It was pretty much overcast and rainy most of today in Raleigh. So, I decided that I was going to hang with the pugs and do some cooking for a better part of the day. We are going to a Super Bowl party tomorrow and I wanted to make a new dessert. Thankfully, Two Peas and their Pod came through with their Super Bowl recipe recs. So, I picked out the recipe and got to work. I had my two sidekicks with me to walk me through every step of the way.
It was so hard to choose which recipe, but I went with Peanut Butter Snickers Brownies. Who doesn’t love chocolate, snickers and peanut butter? I was sold. And you would be, too, if you made these. Trust me.
Naturally, I had to do a taste test before game day tomorrow. The result? Warm, gooey chocolate-y goodness.
It only seemed fair to give P&H a taste of the peanut butter. They need a tasty treat every now and then, too. Phoebe, of course, went in for the kill and nudged Henry out of the way. He didn’t seem to mind too much. Girl licked that plate clean.
While the brownies were baking I started cooking my mom’s spinach lasagna. I wanted to do something nice for Ryan so I told him I would handle dinner. P&H stuck with me for this recipe as well. I didn’t realize how time consuming making lasagna is – I’ve never made it before.
I made some adaptations to my mom’s recipe and here’s where I landed.
Ingredients:
10 oz. frozen spinach
2 T mined garlic
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 container of part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/4 C flour
1/4 C skim milk
1/2 stick of butter
1 jar of Prego [or any marinara sauce]
1 lb. lean ground beef [added for Ryan who “can’t get full without meat”]
1 C parmesan cheese
1 bag mozzarella cheese [We only used half because that’s what we had but the more cheese, the better. Duh!]
Steps:
1. Chop onion then sauté in olive oil with spinach and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Whisk eggs and mix with ricotta cheese in a bowl and set aside.
3. Melt butter then add flour to create a roux. Then add milk and stir until combined then add the ricotta cheese/egg mixture. Remove from heat and combine with the spinach mixture.
4. Brown ground beef and drain. Then add marinara sauce and stir.
5. Spray baking dish with Pam and layer: red sauce, ricotta-spinach mixture, mozzarella cheese, noodles and repeat once. Then pour remaining red sauce on top of the noodles.
6. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, covered. Then take off the cover and add mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for an additional 20 minutes uncovered, until cheese is golden brown to your liking.
The lasagna was delicious. 
I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get up the courage to make it. Thanks, Mom for your help with the recipe!
While I had fun cooking and jamming out to music in the kitchen by myself, it was a long process. If you Google ‘world’s slowest cook’ I am pretty sure my name will pop up. It’s true. I am the slowest cook. Henry agrees.
Not only am I slow, but I know how to make a mess. Said mess filled our entire sink and covered most of the counter tops. After cooking and then cleaning, I was pretty beat. Henry’s face says it all – “can we pleeeeease just cuddle on the couch already?”
Now we are off to have a glass of wine, cuddle with the pugs and watch The Wire. Happy Saturday night!
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