This past Friday I was torn between veggie lasagna and meat lasagna as we had ingredients for both. I haven't really made true lasagna before, no real reason, just haven't. Since I have an Italian heritage yummy pasta entrees were very common in my household. Stuffed Shells, Eggplant Parm, Chicken Parm, Carbonara...no lasagna though. I think for those reasons it is something I don't really make but love to eat. No time like the present though.After much hemming and hawing (which usually happens as I have a billion recipes I want to make, but not nearly enough time or energy to make them) I felt like a genius. I would make regular lasagna (with buffalo meat) over an eggplant parmesan layer. GENIUS! I love lasagna, I love buffalo and I love eggplant parm. How could this go wrong? Well, it didn't! It was just as good as I could have hoped for if not better. It was a true comfort food. I will definitely be making it again in the future. The one small change I would make is that the buffalo meat was from Whole Foods, not our local buffalo farm and not nearly as good.
In addition, I made a loaf of whole wheat bread (Quick Whole Wheat Bread from The Joy of Cooking) to go with dinner. It turned out to be a Godzilla loaf (see above) as it rose and rose and rose. Good yeast I guess.As this is a PASTA meal, I am submitting it to Presto Pasta Night.
Georgia's Genius Lasagna
9" x 13" pan
Ingredients:9 cooked whole wheat lasagna noodles
A quart of your favorite tomato sauce
15 oz container of low-fat ricotta
8 oz part skim mozzarella, shredded
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/3 inch rounds
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 pound ground buffalo
1 Tbsp parsley
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
flour
olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
1) Whisk one egg and milk together in a wide bowl. Pour flour into another wide bowl. Season flour with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in frying pan on medium heat. When oil is hot dip eggplant slices into egg mixture then flour and fry until golden brown. Set aside on paper towels to collect extra oil.
2) Boil lasagna noodles until cooked. Whisk ricotta, parsley and an egg in small bowl. Salt and pepper. Set aside.
3) Brown ground meat in olive oil. Season with S&P. After meat is cooked, pour about 2 cups of tomato sauce in with the meat and cook for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
The LAYERING!
4) Spread tomato sauce on the bottom of glass baking dish. Layer as follows: Noodle, eggplant slices, shredded moz, tomato sauce, noodle, ricotta mixture, tomato sauce, noodle, meat mixture, fresh moz slices.
Bottom Layer (above)5) Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes with aluminum foil covering pan and another 10 with pan exposed. Bake until mozzarella is golden brown and melted.
Enjoy!!!
Article of the week: Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird? (NY Times Op-Ed)
15 comments:
Buffalo meat is very moist and juicy. I haven't really had it since I lived in Alberta.It would have been perfect for the eggplant dish:D What struck me to commment on your blog was the view of you on Nea Kameni in Santorini with Erinia Bay in the background and Fira. I loved it there!!!!!!! I spent 5 weeks in Greece...I can't believe it is almost 2 years ago now:D
Yay Georgia...great lloking dish, especially the melted mozzarella on the top!
Your genious pasta does look awesome. I love eggplant and need to "hide" it from my family. This seems a perfect choice.
Now to get some buffalo meat!
Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Night!
Looking at your lasagna, nobody would ever know it was your first time making this dish. Good job!
I often have trouble deciding what to make as there are just so many things that I want to make. Great call combining them! The lasagna looks good. Look at the size of that bread!
I had this deliciously, awesome meal with Georgia, and let me tell you, it was AMAZING!! I love buffalo meat, lasagna, and eggplant parm, but never, not in a million years, would I have dreamt of combining all these wonderful things into one fantastic, scrumptous dish! The bread was just as delicious as I just finished the leftovers tonight! My girlfriend is BRILLIANT!!
agreed, this was a delicious idea that i'm sure we'll be making again in the future. thanks for an awesome dinner :)
Fun blog :)
SOunds super yummy! I've been thinking a lot about making Eggplant Parm lately!
Hey, just a side note... I did karaoke for the first time at the Holiday Inn in Kulpsville, PA a few years back! Is that near you?
yum! you can't not like a dish with all that cheese!
i do something kinda similar, but use thin-sliced eggplant AS the noodles.
A genius, indeed!
I've never had buffalo... Maybe next time I'm back in MN - I know that there are farms in the area.
Love the fresh mozzarella...
This looks delicious. Here's a tip for the next time you make it (if you,of course, would like to), slice the eggplant very thin and layer it. When all those thin layers add up, the texture in each bite is really great. Although when that thick piece of eggplant cooks long enough, it melts in your mouth!
That's it! I'm moving in with you ladies! I can sleep on the sofa as long as it's not too far from the fridge. :-)
Hi Georgia!
As if the great lasagna isn't enough..you add eggplant..yum..then buffalo! wow!
I like buffalo. It's lean and tasty. Great job here :)
I come an Italian family, and let me tell you that there wouldn't be a a remnant of noodle or piece of stringy cheese left if I served them this dish. It's sensational!
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