Recipes, Finally!

(I want to start by saying thank you for all of your comments on my last two posts. It helped me feel very loved. While I want to respond to every single person individually, I feel really burned out right now and just can't do it. So know that I love and appreciate all of you!)
I was originally planning on typing up these recipes à la Pioneer Woman style, or "Cooking for Dummies" style (e.g. explaining stuff like, "boil lasagna noodles for 10 minutes. Spray wax paper with Pam cooking spray, and lay noodles out single file on the wax paper until ready to put in pan"), but then I realized: I don't have the energy, the time, or the pictures to do that. So I will type up the recipes as they were originally written, and then I will put my healthified versions next to them in parentheses and italics.

The lasagna recipe is my mom's. After making this lasagna from scratch, I can't imagine purchasing Stouffers ever. SO not worth it. And the breadstick recipe is my Grandma R's. I am a carbaholic, and I have tried making many, many breadstick recipes. I always come back to this one, simply because it is the best.

Breadsticks
1 Tbsp yeast dissolved in
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour & 1 1/2 cups bread flour)
1 cube butter, melted - reserve for later (I only used 1/2 cube - I'll explain later)
After the yeast has dissolved in the water, add the sugar, salt and flour and mix together. Then knead for three minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out 1/2 inch thick (I probably end up making an elongated rectangle, around 8 in. x 15 in.) Let rest 10 minutes. Cut into breadsticks (I use my pizza cutter), roll in melted butter and place on cookie sheet (lately I have been melting 1/2 cube, and using my pastry brush to coat the bottom of the cookie sheet, then laying the breadsticks on the sheet and brushing the tops with the butter. Not quite as buttery tasty delicious, but better for you. If you want the breadsticks to be a 10, use the whole cube. If you want them to be a 9.5, use 1/2 cube). Sprinkle with garlic powder and parmesan cheese (which actually makes them a 9.5; Our Best Bites introduced me to Johnny's brand Garlic Spread and Seasoning, and I swear I will never use anything else ever again. It makes them an 11.) Let rest 10 minutes (since I used whole wheat flour, I let them rest for 20 minutes this time before putting them in the oven.) Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Die with happiness as you bite into it (and probably burn your tongue since you can't wait for it to cool down).


Lasagna
Brown 1 pound ground beef. Add and simmer 20 minutes:
1/2 tsp garlic
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can tomatoes (pint)
3/4 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
(I got really lazy this time. I browned the ground beef, got rid of the fat, and dumped in a jar of Ragu traditional spaghetti sauce. Then I added the rest of the fresh spinach in the bottom of our vegetable drawer and about 1/2 cup of shredded zucchini I had in my freezer. Veggies that our kids didn't even notice!)
Cook the lasagna noodles while the mixture simmers (I used whole wheat lasagna noodles. Couldn't even tell a difference. Delicious!) Layer in order in a 9x13 pan - repeat twice:
1. noodles
2. mozzarella cheese (I bought an 8 oz thing & shredded it - used every last bit)
3. cottage cheese (I bought the regular sized one and used every last bit)
4. meat mixture (1/2)
5. parmesan cheese (I have used the cheap stuff in the green can, but this time I used fresh and it was fantastic)

(Here is where I deviated a little bit - I made three layers instead of two. I used slightly more than 1/3 of everything in the first two layers, and then the top layer had just enough of the leftover cheeses & meat to barely cover the noodles (if the noodles don't get covered they get crunchy). In the past I thought the more cheese the better, so I would use closer to 16 oz mozzarella and the BIG thing of cottage cheese. After making it this time, I realized more cheese wasn't necessarily better. This was the best lasagna Christian or I have ever eaten.)

Bake at 325 degree until the cheese bubbles (around 45-50 minutes). Swoon!

Questions? Ask away and I will answer them in the comments.