For Valentine’s Day, my gift to Jeff was to cook him dinner.  Since Jeff loves food, especially home cooked meals, it worked out to be the perfect gift.  For dinner, I made him my special lasagna:

 

 

For dessert, I made a luscious chocolate dessert with a twist… marshmallow filled chocolate souffle.

If you’re interested in the recipes click for more.

Heather’s Quick New York Lasagna

1 16 oz package of lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 lb Lean Ground Beef

1 onion chopped

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

32 oz Tomato Sauce

15 oz ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon of dried basil

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and lay lasagna flat on foil to cool.

2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and saute onions until translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

3. Add the ground beef and saute until the meat is browned. Stir in Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Add 2 1/2 cups of tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Mix together ricotta and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.

5. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Lay down a layer of noodles over the sauce. Layer the meat mixture over the noodles and sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the meat. Place another layer of noodles over the meat mixture. Spread the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Place another layer of noodles down and cover with the remaining meat mixture and another 1/3 of mozzarella cheese. Place another layer of noodles over the meat mixture and cover with remaining tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the basil over the top of the cheese.

6. Cook the lasagna in the microwave for 10 minutes. Let sit for 3-5 minutes and serve.

For dessert, I made Molten Marshmallow’s Chocolate cakes but next time I would make it with 1 1/2 cups of chocolate instead.