Lasagna

One of The Good Husbands favorite is lasagna. I will admit that I love the flavors so much that the effort is well worth it. Besides, lasagna will usually provide for enough left-overs for the entire week.
Lasagna

Ingredients:
16 ounces bulk Italian pork sausage
16 ounces ground beef, I use ground chuck
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 5 ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed or
1 tablespoon each dried basil and dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 lasagna noodles, cook, drained and cooled
2 eggs, beaten
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend

Directions:
~ For sauce, in a large saucepan cook sausage and beef until brown. Drain. Add the meat back to the pan and cook the onion and garlic.

~ Added crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning (or basil and oregano) and black pepper into meat mixture. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

~While the sauce simmers, cook noodles until al dente, or about 10-12 minutes. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water and set aside.

~For filling, combine eggs, ricotta and the 1 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside. (I also add a sprinkling of dried basil and oregano to the ricotta mixture)

~Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Layer 3 of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish. Spread with one fourth of the filling. Top with one fourth of the remaining meat sauce and one fourth of the Italian cheese. Repeat layers, ending with a topping of Italian cheese.

~ Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


Garlic Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 recipe roasted garlic
1/2 cup dried parsley
1 loaf French bread
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:
~ Combine the roasted garlic, butter and parsley. Mix until combined.

~Cut the French bread in half, lengthwise. Drizzled the top with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and spread the garlic butter mixture on top.

~Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until warm and browned. Cut into slices and serve warm.

Roasted Garlic
~Peel away dry outer skin from one large garlic head, leaving the skins of the individual garlic cloves intact. Cut off the top portion of the head, leaving the bulb intact but exposing the individual cloves. Place garlic head, cut side up, on a large square of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Allow the oil to seep into the head of garlic, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. Wrap the garlic tightly with foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 60 minutes or until cloves feel very soft when pressed. Cool. Press to remove garlic paste from individual cloves.

recipe from The Good Wife