Lasagna & Olive Cheese Bread

So I've started trying out the recipes in PW's Cookbook. So far everything has been delicious :o)

We'll start out with the Olive Cheese Bread, it's divine. Seriously you could eat this bread, add a salad, & you've got a full meal. I ate 3 pieces :oP This recipe makes a LARGE amount so feel free to cut it in half or you can refrigerate & use later in the week :o)

Here's what you need:
1 - 14.5 oz can black olives, drained
1 - 6 oz jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
2 green onions (*I actually left these out b/c I forgot to buy them)
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup real mayo
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 loaf crusty French bread (*I used Texas Toast instead)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Dice the black olives pretty tiny. Dice the green olives not so tiny :o)
Dice the green onions, if you remembered to buy them lol!
Throw all your ingredients into a bowl: olives, onions, butter, mayo, & cheese
Mix it up until it's good & combined.
Then spread it on your bread.
Bake for 20-25 minutes unless you used Texas Toast then it's more like about 10 minutes.

You can literally eat the mixture right out of the bowl. I did.


Or you can stick to the rules & wait until the bread's done :oP


The lasagna is a lil more complicated but it's SO worth it. By far the BEST lasagna I've ever made :o)
We'll start with:
10 oz lasagna noodles (*I actually only used 8 noodles - save the others for the next time)
1.5 pounds hamburger meat
1 pound hot sausage
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 - 14.5 oz cans WHOLE tomatoes
2 - 6 oz cans tomato PASTE
10-12 Basil leaves (*The market didn't have any so I left these out)
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (*Again the market was out, must've been the end of the week lol)
(*I substituted fresh oregano for the basil/parsley)
3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Most of the prep is regular ol' stuff.
Boil your noodles with salt & Tbsp of olive oil. You don't want your noodles falling apart so watch them as they boil.
Saute your hamburger, sausage, & garlic. Drain off the fat.
Add the whole can of tomatoes, juice & all, tomato paste, 1/2 tsp. salt & pepper.
Stir together well & simmer for about 30-45 minutes depending on how much time you have & how hungry you are :o)
At this point you chop up your basil & parsley(*OR oregano lol!)
Add half to your meat mixture, set the other half to the side.
In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, & the rest of the herbs you chopped. Stir well.

Now we're going to layer them all. Lay 4 noodles on the bottom of your casserole dish. Half of the cottage cheese mixture goes on top of that, spread it out. Then comes half of the mozzarella cheese YUM! Then half the meat mixture & spread. Now repeat with the remaining noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella, & meat mixtures. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before you cut into slices.

Folks it's deeeeeelicious, you've got my word. My kids licked their plates clean, no joke!