I love taking a great, flavorful dish that has always stood on its own and adapting it to the grill. Infusing an already savory recipe with a little bit of smoky flavor can't be beat.

I've been wanting to try lasagna on the grill for a long time, and it just so happened I had some homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs in the freezer from a recent family spaghetti dinner.

You can try this with any store-bought sauce and meatballs or, if you prefer, an Italian sweet or hot sausage, or even seasoned ground beef. Whatever meat you use, be sure to grill it for the best flavor and grind it down before building and layering the lasagna.

GRILLED LASAGNA
1 pound lasagna noodles, or enough for 4 layers in a 9-by-13-inch rectangular baking dish

2 cups whole-milk mozzarella, shredded

1 cup extra sharp cheddar, shredded

1 1/2 pounds of ground meat

4 cups marinara sauce

1 cup small-curd cottage cheese

1 cup grated parmesan

1 teaspoon each of fresh basil, oregano, chives, thyme and parsley, or 1/2 teaspoon of each, dried.

paprika

Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente.

Mix the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.

Heat the grill to medium and cook the meat to your liking. Keep the grill at medium heat, using only one burner to leave room to bake the lasagna over indirect heat.

Mix the cooked ground meat with half of the the sauce. Coat the bottom of the baking dish with the meatless sauce and add the first layer of noodles, slightly overlapping. Cover the noodles with meat sauce, then cover evenly with 1/4 of the cottage cheese, then cover evenly with 1/4 of the mozzarella/cheddar mixture and 1/4 cup parmesan. Sprinkle the herbs (minus the chives) over top, reserving enough herbs for each successive layer. Cover with noodles and repeat.

Add the chives to the final sprinkle of herbs on the top layer along with a sprinkling of paprika.

Grill covered for about an hour or until golden brown and bubbly. Avoid lifting the grill often as you will lose a lot of heat. Throw on some sliced, buttered and seasoned Italian or French bread and grill until the edges are crispy and golden.

Remove the lasagna and let it set up for at least 15 minutes before cutting. A hearty red wine, such as a Chianti, would round it out perfectly. Enjoy!