Butternut Squash Lasagne

A month ago, I made a butternut squash lasagne and have been asked for the recipe by several people who ate it.  Unfortunately, I didn't follow a recipe and did not take any notes when I made it.  To the best of my recollection, this is what I did.

I used 9 oven-ready lasagne noodles in 3 layers of 3 noodles each, but you increase the squash, cheese and sauce a bit, you can add another layer, or if your pan is wider than mine, put 4 noodles in each layer.

1. Mix together and roast on baking tray(s) at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes until squash is tender.  

• Large butternut squash, sliced thin (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch by 2-3 inches?)
• garlic cloves, sliced, (how many?  maybe 4?)
• Large onion, sliced thin 
• olive oil, a little, just to coat lightly
• salt
• fresh sage (If I added sage, I would have used the sage I froze last summer, but probably fine without)

2. Mix these ingredients together in a bowl.

• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• fresh mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup?)

3. In a saucepan, bring these ingredients to a boil, remove from heat, let sit 10 minutes.

•  3 cups almond milk
• 1 bay leaf

4. Add tomato sauce to milk, bring to boil again, simmer until thickened. Remove bay leaf at end.

•  2 cups homemade fairly thick tomato sauce made with garlic and herbs, frozen last summer (or any type of tomato sauce)

This is where I got distracted and eventually noticed it was boiling madly, not simmering.  Note: béchamel sauce usually adds flour and milk after first boil, but I did not add flour and used tomato sauce instead, and it thickened. Could be the mad boiling. 

5. Wash, drain, and wilt spinach.  I used microwave for a minute or two.

• Bag of spinach (10 oz?)

6. After vegetables are roasted, turn oven down to 375 degrees.

7. Coat lasagne pan with oil.

8. Layer in pan:

• 1/2 cup milk/tomato mixture
• lasagne noodles
• half the squash/onion mixture
• half the spinach
• half the cheese mixture
• 3/4 cup milk/tomato mixture

9. Repeat layers ending with noodles and pouring rest of milk/tomato mixture over it.  I probably sprinkled a little shredded parmesan and/or mozzarella on top.

10. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake until bubbling, about 20-30 minutes more.

11. Cool, cover, refrigerate. Send on a five hour journey with husband to in-laws.  At some point somebody thinks to put it in the freezer.  After about a week, take it out of freezer and put it on top of freezer in garage for about 5 days (fortunately it was about 10 degrees in the garage). Defrost on kitchen counter for a few hours. Cut some pieces, microwave, and serve to mother-in-law.  Put leftovers in fridge for another week and serve it to more unsuspecting in-laws.  Hope everybody lives.

12.  #11 is what happened to this lasagne.  In addition to be concerned about having scalded the almond milk, it is why I was afraid it might accidentally sicken somebody.  It would be much safer to eat it right away, or cover in plastic wrap, then foil to freeze for up to 2 months.  Defrost in fridge for 24 hours, and heat in oven at 375 degrees until hot and bubbly.

Strawberry Orange Spinach Salad with Pecans

Spinach fresh from the Spring garden doesn't need any embellishment, but I made this oil-free and pretty strawberry-orange dressing for it tonight that was light and naturally sweet.

In food processor, pulverize 1 orange.   Add 1 tsp chia seeds, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar, and 3-4 strawberries.  Add water as needed to consistency.  I added about 1/4 cup water.

Dice 1/2 a red onion and slice a few strawberries onto the raw spinach leaves. Add salad dressing.  I was going to add pecans but didn't remember until after I starting eating it. It was good either way.

If just orange juice was used, the chia seeds would act as a gel to hold the dressing together.  By using the whole orange, the chia seeds weren't needed for that purpose, but are still good for nutrition (rich is omega 3 fatty acids- the good kind).