It has been so long since I have posted! The last few months have been a whirlwind of changes including switching up my work with a move to the community college. Couple that with the holidays and the months just seemed to fly by. A lot of my cooking lately has been haphazard and not well thought out. That “oh wow the fridge is that empty?” moment has happened a lot (thanks skimo training . . .) We’ve all been there right? Lucky for me I have a pantry that Rob thinks is ready for the apocalypse. Some nights this leads to weird and strange dinners that are utilitarian at best but on some glorious evening creativity reigns supreme. I think great recipes are often born from such circumstances rather than a longer more careful plan. Dare I say this lasagna is one of those? I used the last veggies in the fridge and odds and ends from the pantry and freezer, yes I was scouring every corner of fridge, cabinet, and freezer for anything that might scrap together into a nice meal.  Staring at the ricotta in the back of my fridge – thank goodness it has a long shelf life- I knew I had to finally get around to a making a lasagna. I LOVE lasagna in the winter, so hearty and satisfying. Looking at the pumpkin puree in the freezer leftover from making that ubiquitous pie I wondered why all the pumpkin lasagna I’ve eaten is béchamel based. I really like the flavor of pumpkin and tomato and have used this pairing a lot in spicy stews. Next came the heat from the latest batch of peppers from my brother in law. Lastly I had a bunch of slightly sad looking kale that had to get mixed in and goat cheese that was not going to age well. Gathering all this up I took a chance. This recipe really turned out to be a keeper I can’t WAIT to make it again – and take better pictures – one of these days I will get Rob to turn his photographers eye to food. This recipe was just too tasty to wait to post for better pictures. Enjoy!

Spicy Pumpkin Lasagna

• 1 package no boil lasagna noodles
• 32 oz marinara ( you can also buy it already spicy if you like)
• 2-3 teaspoons red pepper flakes  or to taste(4-5 small dried hot peppers crumbled)
• 1 15 oz container ricotta
• 2 cups pumpkin puree**
• 6 oz goat cheese
• 1 bunch kale chopped
• 1 large onion minced
• 5 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil – more to grease casserole dish
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 and lightly oil or butter a large ( 11×13 or close) casserole dish
2. Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion until soft about 3-5 minutes
3. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute
4. Add kale and cook until limp and bright green, about 5 minutes
5. Set aside veggies to cool
6. Stir red pepper flakes into tomato sauce and heat gently in a small saucepan to blend the flavors (or make your life easier and start with a spicy marinara)
7. With a fork mash pumpkin, goat cheese, and ricotta cheese, add salt and pepper to taste
8. Assemble lasagna – pour 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of prepared pan, overlapping noodles by about a third line the bottom of the pan – next using a spatula spread 1/3 of pumpkin mixture, top with 1/3 of the kale and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat two more times finishing with the noodles and topping with remaining sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and cover tightly with foil
9. Bake until cheese has melted and lasagna is bubbly about 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until brown on top
10. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before slicing and serving