Today Reese, our family labrador, turns 9 years old. This is a huge deal because only last week we were all positive that Reese probably wasn’t going to still be around when today finally arrived. She had suddenly lost the will to get up from her bed and whimpered whenever anyone, including my 1 year old spaniel mix, tried to give her a consoling pat.  I am not telling you this to sadden you, in the last few days she has been bumbling around the backyard and running for treats.  I am telling you this because when I realized the 4-legged best friend I have had since middle school might not be around much longer, I started spending my days off laying with her on the floor and watching tv and that’s when I discovered “Giada at Home”.

Giada De Laurentiis is an Italian cook who has two programs on the Food Network. She’s also the prettiest woman I have ever seen. On this episode of “Giada at Home”, De Laurentiis was cooking a three-course meal to share with her Aunt Raffy, including these beautiful Mini Lasagnas with Sweet Corn and Mascarpone. I was so excited about what the end result would look like, and possibly too used to watching things on the DVR, that I anxiously tried to fast forward through the commercials. The lasagnas were gorgeous, and what a great idea to bake them in ramekins to make personal versions of the full-sized meal. I knew right away I wanted to make them too, but the local grocery store does not carry mascarpone and I do not know how I feel about corn being anywhere near my pasta. So I decided to use ricotta and mix it with some sun-dried tomato and mild italian sausage. I was worried since every single ingredient was different that it wouldn’t work, but they were great and SO cute. I even spoiled myself and bought brand new ramekins to use.

Recipe: Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomato Mini Lasagnas heavily adapted from Giada at Home

Makes 6 personal lasagnas

What You Need:

• 1 box lasagna sheets
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 package (5 links) mild Italian sausage
• 4 oz. sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup basil, dried and chopped
• 8 cloves garlic
• EVOO, for drizzling

What To Do:

1. Cook lasagna sheets according to package, drain.

2. Pre-heat oven to 375 F

3. In a large skillet, cook sausage until there’s no longer any pink. It does not have to brown, as it will cook again in the oven.

4. In a food processor, blend together sausage, tomatoes, ricotta, mozzerella, and basil.

5. Spray cooking oil into each other your ramekins and lay two lasagna sheets criss cross on to it, so that they make an X.

6. Put one heaping tablespoon of the sausage mixture onto the lasagna sheets and fold one of them over the mixture, closing it like a present.

7. Place another heaping tablespoon of the sausage mixture onto the top of the newly folded sheet, then fold the other one onto it. Place a little of the mixture on top of your now closed lasagna. Sprinkle a little parmesan on top and drizzle with olive oil.

8. Repeat until all of the ramekins are done. Place them onto a baking sheet so they are easier to retrieve from the oven once they are cooked.

9. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.