I live overseas and can't always get the right ingredients, so I am a veteran substituter. When I want lasagna, dang it!, I want lasagna, and a few missing ingredients won't stop me. I've found you can substitute blender cottage cheese for ricotta, jarred spaghetti sauce for the canned tomato sauce when you can't get all the right spices, fresh basil is always great--just don't cook the life out of it, add it at the end. And I never cook my noodles, it's an unnecessary extra step (but the flat kind work best with this method, not the ruffled--the ruffles can poke out and burn.) All that said, there is no substitute for mozzarella cheese or Italian sausage. If you can't get them, don't bother. Otherwise, be brave. It's lasagna. It's hard to ruin and this recipe is an excellent guide.

Reviewed On: Jan. 31, 2013