Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Lasagna Lunch


I had half a box of lasagna noodles rolling around in the pantry recently. It happened to be a rainy Sunday afternoon and I was hungry. I didn't want to make a whole huge pan of lasagna, so I thought maybe lasagna rolls? This way I could make two different kinds! These were really not a fussy thing. I made a meat sauce for one and a cream sauce for one with shrimp & squash & sage. The shrimp one may sound a little whacky but my God, it was sooo good.

Now, I've been getting scolded about vague recipes...ahem, you know who you are....If you're not sure, you can always leave me a comment like the ones below (I am a comment junkie, you know!!) & I'll give you the scoop, but really, use what you have on hand.
"What kind of squash?!" I really don't know, I have a crazy, jack-in-the-bean-stock squash growing in my garden. It's orange, I used that. I had already roasted it, and had it in the fridge, so I just chopped it up. Easy peasy.
"Cream sauce??!!" Argh! a couple tablespoons of butter, a couple cloves of chopped garlic, some chopped onion & about 2 Tbs. flour. Saute for a bit, add a cup of chicken stock & a cup of heavy cream if you have it. If not, 2 cups of milk will work too. Or 1 cup stock, 1 cup milk... just go with what you've got!
"How much shrimp?" A handful? A cup? However much you want?? Just cook them separately and cut them into pieces.
"What kind of cheese?!" Really? Use what you have! I think I just had mozzerella, which is the best melter in my opinion, that's all I used.
"Sage??! How much sage? Fresh? Dried?" Good lord, if you have sage, use it. I happen to have some in the garden that I've managed to NOT kill yet. So I grab a few leaves, so that I don't plunder the whole plant, chop it up and there you go. If you don't have sage, don't freak out! Don't run to the store, don't not make this just because of that. Use parsley, or basil, or nothing.... And just pick up some fresh herb plants the next time your at Home Depot & plunk them in the ground, or a pot and your problem will be solved for next time.
Same goes with the meat lasagna... Saute some onions, garlic, hamburger, tomato sauce, then pile that & some cheese into a noodle & roll it up. Into the dish it goes, pour on some more sauce & some cheese & there you go! Bake these guys at about 325 till melty & brown on top.

And that's that! Enjoy!!

6 comments:

  1. Oh yummy! I love your style of cooking. It reminds me of me, so when people ask me how I made something, I'm sort of vague. But not on purpose. I just use whatever I have, and try to use up the leftovers, so it doesn't go to waste. I love this idea of rolling the noodles and will try it tonight or tomorrow.

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  2. Hooray for the instinctive cook!

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  3. I really enjoyed reading your blog entry. I like cooking like you do - a dash of this and a handful of that. I can appreciate why less confident or experienced cooks want a bit more detail though. I wouldn't pair the rich heavy squash with something as delicate as shrimp. I'd have used tarragon and asparagus instead of squash and sage. I roll my left over lasagna noodles too and stuff them with goats cheese, ricotta and herbs, then cover them with a tomato sauce. Here's my recipe: http://foodchallenges.ca/mini-cannelloni/

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  4. Sounds so good right now, and I feel really cheesy cause I'am about to eat a frozen Marie Calenders Lasagna. Actually, I've been cooking up some great dinners all week and decided to take the easy way out tonight. Oh well, guess I can still make some yummy garlic bread and a salad to go with it. Nothing like the real thing though!

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  5. Funny, I always know exactly what you mean with your recipes!

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  6. I never thought of being able to make mini-lasagnes! So cool, cause I end up having left over noodles too, so now I know what to do w/them.
    Thx!

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