This has been a rough week.  I am not motivated to cook or be creative at all.  I am waiting to the last possible second to start dinners and I end up scrambling around to see what we have to make.  I am thankful for my list of monthly meals to choose from but sometimes, like tonight, even that fails me.  This dinner was supposed to be Pizza Stuffed Shells but when I went to get the shells from the pantry I forgot to buy them at the grocery store at the beginning of the month, grrrr.

So, quick thinking needed.  Pizza Lasagna it is.

I have been in a pizza mood lately.  There is a pizza joint near the lake so every time we drive by I want pizza more and more.

So this was my compromise.  I served it with a green salad and a side of garlic green beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) box of lasagna noodles, boiled to al dente
• 1 (12 oz.) container of Ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. parsley
• 3 cups of cheese,grated,  I used all the leftover pieces in my fridge (Monterey Jack, Colby and Cheddar)
• 2 (16 oz.) jars of pizza sauce *See note below recipe
• 1 package of sliced pepperoni
• 1 (16 oz.) package of fully cooked chicken sausages, sliced, (I used red pepper and mozzarella flavored)
• Your favorite pizza toppings.  Be creative:  mushrooms, olives, onions, red peppers, bacon, banana peppers, etc…

Directions:

1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13×9 pan with non-stick spray.
2. Pour 1/2 jar of pizza sauce in the bottom of the 13×9 pan and spread it evenly to cover the bottom of the pan.
3. Layer 4 – 5 cooked noodles in the bottom of the pan to completely cover the pizza sauce in the bottom of the pan.
4. In a bowl mix ricotta, oregano, garlic powder, egg and parsley in a bowl to well mixed.  Add 1/2 cup of your grated cheese to the ricotta mix and stir well.
5. Spread 2/3 of the ricotta mix over the noodles.  Be gentle in spreading so that the noodles do not tear or move in the pan.
6. Add 4-5 noodles over the ricotta layer to completely cover the cheese.  I usually layer in the opposite direction of the first layer to help add stability to the lasagna.  ie. If I layer the first layer of noodles on the bottom of the pan lengthwise I will layer the second layer width-wise across the pan trimming the ends to fit.
7. Pour rest of first jar of sauce over the noodles and spread to cover all noodles evenly.
8. Add pepperoni slices in rows to cover all the noodles and sauce (picture below).
9. Add sliced sausage over the pepperoni layer.
10. 
11. Dollop the rest of the ricotta mixture over the sausage layer and gently spread as much as possible.
12. Add another layer of 4-5 noodles to cover ricotta and sausage.
13. Sprinkle noodle layer with 1 cup of cheese.  Add the rest of your “pizza” toppings to cover the cheese.
14. Add final layer of noodles and cover with 1/2 jar of pizza sauce.
15. Cover lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
16. Remove lasagna from oven and remove aluminum foil.  Cover with rest of cheese and return to oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
17. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Note:

If you do not have pizza sauce make it with spaghetti sauce and add spices to make it more “pizza” flavored.  Empty a jar of spaghetti sauce into a bowl and add garlic powder, dried oregano, onion powder, salt and pepper to your taste.  I use TONS of oregano in ours as that is what my family likes.