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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal live. John 3:16 (NIV)

The first thing you must remember is not to be daunted by the word, lasagna. Whenever that name comes up, coming from New York City as I do, I think of fancy Italian restaurants who make a specialty and a living out of really incredible lasagna dishes. So rule one here - if they can do it, you also can do it!

Let us approach this as a back-to-basics dish. Some of the basic ingredients for Lasagna would be the noodles, the sauce, the cheese. Keep this in mind. This is what is going to serve as the basic staple in almost any lasagna recipe.

When you purchase the pasta - the lasagna noodles - you are looking for a decent brand. They can be regular or spinach. They should though be wide and flat (the edges can have ripples if you like it that way, makes it all a bit prettier too.) But since this is NOT a gourmet recipe, no need to go overboard. Of course, you can use fresh pasta, which will increase the price of this dish exponentially, though the taste is well worth it. Remember though, with fresh pasta, you MUST cut down the exposure to the direct heat, otherwise the pasta itself will burn mighty quickly. (I say that with great, heartrending experience - and a totally lost opportunity for a great romantic dinner!)

Quick Baked Lasagna

Ingredients:

1. One normal sized box of Lasagna pasta to your taste and likes. There are so many brands out there, your local supermarket probably packs quite a few variations. In our case, if you have no preference, the old "eeny meeny minie mo" will work.

2. A decent jar of tomato sauce. (Of course you can make your own, but remember this is a quick recipe!) Thick sauce. You can even find them with some spices added, e.g. with garlic or basil or both.

3. Cheese again to your taste. Parmesan is often used but you can mix and combine. The cheese should be grated or you will have to grate it at home.

4. 1-2 Small jars of Sour Cream

5. Lets get a bit healthy and add either some Spinach Leaves or Broccoli (or both!) Remember if you get the broccoli fresh or frozen you will have to steam boil it at home for 15 minutes.

6. Like Mushrooms? Hell you are in the supermarket right? Go for a few fresh mushrooms to your taste. NO! Don't be lazy! Forget the canned mushrooms. Sheesh! YUCK! Fresh Fresh Fresh!

7. 1 Tablespoon Oregano (Preferably fresh and then crushed - but a spice jar will do)

8. 1 Tablespoon Basil (Preferably fresh and then crushed - but a spice jar will do)

9. Add any type of cheese, spice or veggie you like.

10. Olive oil

Utensils You Need:

1. A tempered oven-safe dish

2. If you are steaming the broccoli a pot and a vegetable steamer.

3. If you are grating the cheese a cheese grater or hand grater.

Directions:

1. Cover the bottom of the dish with Olive oil

2. If you are steaming the broccoli do it now.

3. Take the lasagna noodles and lay out a layer on the bottom of the dish. If they are too long don't worry just break them into pieces you need. Try as well to line the side of the dish. One layer of the lasagna is fine.

4. Open a sour cream and pour it on the bottom on top of the first layer. Now add a layer of your tomato/lasagna sauce. Now some spinach leaves and or broccoli. Spinach leaves can be laid out and they will cook. Broccoli should be cut up after it is steamed and sprinkle it in.

5. If you decided on the Fresh mushrooms, just cut them into fourths or so, and sprinkle them in.

6. Now sprinkle half the the tablespoon of Oregano and/or Basil.

7. Now put a layer of cheese. Not a lot. Just sprinkle some here and there.

8. If there is a room for another layer of the lasagna, go back to steps 3-7 and repeat.

9. Now the final layer of lasagna - and cover that with cheese. You want that cheese to melt into those noodles.

10. Cover the dish with Aluminum Foil.

11. Into a 350º Fahrenheit oven the dish goes for 45 minutes.

12. Set the table - NICELY. Ugh! No plastic. Yikes! What are you doing, going on a picnic?

13. Two long colored candles will help. Sheesh...do I have to teach you guys everything??

14. Go shower and get dressed for your date and warn the kids that if they show themselves it will be under pain of no allowance for a year. (That should work)

15. Take a peek under the foil. It will probably need another 10-15 minutes.

16. If you are serving white wine, make sure it is in the fridge and chilled.

17. All done? Put the oven on warm (around 50º). Leave the foil on and pray your date is not allergic to cheese!

18. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, take a deep breath and go pick up your date.

This can be as simple or as complicated as you desire it to be. Remember always the three basic staples. Cheese, lasagna noodles and good rich tomato sauce. The rest is up to you. This can be swift or if you allow yourself, can have you messing with tons of great ingredients for an hour or so. So take this one to town or do it down and dirty. Oh. I almost forgot. Good luck on your date! (And remember to set the table with napkins.)

Copyright © 2007 Ted W. Gross. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.) Ted Gross's award winning cooking blog, (voted best Food Weblog 2007 & a Google Blog of Note), Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen contains recipes and humor including recipe submissions from all around the world. The recipe above, belongs to and was originally published (with images and possibly additional content) at Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen - a humorous look into the adventures of a single parent who learned the hard way and with a great deal of trepidation how to cook, feed his children, friends and the rare date with a measure of dignity and (hopefully) good food - Recipes Included! And it is all KOSHER to boot!

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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