Pasta Makes Everything Better

We have the nicest couple living next to us. They travel a lot for a few days at a time and when they do we watch Kiwi, their little mini dachshund. Pat, the husband, had hip replacement surgery on Monday, putting their traveling to a halt for a little while. He was supposed to come home from the hospital today but was doing better than expected so went home yesterday.

I thought it would be nice to fix them dinner one night. So last night, I made lasagna (only the second time ever, first time wasn't a huge success). I hate cooking new things for other people to eat without prior testing but I always seem to do it. Oh, well. I made two lasagnas: one for them and one for us.

(Not a good photo. I want a fancy, shmancy camera.)

I didn't try any but Brandon came over later and was hungry so I tested it out on him. He said it was really good! I couldn't resist so I had a little slice myself. But we still have lots of lasagna left for dinner tonight and the next 3 nights I guess.

I am taking our neighbors their lasagna after work today. I hope they like it! And I hope Pat has a speedy recovery!

Want the recipe? I'm afraid it is too simple to reveal. Here ya go:
I cooked some ground beef with onions and seasoned with several different Italian spices then mixed in some regular old spaghetti sauce. Meanwhile, I boiled the lasagna noodles (put a little oil in the water to keep the noodles from sticking together). I mixed mozzarella and an Italian blend of cheeses together (couldn't find ricotta anywhere). Layer sauce, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, pasta sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Take off the aluminum foil, add another layer of cheese, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

I know there are very fancy, elegant, gourmet recipes for lasagna but I like this simple, easy, and delicious recipe the best. No hassle cooking is much more fun!