New Recipe: Lasagna

The Final Product

           Typically I post easy to make recipes for the girl too busy to cook but that is not the case today. I really love my lasagna recipe because its delicious but it does take a little while to make. When I am making a lasagna I normally make it on a Sunday afternoon when I have some time and either have it for dinner that night, or put it in the fridge for a pre-made dinner later in the week. You may want to put aside an hour of your time to prepare this because there are a lot of ingredients, but I promise it's not a confusing recipe and it will be worth the wait because its yummy.

The sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Lasagna noodles (buy the "oven ready" kind so you don't have to boil/cook the noodles ahead of time)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 1lb hot Italian sausage (I buy the ground package at the grocery store)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 (28 oz) can of crushed Italian tomatoes 
• 1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
• 1 (16 oz) jar of Marinara Sauce (whatever brand you like)
• 1/4 cup fresh Oregano (or a palmful of dry oregano...)
• 1/2 cup fresh Basil (or a palmful or dry basil)
• 1lb whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
• 1lb whole milk mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup parsley

Layers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if cooking right away)
2. To make the meat sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
3. Then add sausage to onion mixture, cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon for about 10-15 minutes or until fully cooked and no longer pink.
4. Add crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil, and a sprinkle of ground pepper to mixture. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
5. While sauce is simmering, make cheese filling. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup parmesan cheese, the beaten egg and chopped parley (It helps to beat the egg first before combining it). Set aside mixture.
6. Slice up whole milk mozzarella cheese into strips, set aside.
7. Ladle one third of the meat sauce into a large baking pan. Spread the sauce over the bottom of the dish/pan.
8. Then add a layer of noodles, layer of cheese mixture, layer of mozzzarella and another layer of sauce. I try and make 3-4 layers of noodles, sauce and cheeses. 
9. Cook for 45 minutes or until hot in the middle. 
10. Enjoy!

Sliced Mozzarella cheese

Before putting in oven

xoxo