Lasagna 101

My sister asked for this recipe. Hill Dog: here you go!

Lasagna 101:

A combination of recipes from Ellie Morrison home cook extraordinaire, The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and my own experiences.

Ingredients- all approximate measures:

8 or 9 oz package flat homestyle dry lasagna noodles
2 jars of spaghetti sauce- I like Classico Sweet Basil
1# ground beef
1 c water
15 oz part skim ricotta
1 egg
1# shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup water
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 T parsley flakes
Dash nutmeg
¼ c fresh basil chopped
Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350


Brown ground beef flavoring it with salt, pepper and garlic. Drain any excess fat. Add to the pot 2 jars of sauce and a cup of water. I use the water to rinse the jars so we get every last drop of tasty sauce. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, mix together in a small bowl the ricotta, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, egg, ½ cup water, parsley flakes, fresh basil and nutmeg.

Assemble: Spray a 9x13 and a small side dish oven proof pan with cooking spray. Put about a ½ cup of sauce in the 9x13 pan and ¼ cup into the small one to serve as the base. Lay 3 noodles side by side in the 9x13 to cover most of the bottom. Spread about a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on each noodle, sprinkle with ¼ of the mozzarella, top with a generous ladle of the sauce meat mixture. Then repeat two more times in the 9x13 and use the remaining noodles and sauce in the small pan. Sprinkle all remaining Parmesan cheese and mozzarella over the top of the assembled lasagna. Spray cooking spray on foil or use easy release foil to tightly cover the pans. Bake for 45 minutes covered. Then, uncover and bake for 15 minutes more to brown the top nicely. Remove from oven to rest for 15 minutes before cutting to give cheese time to settle.

Refrigerate any uneaten portion and reheat for lunch the next day.

Uncooked lasagna can be frozen. Cover tightly with additional foil and freeze for up to 2 months. To cook, thaw in refrigerator 24 hours, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.