Lasagna with Meat Sauce!

If you are feeling the chill right now, Lasagna is the perfect dish to warm you up.  It’s a great comfort food and it warms the soul as well as the kitchen.  I’m such a fan of Lasagna but I have never made it before now.  It’s a lot easier to make than it is to photograph.  Getting my kids to eat something new is also a challenge so I made it with meat sauce (one of their favorites).  I thought I could entice them with the meat.  And it worked.  They both enjoyed it — success!!You will need to make your meat sauce first.  Here is my recipe for Simple Meat Sauce with Tomatoes.

Once your meat sauce is finished, you can start on the cheese mixture.  Here are the ingredients you will need: whole milk ricotta cheese, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, milk, egg, fresh basil, oregano, and Italian parsley.

In a mixing bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the cheese layer of the lasagna.  This is the good stuff!

Time now for the noodles.  Boil the dried lasagna noodles for 8 minutes.  You don’t want these to be cooked perfectly.  It’s better to be a little al dente (not all the way cooked).  These will finish cooking in the oven.  After the 8 minutes, rinse the noodles in cold water.  This will halt the cooking process.

In your 3-quart baking dish, line the bottom with olive oil.  Your first layer will be three lasagna noodles.  Then top it with 1/4 of the cheese mixture then 1/4 the meat sauce.  You will repeat the process with noodles, cheese and meat sauce until it’s all used up.  I started with 12 lasagna noodles but didn’t use them all.  It may be different for your dish.

Sprinkle the top of the finished lasagna with the remaining half of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

You will need some parchment paper and aluminium foil to cover.  Brush olive oil on the bottom of the parchment paper before you put it on top of the lasagna.  This will keep it from sticking.  The foil goes on top of the parchment paper.  Cook in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Then remove the parchment paper and foil and cook for another 15 minutes.

Your lasagna will look like this!  Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes before you serve.

And here it is!  This is also a great dish to use as left-overs.  Serve with some veggies and french bread and you have a complete meal.  I hope you enjoy it!

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Lasagna with Meat Sauce!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 dried Lasagna noodles
• 1 14 ounce container Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1 Egg
• 1/3 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese grated
• 1/4 cup Italian Parsley chopped
• 1/4 cup Fresh Basil chopped
• 1 tablespoon Fresh Oregano chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Chop up Italian Parsley, Basil and Oregano
3. In a mixing bowl, combine Ricotta Cheese, milk, egg, half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the Italian Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Salt.
4. In a boiling pan of water, cook the Lasagna noodles for 8 minutes or whatever the package says. Don't overcook these. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
5. In 3-quart baking pan, generously drizzle the bottom with Olive Oil
6. Line 3 Lasagna noodles on top of Olive Oil
7. Top noodles with 1/4 cheese mixture
8. Then 1/4 of meat sauce.
9. Repeat process with noodles, cheese and sauce until it's all used up
10. Top the Lasagna with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
11. Brush Olive Oil on piece of Parchment Paper. Put on top of the Lasagna with the Olive Oil side facing down. Then put Aluminum Foil on top of Parchment Paper.
12. Cook for 30 minutes
13. Take off Parchment Paper and Foil and cook for another 15 minutes.
14. Let cool for 15-20 minutes
15. Serve

Recipe Notes

This Lasagna recipe was adapted from a recipe in Better Homes & Garden. This is also a great recipe to make ahead of time and freeze until it's ready to eat. You can also make this vegetarian by adding spinach instead of the meat.