First, let me say I am the master of casseroles. I grew up eating, and loving, casseroles. Some might call them hot-dishes or some other sort of silliness. To me, they’re just casserole. They’re so simple to throw together, and bring your belly such joy! I about dropped over in shock when I learned my husband had never had a casserole until he met me…holy cow! So why talk about casseroles in a post about lasagna?
So many people think lasagna is hard to make. Ah…noooo…it’s just casserole that’s layered! Really…it’s super simple and can be done totally from scratch, or using store-bought ingredients you just throw together.
I think it’s safe to say I’ve become known for my lasagna. Years ago, I started hosting my team at my home for an Italian night as my thanks for a job well-done. Lasagna became the default because it’s easy to feed a crowd. By crowd, I’m talking about 30 people at a crack…my roasting pans are lifesavers!
When I changed companies, I continued this tradition with my new team and when I left that company I think my team may have missed my lasagna more than me! (just kidding…I hope!).
Anywho…here’s my made-from-scratch recipe. Just know that you can used jarred spaghetti sauce instead of making your own. But, I highly recommend my Irish Woman’s Red Sauce for your base! You can also skip the meat altogether and substitute in sautéed mushrooms (giant portabella caps are great), roasted eggplant, turn it white with an Alfredo sauce, or even change the protein to chicken. See…easy…once you have the base recipe, the sky’s the limit.
When I’m looking to feed a crowd, I triple the following recipe and build four (4) layers in my large roasting pan.
Super Easy Flavor-Packed Lasagna
Ingredients
- 6 C Irish Woman’s Red Sauce recipe on the blog
- 1 pound ground beef 80/20, browned and grease drained
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 12 oz small curd cottage cheese
- 1 C grated parmesan cheese
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 pound lasagna noodles cooked al dente
- 6 C mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Make red sauce (recipe located on this blog), and let simmer on low. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef until fully cooked and drain grease. Brown Italian sausage and drain, then combine with cooked ground beef. Add all meats to red sauce and let simmer for 1 hour.
- Cook lasagna noodles to al dente, a few minutes short of package directions. Noodles will finish cooking during baking. If meat sauce is still simmering, drizzle olive oil over the cooked noodles to prevent sticking.
- In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese, grated parmesan, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Spread 2 ladles of sauce in bottom of pan. Add 1 layer of lasagna noodles to cover bottom of pan. Next, add a moderate layer of meat sauce on top of noodles. Layer 5-6 large dollops of cottage cheese mixture on top (do not spread). Then, add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, ending with meat sauce. Put a final layer of shredded mozzarella cheese across entire pan.
- Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking another 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is beginning to turn golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
