Fast Food?

As much as I love experimenting with new dishes and variations on older dishes, sometimes I get burned out on the entire process. I get tired of Googling for a new way to fix salmon, or leafing through magazines for a different take on kohlrabi, or scanning food blogs for a fresh approach to pork tenderloin, or thumbing cookbooks for something Thai or Moroccan or Brazilian. Sometimes cooking, and even eating, just becomes a chore. More work than fun, more duty than pleasure.

Unfortunately this condition is a form of apathy and the trouble with apathy is you don’t feel like doing anything about it.

When these moods come upon me I turn to old standbys. These are often also comfort foods, but their purpose in this case isn’t to provide comfort, but rather to provide a good meal requiring little or no thought — a homemade equivalent of fast food. One of my standbys is lasagna.

This works because I usually have almost everything I need to make a simple and satisfying lasagna on hand — noodles, mozzarella, Parmigiano, eggs, Italian sausage, and even tomato sauce in the freezer. I don’t usually have ricotta in the fridge, but that’s a very quick trip to the store. It takes me about 30 minutes to make from the time the pasta water goes on the stove until the completed dish goes in the oven.

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Basic Lasagna

6 ea lasagna noodles (I prefer the kind you need to boil first)
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 c ricotta
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella (if you have provolone on hand, I like a mixture of half and half mozzarella and provolone)
1/2 oz shredded Parmigiano
1 ea egg
3 c tomato sauce

Heat oven to 375F.

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and pat dry

Remove casing from Italian sausage, crumble, and cook in a skillet until done. Drain.

Mix ricotta, egg, and 1/4 cup Parmigiano in a small bowl.

Spoon a thin layer of sauce in bottom of casserole dish. Place a layer of noodles on sauce and trim to fit dish if needed. Spread half of ricotta mixture on noodles. Sprinkle half of sausage over ricotta. Spoon half of remaining tomato sauce on layer. Sprinkle with half of mozzarella.

Repeat layering with remaining ingredients but reserve remaining mozarrella. Cover with foil and cook on middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmigiano. Continue cooking until cheese browns.