Christmas Eve Dinner 8 Cheese Lasagna

Christmas Eve Dinner 8 Cheese Lasagna

I had planned to make Lasagna for Christmas Dinner because I could not afford to buy any ham or turkey this year. Funds were a bit tight to say the least.

Then I sold a bunch of things on EBay and I was able to buy ham at Gabriel’s for six dollars. That’s what I love about that store. It may be an upscale boutique style grocery store but they take care of its faithful shoppers and they always come up with special offerings when it gets close to the holiday. This year it was ham.

So the Lasagna has become Charismas Eve dinner instead.

Going back to my childhood we were mainly raised Catholic and Catholics believe you should not eat meat on Christmas Eve. This year I decided it was time to reach back to the past years of my childhood and decided this year will be a Catholic Christmas.  

We had been raised in three faiths. The main one being Catholic followed by Spiritualism (that is really a belief, not a religion strictly speaking) and Christian Science. So this year as I said will be a Catholic holiday.

The meatless meal for this Christmas Eve will be  my version of Lasagna with cheese and marinara sauce.

I had asked my friend George for his recipe for seven cheese lasagna.

It sounded good but it has some cheese in it that I don’t want in my Lasagna. I was afraid that these cheeses would change the flavor and overwhelm the traditional taste of the Ricotta.

But it did give me a direction for the dinner I wanted to make.  I started searching for different recipes that had a multitude of cheeses in the Lasagna without the traditional addition of meat. I found several recipes and decided the only guide to what cheese to use for this dish was strictly personal taste. I could use the cheeses that I favored.

Now the next challenge. How to make this dish affordable and fit within the idea of eating well on two dollars a day.

At first it did not seem possible but thinking outside the box I found a solution.

I bought the eight ounce container of Ricotta. Then I needed the rest of the cheese. I started looking at the store ads and came up with the solution shredded cheese. I did some research and found Sargento chef blend shredded six cheese Italian cheeses.

It had everything I needed in it Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, and Asiago .This is an 8 oz package. It was only two dollars and fifty cents for the package! Perfect! Then I had an additional though. I really wanted to add a creamy under flavor to all this cheese to bring all the flavors together. That is when I thought of cream cheese. It was not such a farfetched idea. It seems that several restaurants use cream cheese in Lasagna all the time! Several top chefs find cream cheese in this dish a great addition.

Next was the marinara sauce. I could make it from scratch but there is a jar sauce I love. Francesco Rinaldi Spicy Marinara. This was almost perfect with just a little tweaking. When I am ready to make my dinner I will add wine and fennel to the sauce to make it a little more Corsican.

Here is how I will make the Lasagna:

8 Cheese Lasagna:

    1 bag of Sargento chef blend shredded six cheese Italian cheese

1       16 container of  Ricotta

1 egg

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

¼ cup red wine

1 teaspoon fennel

1 box of Lasagna noodles.

4 oz of cream cheese

1 small jar of Francesco Rinaldi Spicy Marinara sauce

1 container of grated Parmesan cheese.

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 375F

It’s up to you if your cook the noodles first I do I like to make sure there will be no crispy edges.

If you do cook your noodles then bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and the add pasta. Cook for eight to ten minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Drain and set aside until ready to assemble.

While the noodles are cooking combine the cheese, egg, and garlic salt together.

Add fennel and wine to the sauce and mix together.

Now it’s time to assemble

Start with a little sauce on the bottom of the pan then add a layer of noodles. On top of that a layer of cheese, another layer of noodles and sauce and repeat.

Top the Lasagna with the cheese and a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.

This is something I do again it’s up to you. I like to just cover the edges of the lasagna with a little foil so the edges of the lasagna don't get hard. Some people like the crispy hard edges I don’t.

Bake in oven for about forty five minutes or until bubbly. After you take the Lasagna out of the oven let it sit for about twenty minutes. That allows it time to set up and will not be as messy when you serve it.

That’s all there is too it.

Serve with a nice green salad and Italian dressing and don’t forget the crusty Italian bread.

That’s Christmas Eve dinner at my home.

How about you? Will this be your choice or do you have another meal that is traditional at your home?

What ever the choice have a wonderful holiday!