Lasagna
(From Ginny)
These are the proportions I've come up with based on my memories of making lasagna growing up, and with the help of the recipe on the Barilla Oven-Ready Lasagna box. I love using the Oven-Ready Lasagna - it's super easy and it bakes really well. I recommend assembling everything at least an hour or two before baking so it has time to sit and soak in the juices.
p.s. Barilla says this makes 5 servings but you could easily serve 10+ people with this, especially if you have garlic bread and some sort of veggies to go with it!
1 box Barilla Oven-Ready Lasagna
2-3 24-oz jars Marinara/Spaghetti sauce (we grew up with Ragu, but I prefer Newman's now)
1 pound ground beef
1 pound sausage, ground or sliced
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
1 c. (8 oz) small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs
4 c. (1 lb) mozzarella cheese, shredded
6 oz shredded Parmesan cheese
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
- In a large skillet, brown beef and sausage until cooked through
- In a bowl combine ricotta, cottage cheese, eggs, 2 cups mozzarella, and 1/2 cup Parmesan; stir well
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- For the bottom layer, pour one cup of sauce and spread evenly
- Top with 3 sheets of Oven-Ready Lasagna. The sheets will expand while baking to the ends of the dish.
- Pour about 1 1/2 cup sauce and 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture on the first layer, top with 1/4 cup of the mozzarella, a bit of Parmesan, and 2/3 cup of the cooked meat.
- Continue for 3 more layers
- For the final layer, top with 3 sheets of Oven-Ready Lasagna, pour the remaining sauce, top with remaining cheese mixture, mozzarella, and any remaining Parmesan.
- Cover with foil and place in pre-heated oven, bake for 30 minutes, or until it starts to get bubbly. If you have a food thermometer, the center of the lasagna should be cooked to about 165 degrees.
- Once baked, remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is brown and starting to bubble (it could start to bubble over a bit around the edges here, so put a pan underneath to catch the drips or at least turn your stove fan on).
- Let rest about 15 minutes before cutting.
What other variations do you like for your lasagna?