Sometimes you just have to fake it....

My parents both avow that I get my cooking prowess from my Gran. She came of age in the Depression, and never wasted a thing - especially not food. And it's true. I hate to waste food. Which is why I eat week-old leftovers without batting an eye, and have been known to push food beyond its expiration date. Sometimes I'll be in the kitchen making something, and I've been known to just open the fridge or cabinet and just see what's in there that I can add to whatever it is I'm making. Leftover bacon? Into the spaghetti sauce! Extra cheese? I've been wanting to have a panini! Whenever this occurs, I proceed to call what ever it is I'm making an "invention," and I refer to the process of creating my invention as "Granning it up." But the other day, I was making a lasagna with what I had THOUGHT enough ingredients purchased at the grocery store, but as it turns out.... I was shy a few items.

I went through the fridge and gathered everything I needed to get started - oops, that ground turkey expired yesterday - NEVER MIND - and hopped to it.

First thing I was low on: lasagna noodles.

I'd checked to see that there was a box in the cupboard, but I didn't look IN the box. There were only six noodles. Hmmmmm.... what to do, what to do.... Oh! I know! I'll use what's left in this box of giant shells. Should I stuff the shells or just pile them in a layer? I could stuff them with this meat mixture I've made... but it's awfully hot; I'll get burned. Oh! I know! I'll stuff the cottage cheese/egg/spinach/basil (the recipe called for parsley, but I saw the basil when I peeked in the crisper and used that instead) mixture and make a layer of stuffed shells in the middle of the lasagna.

makes perfect sense to me

Next thing I was low on: cheese.

I knew we had some cheese but I didn't know how little there was. So I grabbed what little mozzarella was left, what little Parmesan was left and then - spied what was left of a ball of mozzarella I'd used in a Caprese salad. PERFECT. One layer of normal mozzarella, one of cut up mozzarella ball.

I cobbled this sad little lasagna together into this:

those cubes are the mozzarella ball I cut up

Now this was pretty tricky, because now I had thirty minutes before I had to leave and go watch a soccer game, so I ended up turning on the oven, covering it in foil and cooking it for 30 minutes, then flipping the oven off as I walked out the door, and hoped the whole thing would be cooked when we returned a couple hours later.

I fully expected a mess when we returned, but to my surprise:

perfect! i broiled the top and it was done!

Invention Lasagna.

In the interest of full disclosure I should tell you that I also made this over a week ago and ate the last piece of it for lunch yesterday. Can't waste good food!

Over and out,
M