Sides for Lasagna

seltzermint555

To me the beauty of lasagna is it is essentially a meal all on its own. I agree salad and garlic bread are all that is needed.

Agreed. We usually do lasagna with tons of veggies in it, and no sides at all. I love the idea of salad and garlic bread though. If someone's not inclined to have quite as much pasta/bread they can just eat the salad and lasagna. Win win.

ils_1231

To me the beauty of lasagna is it is essentially a meal all on its own. I agree salad and garlic bread are all that is needed.

LOL i have the tiniest oven known to man... so im sort of hoping to make the lasagna and supplement the meal with some sides. i think i will do a salad and garlic bread like many of you have suggested but i wanted other things to "bulk" up the meal and my lack thereof being able to use a proper pan in my TINY oven. I can only fit a brownie pan in there basically.

WinoGelato

To me the beauty of lasagna is it is essentially a meal all on its own. I agree salad and garlic bread are all that is needed.

LOL i have the tiniest oven known to man... so im sort of hoping to make the lasagna and supplement the meal with some sides. i think i will do a salad and garlic bread like many of you have suggested but i wanted other things to "bulk" up the meal and my lack thereof being able to use a proper pan in my TINY oven. I can only fit a brownie pan in there basically.

Given the size of your oven, I understand better. So the portion sizes of the lasagna will be much smaller. Do you have a stove top that you can use while the oven is running? If so, maybe a sauteed vegetable, or even something like sauteed chicken since you were doing a vegetarian lasagna?

Also, my experience with lasagna is that it needs to rest for at least 10 minutes when it comes out of the oven so that it sets and doesn't fall apart when you dish it up. That will be perfect so that you can serve your salad and put the garlic bread in the oven when the lasagna is resting.

Also, what time is dinner - sounds great!

Rocbola

Salad and garlic bread.

This.

WinoGelato

Whatcha having for dessert?

eddiesmith1

here's a perfect Salad for Lasagna (I make variations on this all the time) - I'm not a Garlic bread fan but a grilled bruschetta made with Good Olive Oil and Ciabatta and maybe a ripe tomato rubbed on top after grilling

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/RCP02206/Tuscan-Kale-Salad.html

swissmish

Definitely a nice green salad to lighten it up and then garlic bread...with cheese of course

ils_1231

A salad and maybe some green beans.

Can I have your lasagna recipe??

I usually make up recipes on the fly, but the plan is :

layer spinach and white sauce :

Spinach Layer:
-raw spinach saute with garlic (put the lid on the pan to wilt the spinach / you want this on pretty low heat) -- after spinach is wilted make sure there isnt too much liquid left in spinach and chop up and mix with a bit of arugula pesto.
( you can also use frozen spinach, NEVER CANNED- there is too much of a tinny taste, just make sure that the water is drained from the spinach if using frozen)
i dont have recipe for pesto-- its just a jar that my dad sent me. if i didnt have the pesto i would just stir in a bit of milk to make it more creamy, as if you were doing creamed spinach

white sauce
-infuse milk with some thyme and oregano. (put milk into a sauce pan and simmer on LOW LOW heat. throw in springs of thyme and oregano and let sit for about 20min to half and hour) taste to see if you need to let it go longer, etc.
-remove herbs

- in a sauce pan/small pot put equal parts butter and flour to make a roux. (usually do about two tablespoons flour to 2 tablespoons butter). mix until it forms a light coloured paste
-slowly pour in milk mixture while constantly stirring to dissolve roux. simmer for 5 mins
- take off heat then add the cheese ( not sure what cheese just yet, most likely some already shredded mix of italian cheese mix bc i cant be bothered)

start with the spinach layer and just keep layering: spinach, pasta sheets, white sauce, pasta sheets, spinach, etc.

Cooking:
Depends on the pasta sheets -- see if you need to cook them first or if you can just use the sheets as is per box instructions
Cover lasagna and bake for 30 mins at 375 and then uncovered to brown the top -- make sure that the last layer is cheese!

i love to cook and usually do a meat lasagna where i make a very very wine filled bolognese sauce instead of the spinach layer, and then usually do a standard white cheese sauce for the cheese layer.

shameless plug-- thinking about starting a foodblog if you have instagram look me up @lala_cooks

ils_1231

Whatcha having for dessert?

always up for debate -- fruit and then cookies that im making for a holiday coming up this saturday

ils_1231

I usually do a cucumber salad with a bit of lemon juice, olive oil, salt pepper. Oh and can't forget the garlic bread!

this would be great!

MonaLisaLianne

Petite green beans, sautéed in a tablespoon of olive oil with a couple of cloves of fresh, chopped garlic. Frozen beans work well - I add a tiny bit of water to the skillet and cover for a short time before adding the oil & garlic.

ils_1231

To me the beauty of lasagna is it is essentially a meal all on its own. I agree salad and garlic bread are all that is needed.

