Butternut Squash Lasagna with Bechamel Sauce

No two times that I've made lasagna have been quite the same. The time of year as well as the seasonal produce available typically determines what I throw into the mix. The fall version combines a hint of sweet and a bunch of savory, and is infused with a creamy bechamel sauce.
Perhaps it's time to dig in.

Butternut Squash Lasagna
1 pkg no-boil lasagna noodles
6 cups bechamel sauce
2 cups spinach
16 oz. ricotta cheese
16 oz cottage cheese
1 egg
mozzerella cheese, parmesan cheese
3 cups pureed, butternut squash
1 medium onion, 3 large garlic cloves (sauteed)
1 cup sliced mushrooms

Easy Bechamel Sauce
5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups milk or half & half
2 teaspoons salt
nutmeg to taste
Recipe Directions.

1. Pre-heat oven to 400.
2. Mix ricotta, cottage cheese, 2 tsp of salt and pepper, and 1 raw egg together.

• Spread bechamel sauce on the bottom of an oval, baking dish.
• Next, layer the pasta on top of the sauce, try and cover the bottom of the pan.
• Add squash puree.
• Then another layer of pasta.
• Add final layer of ricotta/cottage cheese mixture.
• Place mushrooms, spinach and sauteed onions/garlic on top, evenly.
• Add one last layer of noodles.
• Top with bechamel sauce.

3. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, add more bechamel on top, if needed. Add a foil cover for the final 30 minutes.

Mousecapades

We may have added a roommate, or two, or maybe more. Within the past few, pre-winter months, we have realized that we have been accompanied by none other than, mice. YES, it's true! First thought (queue the dramatic tone): EEEKK, ewww, yuck, WHY, how, HOW MANY, WHERE?! Second thought: Now what? I don't say this often, but this is a perk to renting as opposed to owning; Just pick up the telephone when you have a problem, let it be known and it will be solved, for free. Our inconveniences in this rental apartment have been few and far between and when they are present, are typically fixed pronto. Mice are a little different. No quick fixes. After catching three in a trap during the first three nightly attempts, they have disappeared. Well, not so much. We still hear them scurrying about in the ceiling above our bed (lovely, I know) and in the walls. Poison was the next option. It's been about a week. Although the pitter patter has been stifled, it's still there every now and again. This might be something I might just have to ignore, or get used to for about six more months. Painful? Not really. Life? Yup. (Queue heebie jeebies).