Eat (Lasagna), Pray, and Love

Today my team at work decided to take another field trip to the movie theaters to see Eat, Pray, Love. I had read the book, back when Oprah first introduced it to me, and loved it, so was very excited to see the movie. Overall, I loved the movie and felt it was a good adaptation of the book. In the beginning they seemed to rush through her marriage and love affair with a younger man, but that's probably because the book wasn't called Get Divorced, Be a Cougar, Eat, Pray, and Love. Once Julia got to Italy, the movie definitely picked up and stayed on point for the remainder of her trip. For those of you that have read the book, you'll remember the FOOD described in Italy. Well, the movie did the FOOD justice with Julia eating plates of fresh pasta, pizza from Naples, and many more Italian treats. After the movie, the team agreed that all we wanted to do was eat, and preferably eat something Italian.

Luck was on my side today because when I arrived home, Alex had made dinner (a welcome surprise), and wouldn't you know...lasagna was on the menu. We call it the 5-year Lasagna, because he only makes it once every 5 years. This is largely due to the fact that he doesn't skimp on any of the good stuff, so it's always a treat. I can honestly say that tonight's lasagna was one of the best I've ever had and I think part of the reason was due to his Persian secret ingredient, saffron. My lasagna came with garlic toast and a simple garden salad on the side. Delizioso! Grazie Alex!

You can find a pic and the recipe for his 5-year lasagna below:

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

1 white onion (diced)

1 clove of garlic (diced)

1 pepper (diced) - he used orange, but you can use green, red, or yellow

1 pound of 80/20 ground beef

Salt and black pepper to taste

6 white mushrooms (diced)

2 jars of marinara sauce

1 tbsp ground saffron

1 box of lasagna pasta sheets

6 oz of 4 Italian cheese blend (shredded) - he bought a pre-shredded bag that included mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, and white cheddar

6 oz of mozzarella (shredded)

15 oz of ricotta cheese

Instructions

1. Melt butter over medium heat

2. Add onion and cook until golden brown

3. Add garlic and pepper

4. Once the above is tender, add meat, and salt and black pepper to taste

5. Once meat is cooked, add mushrooms, marinara sauce, and saffron. Turn heat down to a simmer.

6. While sauce is simmering, cook lasagna as instructed on the box

7. Butter your cooking dish (or spray with non-stick cooking spray) and begin assembling

8. Start with a layer of pasta, then add a layer of meat sauce, and finally add a mixture of the different cheeses.

9. Rinse and repeat until all of your ingredients are used.

10. Cover with tin foil and cook at 350 for 35 mins.

11. Remove foil and cook for another 10 mins.

12. Remove and let stand for 15 mins before serving

Note: Even after 15 mins, the lasagna is hot so can sometimes be tough to cut and serve...but it's worth it :)