Day 2: Buon appetito!

My family is half Italian so we eat a lot of traditional Italian food. Homemade red sauce, Italian sausage and when we are lucky we get Italian Beef from some great family members who still live in Chicago. I felt it necessary to start with something traditional, Lasagna. YUM O!! It was GREAT! It's hard to go wrong with Lasagna though. I mean you put pasta, red sauce, Italian sausage and 3 different kinds of cheese together failure is almost not possible right???? Although I did cheat and used a jar sauce that I had left over from before lent, it was still pretty great! I found the recipe on the back of the Barilla lasagna noodles and was not disappointed. I have recently discovered pre boiled lasagna noodles, and while not the most authentic, I would definitely recommend them. It cuts out half of the time and makes in my opinion just as good of a Lasagna. We finished the night with Aunt Kathy's mini chocolate chip cheesecakes, and now that I can no longer move because I am so full....I think I will finally get a hold on this cooking thing..... Now if only someone would come do the dishes and figure out how to put all the leftovers in the fridge! Ohhh well at least I'll have room for lunch tomorrow right?

Barilla Lasagna:

I box of Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna Sheets
2 Eggs
15 oz ricotta cheese
4 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Lb of Italian Sausage (Cooked Crumbled and Drained)
2 Jars of Sauce

Preheat oven to 375
Spray baking pan with Pam (13x9)
In Medium bowl beat eggs, stir in Ricotta, 2 cups of the Mozzarella and the Parmesan

Layering:
spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan
Layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, half of Italian Sausage 1 cup of Mozzarella and 1 Cup of Sauce
4 uncooked sheets, 1/2 of ricotta mixture and 1 1/2 cups of sauce
Layer 4 uncooked sheets the remaining of ricotta mixture and browned meat and 1 cup of sauce
4 uncooked sheets, remaining sauce and remaining mozzarella
Cover and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly
Uncover and bake another 5 minutes until cheese is melted
Serves 12

www.barilla.com