Garden Herb Lasagna

I promised you a big reveal on Ryan's big decision about college - so here it is. 

Subtle - I know.
Yes, Ryan will officially be a freshman at Valdosta State in August. 

He is beyond excited about starting his college career.  As for me, not so thrilled that he is going to be 5 hours away from home but glad to see him happy about school.

It's not hard to see why he loves Valdosta - palm trees, Spanish moss, warm weather and close to the beach.

Who wouldn't want to live there?

To celebrate the end of Ryan's high school career and the beginning of his college career, we had a celebratory dinner.  (Because that's just how we roll in this house.)

Not just an ordinary dinner though - individual garden herb lasagnas with homemade pasta noodles!

Oh yea - you heard that right - Homemade pasta noodle lasagna in individual dishes!!!  What - what?

It took a little extra time to make this lasagna but it was well worth it - it was delicious.  Well, Ben and I thought it was delicious.  Both kids scraped off the tomatoes and cheese and ate the plain noodles. 

This recipe was adapted from Taste of Home magazine.

Homemade Pasta Dough
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour

Garden Herb Lasagna
1 recipe pasta dough
1 cup ricotta
1 egg white
2 Tablespoons shredded carrot
1 Tablespoons fresh basil
1 Tablespoon minced green onions
1 teaspoon fresh mint
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup crumbled queso
4 cups tomatoes

Pasta Dough
Whisk together first 6 ingredients.

Make a circle of flour on the counter.  Make a well in the center.  Pour egg mixture into the center if flour and working with a fork, slowly incorporate wet ingredients into flour until all is combined.  Knead dough until smooth.

Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes.  While dough rests, combine ricotta, egg white, carrot, basil, green onion and mint.

Crumble in queso.

Chop tomatoes.








Slice a small piece of dough from pasta.  Use a rolling pin to roll into a long length.

I used a pasta maker to get my dough nice and thin.

Place 1 noodle at a time in a pot of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.

Cool.  Lay the end of the noodle inside a mini loaf pan.  Spread 1 Tablespoon cheese mixture on top. 

















Top with fresh tomatoes.
















Fold noodle over filling.  Repeat layering until you reach the top of the pan.











Sprinkle additional queso and tomatoes on top.

Bake 30 minutes at 350.

Sprinkle with fresh basil.

 Let sit in pans for 10 minutes then carefully remove from pans.

This maybe my new favorite lasagna recipe.  Not so kid friendly but what do they know?  This was crazy good.  A little labor intensive, but soo worth it.  Ryan is definitely not going to get this from the Valdosta cafeteria next year.

Ciao!