Days 10 and 11

I decided to roll day 10 and 11 together, because it was one meal that became two.

Every spring we plan, plant, and hope our vegetable garden does well.  Usually there's a thing or two that doesn't do well, but we always have tomatoes (I tell people tomatoes are ''stupid-easy'' to grow).  This year we had amazing luck with the tomatoes, 50 pounds of amazing luck over the course of the season.  Now I love tomatoes as much as anyone can, but 50 pounds is an incredible amount.  Especially when the majority of them ripen all at once.

30 pounds brought in all at once!

We had a work party and processed all the tomatoes (peeled, portioned, and froze).  It is really lovely to have a taste of summer in the middle of a cold dark winter!  My favorite thing to make with the tomatoes is a Marinara Sauce.  This sauce is so simple and allows the true tomato flavor shine.

Anywho, Day 10 was the Marinara Sauce served with pasta, salad and bread.  So simple and delicious.  The recipe is here.

Day 11 was sauce, round two, in Lasagne .  I love to make homemade lasagne, especially when I have some homemade sauce to push it over the top.  Here is my go to recipe to making the goods.

Lasagne

Ingredients...

Marinara Sauce
Lasagne Noodles
16 ounces part-skim Ricotta Cheese
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 tablespoon Dried Italian Seasonings (or use a teaspoon each of basil, oregano and parsley)
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
Parmesan Cheese

Directions...

Partially boil the lasagne noodles in batches of 4-5 (I usually go about 5 minutes) with a tablespoon (doesn't need to be presice) of olive oil (this will keep the noodles from sticking after you drain them).
Meanwhile, mix the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup shredded parm, Italian Seasonings, and garlic in a large bowl. 
Spoon some sauce into the bottom of a large casserole pan.
Layer noodles, ricotta mixture, a handfull of mozzarella cheese and more sauce (in this order). Repeat until pan is full.  Top with shredded mozzarella and parm cheeses. 
Cover with foil and bake in a 400* oven for 25-30 minutes or until lasagne is bubbling.  Remove foil and let go another 10 minutes to brown the cheese on top.
Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before cutting so lasagne sets. 
Enjoy!