Lasagna!

This recipe is too good not to share. Everyone should have this in their repertoire, so here you go and you're welcome. First and foremost, this is not my recipe. This is my mom's recipe, so of course it's amazing. Get with this.

Usually I make my spaghetti sauce base with ground beef, but as we're riding the veggie train these days, I just use whatever vegetables I have laying around. Usually mushrooms. I had some carrots that needed eating so I threw those in there too. I make the sauce the exact same way, just sub in chopped veggies for the ground beef. Mushrooms tend to soak up the butter and spices perfectly, as the meat would.

How to achieve this cheesy goodness:

1 batch of spaghetti sauce (this is my recipe)
1 box lasagna noodles (9 pieces)
1 8oz bag shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 8oz bag shredded Italian blend cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 15oz container Ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup of water

Add your cup of water to your spaghetti sauce and heat to simmering. I usually start my spaghetti sauce a few hours earlier so it's hot and ready to roll when it's lasagna time, but you could totally make your sauce a day or so (or longer since it's freezable!) ahead of time. Heat your oven to 350 and spray a 13"x9" glass pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together your Mozzarella, Ricotta, and Parmesan. I like to use my hands because it's fun. Add your eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. More mooshy hands!

Pour 1 1/2 cups of your spaghetti sauce into the bottom of your pan. And now we play the layer game. Add three dry noodles, another cup of sauce, and then half of your cheese mixture. I kind of pat the cheese down so it spreads evenly, the warm sauce helps. Three more noodles, another cup of sauce, and the rest of your cheese mix. Then guess what? Three more noodles! Then the rest of your sauce. Top with the Italian blend cheese, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Wipe up all your drool because your kitchen will smell divine. After your 45 minutes is up, take off the foil and bake for another 15, then remove from the oven and let it hang out on your counter for 10 minutes or so to cool. Good luck with that. Cut yourself a giant piece. You'll need it.

This is one of those meals that actually is better as leftovers, in my opinion. Leftover lasagna is my jam. It's most of the reason I make it. Something about how it solidifies in the fridge (how appetizing is that?) and the spices have more time to marinade together into wonderfulness. And this recipe makes SO MUCH. You could freeze half and still have leftovers, if there's just two of you.

So go make this. You can thank my momma later.