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Ooey, Gooey with Layers of Flavor

Meat Ball Lasagna

Everyone loves a good lasagna. It’s an easy weeknight meal, it’s great for a pot luck and if you have leftovers it reheats fabulously. I’m always on the hunt for a new lasagna recipe… and I know exactly where to look!

Jane Whittaker’s Meat Ball Lasagna is a really great twist. “My lasagna is made with mini-meatballs and chunks of Italian sausage,” shares Jane. “The texture of the lasagna changes from flat layers to big fat chunks of meat layers in a sky high lasagna.”

It’s quite the treat to bite into a meatball to discover which meatball you would get – beef or sausage. Both are very good!

“This recipe is awesome because it takes a family favorite and creates a smaller batch that can be handled by a smaller family, a single person or a couple,” says Barbara Oseland of her Hearty Lasagna for Two.

Barbara’s right… this is a wonderfully hearty recipe. But, it could easily serve eight – a little slice is all you need. Not to worry though, it freezes wonderfully. Then you’ll always have a last minute dinner handy.

Melody Perkins and Andy Anderson sneak veggies into their lasagna recipes which I’m a big fan of.

“One of the best lasagna’s I’ve ever had,” exclaims Melody of her Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls. I’ll admit, this is mighty tasty.

The cheese mixture includes mozzarella, Provolone, Romano, Asiago and Parmesan cheese. Really, how can a recipe not be bad when it starts with that cheese mixture! The spinach, artichoke and Italian sausage add additional flavor and make this pretty hearty. Just delightful!

Another delicious recipe is Andy Anderson’s Zucchini Lasagna sans Noodles. This is a great dish to serve if you have vegetarian friends coming over. The fabulous flavors will have your meat-loving friends asking for seconds!

“The biggest problem I had in developing this recipe is reducing the amount of liquid produced when baked,” explains Andy. “I found that pre-baking the zucchini and draining out the excess liquid in the cottage cheese did the trick.” Add some nice crusty bread to soak up the yummy tomato sauce and you have a dinner everyone will enjoy!

I’m going to throw you for a bit of a loop with this recipe, but did you know you can do lasagna for dessert? FH Browne does with his Fabulous Fruit Lasagna. All of the wonderful fresh fruit and ample sauce really make this recipe something fabulous indeed!

“I was looking for a dessert to wow the family and thought of this when I saw chocolate noodles,” shares FH. “I have the say the family, and the other folks who have tried this, have all raved.” If you’re unable to find chocolate noodles, regular noodles work great too. I’d just drizzle some chocolate sauce on top for that added chocolate punch.

We all have our tried and true recipes we love. But sometimes it’s fun to break with tradition and experiment. Have fun in the kitchen and let us know what you cook up!