Lasagna

I've given you all the sauce options you need to make lasagna -- now it's simply time to assemble one. Don't fear -- it's easy!

For a lasagna that will feed 8 people, here's what you need.

Any of the tomato sauces I've previously posted.
1 box of Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
32 ounces of ricotta cheese -- part skim is fine!
16-32 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese. You can use the pre-shredded cheese in a bag, but it's not as good as shredding it yourself from the block. If you do use the bagged cheese, don't get the finely shredded -- just the regular shredded. And don't waste the money on fresh mozzarella -- it won't taste any different and will leave the lasagna too watery.
2 eggs
1 tbsp Minced Italian flat leaf parsely -- fresh is best, but you can use dried.
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese
Optional -- chopped spinach, broccoli flowers, thinly sliced zucchini or eggplant

Take your baking dish and spray it thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray.

Spread a generous layer of sauce on the bottom and line the pan with a layer of lasagna noodles.

Mix the ricotta cheese, 3/4 of the mozzarella cheese, the parmigiano, eggs, salt, pepper and parsley together.

Spread 1/3 of this mixture on the noodles, cover with another layer of noodles, and push it down to spreadout the cheese mixture. Add another thin layer of sauce, and repeat twice. The last layer of sauce should be generous. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top of the dish.

Bake this in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour. Keep covered with foil for the first 45 minutes.

When it's done, take out, cover with foil again, and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

If you want to add layers of any of the veggies mentioned above, especially if you're using marinara sauce and want a really rich veggie lasagna, go ahead -- add any or all of them to each layer and cook the same as above.

This can be prepared as far as 3 days ahead of time and put into the over whenever ready. Just be sure to take it out of the fridge an hour in advance so it comes up to room temperature a bit. If it's still cold when you put it in the oven, make sure it's bubbling around the edges and very hot in the middle -- if you try to stick your finger into the middle and instantly recoil, it's done!