Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Lasagna Florentine

 The cross-country season at the kid's high school is coming to a close. To celebrate, we had  lunch at a local Italian restaurant. They had a buffet with pasta, salad, bread and desserts. (I decided not to risk eating the salad since in a restaurant where pizza is being made, flour is likely to be everywhere, and I was worried about cross-contamination.) I ate my lunch before leaving for the party and didn't really mind sitting there sipping a Starbucks until I spotted a long lost friend, LASAGNA!

Smothered with cheese, piping hot, the lasagna on the buffet smelled and looked delicious! I can't remember when I last ate lasagna. Until finding the brand Tinkanyada, cooking with gluten free pasta was always frustrating. The noodles would turn out chewy or too mushy. No one in my family would touch it.

I  really miss lasagna....especially the day after you bake it when it is at it's best.



 Before I knew how to cook well, I made lasagna a lot. The kids were small and it was convenient to make a one-dish meal while they were napping. I also liked serving it when I had company since I could make it a day ahead of time.

Seeing the lasagna at the restaurant inspired me to give it another try. I really didn't use a recipe, but went by the standard lasagna recipe you can find on the back of a package of lasagna noodles. I sauteed 1/2 lb of ground beef along with some chopped onion and added that to a jar of spaghetti sauce. I also added some chopped fresh spinach to the ricotta, egg, and parmesan cheese mixture both for color and nutritional value. I like the taste of fresh mozzerella and used it instead of the shredded variety.



As I have mentioned in earlier posts, my family is highly skeptical of any food I try and serve that has been modified to be gluten free. Texture is the big giveaway with pasta, so I was more than thrilled when my husband really liked this lasagna. He went back for seconds and also brought it to work for his lunch! My daughter, who is a vegetarian, did not eat it and my son is not a lasagna lover, so did not try it. That's okay! More for me!

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