Lazy Lasagna

I seem to be lacking in motivation this week. Perhaps the proof of this is that I made last week's lasagna recipe extra early (on Wednesday, in fact), and I am just now bothering to post about it. Still, it's a good thing that my usual drive didn't decide to go on hiatus last week, because when one has a multi-stepped lasagna to make, a healthy dose of motivation is key.

My title to this post is actually rather misleading. Rather than referring to the recipe itself, it refers completely to my recent inability to write about or create artwork for lasagna. There is actually nothing about the making of this lasagna that's lazy. While not the most complicated recipe I have ever encountered, it did have a decent number of steps, steps that I was able to complete only because the babe decided that lasagna-making day was also good-nap-taking day. And this, my friends, is also key when trying to make a successful lasagna. Lasagna doesn't like to be rushed.

In any case, I had motivation, I had time, and I also had friends who deserved a homemade meal. This recipe came from a book called "The Good Neighbor Cookbook," a collection of recipes designed to provide meals as a way of extending friendship, love, and hospitality. Quite simply, I liked the idea. The fact that we actually had friends who fit one of the book's target food recipients (new parents) made it even more perfect. And, when said couple invited us to join them for the meal that we were making, the entire situation became blog-worthy. Now I could try out the new book while also taste-testing the recipe myself, therein giving me the ability to provide a gift of sustenance and friendship and blog about a new recipe at the same time. As if lasagna weren't already great enough, it suddenly became even better.

If I were the lasagna-rating type, I think I'd give this little dish a 9 out of 10. Meat-lovers might find it a bit lacking, but I love veggie-lasagnas, so the absence of meat wasn't an issue for me. Perhaps the cheese mixture could have used an extra spike of additional cheese or salt. But, overall, the flavor was really great. And where the lasagna lost a point for those little, piddly things, I think it made up for it in the pure idea of sharing meals with friends. Friends, conversation over food, celebrating new babies. I'd say that these are all pretty fabulous reasons to make yourself a lasagna.

Lasagna is to Layers as...

We literally have a library of children's books in our home. My mom has been collecting them for years, since she was an elementary school teacher and my sister has also started her own collection of unique children's books. I think we were among a small number of children who actually grew up reading nursery rhymes. We loved finding adventure in the pages of these books and my all time favorite was (and still is), "The Napping House". If you haven't read it, it's definitely an exciting read! Keep an eye out for that pesky little flea! Now, I bring up books because all the while I was making our recipe this week, I was reminded of a silly book we had when I was younger called, "Go Hang A Salami, I'm A Lasagna Hog". It's a book filled with palindromes, which are words or phrases that read the same backward and forward. I always found these fascinating and I wondered how long it took people to actually come up with those silly phrases and stick them all in a book. Someone must have a had a lot of time on their hands! Never the less, they are pretty entertaining to read. I decided to go downstairs to our massive library of books (which is in no sort of alphabetical order, or organized fashion might I add) in hopes of finding the little book of palindromes to scan for y'all. In pure shock, I actually found it in about a minute.


Now, I wouldn't exactly call myself a lasagna hog, but I would say that lasagna is pretty close to a type of palindrome! A palindrome in the food sense! It's layered bottom to top with the same ingredients, just in the same way a palindrome is made up of letters spelling the same thing backward and forward. Sauce, noodle, sauce, cheese, filling, sauce, noodle, sauce, cheese, filling, sauce, noodle, sauce...It's like an edible palindrome.

I wasn't always good with these in school, but I'd have to say...

Lasagna is to layers as a palindrome is to letters??

Well, maybe.

The Recipe: Sweet Pepper & Spinach Lasagna

from The Good Neighbor Cookbook by Sara Quessenberry and Suzanne Schlosberg

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 medium red bell peppers, cored and cut into 1/2in pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
2 (10-ounce)packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 (15-ounce) containers ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
5 cups Toasted Garlic Marinara or store-bought marinara sauce
1 (9-ounce) box no-boil lasagna noodles (16 sheets)

Preheat oven to 375° F

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring often, until tender, 12 to 15 minutes (decrease the heat, as necessary, to prevent scorching). Squeeze the spinach of any excess water and add to the skillet along with the black pepper, crushed red pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and the Parmesan.

In a 9x13-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom. Top with a layer of 4 lasagna sheets, another 1 cup sauce, one-third of the cheese mixture and one-third of the vegetable mixture; repeat this layering twice. Top with the remaining lasagna sheets, sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the noodles are tender and easily pierced with a knife, 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is browned, about 10 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.