Homemade Lasagna

This lasagna is just about as homemade as I'll ever get, with exception of the sauce.  I don't think I'll ever reach the point where I make my own sausage or cheese, but the closest I could get tonight was making my own noodles.

For Christmas I received the wonderful gift of a pasta roller attachment set for my Kitchenaid, transforming this:

into this:

 into finally this tasty thing:

If you would have told me a year ago that I could and would be making my own pasta, I'd most likely have laughed and doubted the truth to the statement.  Now I laugh at myself, pasta isn't really all that intimidating.  Sure, I've been spoiled that I now have modern conveniences to assist in the pasta making, but its really all not that hard.  4 eggs, 3 1/2 cups of flour, pinch of salt, dash of water and some good old fashioned kneading.  Yes, in the long run its far more costly than the 1.29 for a box of lasagna noodles, but the taste cannot be beat.  You must try for yourself someday.  Pasta making has now made it to my list of things I would love to master before I die.  Each batch I learn something new.

Other than the noodles, this lasagna has the standard: red sauce, Italian sausage, ricotta, mozzarella and a portion with mushrooms, but the noodles made all the difference.  Definitely worth the extra time, but will most likely stay as a weekend meal.

Italian Sausage Gnocchi Soup

Ah, doughy and delicious gnocchi. I don't exactly know what these dumplings are, or where they come from, but I can tell you this much: The name looks Italian, they are a-freakin-mazing, and you can find them shrink-wrapped near the pasta at the super market.

• Brown sausage in a pan - I used about 10 ounces, but I love Italian Sausage, you could probably go as low as 5.
• Add a package of gnocchi (16 ounces), 2 cups of water, one can of italian style stewed tomatoes, one can of beef broth
• Bring to a boil and simmer until the gnocchi float (it took mine about 5 minutes)
• Top with Parmesan if you like it

The soup was easy, filling, and savory. It was rainy and cold today so I was ready for something warm and comforting. This was perfect. Give it a shot, if I can make it, you can too!