July 29th - National Lasagna Day

Get your utensils and appetite ready for this holiday because July 29th is "National Lasagna Day". You would think that this dish would be fit more for the fall or winter since it is such a warm comfort food, but let's be honest, a meal that is packed with meat, cheese and pasta and smothered with tomato sauce and even more cheese can and should be enjoyed year round. Best served with some garlic bread with a little olive oil dipping sauce and a glass of Pinot Noir, lasagna is one of those meals that you can't help but go back for seconds even if you are stuffed to the brim and have zero room for more. Just look at Garfield, he was a cat and he could polish off pan after pan of lasagna with no problem. And he never even thought to share a bite with Odie.

There are many theories as to where this delicious pasta dish originated ranging from a few old Greek dishes which used pasta dough cut into strips and another which used the Greek word (λάσανα, lasana) for lasagna to describe the pot in which the dish was served. The more notable and well-accepted theory is that lasagna derived from the 14th century English recipe "Loseyn" which featured layering of ingredients between sheets of pasta. The use of tomatoes did not appear in the dish for another century or so when the recipe appeared in European literature written in 1544. There are no known origins of the first "National Lasagna Day", but something tells me Garfield had a hand in making this day known as a national holiday.

So grab a pan, all the ingredients you need to make a delicious meal of lasagna and get to work. And if you don't know how to cook, then be sure to go to a local home cooked Italian restaurant to get the next best thing. But in all honesty, nothing beats baking and eating your very own lasagna recipe, so why not follow along with this simple lasagna recipe below and bask in its glory after you complete this Italian favorite. Plus there is also an unwritten rule that says if you make up a meal from scratch you can eat as much of it as you want and not feel guilty. Looks like it's a written rule now...

Or if you are one of those people who like to torture yourself by not eating meat, you can try out this vegetable lasagna recipe below to celebrate along.

Ingredients

1 pound eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1/2 pound medium fresh mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 small zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
2 sweet red pepper, cut lengthwise into 6 pieces each
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (15 ounce) container reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 (26 ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Directions

Coat two 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place eggplant and mushrooms on a prepared pan. Place the zucchini and red pepper on the second pan. Combine the oil and garlic; brush over both sides of vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Turn vegetables over. Bake 15 minutes longer. Remove eggplant and mushrooms. Bake zucchini and red pepper 5-10 minutes longer or until edges are browned. In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg substitute. Spread about 1/4 cup pasta sauce in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Layer with four lasagna noodles (noodles will overlap slightly), half of ricotta cheese mixture, half of vegetables, a third of pasta sauce and 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with half of basil. Repeat layers. Top with the remaining noodles and pasta sauce. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until edges are bubbly and cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
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