Spinach Lasagna

Lasagna is a totally customizable. Combining Greek yogurt or a crumbly type of cheese with a hearty sauce mimics ground beef's texture. And, as long as you build layers of flavor, you won't miss the meat. I stumbled upon marked down packages of Kroger's Private Selection sliced marbled blue white cheddar cheese, a combination I'd never noticed in any deli section. After using it on grilled cheese sandwiches, I decided to try it in another recipe.

For this version you'll need:

• 4 - 6 qt slow cooker
• 1 can chopped spinach, drained extremely well
• .5 cup Mild Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Chiles, drained extremely well
• 1.5 cup Alessi Princess Sauce with Heavy Cream
• 6 Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles
• .25 tsp black pepper
• 6 slices marbled blue white cheddar cheese
• .25 cup ketchup
• .50 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle barbeque sauce
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Spray the slow cooker's interior. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes and all sauces. Cover the bottom of the slow cooker with a thin layer of sauce. Break up enough of two noodles to almost cover the sauce. Then place another thin layer of sauce on top of the noodles. Cover with three cheese slices, keeping cheese from touching the slow cooker's sides. Season the spinach with the pepper then stir it into the remaining sauce. Almost cover the cheese layer with half of the mixture. Place more broken noodles on top. Cover with remaining cheese slices, followed by the remaining noodles. Top those with the remaining sauce mixture. Cover with shredded cheese. Cook on high for about 1.5 hours. The lasagna is done when the noodles are tender.

Comfort Suites, Jacksonville

I stayed here during a family reunion because the organizer got a good rate. Nothing about the visit ranks above average, however; the hotel may appeal to anyone wanting just a spot to sleep in. The area around the location looks up and coming with nicer hotels and a new shopping center nearby. We were able to drive to the beach in less than 30 minutes.

This Comfort Suites could benefit from refreshing the interior. The paint was flesh colored with coats upon coats. Caulking in the bathroom needed to be cleaned/replaced. Fixtures had rust spots. The shower controls were not user friendly, and the room's carpet pattern made it difficult to tell if it was dingy or just old-fashioned. Besides areas that needed dusting, hairs (at least five) left in the tub ranked as a top cleanliness issue.

On the plus side, I did appreciate the fresh fruit served at breakfast. They also had coffee, juice, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, and waffles. Each room contained a mini-fridge, coffeemaker, and a microwave.