I make a mean lasagna

It's true. It's so mean, I'm posting the recipe before I forget what went into it:

This is a small lasagna, enough to feed maybe 4 adults and 2 little kids, or maybe just four adults.

Noodles
lasagna noodles, 1/2 box
Boil for 13 minutes in the BIG pot (Don't try using the little one, again, Tricia!)

Sauce
Minced garlic to taste, I use about 1 tablespoon's worth (I use Grandma's famous minced elephant garlic in olive oil that I get from the boys' grandma and which is quite famous with me. You'll be on your own, though, because Grandma's Famous Minced Elephant Garlic is not available in a store near you.)
1/2 small to medium onion, chopped finely
Splash of olive oil
Saute these ingredients until your kitchen smells good, then deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine.
1 small can of tomato paste (optional, I used it this time, and I liked it, I think it made the sauce a little sweeter.)
Garlic Salt and italian seasonings to taste (Basil, Oregano)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes, preferably already seasoned with basil and garlic and onions. (next time, I may go with one regular sized can of crushed tomatoes and one regular sized can of chopped tomatoes because I like the texture of chopped tomatoes)

Add the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and then simmer the onions and garlic and wine and tomato paste and crushed tomatoes until the noodles are done boiling.

Cheese Filling
15 oz of part skim ricotta cheese
shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 to 1 cup to taste)
Parmesan cheese (1/4 to 1/2 cup to taste)
1 egg
Salt
Pepper (lots of pepper)
Oregano

Mix these ingredients together while the noodles are boiling and the sauce is simmering.

Construction
Spray the pan of your choice with a pan spray. This is going to be a small lasagna, so use a cake pan or a small-ish casserole pan. I have a nice garlic flavored pan spray that I like to use.

Put some sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Add a layer of noodles.
Add a layer of ricotta cheese mix
Sprinkle some grated mozzarella on top of that
More sauce

noodles
ricotta cheese mix
shredded mozzarella cheese
more sauce

noodles
ricotta cheese mix
sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese

I think that's how I built this last one.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Let the thing sit for about 10 minutes before cutting. It will taste just fine if you don't let it sit, but it will fall apart.

Let's call this...Tricia Cooks!

Cooking is like fishing for me. I like it when I'm catching fish. Or, when those who eat my food enjoy it. Or, when I enjoy it. And, it has to be easy, too. See how they're similar.

So, here's a recipe. I just made it, and it was very very very Good.

Spinach Salad
Ingredients:
Spinach...I prefer the spinach that's triple washed that you can use straight out of the bag. I also prefer e. coli free spinach. Good luck with that that.
Bacon...I prefer the bacon that is already cooked that you can use right out of the package.
Olive Oil...the kind that doesn't cost as much as a nice bottle of wine but which still has some health benefit.
Vinegar...I like a mixture of Balsamic and Red Wine or Apple Cider Vinegar. Avoid white vinegar. If that's all you have in the pantry or under the sink, don't make this salad, please.

Saute a splash or two of oil in a small skillet. As the oil warms up, tear up some of your pre-cooked bacon and crisp it up in the olive oil.

Put some spinach in a bowl, preferably a bowl that won't melt when you pour hot oil into it.

When the oil is hot and the bacon is looking a little crispier than when you first took it out of the package, pour it over the Spinach.

Add a splash or two of the vinegars that please you the most.

Toss.

Best Served Warm.

Chicken Salad

The other day, I had a craving for tuna salad. But, I didn't have any tuna because no one in my house, except for me every now and then, has any interest in canned tuna. Socks might. Anyway, it was with this craving that I opened the refrigerator door, staring, hoping something might pop up to replace my craving. And something did. I had a chicken breast and some flank steak left over from a few days before. So, I decided to make chicken-steak salad.

This was new to me. When mom and dad made chicken salad when I was a kid, they used some sort of grinder attachment on their big old mixer. I didn't have a grinder attachment or a big old mixer, so I got out my fancy blender.

I cut up the chicken and steak and threw it in the blender. I added a little mayo and mustard, then a little more mayo, and finally, it was a paste whose consistency I was happy with. I cut up a pickle and some onion, threw that in, and voila, I had something that would satisfy my craving for tuna salad.

Does it sound good to you? It wasn't bad, and it was a good way to use up leftovers otherwise destined for the garbage disposal.

Well, it would have been if it was something my family would ever considering eating. But, they won't. Not at all. Not a bit.

Why am I telling you about my chicken-steak salad, you ask? I want you to envision how it might taste so that you can empathize with my children.

Yesterday morning, I wasn't feeling very creative when I made their lunches, so I spread some of my yummy-to-me-only chicken and steak salad on some bread, and it was so nice and easy that I hoped I would be able to do it again soon. But, I had my doubts even at 8 in the morning. When they got home in the afternoon, I asked them if they liked their sandwiches. Trevor answered like this:

"No. I didn't like that sandwich. Not at all. Not a bit."

The sandwich looked completely untouched, too.

Devin also responded that he didn't like the sandwich at all. Not even a little bit. But, he had eaten about half of his, which is normal for him. So, I'm no so sure he isn't being unduly influenced by his brother when it comes to his opinion of the sandwich.

We talked about the sandwiches later, and Trevor continued emphatically dissing my chicken steak salad sandwich. I told him that his sandwich looked completely untouched, and he said, "Oh, I took one bite all right. And, it was the worst sandwich, ever. I did not like it. I did not like it one bit."

He really didn't like that sandwich. Devin seconded Trevor's assessment of the sandwich, again. And, I think I mentioned that he had eaten half of his sandwich, but then he disavowed all knowledge of that.

So, I guess if they don't like my chicken and steak salad, tuna salad isn't in my future, either. I wonder if celery would have made it more palatable?? Probably not.