Lasagna Left Out All Night!!!!

I'm sorry, I guess I'm one of the "crazy" ones but there's no way on earth I'd serve the lasagna again since it sat out overnight. It's meat and cheese that sat out... and because of the two things together I wouldn't risk it. I'm nauseated just thinking about serving that to anyone.

Toss it. I know you hate to throw out food, but I would hate even more to have a whole family with food poisoning.

It's a total loss....last time my hubby got food poisoning he was out of work for 3 days....not worth it!

You will get plenty of "it's fine" answers but the truth of the matter is bacteria cannot be smelled or tasted. The bacteria grows very readily in 40° to 140°F temperatures. Perishable food left out (cooked or not) doubles its bacteria rate every 20 minutes. All foods and leftovers should be refrigerated within 2 hours. I use foodsafety.gov as a reference for these types of questions. Good luck.

Um........not all bacteria gets killed in the reheating process, that's a myth! Also, toxins (such as staph) can be produced from bacteria spores and those are NOT killed by heat. Oh, and not everyone was "fine" back in the day without refrigeration, that's why we have food safety guidelines now.

Toss it without guilt! :)

time to toss it....so you don't end up tossing it!

Sorry, but "when in doubt -throw it out!" With that amount of meat and dairy, you do not want to play games with it. I know it makes you sick to throw it away, but it may make you sicker to eat it!

My answer is always comparing the small cost of the food to the huge cost of sick people!! Throw it out.

When it doubt, throw it out.

Bacteria grows after a few hours. I wouldn't eat it. It's not worth everyone getting ill.

Toss it. I know the feeling. Just last week...I went and bought 2 gallons of milk...brought them home, left them on the counter all night! I was so mad at myself. The funny thing is, my husband questioned whether they would be okay??? Yeouch! "Umm, no honey!!" This sounds like a perfect opportunity to go out tonight! :) Don't worry about it!

Yeah, I've been there, done that. I remember leaving a whole pan of stuffed shells out for a whole night. We had a party, and I forgot to put it back in the fridge! I threw it out. Better safe then sorry.

toss it the cost of the food is no where near what the cost will be for multiple people in the emergency room from food poisoning. I hate it when this happens. I did the same thing last week although not lasagna it was some chicken I was thawing out. meant to put it in the fridge but forgot it. found it the next morning. hot... so out it went.

I would call that a total loss.

You have to throw it out. Bacteria thrive when they are between 40 and 140 degrees for four or more hours. No way can you eat that.

It would be in my garbage can this morning. :(
Sorry. Live and learn, I guess!

There is no way I would eat that. They say only 3 hours to leave cooked food out. I have done this before and hated throwing the food away but I would never eat it.

I'd still eat it. We did this once with Chili, full of meat etc. Put it in the fridge the next morning and ate it the rest of the week. I was skeptical and only ate a L. at first but it was all good, we lived.

Unless your kitchen gets all hot at night... I wouldn't throw it out.

I have to agree with the others and say throw it away!

I'm so extra careful when it comes to food being left out for too long - when it doubt throw it out! My hubby never understood this concept until he came down with food poisening a few months ago and was home sicker than sick for two entire days - I was thankful I listened to my inner voice that told me to make something different for myself and our daughters that evening!

Sigh...those people who are saying throw it out have lost their minds.

Hello? We didn't always have refrigerators. What do you think we did to keep from getting sick before the fridge?

You CAN keep it. Just make CERTAIN that when you reheat it, you get it to 160'F in the middle. Use a thermometer. As long as it's heated through, you won't get food poisoning because the bacteria will be DEAD.

Enjoy your lasagna.

I know most people say to toss it, but we are one of those crazies that keep it. Our kitchen is cool at night and I make sure to reheat things properly.
We've never had issues with getting sick and we do this all the time...

If it was just left out over night, I'd smell it. If it didn't smell bad, I'd use it.

I've accidently done that to pizza or chicken or soup or a number of other things. I've had no ill effects. 100 years ago people did this all the time. No home had a refrigerator back then.

Put in the freezer to rapidly cool it down, then tonight, heat it in the microwave or oven to 175 degrees or higher and serve. Why 175 degrees? Because all of the bacteria you don't want in you die long before you reach 175 degrees.

Good luck to you and yours.

Never eat meat that has stayed at room temperature too long, that's just asking for death or illness.

Nope, that' s just too long to be out of the fridge. I'd definitely toss it. If you've ever had food poisoning, you'd throw that thing out in a heartbeat. Trust me!

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Sorry, but throw it out.

I know someone who would answer this differently, leaves things out all the time, serves them to her family and says they've never gotten sick. But their often home sick with "some stomach flu"! Even their adult daughter won't eat leftovers there.

I hope you can find a way to make this a positive event. Perhaps eat less for a couple of meals, and you've saved the money back and lost weight, too!

All my best!