Ed's Modified But Still Extra Easy Meat Lasagna

I find it a bit surprising that I have not yet posted a lasagna recipe, but that might be a result of never learning how to make one from my dad. I still need to learn his recipe. Until then, I've found an "Extra Easy Lasagna" recipe from myrecipes.com, and, of course, modified it.
You expected that, I'm sure.
Here's my version:
Ed's Modified But Still Extra Easy Meat Lasagna Recipe

24 oz. Sausage
2-24oz Cans or Jars Spaghetti Sauce (see note)
9 Uncooked Lasagna Noodles (regular or whole wheat)
1-15oz Container Ricotta Cheese
3 Cups grated Mozzarella or Italian Cheese
1/3 Cup Hot Water

Crumble and brown sausage in a large skillet while pre-heating the oven to 375 degrees. Drain off the fat, and stir in both containers of spaghetti sauce. Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish with about a quarter of the meat and sauce mixture, then layer three of the uncooked noodles on it. Spread about a quarter of the Ricotta cheese thinly on top of the noodles, and then layer about a half-cup of shredded cheese on it. Repeat layering with meat sauce, noodles, and cheeses, twice, retaining at least a cup of shredded cheese for later. Pour the hot water around the edge of the noodles. Tightly cover the dish with two layers of aluminum foil. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes (until hot in the center). Uncover the Lasagna, cover with the remaining shredded cheese, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note on Spaghetti Sauce selection: I recommend using two different sauces in this recipe, but be careful about which. Four cheese may clash with the Ricotta, meat may clash with the sausage. Traditional should go fine, as will tomato and basil, chunky garden style, and many others. You may even want to try this recipe with some kinds of Alfredo sauce and let me know how it comes out!

Chicken Soup

Folks-
I finally sat down and wrote out my chicken soup recipe, the one I first mentioned when I posted my moms egg noodle recipe. There are a bunch of variations that I have come up with that I'll mention after the main recipe.
Here it is! Enjoy!

Chicken soup

1 lb raw skinned chicken, diced

1 batch noodles (or 1 package egg noodles)

3 carrots, sliced

3 celery stalks, sliced

2 T olive oil

1/4 onion, diced

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

8 cups water and 8 teaspoons (or 8 cubes) chicken bouillon, or 8 cups chicken stock

In a large pot, sauté the chicken and garlic in the olive oil until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Add the vegetables and stir-fry until tender. Throw in the Italian seasoning, then add the water and bouillon and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium, add noodles and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Variations: You can use commercial dry egg noodles instead of the homemade noodles if time is an issue, but you run the risk of the soup tasting a lot like a commercial soup. I recommend frozen noodles over dry. Frozen noodles can be found in many supermarket frozen food sections by the frozen breads or pastas. Look for frozen ravioli, it'll probably be on the bottom shelf if they carry them. You may need two bags. Experiment and have fun!

You can use already cooked chicken, such as rotisserie chicken (yay Costco!), leftover fried chicken, or canned chunk chicken breast, or leftover turkey. Simply skip the step of browning the chicken and stir-fry the veggies instead.

I usually don't make a single batch of this soup. Usually I buy enough eggs, chicken, celery, and carrots for at least two batches, cut it up, and freeze the veggies in a ziplock bag, freeze the chicken in another (smaller) bag, and the noodles in another bag, and put the seasonings in a sandwich bag. I end up putting the various bags together in the freezer and then up to a month later, stir-fry the chicken and veggies, add the water and seasonings, bring to a boil and add the noodles and boil 10 minutes for a quick dinner.