It's Christmas Eve! Go BIG or Go Home...

Ok, I'll admit it, when I entertain my biggest fear is that we'll run out of food before the party's over. I'm like that. I can't help it. So of course when it comes time for folks to leave, you can bet I'm in the kitchen trying to foist leftovers on anyone with one hand free.

I also worry that the food I cook won't have enough flavor. So in honor of the holidays (the perfect excuse to eat and drink in excess after all), I give you our Christmas Eve tradition. Yes folks, it's time for Deb's Go BIG or Go HOME Spinach Lasagne recipe. It's big on flavor, big on calories and it's labor intensive, BUT it's worth it!

What you'll need

• 2 Boxes Lasagne Noodles (We're gluten free in our house so I use Pasta Joy)
• 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 can Hunt's Four-Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbs sugar
• 4 tbs butter
• 4 tbs olive oil
• One large onion chopped
• 2 lbs of Italian sausage (patties or removed from casings)
• 1 lb of ricotta
• 2 eggs
• Big handful of parsley, finely chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 scallions, minced
• 2 small bags of frozen spinach
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup grated pizza cheese
• ½ cup grated pepper jack cheese
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Get out your large, DEEP lasagne pan. Don't use that skimpy 9 x 12” baking pan you use for brownies. It won't be deep enough. Buy one of those disposable aluminum lasagne pans they sell in Wegmans or if you're really feeling like a splurge, go order yourself one of these.

Open all three cans of sauce and dump 'em in a dutch oven along with the oregano and the sugar. Cover and turn the flame on medium.

Sauté the minced garlic and scallions 'til softened in 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs olive oil. Place on a small plate to cool.

Saute chopped onion in the rest of the butter and olive oil 'til it's transluscent. Add the italian sausage and cook through. When it's done, place it in small batches in the food processor and pulse 'til the texture is more fine. Add to the sauce and continue cooking on low.

Place both bags of frozen spinach into a large skillet with about a cup or a cup and a half of water and a little salt. Cook 'til the water is almost gone. Add a heaping tablespoon of the garlic/scallion mixture and the heavy cream. Cook 'til the cream reduces a bit and starts to thicken up, then process the heck out of it with an immersion blender 'til it looks a little like baby food. Trust me on this. Stir in the grated cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in a large bowl to cool. Try not to eat it all yourself.

After you've cleaned the food processor bowl, process the ricotta, eggs, the rest of the garlic/scallions, the chopped parsley. Add a good helping of salt and pepper. Taste it for seasoning after it's blended. Yes, I know it has raw eggs in it. Just taste it already. It won't kill you. You must be sure it has enough salt and pepper. Set aside.

Time to layer! Layer of sauce, layer of noodles, layer of ricotta (and by ricotta I mean ALL the ricotta), layer of sauce and mozzerella, more noodles, layer of creamed spinach (yes, ALL of it), more noodles, layer of sauce. You should be up to the top of the pan or out of noodles by now. Add more sauce to fill in around the edges. Cover with foil and bake immediately or stash it in the frig 'til later. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove foil, load up the top with more cheese and bake 'til browned and bubbly. Let it sit for a bit so it comes out looking like this:

 Oh don't I wish!! Who's lasagne ever comes out of the pan looking all neat and fresh like this?

This year I doing something I was taught never to do. I'm experimenting on our unsuspecting guests and trying something brand new – NOT cooking the noodles before I layer them in the pan. I read about it on the internet so it must be true, right?

Merry Christmas everyone! Now, eat up while it's hot!

UPDATE! The no-bake method worked like a charm. I will never boil lasagne noodles again!!