Well worth the wait

You thought I was going to talk about something profound, didn't you? Like waiting on the Lord for things that we want, or patience in trials, or how I'm glad that I stuck to my No Frivolous Dating guns and ended up with the best husband in the whole wide world?

Ha. Silly you. This post is about food . . . which, if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, was probably your next guess.

Though I AM learning about relying on the Lord for things that I want. And I AM awfully glad that I waited for my husband. :)

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Despite the name, this is neither time- nor labor-intensive. The "wait" refers to refrigeration between assembly and baking, then a pause before you serve it. This allows the noodles to soak up that delicious sauce and prevents the lasagna from flopping all over the plate.

I made this with baby portobello mushrooms. (Also, I can never spell portobello right the first time.) You can always do it with plain white button mushrooms, or if you don't like fungi, substitute some ground beef or Italian sausage. You get to pick. Isn't cooking fun?

Worth-the-Wait Lasagna
(originally from. . . wait for it. . . the back of the Barilla box)

1 box no-boil lasagna noodles*
2 24-oz jars (6 cups) good-quality pasta sauce***
1 lb mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 large eggs
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1) Brown mushrooms in butter-- a good start to anything-- until tender but not mushy. In medium bowl, stir mushrooms into pasta sauce. In large bowl, whisk eggs, then stir in ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, and 1/3 cup Parmesan.
2) Coat 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Pour 1 cup sauce across bottom of pan.
3) Layering time! Lay four lasagna noodles in pan, overlapping to leave a small margin around edges. (Noodles will expand as they soak up sauce.) Top with 1/3 of cheese mixture, then 1 cup sauce. Repeat these layers twice. Top with remaining four lasagna noodles and remaining sauce. Cover with foil and refrigerate 8-24 hours, along with reserved mozzarella and Parmesan.
4) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If you remember, take out the lasagna an hour ahead of time so it is not as cold. Regardless, bake covered lasagna 50-70 minutes (depending on how cold it was), until hot and bubbling around the edges. Uncover and sprinkle reserved cheese on top. Bake 5-10 minutes more to let cheese melt.
5) Remove lasagna from oven and let sit on wire rack for 15-20 minutes. Use this time to toss salad, slice bread, fill water glasses. Or turn cartwheels down the hall. I don't care. Just don't touch that lasagna!
6) Slice. Serve. Eat.

*Barilla makes great ones. I love skipping unnecessary steps.
**This can make or break your lasagna. Pick one you love! I like Classico sauces, or sometimes make my own.
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Addendum to last week's "making things special" post: serve simple food (like grapes or grilled cheese) on a fancy-pants platter. I recently stacked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on a cake platter. Ordinary cookies, automatically elevated.