Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I went through my old haven’t-tried-yet recipe cards from my Taste of Home magazines after the baby was born and pulled out a small stack that I felt I could realistically make with an infant around.  They had to be relatively easy, of course, and not require a lot of work right before dinner; one of those recipes was this Bacon-Colby Lasagna, which called for relatively few ingredients and could easily be made ahead of time.  I tried it on dance night last week, which meant that my oldest didn’t try it, but the boy was a fan.  Middle number one was deep in the sleepy throes of a virus and had zero appetite, so it’s hard to say what she thought of it; my hubby liked everything but the actual lasagna noodles (“I don’t love big noodles”), and I thought it was pretty good.  I did throw some Worcestershire sauce into the sauce for added flavor, and I cut the bacon to 3/4 of a pound (I just couldn’t bring myself to use an entire package for the one pan-full I was making).

Here’s the thing, though.  If there’s meat, cheese, and a tomato-y sauce, it’s hard not to like something as far as I’m concerned; that said, my husband summed up my feelings perfectly when I told him what was in it.  “I’m not sure that’s the best use for bacon…”

I couldn’t agree more.  Sure, the taste was pleasing.  You couldn’t necessarily taste the bacon as bacon, though; instead, it just added a smokey, savory element to the sauce.  It likely made the lasagna more filling as well–meat does–but I ended up feeling that it was a lazy choice.  Why not season the sauce for the smokey/savory effect?  (Do you know how much bacon is per pound?!)  It would be MUCH more economical (not to mention ultimately more successful).  I have better things to do with 3/4 of a pound of bacon then mix it with a pound of ground beef in a tomato sauce, and Mel’s Cowboy Spaghetti sauce has better flavor.  I did like it, and it made enough that I froze a second meal’s worth, but I probably wouldn’t bother making it again.