Constance
Master Chef
I had everything for the lasagna except the noodles. I figured I'd use orichettes, but when I was digging through the freezer for other ingredients, I found 2 half-bags of cheese lasagna, so I used them instead. I had a ziplock of already browned homemade Italian sausage/ground chuck, and another of roasted tomato sauce I'd made from my own roma tomatoes last summer. I also pulled out a box of frozen chopped spinach, a ziplock of home-grated mozzerella, another of parmesan, and a cube of the nutless pesto.
Once all was thawed, I knew there was no backing out, whether I felt up to the job or not. But yesterday my daughter was working late, and Jesse was here to help me.
I dumped the sauce and meat in a big bowl, and nuked for a while to see what kind of taste I had going. I needed a little more sauce for the amount of meat I had, so I added 2 small cans of tomato sauce, along with a can of drained mushrooms. It was a little tart, so I put in 3 tbls sugar, and after that cooked for a bit, I added the cube of pesto, and let cook a couple more more minutes. All this was done in the bowl in the microwave.
Jesse got out the casseroles and got them sprayed while I was doing that, then helped me make the ricotta filling. He likes cottage cheese, and when I told him the ricotta tasted a lot like it, he bravely tried a bit, and agreed. He loved watching me squeeze out the spinach, and had to get his hand into it too. I don't have much strength in my shoulders anymore, so he did the mixing, as we combined the ricotta, spinach, couple of eggs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. I told him he couldn't taste it because of the raw eggs, but I did, and adjusted the seasoning.
By then, grandpa was home, and he sat down at the counter to "supervise" (taste). I let Jesse help with assembling...sauce, ravioli, ricotta mixture, mozzerella, sauce, then repeat, with final topping of parmesan. Grandpa got a spoon out, and soon he and Jesse were "tasting" the sauce, nibbling on the cheese, and even some of the filling, raw eggs or not.
There was enough to make a dish for him and his mom (dad was at the bar playing a pool tournement). Jesse was was very proud, and his mother, who was worn out from a long, hard day, was thrilled.
I awoke in the night, smiling, about the fine evening I had with my grandson.
Once all was thawed, I knew there was no backing out, whether I felt up to the job or not. But yesterday my daughter was working late, and Jesse was here to help me.
I dumped the sauce and meat in a big bowl, and nuked for a while to see what kind of taste I had going. I needed a little more sauce for the amount of meat I had, so I added 2 small cans of tomato sauce, along with a can of drained mushrooms. It was a little tart, so I put in 3 tbls sugar, and after that cooked for a bit, I added the cube of pesto, and let cook a couple more more minutes. All this was done in the bowl in the microwave.
Jesse got out the casseroles and got them sprayed while I was doing that, then helped me make the ricotta filling. He likes cottage cheese, and when I told him the ricotta tasted a lot like it, he bravely tried a bit, and agreed. He loved watching me squeeze out the spinach, and had to get his hand into it too. I don't have much strength in my shoulders anymore, so he did the mixing, as we combined the ricotta, spinach, couple of eggs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. I told him he couldn't taste it because of the raw eggs, but I did, and adjusted the seasoning.
By then, grandpa was home, and he sat down at the counter to "supervise" (taste). I let Jesse help with assembling...sauce, ravioli, ricotta mixture, mozzerella, sauce, then repeat, with final topping of parmesan. Grandpa got a spoon out, and soon he and Jesse were "tasting" the sauce, nibbling on the cheese, and even some of the filling, raw eggs or not.
There was enough to make a dish for him and his mom (dad was at the bar playing a pool tournement). Jesse was was very proud, and his mother, who was worn out from a long, hard day, was thrilled.
I awoke in the night, smiling, about the fine evening I had with my grandson.
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