white lasagna

It was about time the pasta sheets leftover from this time were used. So it was a good thing I had a random hodge podge of leftover stuff to stuff into a lasagna.

Thank goodness we managed to make a liter of cream last us all year in the freezer because I'm so into white lasagnas. I guess I always knew this preference would present itself. Back in the day when it was a special occasion to go to Red Lobster, I always ordered the Alfredo pasta (which promptly became Alfred's favorite dish some years later) over the marinara. Strange, given my aversion to dairy and propensity for tartness. There was just something about the creamy, garlicky, umami-y sauce that made carbs more addicting than they already (unfortunately for my waistline) are.

The end result was velvet. Meaty. Cheesy. With just the right amount of sweetness to cut through it all And is there anything better than the crusty top corner pieces? No. The answer is no.

dairy-heavy pork apple spinach lasagna
no boil pasta noodles
parmesan cheese sauce*
handfuls of mozzarella (from this time)
1/2 lb ground pork (from this time), sautéed with onion and garlic
handfuls of frozen spinach
1 Granny smith apple, sautéed in butter
spoonfuls heavy cream

*adapted and halved from here
1/8 c butter
1/8 c olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c flour
1 c water + 1 T bouillon powder
1/2 c milk
1 c parmesan

to make sauce: melt butter with oil, sweat onions, add garlic
sprinkle in flour while whisking continuously, cook out raw flavor ~2-3 min
add liquids and bouillon, stir until blended and thickened
add parm off heat

to assemble lasagna:
thin layer of sauce on the bottom
noodles
generous amounts of cream
pork mixture
spinach
mozzarella
parm sauce
noodles
generous amounts of cream
pork mixture
spinach
apples
parm sauce
noodles
generous amounts of cream
pork mixture
spinach
mozzarella
parm sauce
mozzarella
parm
bake for 30-45 min at 350F covered
uncover and bake another 5 min

Lasagna cravings satisfied all week long.

But also