Lasagna
Mon, Jan 25, 2010
Around the World, Chicken & Turkey, Europe, Italy, Main Dishes, Search by Course, Steak & Beef
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Ever since I can remember my family has had my Grandma’s lasagna for our Christmas Eve dinner. My Grandma used to make it and my mom has continued the tradition. It is a cheesy, hearty meal that is the perfect comfort food for a special occasion.
I have made a few slight changes to my Grandma’s recipe to make it lighter but it has the same hearty, comforting flavors. I use chicken sausage instead of ground beef, whole wheat noodles and minimal ricotta cheese. I also blend the tomatoes, onion and garlic to make a smooth sauce that is more appealing to my kiddos.
If I’m just cooking for my immediate family I use the following recipe {which is half of my Grandma’s recipe} to make one 9 x 13-inch pan of lasagna. If I’m cooking for a larger group or would like to freeze the leftover pan of lasagna, I double the following recipe.
- 1 large can of tomatoes
- 1 12-ounce can of tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt, to taste
- 2 tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground beef or chicken sausage
- ½ pound whole wheat lasagna noodles
- ¾ pound {or less} ricotta cheese
- ½ pound mozzarella cheese, grated
- ½ cup grated or powdered parmesan cheese
- Sauté the onions and the garlic in a little bit of oil.
- Remove the onion and garlic from the pan and add the ground beef or chicken sausage to the pan.
- Brown the meat over mediume heat until it is fully cooked.
- Combine the canned tomatoes, cooked onion and cooked garlic in a blender and blend until the sauce is smooth.
- Pour the blended sauce into a large sauce pan and add the tomato paste, ¼ cup parmesan cheese and the seasonings.
- Simmer the sauce uncovered for 5-10 minutes.
- Then add the browned meat and let the sauce simmer for 2½ hours.
- Cook the lasagna noodles and drain them in a colander.
- In a 9x13 pan, layer the ingredients as follows:
- About ⅓ of the sauce
- About ½ of the cooked noodles, to cover the area of the pan in one layer
- Half of the ricotta cheese or just spread a little bit of ricotta over the noodles
- Roughly ⅓ of the mozzarella cheese or enough to generously cover the ricotta
- Roughly 1 Tbsp of parmesan cheese or enough sprinkled to cover the mozzarella
- Repeat the layers ending with the sauce.
- Top the sauce with ⅓ of the mozzarella cheese and the remaining parmesan cheese.
- Cover the lasagne with foil and bake it at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until it is bubbly and lightly browned.
Tags: casserole, cheese, chicken sausage, ground beef, lasagne, lasagne noodles, parmesan cheese, pasta, ricotta cheese, tomatoes
Yay, I’m so glad you posted this. I was going to ask you for the recipe. It was SOOOO good when you made it. I loved the chicken sausage in it.