Lasagna 101

Lasagna. One of the first things I made when I had an "after college apartment" and lived with my sweet friend Allison. I can't remember much about what we ate back in those days, but I remember making this lasagna. I got the recipe from my pledge sister Mary. Her mother made it with those long wavy Skinner brand noodles and you didn't have to boil them first. It was revolutionary for 1996! Over the years I've added a bit- the zucchini and mushrooms weren't in the original and neither was Trader Joe's sweet Italian sausage- but my people like it so I add it to half and stick a toothpick in the other end so i know where to eat. We serve this with Doo Dads or garlic bread.

Lasagna 101:

Poor lasagna isn't very photogenic.

Ingredients- all approximate measures:

• 8 or 9 oz package flat homestyle dry lasagna noodles- I use Barilla

• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce- I like Barilla Basil

• 1 pound ground beef

• Optional- 2 Sweet Italian Sausage out of the casing

• 1 c water

• One zucchini grated

• One Carrot grated

•  5-6 mushrooms sliced

• ½ sweet yellow onion diced

• 15 oz part skim ricotta

• 1 egg

• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

• ½ cup water

• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

• 1 T parsley flakes

• Dash nutmeg

• Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350º.

Brown ground beef flavoring it with salt, pepper and garlic. If using additional Italian sausage- brown it with the ground beef- or like I do, cook it separately and just sprinkle it into 1/2 of the lasagna as you assemble it. Drain any excess fat. Add zucchini, carrot, onion and mushrooms.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Add jar of pasta sauce to the pot and a cup of water. I use the water to rinse the jar so we get every last drop of tasty sauce. Bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix together in a small bowl the ricotta, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, egg, ½ cup water, parsley flakes and nutmeg.

Assemble: Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Put about a ½ cup of sauce in the pan to serve as the base. Lay 3 noodles side by side in the dish to cover most of the bottom. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture on each noodle, sprinkle with ¼ of the mozzarella, top with a generous ladle of the sauce meat mixture. Then repeat two more times in the pan. Sprinkle all remaining Parmesan cheese and mozzarella over the top of the assembled lasagna. Spray cooking spray on foil or use easy release foil to tightly cover the pan.

Bake for 45 minutes covered. Then, uncover and bake for 15 minutes more to brown the top nicely. Remove from oven to rest for 15 minutes before cutting to give cheese time to settle.

Note:

• Refrigerate any uneaten portion and reheat for lunch the next day.

• Uncooked lasagna can be frozen. Cover tightly with additional foil and freeze for up to 2 months. To cook, thaw in refrigerator 24 hours, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.

• I've made this with gluten free noodles also Barilla brand and the gluten free people I fed it to were super happy. I've also made it without meat for vegetarian friends and they were so happy as well.