BIG, Fancy Schmancy Anniversary Dinner!

WOWZERS!!!!!!

So I got to COOK for our anniversary!!! Don't worry, y'all. Alex is an ideal husband and offered to take me out but I decided to make us a fancy dinner at home!! He's talking about taking me out on Saturday still... but I let him know I was expecting Panera bread in MI, so if he prefers to wait till then it wouldn't bother me :). Anyways, I made a couple recipes from the "Eating in... Out" section on razzledazzlerecipes.com- Olive Garden recipes, of course :). 5-Cheese Lasagna, with salad, jello, and a lemon cake recipe also from Olive Garden! Boy, were we STUFFED!! As you can see, we also had some sparking red wine... aka leftover strawberry pop from the jello :D.
Anyways, here's the lasagna recipe, and scroll down for the rest of them!!

Olive Garden Five-Cheese Lasagna

Cream Sauce:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

Melt butter with medium heat in heavy, 1-quart saucepan. Add flour and stir until well-blended; cook until frothy. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly with wire whisk as mixture comes to a simmer. Cook and stir until thickened (3-4 minutes). Chill while mixing other ingredients.

Cheese Filling:

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed), minced

1 Tbs fresh garlic, minced

3 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

3 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp black pepper

Drain and mince tomatoes and garlic. Place other cheese filling ingredients in 3-quart mixing bowl with tomatoes and garlic. Add 1 1/2 cups cooled cream sauce and mix until well blended. Refrigerate, reserving 1/2 cup for later use.

Other:

3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup spinach lasagna noodles or regular if unavailable (what's up with this cup measurement, I don't know... but according to the assembly instructions, you need 15 noodles! I always keep having to cook a few more... and then a few more... and then I finally study the recipe, count them up, and do the rest. How annoying!!)

Marinara sauce, as desired

1 cup fontina cheese

Extra Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Cool lasagna noodles according to package directions. Cool under cold water and drain.

Assembly:

Place 3 lasagna noodles in a 9x13x2" lightly oiled baking dish, overlapping slightly. Spread 1 1/2 cups cheese filling over noodles; sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4-cup fontina cheese.

Repeat pasta and cheese layering 3 more times; top with remaining three lasagna noodles. Spread 1/2 cup of reserved cream sauce over top and cover lightly with foil.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and keep warm at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve topped with hot marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese. (Can be refrigerated a day before baking if desired.)

THIS IS SOME GOOD LASAGNA!!!!!!!! Just in case y'all are wondering. Yep, its fancy, expensive, and time-consuming... but great for a special dinner!

Recipe from www.razzledazzlerecipes.com