A Week without Kids: Day One

(knit lasagna found here)

What would you do with an entire week with no children? Party? Sleep in? Watch R-rated movies?

I (thanks to my very wonderful husband) have one whole week with no kids, just my mom, my sister and me, and the one thing I am really looking forward to (besides the margaritas and sleeping in) is eating food that my kids don't like.

I have decided that I will try to do a lot more of the cooking than I would usually do around my mom (because she is an AWESOME cook), and to cook mostly things my kids won't eat. Fueling this recipe craziness is Pinterest. So many recipes, so little time. If you are not on Pinterest, may I suggest that you only join if you are not addicted to Farmville or Zombieland, as Pinterest rivals Facebook as a major time-suck. That said...I love it, and I hope to see you there.

First night away from the kiddos, and the first thing we're eating is lasagna...and not just any lasagna...SPINACH lasagna. My opinion: OM NOM NOM NOM! My kids opinion: "Eww!"

Here is the recipe, just in case you a)don't have picky kids, b)have an evening to yourself. (oh, and credit where credit is due, this is my mom's recipe, thanks Mom!)

Easy Cheesy Spinach Lasagna

One 28 to 32 oz jar (3 1/2 cups) spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup water
One 8 oz package NO BOIL lasagna noodles
2 cups (one pound) ricotta or cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced (look, no kids=real garlic!)
One 10 oz package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, drained
3 cups (12 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta, Parm, onions, garlic, spinach, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg.
In another bowl, combine sauce and water.
In 13x9-inch baking dish, layer one third of sauce mixture, half of Uncooked lasagna noodles, half of ricotta mixture, and half of mozzarella; repeat layers, ending with sauce.
Cover tightly with foil.
Bake one hour.
Uncover, sprinkle with parm.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


Oh, and if you are looking for thumb ratings, there won't be any this week! I like it, and for one week, that's all that matters.