So, besides my post yesterday I know it's been awhile since you've seen me post anything on here! It's not because we've taken a hiatus from eating or cooking, it's just that as soon as the weather here in OK started to get more "Spring" like, I can't keep myself inside or sitting still! As someone who has spent her entire life loving the outdoors, I think it's SO important to put down the iPad, tablet, computer or whatever it is that keeps you inside and go outside and take some time to stop and smell the roses!
We've been fishing, hiking and cooking out with friends and family already this Spring, and there will be much more of all that as the season for outdoor living has just begun! Today is yucky, so I'm taking this downtime to put up a new recipe! I grabbed this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, and she has so many good recipes on there it's hard to chose where to start! Let's get started with this one!
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (in juice)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried basil
Cheese Filling and Pasta:
4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
2 large eggs , lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (or 2 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
16 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 large eggs , lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (or 2 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
16 no-boil lasagna noodles
Make sure you have a rack in the middle of your oven and pre-heat it to 375 degrees.
In a large saucepan heat the oil, pepper flakes and garlic over medium/high heat! You are wanting this to get fragrant, not so much brown! It should take about a minute or two to get that first wonderful whiff of deliciousness! Now throw in your tomatoes, salt and dried basil and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened (not too thick just slightly).
In a medium sized bowl stir together the ricotta, mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese (1/2 of what the recipe calls for), eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs! Set this mixture to the side.
Now for the assembly!! n a 9x13 pan, pour about one inch of boiling water into the pan. Add your noodles one at a time, making sure they don't all stick together! Let them soak for about 5 minutes or until you can "roll them" without them breaking! You don't want them to be completely cooked through because then they will break on you!
Lay your noodles out on a paper towel or dish towel to dry off and discard the water in the pan. Make sure your pan is dried and clean to start the assembly process. Add just enough of the sauce to cover the bottom of your pan. It should be about 1 1/2 cups of sauce! Take a noodle and spoon about 1/4 c of the cheese mixture on the bottom of the noodle! This took some trial and error for me! I found the easiest way to do this was to spoon the mixture on about an inch from the bottom of the noodle. Spread it out a little with your fingers and start to roll the noodle! You'll have to figure out what works best for you! I made about 3 extra noodles just so I could practice a couple of times without losing any of our food! Place them on top of the sauce in the pan, seam side down! Cover with the remaining sauce and place aluminum foil over the pan. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes and then remove the foil (CAREFUL: DON'T BURN YOURSELF WITH THE STEAM). Add the remainder of the Parmesan cheese, and bake about 5-7 more minutes or until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes to cool!
Serve and enjoy!
I'm going to try and start writing the night before so all I have to do before heading out is hit publish and we can be on our way! I love sharing our recipes with ya'll and you've given me such an overwhelming response that I want to make sure to keep it up! I've got to figure out what I'm going to do to make up for the photo challenge this month. Maybe next month I will take 2 pictures a day and go from there!
Until next time...
~Happy Eating~
--"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you"--
~Frank Lloyd Wright~
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