Birthdays Rock! (And so does lasagna!)

Birthdays are great, aren’t they? Our son had a birthday, and we celebrated appropriately – with whole wheat lasagna and a bottle of Louis M. Martini 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Friday night’s Creekside tasting. It was a perfect pairing. We all had a lovely time, we went to see the new Batman movie together, and we went to play miniature golf and hit up the batting cages. In the spirit of sharing a perfect wine and food pairing, here is the recipe for the lasagna (note, I adapted it from the back of a Ronzoni Healthy Harvest lasagna box):

Ingredients:

• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• Splash of Worcester sauce
• 3 cups pasta sauce (I used my own home-canned pasta sauce)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella (the recipe calls for 2, originally, but we love cheese)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• A splash of red wine
• lasagna noodles

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Saute chopped onion, minced garlic, and bell pepper in olive oil.
3. Add ground turkey to onion and bell pepper and brown. Drain the fat. Add a splash of Worcester sauce, a splash of red wine, and red pepper flakes along with the spaghetti sauce and water. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes
4. While waiting for the meat sauce, mix together ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper.
5. Pour about 1 cup of meat sauce into the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Cover with one cup of sauce. Spread 1/2 the ricotta mixture over the sauce. Repeat layering. Top with a layer of sauce followed by the remaining mozzarella cheese.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes while you enjoy a glass of wine (and make a salad!) Slice and serve hot.

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