Fake Baking

Don't worry, this post is not about tanning. It's about lasagna. (But if you'd like my opinion on tanning, it's simple...don't do it!)

Yesterday I spent all afternoon cleaning. I scrubbed the main bathroom from top to bottom.

I think I earned the 'fiance of the year' award because I even cleaned out the drain. (Ew!!) Have you done this before? It's simple...but disgusting. Don't worry, none of these pictures are gross. There's no way I would subject you to that!

First, under the sink unscrew the cap holding the drain-pull in place.

Then, pull the drain-pull out of the pipe.

Put on your gloves!

You should now be able to pull the drain stopper out of the sink. If you didn't clean this yesterday, it's probably gunky and disgusting.

You can clean the stopper, as well as the inside of pipe...an old toothbrush works well for this! However, don't run the water until you reattach the drain pull and retighten the cap!

You can put everything back together in the opposite order. The only 'tricky' part is making sure you get the drain-pull into the little hole on the bottom of the drain stopper.

After all of that fun, I did the dishes and some laundry. Then I realized I was hungry! I scoped out the fridge to see what was available. I wanted something filling. I found some vegan sausages. These are really good, but I'm still trying to figure out if that much wheat gluten upsets my stomach. :/

I also found some garden-fresh green onions and garlic that a coworker gave to me.

I decided to use these to make a chunky tomato sauce that I'd layer with pasta for a 'lasagna bowl'! I sautéed the onions and garlic then added a can of petite diced tomatoes.

I added some dried seasonings, but then I remembered I have a basil plant growing in my garden! Ain't nothin like freshly picked herbs!

After the tomatoes cooked down for a little bit (and I mashed them up with a wooden spoon) I added one of the sausages that I had crumbled and sautéed, as well as the fresh basil.

Meanwhile, I boiled some pasta. The only pasta I had in the house were about 6 manicotti tubes. I broke them up and decided they'd be perfect for my 'lasagna bowl'.

I built the bowl by layering Chunky Tomato Sauce

Cottage Cheese (This might sound weird, but I grew up eating lasagna made with cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Plus, I almost always have cottage cheese on hand. I'm sure ricotta would work well here, too.)

And Cooked Pasta Pieces

I did two layers and then topped it with a bit more sauce and some grated Romano cheese.

Yum! This was super filling. And I made enough for 2 servings, so I packed up the rest for lunch the next day!

After 'fake baking' some lasagna, I did some real baking! I made a batch of banana muffins to use up some super-ripe bananas.

Good for breakfast, but also good for dessert!