No, I was not born Italian. In fact, my mother's idea of seasoning was salt and pepper and to this day she can't handle much garlic. Not me. Spices opened up a whole new world for me. I love them. In fact, I love to grow, smell and cook with all herbs. I was given a great generic cookbook when I married my husband and it was not an Italian cookbook. The recipe had good bones, but I have made some changes over the years and made it into my own recipe. In fact, my Italian husband said it was my best lasagna ever the other night. Not too bad.
I use lean beef, 2 pounds of it. Sometimes I mix 1 pound of extra lean with one pound of ground round, but I like to keep it lean.
I also like to use 2-28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes. Use the tomatoes that don't add citric acid, you can add your own salt.
Of course, always use fresh parsley and basil. I use Italian parsley because it has more flavor.
I do cheat with the lasagna noodles. I no longer cook the noodles and then lay them on wax paper before layering my lasagna. I now use the no-boil noodles and they work great. Just make sure you add some juice from your sauce on the bottom of the pan before adding the noodles. I layer it this way:
a little sauce
noodles
1/2 of the ricotta mix
1/2 of the sauce
mozzarella cheese
noodles
the other 1/2 of the ricotta mix
the rest of the sauce
mozzarella cheese
Yum.
My husband insists on whole-fat mozzarella cheese. I have to agree, it's not like you make this too often. I cut back in other ways, like part skim ricotta and the lean ground beef.
I like to cook it in a pretty dish. It's a more complex recipe and needs the surrounding frame of a great dish.
Here's the recipe.
Lasagna
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion chopped
I spray the pot with cooking spray and cook the meat and onions together over medium heat until the juices cook out. Add:
2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
Cook over medium heat for about an hour.
Meanwhile, mix together:
1 32 ounce ricotta cheese (I use part-skim)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
You will also need:
1 pkg no-cook lasagna noodles
2 lb pkg shredded mozzarella cheese (not part-skim)
After your sauce has cooked for the allotted time, spoon a little into your prepared pan* (remember to remove the bay leaf). Add 5-6 of the no-bake lasagna noodles covering the bottom of the pan. Layer next, 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture, then 1/2 of the sauce and top with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layering. Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly.
*You can use one large lasagna pan or make 2 pans with one pan 9"x 13" and the other 8"x 8".
