Lasagna.....

Lasagna is not nearly as difficult to make as you might think!  It just requires a bit of preparation and a few steps…. To me, it’s the ULTIMATE comfort food!  And if you’re lucky enough and live near a great Italian delicatessen that makes it’s own pasta noodles, or in this case Lasagna noodles… You’re in even more luck! 

This recipe is so light and flavorful, you just might finish the whole dish full, just like we did tonight!!!!

 Lasagna

1 lb fresh lasagna noodles or 1 box lasagna noodles

1 lb ground beef or turkey

1 large clove of garlic finely minced

½ onion finely chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tbs butter

1 large can plain tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Salt & Pepper

Fresh Basil Chopped

Fresh Oregano

Fresh Parsley Chopped

1 8 oz container of Whole Milk or Low Fat Ricotta cheese

½ to 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese

Add the ground beef or turkey to a sauté pan.  Add onions, garlic, 1 teaspoon of butter, garlic salt and brown the meat. Add chopped parsley, oregano & basil to the meat for the last 2 minutes of cooking.  Set aside.

In a bowl combine Ricotta cheese, egg & shredded mozzarella mix well. Set aside.

You can add some fresh chopped spinach to your ricotta mixture too!

In a sauce pan add 1 clove of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, 1 large can of tomato sauce, ½ cup heavy cream, fresh basil and mix well. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Prepare Lasagna noodles according to the pacakage…

Now you can assemble!  It’s a lot of steps to get to this point… all easy of course!

Spray your pyrex or oven safe casserole dish with a non-stick spray.

Drizzle a teeny bit of olive oil on the bottom too for good measure!

Layer Lasagna, follow with a small amount of sauce just to cover the noodle- DON’T OVERSAUCE! The less sauce you use the better! Just enough to cover it. Add ground meat. Add another layer of noodles.  Then add the ricotta cheese mixture. Then another layer of noodles, sauce then meat.  Continue the same process till you get to the top of the dish! Top with some additional sauce. Bake in the oven COVERED for 45 min on 400 degrees.  Remove from the oven and take off the foil and top with some shredded mozzarella and bake for another 5-8 min until all cheese is melted and you’ve got some golden brown edges

Manga! Manga!