A bouncing baby lasagna?

As this paleolithic cave drawing illustrates...since human beings have been giving birth... someone has been bringing the new mother lasagna. OK... well maybe it hasn't been that long...and maybe... just maybe I drew this particular cave painting and did a really crappy job doctoring it to look like ancient cave art. But I still think that womankind has had this particular tradition for a very long time.

I love to cook and what better way to help out a friend in need than to bring them a ready made meal in a pan. I have always found comfort in casseroles delivered by friends during happy times, such as the birth of a child, or even during times of sadness and loss. It is a tradition that I try to keep in my own life. Usually I make my favorite recipe for lasagna... it's simple, I can make two at a time (one for my family and one for my friend), and it freezes well (just in case a dozen other friends had the same idea at the same time). A week ago a good friend delivered a beautiful baby boy... and so today I delivered a beautiful lasagna to her door. Here is my recipe for lasagna.

Jenn's Lasagna

Double this recipe to make one for your family and one for a friends.

2-3 links Italian sausage
3 ½ cups (32- oz. jar) thick spaghetti sauce
2 cups (15-oz. container) ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
3 cups (12-oz.) shredded mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
One red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded (set in broiler until skin is black, cook and peel)
1 tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
8 oz. lasagna (9 pieces)

Set your oven to broil and roast your bell pepper until the skin is black and charred…or roast them outside on the grill.

While the pepper is cooking make the lasagna noodles according to package directions. You can also begin to brown Italian sausage (draining off excess fat).

Then in a large bowl combine ricotta, Parmesan , half of the mozzarella and eggs. Once the pepper is blackened and cool you need to peel it and dice it.
You are now ready to assemble your lasagna.

Pour about 1 cup sauce on bottom of 13 x 9 x 2- inch baking pan. Layer 3 pieces of cooked lasagna over sauce; Spread ½ of cheese filling over sauce. Sprinkle with cooked sausage and another cup of sauce.

Repeat layers of lasagna, sauce and cheeses filling… this time adding the roasted bell pepper. Top with layer of lasagna and remaining sauce and the other half of the mozzarella cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake about 15 minutes longer. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting for easier handling. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

This recipe can be made ahead. Before baking either refrigerated for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 2 months. Bake refrigerated lasagna the same as above. Bake frozen lasagna for about 2 hours at 350 degrees. I like to print the instructions right on the foil... that way if they decide to freeze it they don't have to keep up with a little slip of paper giving them the cooking time.

I had just finished assembling my lasagna when I remembered that our oven was out... so we made this one by cooking it indirectly on our outdoor grill. It turned out wonderfully! The bottom was slightly charred on one side... but it was still terrific!