Mar
2012
{Foodie Fridays} Luscious Lasgana
My fiancé’s father and brother have been staying with us for a few weeks, which means dinnertime around here is like feeding a family of six! And what packs a punch easier and better than many other meals? Lasagna. Ooey-gooey-meaty-cheesy-mouthwatering lasagna. Yum.
I had actually never made a lasagna before and decided to give it a go, recipe-free. I figured, having mastered the art of spaghetti, a lasagna could not be far off or difficult to master.
I was right. And picked up a few savvy tips along the way.
I new I wanted to make a traditional spinach and cheese lasagna with meat sauce layers. For that, you would need:
- A box of lasagna noodles
- Fresh spinach (a handful or so)
- 1 container low fat ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- Parmesean, freshly grated
- Package lean ground beef
- Tomato sauce of your choice. (Two jars or more at least)
- Freshly grated mozzarella
Add salt and some olive oil to a pot of boiling water. While it’s heating up, mix together your egg, spinach and ricotta cheese. You can also add a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese to the cheese mixture.
I brown my meat while boiling noodles. If your pot isn’t big enough or you’re worried about sticking, boil a few at a time. They are ready fairly quickly so I ended up boiling noodles in between layering.
Important: Grease a cookie sheet with some Pam, preferably butter flavor, to lay your noodles on in between the layering phase. This way they won’t get dry or stick together!
I season my meat with two garlic cloves and my all-purpose go-to, Adobo. And for this particular dish, I used Pomi Pomodoro e Basilico sauce. I had never used it before but it was chunky and had some great flavor. Plus, these sauces are all natural and fresh with no additives.
When your meat and some noodles are done, start your layering! One package of lean ground beef and the ricotta will yield two meat layers and one cheese layer. Don’t forget to reserve some sauce for the top of the lasagna. Bake for 20-25 minutes and then add freshly grated mozzarella and bake some more.
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That’s it! I like to serve with a side salad and some fresh garlic bread.
Ingredients
- 1 Box Lasagna Noodles
- 1 Package Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Handful Spinach
- 1 Egg
- 3 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Package Lean Ground Beef
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Package Freshly Grated Mozzerella
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425.
- Boil Lasagna noodles according to package directions.
- Grease a cookie sheet with butter-flavored Pam. Lay noodles on sheet when done.
- Brown package of lean ground beef. Add salt and pepper to taste and two garlic cloves.
- Add tomato sauce and parmesan to ground beef.
- In a mixing bowl, mix spinach, ricotta, parmesan and 1 egg.
- In a casserole baking dish, start by spreading tomato sauce along bottom. Then, add first layer of noodles.
- Next, add a layer of meat sauce. Layer another tier of noodles on top and then add your cheese mixture. Continue layering until you have used all of your noodles, meat and cheese.
- Finish off the final layer with some additional tomato sauce.
- Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, sprinkle some grated mozzarella on top. Continue baking 20 minutes.
- Let cool a few minutes then serve!
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