Amazing and Simple Lasagna

Today, Washington being Washington, we had a "snow day" with 2 inches of snow. We decided (instead of following our meal plan, tsk tsk to me) we felt like a warm, comforting meal to push away the frigid temperatures tonight (in the teens!) Lasagna sounded amazing, so we ran out to the store for ingredients; it was lightly snowing but not sticking. We got home and it began to stick. We then realized we didn't have ground turkey in the freezer, and had to run back to the store. By this time, we had another 1-1/2 inches of snow. It took us 15 minutes to get the one mile to our local QFC. Obviously it was a huge tiny mistake to leave the house. Everyone was freaking out, driving 5 mph, and pulling over haphazardly. Our quick run to the store turned into an hour in the car (less than a mile from home, mind you!) watching panicky business men jump from their BMW's and slip on the snow/ice, inexperienced drivers slide into oncoming traffic, and ambulances unable to get through traffic. We are lucky we could turn into our private drive--there were at least 12 cars parked in the one block vicinity of the entry to our drive, most of them completely crooked. Sigh... and now we have 5 inches of snow. And it's nearly March. But, at least dinner was great.

Lasagna

1 tablespoon oil

1.25 lbs extra lean ground turkey breast

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried italian spice blend

1 tablespoon garlic, minced (or more to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

32 ounces of tomato sauce, homemade or store bought

12 lasagna noodles

16 ounces ricotta

1 egg

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2-3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat until rippling. Add the meat and break it up while cooking it until done. Season with oregano, italian spices, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the sauce, taste, and season again.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package directions.

Blend the ricotta and egg together in a small bowl.

In a 9x13-inch pan, start by spreading 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce down. Follow with half the ricotta mixture. Next add 1/3 of the mozzarella. Then another 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce followed by 1/4 cup of parmesan. Repeat with another layer (meat sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, meat sauce, parmesan).

Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan on the top.

Spray a length of foil with non-stick cooking spray and cover tightly.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, and return to the oven for another 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, then let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

**We also love to make it without meat or noodles, and instead use just super thinly sliced (I love you, Mr. Mandolin) squash, zucchini, eggplant, and carrot. YUM. Increase the cooking time under foil by about 10 minutes or so.**