Recipe!

So, yes, it’s opening night tonight, and I am bouncing off the walls, I’m so excited.  But I made this for dinner last Saturday, with grand plans to blog about it on Sunday, but we spent SO much time at the theatre the next couple of days that I just got the pictures off my camera today.  So, I’ll share them now.  🙂

Lasagna with Mini Meatballs from the Cooking with Friends cookbook.  (Cheesy, I know, but it’s REALLY good lasagna, and I’ve got another great recipe from it that I’ll share with y’all another day.)

First, gather the goodies, and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Combine 1 pound of ground meat (Either beef or turkey will work fine – I used turkey this time), 2 large eggs, beaten, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan, 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (I, um, didn’t have regular ones, so I used panko this time), 1-1/2 t salt, and 1/2 t of ground pepper.

Finely chop 1/3 cup fresh basil, and add it to the bowl.

Mix until well-combined.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, and pinch of small pieces of the meatball mixture. Fry them until browned on all sides.

While the oil is heating, heat a jar of your favorite pasta sauce (Newman’s Own Marinara is good stuff) in a saucepan. As the meatballs are brown (you’ll need to do them in batches), remove them with a slotted spoon and place them into the sauce.

When all of the meatballs are browned, let the sauce finish heating through for a few minutes.

Grab your lasagna pan (or 9×13 pan), and cover the bottom with a thin layer of the sauce, avoiding meatballs.

Place a layer of lasagna noodles on the sauce. I use the no-cook ones, but if you want to cook them first, be my guest.

Cover the noodles with a layer of sauce, with meatballs this time.

Scatter a handful of shredded mozzarella over the sauce. (You’ll need about a pound, total.)

And then a bit of grated parmesan. (Total of about a cup.)

Repeat the layers (noodles, sauce, cheeses) until you’ve used up the sauce, finishing with a heavy cheese layer.  I press down a little when I put on each new layer of noodles, just to get things to settle together.

If you are using cooked noodles, go ahead and bake the lasagna uncovered for 20-25 minutes.

Since I use the no-cook ones, I do a little extra just to make sure they cook through. I add about 1-2 cups of water, pouring it in at the side of the pan.

Then cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. I remove the foil and let it go for another five minutes uncovered.

Behold the cheesy goodness! Let it sit for about 5 minutes when you take it out of the oven.

And then enjoy. I recommend a chunk of garlic bread alongside. 🙂

Also, as I’ve been at home this week, I’ve been watching Mamma Mia! daily.  I know, I know… Pierce Brosnan can’t really sing, but the movie is fun, and I ADORE the music.  Plus, I think Amanda Seyfried is about the cutest thing ever.  She’s fabulous as Sophie.  Anyway, I’ve determined that the entire movie is worth watching for one single moment, and it doesn’t happen until the end credits.  When they sing “Waterloo”, and the three guys come out in their sparkly jumpsuits, I crack up at Colin Firth EVERY TIME.  He’s just so ENTHUSIASTIC.  He reminds me a little of the old Spartan Cheerleaders sketches on SNL – way more spirit than talent.  He’s awesome, but he’s not much of a dancer.  But it’s just so cute!

Anyway, I’m off to finish up a couple of things, and then tonight… the show!  With an actual audience!  WOOT!