laze-agna

I used to think lasagna was a dish that required a lot of hands-on time and effort. As it turns out, if you do a little prep in advance, it's one of the easiest and quickest meals you can make!

By making a big batch of marinara-turned-meat sauce* ahead of time, I set myself up to put this beauty together in less than 5 minutes. It was on the table with a nice salad in well under an hour, and it tasted fantastic. I absolutely love what fresh basil adds to dishes like this--it might just be my favorite thing our garden has produced!

*I used a massive bag of cherry and pear tomatoes from the freezer saved from last summer...it's high time they came out and made room for something new! If you use tiny tomatoes for your marinara sauce, I highly recommend using an immersion blender to make sure all the skins and whatnot become as broken down as possible!

I don't think I've mentioned it, but we're definitely doing another garden project this year. We've planted FAR fewer tomatoes, some new types of pickle-friendly cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash (stay away, squash vine borers!), bell and jalapeno peppers, and lots of herbs (including basil, of course!). We also intend to try a new kind of bush bean, as well as lettuce and green onions. I think it's a nice blend of new and exciting selections and familiar, confidence-boosting items.

For my money, this, the corner piece with crusty cheese, is the best bite:

Lasagna is almost always good, but it somehow tastes better when there are so many components brought to fruition by your own two four hands (not to mention, whether we like it or not, four paws)!

Exhausted from a day of digging and barking and digging some more.

Lazy Lady's Lasagna

(printable recipe)
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:

• One batch homemade marinara sauce or 3 cups store bought
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 box oven ready lasagna noodles (such as Barilla)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, julienned
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
First, brown your turkey and drain off the fat, then season with salt, pepper, and rosemary, to taste.
Add the meat to the marinara sauce and mix well.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8-inch pan with non-stick spray.
Place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan then cover it with two noodles.
Spread some cottage cheese onto the noodles, then spoon more sauce and fresh basil on top of that.
Repeat these layers until you run out of room or ingredients, but make sure you have sauce on top covering all of the noodles so they don't get hard in the oven.
Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the top. Spray a piece of foil with non-stick spray and cover the pan with it, spray side down (so the cheese doesn't stick).
Bake 35-45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is bubbly. Let the lasagna set for about 10 minutes before digging in.