1/24/12 Creamy Lasagna, Fresh homemade garlic french bread, and Romanesco

I would like to say that dinner tonight was absolutely amazing!
I haven't made lasagna in quite a while because it is fairly time consuming but it sounded so good. I figured I might as well put my heart and soul into and go for the gusto so I made my own noodles. I also used to buy pre-shredded mozzarella but decided to buy the roll instead. Maybe it's all in my head but I think it made it taste that much better. I'm also not a huge fan of ricotta so I choose to use cream cheese.
Here is my recipe:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/3 cup water
1 garlic clove minced
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1/4 cup of milk
cooked lasagna noodles
lots of mozzarella cheese
plenty of Parmesan cheese

Brown meat and then add onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, water, garlic, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Combine cream cheese and milk in saucepan, stir over low heat until smooth. In 13x9 baking pan layer noodles, meat mixture, cream cheese mixtures, mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat layers and end with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Romanesco is a vegetable that we have never tried before. We received it in our "Box of Good" from Klesick Farms. It basically resembles an alien cross between broccoli and cauliflower. It takes more like broccoli. I tossed with some oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. I then sprinkled on some Parmesan cheese and baked at 350 for 20 minutes.

 

This homemade meal would not be complete without some fresh french bread. I found an recipe on allrecipes.com for french bread rolls. I followed it without dividing the bread into rolls and baked as a loaf.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/french-bread-rolls-to-die-for/detail.aspx

We received garlic in our "Box of Good" as well so it was perfect to make our own roasted garlic spread. 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-garlic-bread/detail.aspx

I hope you have the chance to try some of these recipes!

Where did I find the ingredients?
Ground Beef - Silvana Meats
Cheese - If I can't get local then I look for cheese without RBST
Romanesco and garlic - Klesick Farms organic produce delivery
Tomatoes for sauce - canned from last year
French bread - made from scratch