Recipe(tried): In the spirit of Gina and Debbie D. - Sausage Potato Lasagna, Banana Chiffon Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Good morning!
I must confess I'm a habitual lurker, because, for one reason or the other, I seldom take the time to post. Well, I agree with the rest of you, I miss reading Gina's and Debbie's posts! However, I DO enjoy reading ALL of the other regulars, as well as the ladies who post now and then. So, this morning, I decided I've had enough of lurking, and in the spirit of Gina and Debbie D., I'm going to get off of my patootie and commit to posting often. Now, to get started....it's a beautiful day here in Indy, it's cold but you can tell spring is on the way. Most of our snow melted yesterday, and I can see little buds beginning to appear on the tree branches right outside my window. Today, I'm going to clean the bedrooms, get ready for tomorrow's lessons (I teach kindergarten kids who I love dearly but we are ALL SO READY for spring break in a few weeks) and go to a couple of open houses this afternoon to get some decorating ideas for my bedroom. My husband has kindly agreed to redecorate our bedroom and I need some ideas for colors, and I LOVE going to open houses for ideas. Although my husband is quite the handyman, he is SLOWER THAN MOLASSES and CHEAPER THAN FRED MERTZ (remember I Love Lucy)? Our friends call us Fred and Ethel. He insists on doing everything himself because IT'S CHEAPER THAN HIRING SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT. So redecorating our bedroom should take at least a year, on his time frame! We're both 50, work full time, and waste a lot of free time doing Heaven knows what. So bear with me as our bedroom project begins.I'll keep you posted on our lack of progress!:)
Today for dinner, I'm making some comfort food because: A) it's the weekend, and B)we have to go back to work tomorrow. So we're having Sausage Potato Lasagna, Texas Toast, and Banana Chiffon Cake for dessert. Here are the recipes:

Sausage Potato Lasagna

1 pound pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean's)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms, or 1 large jar of canned mushrooms
1 (32 oz.) package of frozen diced hash browns with green peppers and onions
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1-1/2 cups of ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP. butter
2 TBSP. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, brown the sausage, garlic, and mushrooms over medium heat. Drain.
In a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and egg.
In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until blended. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Gradually add milk to make a white sauce. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Grease a 9X13 casserole dish. Put half of the hash browns on the bottom of the dish. Top with half of the spinach mixture, half of the white sauce, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with the mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for for 45 minutes to an hour. It should be bubbly with all of the cheese melted and browned. Serves 6.

Texas Toast - comes from frozen food at Sam's Club! :)

Banana Chiffon Cake:

2-1/4 cups cake flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 TBSP. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
5 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate frosting (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center, and add bananas, oil, water, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Pour into a 10-inch tube pan sprayed with Pam. Bake at 325 degrees for 60-65 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan right away, and cool completely. Remove cake from pan and frost with chocolate frosting:

Chocolate Frosting
1 square (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate
2 TBSP. butter
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Heat the first 3 ingredients together in a saucepan on low heat just until chocolate melts. Remove from the heat. Stir in the powdered sugar until you get a good spreading consistency, and it is nice and smooth.

There you have it, I hope you all have a wonderful day and that your hearts are kissed by God's angels today!
Love,
Joansy