The Ricotta Recipe Looked So Easy

I have been checking out homemade cheese recipes, sure that I was ready to take the step beyond my bread and butter and into cheese.  Organic ricotta is almost impossible to find, and I was excited to give it a try.  3 ingredients - cream, milk and white vinegar.  How much simpler can that be?  Apparently not as simple as I'd thought.  My ricotta instead turned into a wonderful cream sauce with a rich, deep flavor and I knew it was special too!  Not ricotta, because I think I tended to stir too much and will attempt again while surpressing the urge to fuss over the pot, but still a special sauce.  Staring at the sauce, I decided to make a Veggie Lasagna.  Alfredo sauce would make a good substitute if you have no failed ricotta attempts on hand.



No real recipe is involved in lasagna.  No matter what ingredients you have, it works out well usually.  Here was my steps for this Veggie Lasagna...

1. Sliced a tomato and covered the bottom of a 8' X 11" pan and brushed sauce over the top of them.  Put a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles on top of the tomatoes and sauce.


2. Lay about 3 cups of fresh spinach, washed and cleaned, on top of the pasta.  Again, put a layer of sauce and add some shredded mozzarella cheese on top, followed by more pasta.


3. Spread 2 cups of sliced mushrooms on the pasta, with 3 carrots sliced into ribbons on top of that.  Sauce again over the top and pasta over it.


4. Spread remaining sauce over the entire top of the pasta and generously toss shredded mozzarella on top of it all.


5. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.


6. Let cool about 10-15 minutes before slicing and enjoy!

It was a great dinner, and I enjoyed it but still haven't given up on my ricotta.  There will be a part 2!