I love going on trips. Coming home to a long to-do list of unpacking, laundry and bills, not so much. I usually clean out the fridge before I go away, which means I come back to whole lot of nothing to eat.

I used to order pizza or pick up something at a drive-through. But I’ve learned to plan ahead, so I can have a homemade meal after a long day of traveling.

Lasagna is the perfect make-ahead dish. You bake it ahead of time, freeze the whole thing and bake it again when you are ready to eat . You can also section the lasagna into smaller portions before freezing and microwave the individual portions whenever you are hungry.

This is a fairly traditional lasagna recipe with layers of noodles, tomato sauce, cheese and white sauce. It seems like a lot of components, but they each come together very easily. If you are running short on time, you can cheat by using jarred sauce and substitute the white sauce with a blend of cheeses like in this lasagna.

Mushrooms are great for vegetarian lasagnas. They add a lot meaty substance to the dish. I had a blend of white and brown button mushrooms on hand this time. You can mix button mushrooms with other varieties like shiitake and portobello. Slice them on the thick side because they will shrink as you sauté them.

I served this lasagna with some frozen green beans that I boiled and tossed in olive oil. I also baked a loaf of french bread that I had stashed away in the freezer. Not a bad meal for just getting back from a trip.

I hope you will plan ahead next time you go away. Because nothing says “welcome home” like a cheesy lasagna straight from the oven.

Mushroom Lasagna

For tomato sauce:

• Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
• Garlic, 3 cloves, minced
• Crushed tomatoes, 1 28-ounce can
• Bay leaf, 1 medium
• Mushrooms (button, shiitake, portobello), sliced, 3 cups

For white sauce:

• Unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons
• Flour, 2 tablespoons
• Milk, 1 1/4 cups

For lasagna:

• No-cook lasagna noodles, 12 sheets
• Parmesan cheese, grated 2 cups

Add oil to a skillet. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for about 8 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and bay leaf. Cook until the sauce thicks slightly, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Taste for salt and pepper.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Place a layer of noodles on the bottom, touching but not overlapping. Cover noodles with a quarter of the tomato sauce, then a quarter of the white sauce and a quarter of the cheese. Repeat three more times, ending with cheese on top.

Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Serves 8.

Cooled and covered, the pasta can stay in the freezer for 2 months. Defrost the pasta in the refrigerator overnight and bake covered at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Or freeze the pasta in individual portions and microwave for 4 minutes at high setting.