Is It Still Lasagna?

  I don't usually plan dinners ahead.  I'm more the spontaneous type who looks in the fridge to see what is there and I just create.  I sometimes look at recipes but I usually use those for inspiration and go from there. 

Last night I had the urge to enjoy a nice pan of homemade lasagna made from scratch.  I have a visitor so I made the filling and he finished it. 

I threw chopped onion, zucchini, and sweet potatoes into a fry pan with a bit of oil and cooked them for a little bit before throwing in some mushrooms, chopped Swiss chard, tomato paste, broth, and spices.  I cooked the sauce until it was thick and everything was ready to go.

So I turned it over to my guest and he layered the noodles, sauce, cheese, lots of cottage cheese.  He used so much cottage cheese, the whole thing ended up rather soupy.  I don't like soupy lasagna but he was happy with it.  I prefer my lasagna without the cottage cheese and dryer.

Another version I've used is cooking black beans and corn in a chili based tomato sauce until done.  Then layered the chili based tomato sauce, noodles, and filling with a bit of cheese on top before the next layer. When done, I let it set a while because I use no bake noodles and then bake for 45 min at 350.  I always let it cool a bit before I serve. 

Of course there was the time I made a garlic white sauce that I used with asparagus and cheese to create a nice white lasagna.  I've also used the garlic white sauce with a bit of pesto layered with the asparagus and olives and cheese.  I just love experimenting.

I did a quick look for lasagna ideas and I came across a couple that make my combinations look down right tame. 

1. Pumpkin spice lasagna noodles - yes you read that right.  I'm not sure how I feel about this one because I'm not sure what type of filling I would use.  It's more of something that could be used to create a dessert but not a main dish.

2.  Lasagna a la Nutella from New York, a combination of lasagna noodles, custard, marshmallow, hazelnuts and Nutella. It is more of a desert than a main dish.