The really nice thing about lasagna is that the cheese flavour can hide anything you want to put into it, so it’s a good dish that you can put some older dishes into it as part of the recipe and clean out the fridge a bit.
Even emergency lasagna needs Italian Sausage.
Ohhhh...pathetic (from an Italian).
smh
I made lasagna the other day and my cat ate a cat sized plate of it. Garfield’s not the only cat that likes lasagna.
This is my recipe for anyone who wants to make mine. It’s good but takes time.
I make meat sauce the first day. I use two cans, 14 oz I think is what they are, of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning. I used Contadina, and try to stay with the same brand for the diced tomatoes and the sauce. They suggest using San Mariano tomatoes for sauce and that does make a nice sauce but the big cans are kind of a pain in the neck for me so I use the littler ones. If you can’t find the ones with Italian seasoning and two cans of tomato sauce, 14.5oz. I throw the diced tomatoes in a blender and get them blended, put all in a pot together and cook on low stirring frequently. To this I add sugar, about 1/4 cup. I like mine sweet. Do it what way you prefer.
While making this I sauté one onions, chopped to 1/4 inch or so. They call it rough chop. When translucent I also add minced garlic, about 2 cloves worth, in the last minute is all, garlic cooks fast and is best shortly cooked or it gets bitter I think, and then I add this to the sauce.
I then saute hamburger, I do 2 pounds even 3 pounds and if you find it needing more add the diced tomatoes, blended, I prefer 93% so not greasy. Break it up to loose while sautéing (on low or medium) I then add this to the sauce.
Cook on low, stirring all for at least one hour. This is the first day. It is the second day I make it into lasagna. We have some over pasta from this the first day.
Second day I make the lasagna. I boil 12 lasagna noodles to al dente consistency , I sometimes make it 14 so I do not run short of noodles. These I drain and place into cold water right away. I remove the noodles and place on paper towels and pat tops dry as I go along so not putting noodles in wet.
Cover the bottom of a large casserole dish suitable for lasagna, on the bottom with a thin layer of the meat sauce.
The ricotta mixture I make while the noodles are cooking. One small container of ricotta, 16 oz, the best brand on you can get. Poly0 or Galvani, whole milk. Add one egg, 3/4 cups parmesan, either grating your own from a good brand of it or shredded fresh. Then I add 2 or 3 cups of shredded mozzarella. Fresh parsley and if you can fresh basil, all chopped small. 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp of pepper.
Layer the noodles overlapping as you go about 4 or 5 across, and cover with the ricotta mixture, not thick.about 1/4inch or a little less, I have found the thinner layers make it taste better. Too much cheese and meat sauce in the layers makes it mushy. Then cover that with an equally depth amount of the meat mixture about 1/4 inch
. Repeat again and if you can three times. The top mixture cover the meat sauce with shredded mozzarella, I like this layer to be covering completely and then cover all with aluminum foil. The side facing the lasagna I spray with Pam or use a little cooking oil so it does not stick to the mozzarella.
Bake one hour, at 375 degrees but half hour into it remove the aluminum foil so the cheese bakes. Check to make sure it doesn’t burn. If it does not brown off at the end I turn off the oven bake and put it on broil. If you do this watch closely because it takes only about a few min or less to brown off.
Anyway hope ones find this helpful.
Forgot to say you can add sautéed ground italian sausage but I do. Not always do this.
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Interesting, but spinach lasagna doesn’t sound too good, plus I bet Garfield wouldn’t eat it.
Lasagna is pretty easy to make. The ingredients are lasagna pasta, tomato sauce and ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheese. The ingredients are layered and baked. Any deviation from the recipe is a Hawaiian pizza.
Cook ground beef then mix with enchilada sauce. Then create how many layers you want of ground beef, sliced cheese and tortillas. Cover with a thin layer of enchilada sauce or salsa and a sprinkling of cheese and bake.
For extra credit sauté some diced onions and bell peppers in the pan before browning the ground beef.
Lasagna:
The heart of a lasagna is the sauce. The more meat and flavors you can add to it, the better.
In a frying pan on low/medium heat, cook two pounds of hamburger, crumbled, until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside, reserving the juices. In the same pan, add a pound of Italian sausage, crumbled, and cook until no longer pink. Set aside.
In a large sauce pot, add two large cans of tomato sauce, two large cans of crushed tomatoes, and two cans of tomato paste. Stir to blend and set to medium/low heat.
Add one clove of elephant garlic, minced, two teaspoons of oregano, one teaspoon of basil, and two teaspoons fresh parsley. Stir and blend. Add the cooked meats and a teaspoon or two of the juices. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then reduce to a simmer. Crush the meat with a potato masher so really break it down. Let cook for 2 hours, stirring every 20 to 30 minutes. The sauce should be thick, not runny.
In a large pot, cook Lasagna pasta until al dente.
In a separate bowl, mix 16 oz. of Ricotta, an egg, and 2 teaspoons fresh parsley.
Drain pasta.
Ladle some smooth sauce to cover the bottom of your Lasagna dish. Add a layer of pasta to cover. Spread Ricotta mixture over the noodles, then a layer of meat sauce, then a layer of mozzarella, then sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese, then a dash of parsley. Keep building layers until you top off the dish.
Add more mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh parsley, cover with a foil tent, and cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. If the cheese on the top isn’t melted, uncover and cook for 10 minutes more.
For sauce:
2 lbs. beef
1 lb. Italian sausage
2 16 oz cans sauce
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 cans tomato paste
1 clove elephant garlic (not the whole head, 1 clove is enough)
Oregano, basil, and fresh parsley
Large bag of shredded mozzarella
2 boxes lasagna pasta
Medium container of shredded parmesan
16 oz. Ricotta cheese
1 egg
Fresh parsley
Leftover sauce can be stored in the freezer.
Used to make it at Thanksgiving, along with garlic bread, in addition to the usual stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, fall fruit medley, salad, and roasted zucchini/squash.
It’s not difficult, so don’t be afraid to try making it from scratch. Never use frozen from the store.
It’s not cheap to make, especially when you buy good, fresh ingredients, and it may take a time or two and some oven adjustments to get it the way you want it, but it’s worth it.
Bkmk
Starsky and Hutch - Lasagna - “Weird Al” Yankovic
https://youtu.be/VkAdBGI8xUQ
Garfield only looks like a cat. He’s really a metaphor for a teenager.
Ziti. It’s just lasagna without all the layering.
Comes in many variations: Signature with Meat and Sauce, Cheese Lovers', Family Size, Party Size, Veggie Lovers', Chicken, Cheesy Garlic with Meat, Italiano...
Put all ingredients in the Instant Pot. Don’t bother with layers, it gets all mixed up in your mouth anyways.
That frozen ravioli hack is very convenient. I do it often.