Lasagna and Food Boxes

Joakim calls them “food boxes” (and invariably, I do too) but American generally call it “leftovers.” Whatever you call this phenomenon, we’re big fans, BIG FANS. He’s constantly in class and I’d be forced to eat cafeteria food at the school I teach if I didn’t bring leftovers, so we definitely make a bunch of food boxes.

So we’ve been on the hunt for food that is delicious and makes for good food boxes that re-heat well. Thus far, lasagna has been a great food box. It actually was not my favorite recipe. Joakim disagrees, but I think it was a B- lasagna. However, it was my first time making lasagna and I chose a randomly semi-complicated recipe. I will post it on here for the sake of the food blog, but I would change many things or do a new recipe entirely next time.

Things I would change: Bet you never though you’d hear me say this, but I’d add more meat. This recipe is intending to be a bit healthier than other lasagnas, but seriously, lean meat isn’t going to kill you. Either add more of the sausage they want OR ground meat. Up to you. I did, however, like the three cheeses. But the sauce was adequate. I could probably make a better one if I just winged it.

Make at your own risk! It wasn’t bad, by any means. Maybe I’m selling it too short. I’m just doing what Joakim says he does. “I put myself on the same expectation level as Gordon Ramsey.” Haha. Yes, yes he does.

Classic (semi-healthy) Lasagna

Meat Sauce

1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 ounces hot or sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

2 onions, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

12 ounces mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/4 cup dry red wine

2 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes, drained and chopped

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, (not packed in oil), slivered

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Pasta & Cheese Filling

12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles, (12 ounces)

2 cups nonfat ricotta cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Ground nutmeg, to taste

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1.            To prepare meat sauce: Heat oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up clumps, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and carrot; cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushroom liquid evaporates, 4 to 6 minutes.

2.            Stir in wine, plum tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is very thick, 30 to 45 minutes more. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

3.            To prepare filling & assemble lasagna: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

4.            Cook noodles until just tender, about 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain, then cool by plunging noodles into a large bowl of ice-cold water. Lay the noodles out on kitchen towels.

5.            Season ricotta with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread about 1 1/2 cups meat sauce in the prepared pan. Layer 3 noodles on top. Spread another 1 cup sauce over the noodles. Dot about 2/3 cup ricotta over the sauce, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Continue layering the noodles, sauce and cheeses, finishing with the sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. Sprinkle with parsley; cover with foil.

6.    Bake the lasagna until the sauce is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, 5 to 10 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Okay, as I am looking at the pictures again, it was pretty tasty.