LOL i have the tiniest oven known to man... so im sort of hoping to make the lasagna and supplement the meal with some sides. i think i will do a salad and garlic bread like many of you have suggested but i wanted other things to "bulk" up the meal and my lack thereof being able to use a proper pan in my TINY oven. I can only fit a brownie pan in there basically.

Given the size of your oven, I understand better. So the portion sizes of the lasagna will be much smaller. Do you have a stove top that you can use while the oven is running? If so, maybe a sauteed vegetable, or even something like sauteed chicken since you were doing a vegetarian lasagna?

Also, my experience with lasagna is that it needs to rest for at least 10 minutes when it comes out of the oven so that it sets and doesn't fall apart when you dish it up. That will be perfect so that you can serve your salad and put the garlic bread in the oven when the lasagna is resting.

Also, what time is dinner - sounds great!

thanks for the ideas -- i think thats a great idea, and ill do some sort of sauteed vegetable. its always hard because all the girls come at once and try to help and then there are too many cooks in the kitchen. ::sigh:: one day i will have a bigger kitchen. anyways thanks so much and TO EVERYONE who has contributed -- i got some good ideas

peleroja

personally, i consider lasagna a perfect, self-contained unit of food, so i'd just give everyone a big enough hunk to keep them busy for thirty minutes. but if i *had* to have a side i would mix up argula or raddachio with other greens, red onion sliced thin (soak for ten minutes in water and squeeze to take away the burn), a little shaved parm and a balsamic vinegarette. the bitter greens and onion will make the lasagna taste even more intensely rich.

have fun!

This.

thatpixichick

I'd definitely go for salad or some nice green veggies like green beans.

WinoGelato

Whatcha having for dessert?

always up for debate -- fruit and then cookies that im making for a holiday coming up this saturday

I've never made this but always wanted to - would be so easy and no oven required... would also compliment your fruit and cookies.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/david-rocco/gelato-affogato.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/affogato-recipe.html

ils_1231

Whatcha having for dessert?

always up for debate -- fruit and then cookies that im making for a holiday coming up this saturday

I've never made this but always wanted to - would be so easy and no oven required... would also compliment your fruit and cookies.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/david-rocco/gelato-affogato.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/affogato-recipe.html

yummmm im sensing an intense workout before this meal.

MrsG31

Since your oven is so small, I agree with asparagus - this recipe has turned my family into asparagus eaters and no oven needed!

http://www.ellaclaireinspired.com/2013/04/worlds-best-asparagus-quickly.html

and maybe some non-vegetarian appetizers such as these, super simple:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/salami-cream-cheese-and-pepperoncini-roll-ups/:

We also make this tried & true "salad" whenever we are invited to a cook-out:

Cucumber (sliced into chunks), tomatoes (also sliced into chucks), sliced red onion, and a bottle of Zesty Italian dressing- dump all in together and place in fridge. It really tastes better after it sits for a bit, even overnight.

WinoGelato

Since your oven is so small, I agree with asparagus - this recipe has turned my family into asparagus eaters and no oven needed!

http://www.ellaclaireinspired.com/2013/04/worlds-best-asparagus-quickly.html

and maybe some non-vegetarian appetizers such as these, super simple:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/salami-cream-cheese-and-pepperoncini-roll-ups/:

We also make this tried & true "salad" whenever we are invited to a cook-out:

Cucumber (sliced into chunks), tomatoes (also sliced into chucks), sliced red onion, and a bottle of Zesty Italian dressing- dump all in together and place in fridge. It really tastes better after it sits for a bit, even overnight.

Yum on that asparagus recipe - will have to try that one. Non vegetarian appetizers would be good. On the lines of the asparagus - one of my tried and true appetizers is proscuitto wrapped asparagus, drizzel with a little olive oil and cracked black pepper and then either grill or roast in the oven for about 10 minutes. They are still good even served at room temp so you could make them ahead and serve them at room temp so you aren't competing with the lasagna for the oven space.

I'm just enjoying vicariously planning a girls supper club dinner - sounds like so much fun!

ils_1231

Since your oven is so small, I agree with asparagus - this recipe has turned my family into asparagus eaters and no oven needed!

http://www.ellaclaireinspired.com/2013/04/worlds-best-asparagus-quickly.html

and maybe some non-vegetarian appetizers such as these, super simple:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/salami-cream-cheese-and-pepperoncini-roll-ups/:

We also make this tried & true "salad" whenever we are invited to a cook-out:

Cucumber (sliced into chunks), tomatoes (also sliced into chucks), sliced red onion, and a bottle of Zesty Italian dressing- dump all in together and place in fridge. It really tastes better after it sits for a bit, even overnight.

woah that asparagus looks good.

i do it the way my mom taught me. first you steam the asparagus either in the micro or stove top and then you put pam and sea salt in a frying pan and char the asparagus. works best on skinny vs. fat ones.