of the sauce. Add another layer of noodles, cheese, sauce. Then noodles and finishing with sauce. Make sure the top layer of noodles is completely covered with sauce to keep them from drying out. At this point, you can put the covered lasagna in the fridge overnight or freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes. Top with reserved 1/2 cup cheese and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.