Just me, but since lasagna noodles are cheap anyway, I wouldn't risk a batch of lasagna by mixing them. It might be just fine and most likely would be, but I would buy another box ($1.00-$2.00?) and use all the same kind. Just my 2 cents. OT, I spent the time to make my own fresh pasta one time for lasagna and it really wasn't worth the effort. Couldn't tell any difference for the extra time and bother. But Linda, that sounds like a great idea for using some of the summers' bounty! I might have to do that too! Duane

There are some very dry, high quality, Italian dried lasagna noodles that I've tried that really require boiling. Or, I should say, you can put the pasta in dry, but it'll soak up all the moisture, giving you a dry lasagna unless you use a lot of very thin sauce. The best way I've found is to use fresh pasta, if possible, or the regular dry boxed like DeCecco, Barilla or Ronzoni. My experience with no bake pasta is that it's like those flat sponges that pop up when wet. It's no easier than regular boxed pasta and has a weird flavor and texture. THE TRICK: Before you lay out all your ingredients (but after they're prepared), fill a baking dish with hot tap water and soak the pasta until pliable. Don't pack them in so they don't stick together. It'll take about 10 minutes. You can do it in your lasagna pan, then lay the pasta out on a towel. You can use your fingers to kind of squeegee the pasta if the water clings. This sounds a lot more complicated than it is. It's just softening the noodles so you can wrap the sides, and so it won't wick away all the water, without all the mess and aggravation of boiling. Unless you leave them in the water way too long, they don't get waterlogged and make the lasagna wet, like boiled noodles can. I always bake immediately. Eggs in the ricotta (one per pound) are the secret to lightness and stability. They help keep the whole thing from going soupy and slide-y. It's probably overcaution, especially as my eggs are less likely to have salmonella as the ones from the big factory farms, but still... If I'm planning to reheat the whole lasagna, I'll only cook it until it's set, and at a lower temperature to keep down the browning. For reheating, I set it out to take the chill off (or thaw) and bake at the same time and temperature it's meant to cook at originally. You can test the middle with a small knife or fat skewer. Pull it out and feel if the metal got hot and if the residue is at a good temperature. I've never had the pasta go mushy in the freezer, but in a casserole style lasagna, it isn't al dente either. It can still be firm, but will be completely yielding. That happens during the first bake. The kind of lasagna that you make by stacking a single portion on a plate can be al dente. :) BUT, I don't make soupy lasagna. It doesn't leak all over the place when cut. Perhaps the pasta would get mushy if there were a ton of loose liquid in it. If that's case, unless you want to wrap the pan, don't bother wetting the pasta. You can use regular pasta dry out of the package, and let it soak up the excess liquid. Good luck! Lasagna generally freezes beautifully.

I think there is some basic misunderstanding about how a lasagna garden is built, used, and planted. So some more research into it, preferably with the original source, might be very helpful. Not sure where you have been reading about it but its a bit more than "just throwing layers on top of what you've got". First it isn't built and then immediately planted. It has to decompose somewhat first, to compost. That takes time, building it well in advance of planting. Second, it contains many alternating layers of soil as well as planting pockets of soil with the alternating layers of carbons and nitrogens so minerals isn't an issue and neither in water retention. And the more diverse your layer components, the better the bed. In other words a bed made of alternating layers of leaves and grass clippings isn't a lasagna bed. One made of multiple alternating layers of shredded leaves, leaf mold, compost, grass clippings, straw, hay, dirt, fruit and vegetable scraps, hair, flowers, coffee grounds, tea leaves, etc. is a good one. Third, it is supposed to be quite tall when built so it can settle as it decomposes and is frequently refreshed with new ingredients. So it is quite deep to begin with so even tap root plants at 2-3' long would be well grown before reaching the sand. Hope this helps. Dave

Where was this question for the past few days.? I thought I had somehow messed up and didn’t post it. Thanks for the responses. The turkey breast is still in the meat drawer. I plan to give it a good hard sniff tomorrow afternoon and if it is at all suspicious I will run out and get another. My grocery store always has thawed turkeys for procrastinators.