Harvest Lasagna & Easy Bake Tomato Sauce

These are two of my favorite recipes. The Easy Bake Tomato Sauce I make all through the fall and can or freeze it for the winter. I hope these warm your house this fall!

Harvest Lasagna

350 1hr

•       16oz ricotta cheese

•       2 Cups mozzarella cheese

•       1 pkg lasagna noodles (I use the kind that you don't need to pre-cook)

•       1  zucchini sliced

•       1 summer squash sliced

•       2 tomatoes sliced

•       1 quart easy bake tomato sauce* or one jar of your favorite sauce.

1. Spread several spoonfuls of sauce down in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, enough to lightly coat.
2. First Layer: lasagna noodles, ½ ricotta, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, then all of the sliced summer squash, and several spoonfuls of sauce
3. Second Layer: lasagna noodles, ½ ricotta, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, then all of the sliced zucchini, and several spoonfuls of sauce
4. Final Layer: lasagna noodles, the remaining sauce, sliced tomatoes, and the remaining mozzarella cheese
5. Cover with foil and bake for 45mins, then remove foil and bake until bubbly and the cheese has slightly browned. Let set for a few minutes so the noodles will firm up some.

ready to be de-skinned

*Easy Bake Tomato Sauce

400 2-4hrs

●      30 big juicy tomatoes (at least -- more is better)

            or 35 small fleshy tomatoes (like roma)

●      time 3hrs or more

●      2 9x13 pans

ready to eat

1. Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the white “core” at the top.
2. Place the tomatoes cut side down in the 9x13 pans. Squeezing them in is fine, they will shrink.
3. Bake in oven for 1hr on 400 or until skins are wrinkled and have pulled away from the rest of the tomato. If they blacken they will still be fine.
   Remove from oven and allow to cool to the touch. You don't have to wait, but your finger tips will thank you. Remove skins by pulling off the tomato. A fork is useful to assist, because the flesh will still be hot.
4. Place skinless tomatoes back in oven and bake for several hours. After the first hour I peek in on them every 30mins or so to see how they are progressing. They will be done when most (but not all) the water has boiled away.
5. Remove from oven and mash with a potato masher or fork.
6. I can my tomatoes, but you could let them cool and freeze them, or use immediately.