[cc_in_oh]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

So I just finished making lasagna, my first ever. (It's cooking, as I write.)

The recipe called for 'crushed tomatoes', so I thought - OK, I put them in some large bag and run over them with my car. I later realized that this would not be feasible, since juice and seeds would get all over the road or carport.

Then I thought - OK, I have to squeeze them really hard while looking like a serial killer. I actually thought this. (Not the serial killer part.) I could imagine juice and seeds flying all over the kitchen, so obviously it didn't mean that at all. It couldn't be that. I hoped.

I then went to the computer and looked it up.

I now know what to do to make 'crushed tomatoes', but aren't you glad I wasn't politically incorrect in this sensitive age and equate 'tomatoes' with my friend Mike Shayne, Shell Scott, Ed Noon, and Mike Hammer?

So, I'm hopeful my lasagna will taste good. This has been the hardest recipe I've ever followed.

Can anyone recommend a good lasagna cookbook?

I use crushed tomatoes often because they come in a "no salt added" configuration. As near as I can figure, they fall roughly between petite diced tomatoes and tomato puree. For slow cooker stuff I think they're all pretty interchangeable, but I can see crushed being the best consistency for lasagna (which is maybe my least favorite Italian dish so I've never tried to make). Hope it turns out well for you...