Lasagna Day

Pot Luck Dinner at Meeting today.

We had a nice variety of dishes. Everything pretty much fell into the Comfort Foods category. It's that time of year, isn't it?

The Crispy Kale was a huge hit. I made it once before for a bonfire at the Isbell's but I guess that some people had never tasted it.

I brought 2 different lasagnas. The Chipotle Lasagna was more popular by a long shot. The Hoagie Lasagna is good but it didn't have the same appeal as the Chipotle based on the leftovers.

The Chipotle Lasagna came from Allrecipes.com. I did make a couple changes. You will see that it calls for zucchini. For some reason, I can't bring myself to buy zucchini. For one thing, I'm not a real big fan of it unless it's in bread. For another thing - zucchini makes me think of the thing that people grow too much of in their gardens & then try to get rid of it by passing it on to others - even if they have to leave it on your porch in the middle of the night! Lastly, the zucchini that I see in the grocery stores around here look unfamiliar to me - they look so small compared to what I'm used to seeing.

Most of the time I used dried herbs rather than fresh - for the convenience & because I waste too much of the fresh stuff because I don't use it fast enough.

Also, the recipe calls for 1 chipotle chile in Adobo Sauce. I used a whole can & it was not spicy, as you might expect. My Chipotle in Adobo Sauce brand of choice is La Morena. There is a picture of a Senorita on the label.

Here's the link to the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Loris-Spicy-Chipotle-Lasagna/Detail.aspx

Th Hoagie Lasagna recipe is from Mr. Food & is so simple. I guess the recipe title should be Grinder Lasagna up here in New England. I understand why these sandwiches are called subs but someday I'm going to have to research the terms Hoagie & Grinder.


Hoagie Lasagna

32 ounces ricotta cheese
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 26-oz jar  spaghetti sauce
3/4 Cup  Water
1/2 Pound deli ham, cubed
1/4 Pound deli salami, cubed
1/4 Pound pepperoni, cubed
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
12 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese (3 cups)

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 9"X13" baking dish with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, and Parm.

In another medium bowl, combine spaghetti sauce & water. Spread 1 1/2 cups of sauce mixture in baking dish. Stir meats into remaining sause mixture.

Place 3 noodles over sauce in baking dish. Top with 1/3 of cheese mixture. Spoon 1/3 of sauce mixture on top. Sprinkle with 1 cup Mozz.

Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with Mozz.

Cover tightly with foil & bake 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil & bake 5 more minutes, or until cheese is bubbly on top. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting.