In December, we have a tradition with friends to have a gingerbread house building competition. We have some friends that are excited for the fellowship, some that bring a few extra things to give themselves better chances to win and some that go all out and bring tools to get the job done. It’s a fun time; we even had our kids join us and make one too.
It's the holidays and with friends and time also comes food. We all brought a dish to share and since I didn’t want to make anything extra, I just brought our dinner. That evening, I made Lasagna, bread and salad. Little did I know that it would be such a big hit. Several families asked me for the recipe, and I told them it’s one of those recipes that the ingredients are specific, but I don’t measure, and I add a little of this and that. But because I love my friends, I am willing to write it down so they can enjoy it again. So here it goes.
Sauce ingredients:
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 red onion chopped
3 lbs. of ground beef (sometimes I substitute 1 lb. with pork sausage, it adds flavor)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ - 24oz. jars of tomato sauce (I use tomato onion garlic sauce from Aldi with the purple top)
Cheese filling ingredients:
15 oz. ricotta (whole milk preferred)
4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (separate 1 cup for topping, don't use pre-shredded cheese)
1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese (separate ¼ cup for topping, don't use pre-shredded cheese)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
Pasta ingredients:
2 teaspoons for olive oil (set aside 1/4 tsp for after pasta is cooked)
Salt to taste (adding to boiling water, I add 1 tsp.)
1 box of lasagna pasta (need 12 noodles)
Sauce recipe:
Put olive oil and onion into a medium heat saucepan (a pan with higher sides), cook till the onion is lightly browned and then add your ground beef. Cook the beef till there is no more pink then drain excess fat. Add Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Last, add the tomato sauce and cook on medium till you have a low boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes till the sauce thickens.
Cheese filling recipe:
Combine container of ricotta, 3 cups of mozzarella, ¾ cup of parmesan, 2 eggs, and Italian seasoning and mix well.
Pasta recipe:
Boil 16 cups of water and add salt and boil pasta till al dente. About 10-12 minutes. Drain and add 1/4 tsp of olive oil so it doesn't stick.
Topping recipe:
Combine 1 cup of mozzarella with ¼ cup of parmesan.
Putting it together:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take 1/3 of the sauce and layer the bottom of your 13 by 9 pan. Then place 1/3 of your pasta evenly spaced on top. Then take ½ of the cheese filling and spread evenly overtop of the pasta. Repeat one time. Then place final layer of pasta on top of the cheese filling and put final 1/3 of sauce on top of pasta. Put topping on sauce. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Broil for 3-5 minutes to lightly brown the cheese on top. Let cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Serves 8-10 people. Buon Appetito!
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