So much lasagna

This year, between getting married and moving to a new state, Amit and I developed some really bad eating habits.  Specifically, we've been eating out basically every day.  After six months, I have cooked about as many meals in our new apartment.

Due to his crazy residency schedule, Amit has somehow lost weight.  I, on the other hand, am fatter than ever.  Between the awful diet and working at home (which has allowed me to become extremely sedentary), I am 100 lbs fatter than I was in high school.

Aside from that, we're on a tight budget, and eating out so much has been hell on our finances.  I'm starting a blog to record our meals, and hopefully give anyone reading some meal ideas.  If I lose weight, I'll publish updates about that, too.  So here goes:

So, we're starting the eat-at-home program a little late.  I was back in KC for a couple of weeks, so we got behind.  I got back to Peoria on Sunday, took Monday to regroup, and here we are on a Tuesday, more than halfway through January.  Ooops.

Today I'm making a basic cheese and tomato lasagna.  We're still getting cold blasts from up north, so something filling and hearty is in order.  I've been making lasagna for years, so I don't really have a recipe for this.  I find that recipe-free lasagna is the best way to go.

Don't let people who talk about how much work lasagna is intimidate you!  It can be as complex or as easy as you want it to be.  Want to chop fresh tomatoes, and make your own sauce?  Need to make your own noodles?  Then, yes, lasagna is a lot of work.  Ok with bottled pasta sauce and a box of noodles?  You can put together a huge lasagna in an hour.

So here's the process and ingredients:

Pasta:
Whatever lasagna noodles you want to use.  Whole grain, rice pasta, plain old white-flour lasagna noodles.  Get what you like.  One box will make one large lasagna.

Sauce:
Same thing.  Get a meat sauce if that's your thing.  I don't eat meat sauce, so I got Barilla spicy tomato sauce.  You need about 1 large bottle of sauce for each box of pasta you plan to use.

Cheesy goodness:
1 egg
some garlic powder (let's say a half teaspoon)
some salt (oh, a quarter teaspoon or so)
about 12 oz shredded mozzarella.  Sub out for low-fat mozzarella, if you like (or no-fat, if you hate yourself)  Plus extra for the top.
about 12 oz ricotta (you can sub out cottage cheese, or do a mix of both)
6 oz parmesan cheese , plus extra for the top


Process:

Preheat oven to 375

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, mix all the cheesy goodness together.  Set aside.

Butter a large casserole dish.  Pour a small amount of sauce on the bottom (just enough to coat.  Swish it around a little so it just coats the bottom).

When the pasta is cooked, drain it.  place one layer of slightly overlapping noodles on the bottom of the dish.  Glop 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of it.  Spread the mixture so it's even along the layer.  I use my hands.

Dump about 1/4 of the sauce on top.  Spread it around.

Place another layer of noodles in the opposite direction of the first layer.

Repeat process until cheese is gone.

For the last layer, do one more layer of sauce on top.  Then top it with mozzerella and parmesan.

Bake with foil over the top for 25 min.  Take the foil off, and bake another 25 min.
Let rest 5-10 min, then dig in.