a lasagna story

Last week, I decided to cook a lasagna we could eat throughout the week. The week's schedule only allowed us one evening at home together and I knew making lasagna would feed the two of us for several meals, whether lunches or dinners.

Being a bit too confident, I neglected to look up a recipe specifically for vegetable lasagna. Instead, I decided to follow the recipe on the box (as I often do when making lasagna) and simply substitute vegetables for meat in the layering process.

As I put it together, I loved the color contrast of red and green. The only veggie I pre-cooked was broccoli. I decided the mushrooms and spinach would cook in the 45 minutes or more it was in the oven.

The broccoli made for a challenge when fitting it into the pan, but I decided it would fall as everything cooked. However, I didn't anticipate the real cause for concern that emerged once I served up a few pieces...

Honestly, the lasagna tasted great, but wasn't pretty. Has that every happened to you? I think it was a combination of ingredients. I've isolated the two culprits to spinach and cottage cheese. I'm wondering if I used ricotta and cooked the spinach ahead of time, it would eliminate the watery mess.

So, this isn't a recipe post as I had hoped. I took lots of photos as I assembled it, but sometimes things just don't work out as planned. Since my word of the year is grace, I thought I should share this failure to keep things honest. Even though the lasagna didn't look good, it didn't warrant being throwing away.

Here's hoping your week is great, even if it isn't perfect (or pretty)!