Lasagna
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb. ground chuck
- ¾ cup onion, diced
- ¾ cup bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 oz spaghetti sauce
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 14 oz crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped, packed
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
To Assemble Lasagna
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 15 oz ricotta cheese (may substitute with cottage cheese)
- 24 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 4 oz parmesan cheese, fresh, grated
- 1 egg, large
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook the Meat Sauce
- Fry the ground chuck in 2 tbsp olive oil. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder. Drain and set aside.
- Sauté the peppers and onion until onion is translucent. Add garlic cloves and cook one more minute. Return the meat to the pan and cook 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer up to 45 minutes.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Boil and drain the lasagna noodles. Spread them onto an olive oil coated pan, turning them to get oil on both sides so they don't stick. Cool.
- Place ricotta (or cottage) cheese into blender, add egg and salt and pepper, and blend until smooth. Add sour cream if it's too thick. Mix with mozzarella (except for 1 cup or so for the top) and parmesan in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Ladle a cup of sauce into the pan.
- Add a layer of noodles, usually 4 side by side, in a deep dish foil lasagna pan. Ladle 1/3 of the rest of the sauce onto the noodles. Add a line of cheese mixture to each noodle.
- Repeat the last step twice. Then top with the saved mozzarella cheese.
Bake
- Heat oven to 375°. Tent the pan with aluminum foil so the foil can't touch the cheese. Bake for 40 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.