My Lasagna

Here's the recipe for my "standby" lasagna -- basic, hearty, quick to put together.
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. spicy Italian sausage (bulk sausage)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 26-oz jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 to 1 lb sliced mushrooms, sauteed
8 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1-3/4 c. ricotta cheese
1 egg slightly beaten
several (depending on your taste) fresh basil leaves, chopped  (or 1/2 tsp dried)
several fresh oregano leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)
handful Italian parsley, chopped
9-12 pieces oven ready lasagna noodles, uncooked
16 oz. (4 c.) mozzarella, shredded
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Saute mushrooms.  Set aside.
Saute onion, garlic; add ground beef.  Cook until browned, drain.  Cook Italian sausage, drain if needed.  Add onion and ground beef to sausage.
Stir in spaghetti sauce, spinach, and mushrooms.
In a small bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, egg, basil, oregano, parsley.
In a 13x9x2 baking dish, spread 3/4 cup meat sauce.
Place 3 pieces of uncooked lasagna crosswise over sauce.
Spread about 2/3 cup ricotta mixture evenly over pasta.  Spread 3/4 cup meat sauce evenly over ricotta covering pasta completely; sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
Repeat above steps two more times.
Top with remaining 3 pasta pieces.  Spread remaining meat sauce completely over pasta; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil.  Bake 30 minutes, remove foil.  Bake 10-15 minutes more or until hot and bubbly.
Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Makes 10 to 12 servings

Spaghetti Pie

8 oz spaghetti/linguine
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 c parmesan cheese
2 well-beaten eggs
1 c cottage cheese or sour cream
1 lb Italian sausage
1/2 c chopped green onion
1/3 c chopped green pepper
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp garlic salt
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c. water

Cook pasta according to package.  Drain, stir in butter, parmesan cheese, and beaten eggs with hot pasta.  Turn into a crust in buttered 10-in pie plate.  Spread cottage cheese or sour cream over  bottom of spaghetti crust.
In skillet cook sausage, onion, green pepper until meat is browned.  Drain off fat.  Stir in tomato paste, water, sugar and seasonings, heat thru.
Turn meat mixture into spaghetti crust.  Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese melts or is bubbly.  Allow to sit 5 minutes.

Serves 6-8

{FFwD} Beggar's Linguine

I've been looking forward to this one since it's easy, quick and involves pasta.  The only "catch" is, my husband and son will not even try it!  As a result, I had to make adjustments to serve just one...not too difficult, fortunately.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this dish...I was intrigued by the pasta + nuts + fruits, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the results!  This is one I plan to make again and again, and will be sure to have the ingredients on hand at all times.  It's so easy, and very yummy and comforting -- absolutely perfect!

(and yes, I did use spaghetti rather than linguine since it's what I had on hand)