Lasagna times two

I realize that it has been awhile since I have posted any recipes, but trust me, I haven’t missed any meals. Since it was Sunday I thought that I could watch some football and cook a couple of dishes for Thanksgiving. It would be nice if I could just cook for my family unit but that is never the case. I always make at least two dishes for my husband’s employees and two for his family even though we don’t physically attend their dinner. Therefore, some planning is in order. My menu includes a “lasagna” with a cheese sauce and the dish to the family has a bechamel. Making white sauces aren’t an easy affair and I surmised that if I messed them up, I would have a second chance and no pressure. Plus freezing the dish allows the flavors to meld for a few days…..

Since these dishes are very similar, I made them simultaneously.

For the Butternut Squash Lasagna I used the following;

The Bechamel

1 tablespoon of butter

7-10 chopped sage leaves

1/4 cup of all-purpose flour

2 cups of milk (I used Lactaid)

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

The Filling

1 jar of Butternut Squash Puree from Williams-Sonoma

1 cup of chopped mushrooms, sauteed in Worchestershire

1/2 sauteed onion

1/8 cup of garlic

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

9 no-boil lasagna noodles

 

First chop your onion and add it to a saute pan.

Add in some good quality olive oil and saute until onions are translucent.

Add in the garlic and stir. Saute until warmed through.

Remove the onion from the pan and place the chopped mushrooms in it.

Splash a bit or two of Worcestershire sauce on the ‘shrooms and saute them over medium heat.

Cook them until they are soft.

Remove them from the heat and add to the onion and garlic mixture. Now set this aside.

I used packaged, shredded mozzarella and parmesan so the only thing I needed to do was shred the cheddar. The mister is lactose intolerant so I use Lactaid milk and Cabot cheeses when possible. He seems to do “okay” with a little mozzarella and most hard cheeses, so I don’t go out of my way to replace those with lactose free items. Also, this dish isn’t staying at my house.

Love Cabot cheeses, they are tasty and lactose free and that makes me and the mister happy, happy, happy!

Now to make the bechamel sauce. Chop a few leaves of sage.

Grate some fresh nutmeg.

Add butter to a sauce pan on medium high heat.

Melt the butter and then saute the sage.

Allow the butter to brown slightly and then whisk in flour.

Slowly add in milk so that the mixture stays smooth.

Once the milk is incorporated, bring to a boil.

Keep whisking and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Add in grated nutmeg.

Reduce heat and continue cooking on medium low for about 5 minutes. The sauce should begin to thicken. Remove from heat. Spread a large spoonful of sauce in the bottom of your baking dish.

Then place three no boil lasagna noodles on top. Add the mushroom and onion mix on top of the noodles  and then add half of the jar of pureed butternut squash. 

Sprinkle on one third of the grated cheeses and continue layering.

Add a new layer of noodles, mushrooms and onions and butternut puree. Top with bechamel sauce. Finish off with a layer of cheese and sauce. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cover the pan (mine is a disposable aluminum pan since it will be going elsewhere for Thanksgiving) with foil and cook for about 45 minutes.

Here is what it looks like, ready to be popped into the oven.

Remove the foil and broil until browned.

My finished lasagna looks nice, but not browned. Since I “cooked ahead”, I will be freezing this. On Thursday morning I will finish cooking and browning prior to delivering to the mister’s family gathering. I hope they enjoy!!

For MY family dinner I opted to make a slightly different lasagna. This is a Spinach Artichoke lasagna and I used the following:

1/2 onion sauteed

1 tablespoon garlic

15oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 1/2 cups of chopped artichoke hearts, marinated

1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

Salt and black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 large egg

1 lb sweet Italian sausage

9 pieces of no boil lasagna

For the Cheese Sauce: 

4 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups of milk (I used Lactaid)

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I use Cabot’s)

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

3/4 cup grated parmesan

Salt and black pepper

Many of the steps are similar to the squash lasagna, so I won’t make you look at the same photos again.

Chop the artichokes. Then place in large mixing bowl.

Thaw and drain the spinach. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

Place in large mixing bowl with chopped artichokes.

 

Saute the onions in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Cook until translucent and toss in the garlic. Add to the artichokes. 

Combine the Worcestershire sauce, parmesan cheese and egg with the onions, artichokes and spinach. Mix well and set aside.

In the same pan that you used for the onions, throw in the pound of sweet sausage.

While that is cooking, grate the cheddar cheese.

By this time, the sausage should be browned nicely and ready to drain.

Now let’s make the cheese sauce. Using the same method as the first lasagna, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Allow to brown slightly and then begin incorporating the milk. Continue whisking the mix while bringing to a boil. Hold at this heat for about two minutes and add in cayenne pepper.

Reduce heat and whisk. Allow to cook for about 5 more minutes and sauce should begin to thicken slightly. Slowly incorporate the shredded cheese and whisk until smooth and melted. Remove from heat.  In case you haven’t figured it out by now….WHISK is the word of the day….Don’t stop now!

Lovely and smooth.

Spread a large spoonful or two of this tasty cheese sauce in the bottom of your serving dish. Lay 3 no-boil lasagna noodles on top and then begin layering .

Spread one half of the spinach artichoke mix on top of the noodles and then top with one half of the sweet sausage. Top with cheese sauce and another layer of noodles, artichokes, spinach and sausage.

Finish off with a layer of noodles and the remaining cheese sauce. Now you are ready to pop this beauty in the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Then broil until browned in spots. Allow to stand for 10 minutes prior to serving.

Again, since this is going in the freezer for a few days until turkey day, this isn’t the most attractive dish. But I will finish it off nicely and it will look lovely for my guests.

Try one or even both of these lasagnas. I think that you will find them a tasty alternative to the usual red sauce lasagna and what a nice change to bust out of the freezer when your guests (or the mister) least expect.