(no subject)

[cactuswatcher]

After reading midnightsjane and ann1962 discussing oven-ready lasagna noodles, I thought I'd try making a lasagna myself, today. It was sort of a compromise between the recipe on the noodle box which seemed more than a little skimpy for a standard pyrex baking dish and a recipe in a cookbook I own which seems to be intended to feed a small army. The result is tasty. But I think I'd use a smaller baking dish next time. (I think the noodles would fit in an 8X8.) In that case, I could stay closer to the box recipe and save a little money. It would be more like a reasonable amount to have without freezing most of it. I think I'd also consider replacing a layer of meat sauce with spinach. I used a sauce with spinach, but it could have used more.

Comments

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

The lasagna I made last week had a filling made with chopped fresh spinach mixed with a container of cottage cheese beaten together with an egg and a handful of parmesan cheese. I think it's a really nice change from meat sauce.

[ann1962]

I don't use the box recipe. They generally want you to use jarred sauces which I don't use. I make my regular pasta meat sauce and just keep it a little more liquidy. The oven ready ones need a little more sauce. I hate my lasagna really wet, so I'm not too generous.

Oh, my pasta meat sauce. One large tin of crushed tomatoes. LB of ground beef. Onion, green pepper, handful of mushrooms. Tons of garlic, oregano and basil. Sometimes I will add a small tin of petite diced tomatoes if I have it on hand.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

Mine ended up with too much liquid. It's okay, but the balance for taste and texture of the sauce together with the cheeses versus the pasta isn't good. Because of that, it would have worked better with regular boil-first lasagna pasta, though it wouldn't be what you've just said you like. Your recipe for the sauce with the extra diced tomatoes is close to what my cookbook recommends for regular lasagna noodles. The recipe on the box simply would not work as written, though with clever rethinking of the layering, the ingredient list they had might be salvageable. I do wonder what, say, a 19 year-old woman or man with little experience in cooking would do, when they realized in the middle of the layering that the box directions weren't going to work at all. I suspect many disasters (something worse than I ended up with) happen that way.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

I was thinking, frozen spinach, thawed and properly drained, would work, too. And being greedy I wanted both spinach and meat sauce. ;o)

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I love the oven-ready idea, but also like to eat whole wheat, and haven't seen whole-wheat oven-ready. They probably exist in more civilized worlds. Your lasagna sounds great! I add my own spinach (often from frozen).

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

That sounds like my recipe--if so, it tastes really good.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

I only eat whole wheat bread at home so I don't worry so much about going some other way with the pasta.