We had lasagna for Christmas Eve. It was party a nod to last year's bizarro Christmas Dinner, but more importantly, a filling meatless meal that we could serve in accordance with Joe's Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat on Christmas Eve.
Is that normal? Do most Catholic believers abstain from meat on Christmas Eve?
When I asked Joe the reason, he said, "I dunno. It's just what we always did."
Not so helpful in explaining it to an outsider like myself.
At any rate, the lasagna was delicious, and it made me happy. I found the recipe in my December Real Simple magazine.
Broccoli and Three Cheese Lasagna
Ingredients
- 15 ounces ricotta about 1 ¾ cups
- 1 pound broccoli floret froze, thawed, patted dry, and chopped
- 3 cups mozzarella shredded, divided
- 1 cup Parmesan grated, divided
- salt and black pepper
- 2 2-quart jars marinara sauce we used our homemade
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for the foil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, broccoli, 2 cups of the mozzarella, ½ cup of the Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In a small bowl, combine the marinara sauce and cream.
- Spoon a thin layer of the sauce into the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 noodles, a quarter of the remaining sauce, and a third of the broccoli mixture; repeat twice. Top with the remaining 2 noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining cup of mozzarella and ½ cup of Parmesan.
- Cover tightly with an oiled piece of foil and bake until the noodles are tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Toss the greens with the olive oil, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve with the lasagna.
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Photo courtesy of LDHNY on Flickr
Cole says
That looks delish!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Shawnee says
Saw your link at the Tuesday Toot! OOOOH, I do like broccoli and cheese. Hadn't thought of combining it with lasagna, thanks for the tip.
Blessedwithgrace says
That really sounds great. Happy New Year!!
Lenetta @ Nettacow says
1) This recipe sounds awesome! I linked to it on my weekly roundup.
2) My Catholic family never abstained from meat on Christmas Eve, but I think it's a nice tradition. (Except for the part about him wanting to make something that the rest of you didn't care for :>))
3) My hubs is Lutheran and I'm Catholic, and the spiritual dis-unity can be difficult at times. I pray this isn't the case for you!
4) If you ever want to look up a Catholic tradition, here are a few sites that may be helpful - I'm only getting started digging through them, I'll admit..
http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/
http://www.fisheaters.com/
http://www.catholicculture.org/
Many blessings to your family!
FeelsLikeHomeBlog says
Thank you! We don't have problems with our disunity because he doesn't practice. I'm not affiliated with a denomination, but I do practice. So it works out. We pull things from everywhere. 🙂
Lenetta @ Nettacow says
1) This recipe sounds awesome! I linked to it on my weekly roundup.
2) My Catholic family never abstained from meat on Christmas Eve, but I think it's a nice tradition. (Except for the part about him wanting to make something that the rest of you didn't care for :>))
3) My hubs is Lutheran and I'm Catholic, and the spiritual dis-unity can be difficult at times. I pray this isn't the case for you!
4) If you ever want to look up a Catholic tradition, here are a few sites that may be helpful - I'm only getting started digging through them, I'll admit..
http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/
http://www.fisheaters.com/
http://www.catholicculture.org/
Many blessings to your family!
FeelsLikeHomeBlog says
Thank you! We don't have problems with our disunity because he doesn't practice. I'm not affiliated with a denomination, but I do practice. So it works out. We pull things from everywhere. 🙂