Heart-shaped Lasagna

I was inspired by an ad that came in the mail and an online article about heart-shaped lasagna.  Even though two articles cautioned against trying this at home, I wanted to attempt it.

My large heart-shaped pan did not arrive in time for valentine's day.  So I decided to make individual lasagnas.

I used my own easy lasagna recipe.

The only trick to making heart-shaped lasagna is to cut the sheets of pasta to fit the pan.  I discovered that I had a heart-shaped cookie cutter just smaller than my pan.  That was a life saver!

I layered each one like a regular lasagna.

 

 

After baking the lasagnas, I topped them with cheese and put them under the broiler.  To get the cheese in a heart shape, I used the cookie cutter as a template.  I added sauce around the outside of the cookie cutter to keep the cheese from spreading.

I put the lasagna in the oven and crossed my fingers.

It was the perfect day to wear my new apron that was a gift from my in-laws.

Happy Day of Love and Friendship!

Recipe: Easy Lasagna

I do the cooking on Sundays, and lasagna is one of our favorites.  This is an easy lasagna that takes a little over an hour to make.

You will need:

8 to 12 oz. chicken sausage
8 oz. ricotta
1 egg
9 sheets no boil lasagna (I typically use a whole wheat lasagna available at Whole Foods)
approximately 1-1/3 jars pasta sauce
8 oz mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

1.  Brown the sausage.  I like to use my crinkle cutter to mince the sausage after I cook it.

2.  Mix together the ricotta and the egg.

3.  Grease a square baking dish.


4.  Assemble the lasagna

1/3 jar sauce
3 sheets lasagna (they will overlap)
half of the ricotta
half of the sausage

repeat

top with 3 sheets lasagna and 1/3 jar sauce

NOTE:  You want to use enough sauce to cook the pasta, without using too much sauce

5.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes

6.  Remove from oven.  Top with the shredded mozzarella.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.

I typically like to shred my own cheese since I think it melts better.  But pre-shredded cheese is certainly more convenient.

7.  Put under the broiler until cheese is brown and bubbly.  I love the flavor that the browned cheese adds to the lasagna.

8.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

You can experiment with different brands and flavors of ingredients until you find your favorite combination.  I'm still experimenting to find mine!