Helping out Mama: with Craftzilla Conquers the World

While I'm waiting for baby to arrive and enjoying those first few moments once Pip has arrived I've got a few wonderful ladies looking after my blog. So grab a cup of tea, sit back, and get ready to meet some fantastic people! 

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Hi lovely readers of Newfoundlander at Heart –Gillian from here! Since I’m writing this post to run while Margot is taking some time off after having Pip, I figured what better thing to share than a casserole dish? Personally whenever I visit a friend who has just had a baby, I forgo (most) of the usual adorable presents and make sure to bring a casserole or a giant pan of lasagna, because let’s face it, cooking takes too much time when you need to get used to a new schedule and stare at tiny baby fingers and toes for most of your day. A friend came to visit a few weeks ago, and she makes an awesome spinach noodle casserole, so we decided to make our own version of it.

Here’s what you need:
Box of lasagna noodles
Package of frozen spinach  

For sauce:
1 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
About ½ cup flour
About ¼- ½ cup milk
2-3 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
Mozzarella cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

For topping:
½ cup breadcrumbs
Mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

Instructions
Prepare: Boil 12 -15 lasagna noodles and the frozen spinach in two different pots, according to the directions on the packages.

Saute: In a frying pan, sauté the onions until they’re golden brown, and then add in the minced garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes.

Make the sauce: Now, here comes the tricky bit – the amounts of the flour, milk, butter and oil above are estimates/ranges just because you may need more or less of these to make the sauce thicken properly. Begin by adding the flour to the onion and garlic mixture, a bit at a time, stirring it in until you have what resembles a paste of onions, garlic and flour. Start to add in some of the milk, again stirring constantly and adding milk just until the point that you have what looks like a thin sauce. You may have to stir a bit with a whisk to get the flour lumps out.

Now add in some butter and oil and stir into the sauce until everything is melted and combined. What you’re looking for is a shiny sauce that isn’t sticky. A good way to test is to have some sauce on a wooden spoon and run a finger across it. If you can do so easily, the sauce is done. One more step –stir about 2/3 of the cheese in to the sauce (reserve the remaining third of for the topping)

Assemble the casserole: Start with 3 or so lasagna noodles in the bottom of your dish, add a layer of sauce, then a layer of spinach. Continue until you run out of noodles, sauce and spinach, ending with a layer of noodles, sauce and spinach.

Topping: Add grated cheese on top of the last layer, and then cover that with a healthy covering of breadcrumbs. Bake: Bake at 350 F for about 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.

I’d love to know if any of you give this recipe a try, so make sure to come and pay me at visit at my online home and let me know!

 ♥ Craftzilla