Taste Everything: Secret is Homemade Noodles

It's snowing here today, and cold weather inspries warm hearty meals. The lasagna recipe below is a family favorite that we've adapted to make our own. When we make it for company they always rave about it's flavor. While my husband makes his own sauce - and we encourage you to do the same for this recipe - that's not our secret. It's homemade pasta. Making your own homemade pasta is quite easy; eggs, flour, water and a little olive oil. And, you don't need one of those fancy stand mixers which can be bulk and heavy, you only need a good old fashioned hand crank machine.

Here's what you'll need and what you'll need to do:

2 tablespoons olive oil1 cup chopped onion (1 onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey sausage

4 cups homemade pasta sauce

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Cooked lasagna noodles

15 ounces ricotta cheese

4-8 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled (the more the better)

2 tablespoons flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
9x12x2 inch baking dish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large (10- to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute more. Add the ground sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add your homemade sauce to the sausage, onions and garlic and bring to a simmer.

Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, for about 15 minutes for flavors to meld.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 x 12 x 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Next, add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one third of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.