Banana bread with glazed walnuts

Lasagna Italiano!

Everybody loves a good lasagna, but who has the time nowadays? Don't be discouraged when taking on homemade lasagna! Technically, it's a casserole, and this always entails various ingredients being thrown into a dish, and then the oven. The secret to saving time is buying a few prepared ingredients, and assembling these with the homemade ingredients. Here is my homemade lasagna with a few simple tweaks that make for a restaurant-worthy dinner.

• 1 package of lasagna noodles (cooked al dente)
• 16 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1 lb. hamburger
• 1 jar Bertolli cracked red pepper sauce
• 2 cups Italian blend cheese (romano, smoked provolone, asiago, mozzarella, and parmesan)
• dried sage
• garlic powder
• salt
• black pepper
• olive oil
• 2 tbs. heavy whipping cream

Firstly, the noodles must be cooked al dente (10 min.) When you take these out, the secret to keeping them moist and flexible is to brush all of the noodles with olive oil. This prevents scalding when you finally bake the lasagna. Next, the hamburger needs to be browned. To give my lasagna an authentic Italian taste, I put several pinches of sage into the meat. (This is the herb that gives sausage its wonderful flavor and aroma.) After seeting the hamburger aside to cool, you can start on your ricotta mixture. I empty the ricotta into a mixing bowl, while adding 2 tbs. whipping cream. This is blended with a mixer, while simultaneously adding 1 tsp. garlic powder and salt to taste.
After all of your ingredients are prepared, you're ready to assemble them! First, olive oil must be smoothed along the bottom to prevent any burning. Then a moderate layer of sauce must be added. After the sauce, comes the first layer of noodles, then your ricotta layer. Another layer of noodles is needed allong with your hamburger mixture. Then, you will need 3/4 cup of the Italian cheese blend. Finally, we'll add our final layer of noodles, followed by the rest of the sauce, then topped off with lots of shredded cheese. You'll want to add drops of olive oil to the top of the cheese. This is responsible for giving us the nice browning of the cheese that tops the yummy dish! It needs to be cooked at 375 F for 35 min. And don't forget to save leftovers! In fact, lasagna is renowned for tasting better as a leftover, because the herbs and spices have time to infuse throughout the dish. Enjoy! :)