1/2 bush acorn squash cooked (mine was leftover)
2 big meaty tomatoes (brandyboy and black krim), cut into 1 inch chunks
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 handful basil leaves, chopped
1 container ricotta
1 bag shredded mozzarella
1/2 Cup parmesan
olive oil
salt and pepper
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
3/4 Cup water
Take a 13×9 pan, spray with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 350F. Take just a few tomato chunks and smash them on the bottom – doesn’t need to be coated. Mix ricotta and cooked squash, season with a little salt and pepper. Lay down 4 noodles in a single layer (1 will have to be broken to finish the edge). Spoon 1/3 of the ricotta/squash mix. Spread out. Top with 1/3 of the tomatoes, basil and garlic, cheeses, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Repeat using 1/3 of each for a total of 3 layers. Pour water over all. Cover with foil, cook 45 min. Remove foil and cook an additional 15 min.
It was awesome using only my own ingredients besides the noodles and cheeses, that I grew myself. I didn’t want to use regular jarred spaghetti sauce as I thought it would go against the rich squash flavor – tomatoes, basil and garlic were a simple complement to the subtle squash flavor. My kids loved it, I loved it.
Also, I never, ever precook lasagna noodles – I do not dirty pans if I can help it. I have been balked at for doing this but it’s how my mom always did it. The noodles come out nice and al dente. The added water is all it needs, especially with the juice from the tomatoes. If you use drier ingred. you can up the water to 1 Cup.
