Uber-tasty Homemade Lasagna w/Mushrooms & Rainbow Chard!

I'd only had lasagna made w/fresh pasta ONCE, & that was when a hilarious Italian man I worked with made it. It was epic---so tender, gooey, & rich.

A couple weeks ago, when I made fresh pasta, I reserved some of the plain sheets, & rolled them up in parchment for lasagna. I try not to use too much parchment/plastic bags, but I'll be re-using these, & just rolled them back into the freezer for my next pasta-making extravaganza.

Here's the pasta peeking out:


I don't usually follow a recipe for lasagna, but use whatever we've got floating around here. This time we had some veggies from Ethan's parents & it just worked out really well. I wrote down the general recipe here though, just in case it was worth repeating. I think it was! :)

Lasagna w/Mushrooms & Rainbow Chard

• fresh lasagna (I used about 6 sheets---they're irregular, so yeah)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 pound mushrooms, diced
• 2 large handfuls of chopped baby rainbow chard
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 pounds ricotta
• 1 large handful of chopped fresh chives
• 4 ounces of grated Parmesan, divided
• garlic powder (I was out of fresh!), salt & pepper to taste
• 1 pound grated mozzarella
• 1 jar pasta sauce---I used Paul Newman Tomato/Basil or something

Preheat the oven to 375*F. In a large pan, saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms & cook until tender, then add the chard. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the chard is tender, but not mushy. Season with salt & pepper as you're stirring.

Steamy veggies:


In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, chives, & about half the Parmesan (save the rest for the top), then season with garlic powder & salt & pepper.


In a 9X13-inch pan, place a thin layer of sauce, then top that with a layer of pasta, then a thin layer of the ricotta mixture.


Try to use a delicate touch here, but even if you butcher the layers, it will taste great & no sane person will complain!


Top the ricotta with a little mozzarella, then sauteed veggies, then sauce. Keep layering until you run out of ingredients. Make sure to have enough sauce & mozzarella for a little sprinkling on the top. Sprinkle with the remaining half of the Parmesan too.


Bake for about 45 minutes or so, until bubbly. If the top begins to brown too much, cover with foil or a lid, if you have one. Let the lasagna rest for about 10 minutes (if you can!), as it will aid the cutting process.


Serve with garlic bread or whatever you wish. Eth made some garlic bread with Dave's Killer Bread & it was tastay. You could also serve a salad or some side veggies, but this had a bunch inside, so we just rolled with it.


Also, check out this cute egg holder I found at Goodwill! I love, love, love it!