I got up this morning, and in a flash of ambition, decided I would make dinner for tonight, not waiting for the afternoon chaos to accomplish this task.  Dinner for tonight:  quick lasagna.   Nice and easy, and quick!

Of course, the author of the recipe never factored in kids into the recipe.

So, I start by getting the casserole pan out and the noodles and cottage cheese (I also mix a bit of cream cheese with the cottage), and about that time Kate and Ang come out and want breakfast.  Greggory also wakes up.  So, after feeding the kids and having Greggory fight me with his breakfast, I clean up and start working on the lasagna again.

Tracy reminds me of a video transfer I need to do, so I quickly do it.  I also realize that Greggory and Josiah need bathed.  Having already cleaned the sink after breakfast, I bathed both of them.

Ok, back to the lazagna.  I get the cottage cheese and cream cheese mixed, get out the spaghetti sauce and the cheese and grater.  Josiah is done feeding and Tracy wants me to get him.  I burp him, and he is fussing.  After a while I finally get him settled down and starting to fall asleep when I heard a loud crash and a cry.  Greggory decided to push his high chair close to the counter, climb up on it, and make a grab for the coffee pot.  When I entered he was laying on the floor surrounded by broken glass and covered in coffee.

Tracy checked him for glass and instinctively picked him up, despite the fact she isn’t to be lifting anything over 10 lbs for another 5 weeks.  I put Josiah on the couch and had to stop Kate and Ang from running into the glass and coffee on the floor.  We checked Greggory, he was fine, other than needing another bath.  We began cleaning the glass off the floor, I hollered for Tanisha to put Josiah to bed, and Angelique starts crying.  She stepped on a piece of glass and was bleeding.

Blood for Angelique usually means the end of the world, at least in her eyes.

So, I took her to the bathroom, checked her foot for glass, cleaned the wound, all the while she is screaming and crying.  When I grabbed the tweazers she thought I was going to stab her.  Oy vey!  I got her bandaged up and stopped crying, came back in to help Tracy clean up the coffee and glass mess, then proceeded to sweep the entire kitchen, moving the table and getting every corner.

Ok, Josiah is in bed, I got Greggory re-bathed and down for a nap.  Now it’s time to finish the lazagna.  Katelyn decided she wanted to help now.  So, with her assistance (which of course costs more time, but at this point the time to prepare this dish is irrelevant), we finally finished the lazagna.  It is three hours since I began the lazagna, and I feel like I’ve been through a war zone.

I should publish a parents cookbook.  It would contain more accurate prep times that take into account kids messing up your dinner preparation.

Quick Lazagna.  Feeds 6.  Prep time- 15 minutes to 3 hours, depending on family disasters for the day.

Cautand prin congelator mai zilele trecuta gasesc intr-un sertar o punguta cu carne tocata. Aha! zic… asta ne-a ramas de cand am facut ultima data dovlecei umpluti. Asa ca m-am gandit ce as putea face din ea. Ca era cam putina, pentru orice. Hai sa incerc sa fac o lasania… Bine, bine, dar cum se face? N-am facut niciodata! Dau o fuga la Kaufland si ma opresc la raionul de paste fainoase. Mai, sa fie! Nu gasesc paste pentru Lasania. Cand sa plec observ pe un raft niste cutii… A! aici sunt. Ma uit la preturi, stau stramb ca sa cuget drept, pun ochelarii si tot 99.9 lei vad. Maaaiiii… mai bine ma duc la Real si o cumpar gata facuta! Ba nu! Ca acolo o bucatica cat palma costa si mai mult, parca! Hmmmm… Ma uit alaturi, 120,… Mai ceva! Nu se poate, renunt… spre capatul raftului vad alta cutie! Sub ea, pretul 49,99 lei! E! parca suna altfel. Ma apuc sa citesc ce scrie pe cutie. Ce bine… uite si reteta… Mai cumpar niste cutii de “Pomodori pelati” (nu stiu de ce, dar numai a rosii decojite nu-mi suna) si plec victorios spre casa. Nu va mai spun ce am mai cumparat, ca nu e relevant. Citesc pe cutie ca pastele se pun in lasania, asa cum sunt, nefierte. Maaaai, n-am mai auzit! Dar asa o fii. Ce stiu eu! Mai citesc cateva indicatii de preparare de care nu pot spune ca am fost multumit pe deplin. Asa ca mi-am facut propria reteta. Iata cum:

Ingrediente: o cutie de paste pentru lasania, carne de porc tocata, o ceapa potrivita, cascaval, smantana, o cutie de rosii decojite, unt, sare dupa gust. Nu dau cantitati, ca se pune dupa cum va place.

Intr-un vas de sticla termorezistenta (de preferat dreptunghiulara, nu faceti ca mine… eu am pus in una rotunda si a trebuit sa rup pastele) se pune ulei, cat sa fie bine unsa. Puneti apoi foile de lasania, asa cum sunt, nefierte. Eu am pus cam doua straturi. Puneti apoi carnea tocata pe care o amestecati inainte cu ceapa calita in ulei de palmier (ca asta e la moda… dar merge orice ulei). Apoi puneti 3 rosii din conserva, taiate in felii subtiri. Turnati si zeama care iese din rosii cand le taiati. Puneti o cescuta de apa, cat sa acopere primul rand de paste. Eu nu am pus si la fundul vasului au ramas cam… crocante. Sau puteti sa nu puneti apa, daca va plac mai crocante. Mie mi-au placut si asa. Presarati putina sare. Adaugati apoi cam doua linguri de smantana si acoperiti cu cascaval ras. Eu am avut trei feluri de cascaval: cu verdeata, picant-cu ardei iute si cascaval afumat. Prima data am pus cascavalul cu verdeata. Puneti al doilea strat de paste, apoi carne tocata, rosii taiate, suc de rosi, sare, smantana si cascaval ras. De data asta am pus un amestec de cascaval picant si cascaval afumat. Taiati deasupra feliute subtiri de unt (4-5 feliute e suficient) si bagati la cuptor, cam 20-30 minute. Uitati-va din cand in cand sa vedeti cand sunt gata. Daca s-au rumenit deasupra si au capatat o culoare aramie, inclusiv pe peretii vasului inseamna ca e gata. Practic, pastele se fierb in cuptor, in sosul format din rosii, ulei, smantana si zeama de carne. Au iesit delicioase!

Pofta buna!