lasagne

What you'll need:

9 lasagne loodles, uncooked
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef*
     *substitute any ground meat product,
       or any combination of meat and
       vegetables, such as grated zucchini,
       spinach, diced onions, eggplant,
       mushrooms, olives, it's all good.
       Even that soybean textured-meatlike
       product would work; season
       accordingly!
3 cups canned pasta sauce (pick your
       favorite flavor and brand)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano*
1/2 teaspoon dried basil*

For the lasagne I made for this page, I used 3/4 l.b of ground turkey, one 10 oz. box of chopped spinach, thawed, one 2.25 oz. can of sliced black olives, drained, one 4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms, drained, and one cup of diced onions. Here's how I did it:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Crumble the turkey into a big skillet or saucepan and cook on medium heat until it is about halfway done. Then add the diced onions and cook the turkey until it's no longer pink; you can also add your favorite all-purpose seasoning in this step if you wish, like Mrs. Dash or any other blend, but it's purely optional. Next add the mushrooms, olives, and spinach; you'll need to chop the spinach some more first. Let it all simmer together for a few minutes; the turkey shouldn't be very greasy, and what little grease there is will cook into the spinach. Now add the pasta sauce (Five Brothers or Classico are my recommendations), water, and oregano and basil (if you're choosing to use those two) to the saucepan and bring it all to a boil. Once you get there, turn the heat low and stir, as you continue on to the next set of steps.

In a mixing bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, half of the mozzerella, parmesan, eggs, and salt and pepper.

Now, find yourself a 9x13x2 cake pan, glass or metal. Spread one cup of the meat and sauce mixture on the bottom on the pan, inside of the pan preferrably. Get three of the UNCOOKED lasagne noodles and lay them longways inside the pan. Spread about half of the cheese/egg mixture on top of the noodles, and put another cup of the meat/sauce mix on top of that. Get three more noodles, and do the same thing with the rest of the cheese/eggs and the meat/sauce. With the last three noodles, place them on top of the last layer of sauce, then pour the rest of the meat/sauce mixture over the noodles. Take the remaining mozzerella and sprinkle it over the top of the whole thing.

Now, cover the pan with aluminum foil tightly. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Then, remove the foil and cook the pan for another 15 minutes. After that, let the whole thing sit for about 10 minutes before digging into it; that way your whole house will smell yummy for at least one night.

makes 8 big-assed servings!