Inspired Cooking

Sometimes I look at the food in my fridge and whine [to myself, like a 4 year old] "But I don't want to make that!"  Meaning the dish I had planned when I bought that meat, cheese or veggie.

Today's quandry?  I have a heckuva' lot of fresh veggies from my beloved FIL's garden.  And? I don't want to make that.  Whatever that may be. heehee

I have zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, snap beans, onions and garlic Very exciting, but sort of overwhelming.

I usually will take the zucchini, squash, 'maters, onions and garlic and saute them in a pan and serve them as a side for dinner.

But today? Nah. . .that isn't working for me.  Knowing how much my family loves my [completely made up recipe] spinach lasagna and yesterday being National Lasagna Day [who votes for this stuff?]  I decided to make the saute and use that in lieu of the spinach and white sauce I use in the spinach one.

In a large skillet I melted a few TB of extra virgin olive oil and 2 TB of unsalted butter.  Into that I tossed the sliced zucchini, squash, diced onion and minced garlic. [I know, I know - I should do the onion and garlic first, but I like to just let this all simmer. It keeps me from hopping up and down to check it. And I'm not just standing there watching a pot boil.]  Let that cook down until the onion is translucent and the zucchini starts to soften.  Throw in a few diced tomatoes [about two cups - no need to peel, but you can deseed if you like] and cook through.  I also used salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste.  Let simmer, covered until everything is soft and the tomatoes are cooked down.

For the lasagna I prefer the regular, cook first noodles, but you can use the no cook ones too.

I mixed about 2 cups of ricotta with one egg and more dried oregano.  I also use 2 - 3 cups shredded mozzarella.  I also prefer to shred my own in my ninja [mini food processor]. So much better than the pre shredded stuff.

In a lasagna pan [that's what I call my deep 9 x 13 inch pan] I ladled 1/2 of the veggie mix on the bottom. Then I layered the cooked noodles.  Next I covered the noodles with the ricotta mix. I am a sucker for all cheese, so I put the ricotta on thick.  I then ladled about a cup of the veggie mix followed by a few handfuls of mozzarella. Repeat until you run out of . . .something.  I usually go about 3 more go rounds. Finish with the mozzarella.  It makes A LOT of lasagna for a family of 3 [2 actually because I probably won't eat this, although I want to], but I will just cut up the leftover, freeze in single serving containers and Steven will have lunch for 5 days.  I don't know how long it will last in the freezer because everytime I make lasagna and store the leftovers they never make it to freezer burn stage because he and Evie eat it so fast.

I will bake this at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes covered, taking the cover off for the last few minutes of baking.

Thanks to everyone who voted for Bizzy yesterday. The voting continues for the Extended Stay America Recipe Contest - and you can vote once per day, per email address until August 22.

Happy Day All!  See ya' on the flipside.