Lasagna

A friend asked me to give him my recipe for lasagna so here it goes. It’s really easy if you use no boil noodles, my favorite.

1 lb ground beef

1 jar favorite tomato sauce or homemade sauce

8 oz ricotta

1 egg

1 box no boil lasagna noodles

8 oz each mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar cheeses

Homemade sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 cup red wine

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped

2 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Homemade sauce

In a large heavy gauge pot heat oil on high, add onions and cook until soft with no color.  Turn down fire to medium and add garlic.  Cook until soft careful not to burn, add crushed tomatoes, wine, and herbs, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer until all the alcohol flavor is cooked out, about 20 minutes of so.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Set off to the side.

Lasagna

Preheat oven to 350

In a large heavy skillet, heat up 1 Tablespoon of oil, brown meat.  Once brown, add tomato sauce and warm thru. 

In a small bowl, mix egg and ricotta until well mixed.

Add sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 oven-safe pan.  Layer noodles down, making sure they don’t touch.  These are easy to break if you need to fit a piece in.  Spread sauce, ricotta, and all cheeses, layer with noodles and continue until pan is full.  Top with sauce and cheese. 

Because the noodles are going to cook in the oven, use a little extra sauce to make sure end product is moist.  Cover pan tightly around the edges with foil with a little tent to allow steam to move freely inside.  Bake for 45 minutes or until noodles are soft.  Take cover off and let cheese brown for 5-8 more minutes.  Take out and enjoy!

The best thing about lasagna is that you can use any type of filling that you like.  Spinach is a fav in my house, try something different and let us know what you did!