Preheat to: 350 degrees
1 box Lasagna noodles cooked, rinsed, and drained
1 lb. mozzarella cheese
Sauce:
1 lb. ground beef
2 large cans tomatoes, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
2 T. brown sugar
chopped onion, small (optional)
garlic cloves, smashed or garlic powder
garlic pepper seasoning
marjoram
thyme
bay leaf--1 or 2
oregano--not too much of this
basil
Cheese Mixture:
lg. container ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley flakes
Brown ground beef in large frying pan 1-2 inch deep, drain off any grease.
Add tomatoes, chopped, along with liquid from can of tomatoes.
Add tomato paste and brown sugar.
Add onion and spices. Use spices to taste--at least 1/2 tsp of each. I use less oregano and more basil.
Rinse the tomato paste and tomato cans with water and add to sauce.
Stir well.
Cook over low heat for at least 1 hour. Add more water if necessary for longer cooking.
If using fresh mozzarella, remove from water and drain a bit. Then slice it into fairly thin layers, whatever you can manage.
Mix ricotta, eggs, parsley and parmesan in bowl.
Layer in baking dish--sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella.
Use whatever order you like but start with sauce and end with a layer of mozzarella and the last of the sauce on the very top.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-60 minutes until entire mixture is bubbly--make sure the center is completely cooked.
Let stand for 15-20 minutes before serving. Cut into squares.
Bri, I think I have sometimes increased the proportions of this recipe because I've had to use the 9 X 13 pan and it filled it all up. Still, its been a while since I made this so I'll have to try it out again and see exactly how much of everything I use and then see which pan it fits into. This is one of those recipes that after a while you don't really need the recipe, you just throw it together, and that means I haven't paid much attention to the actual amounts. Except that I always use the 2 eggs and the large container of ricotta.
Posted by: Pam on July 22, 2002 03:13 PMHey, I tried this tonight--great stuff, though it's a little hard to find the exact ingredients where I live! You don't have a pan size listed here and I recommend a 7 by 11 inch baking pan instead of the 9 by 13. I cooked it in the 9 by 13, but it was spread pretty thin. Still tasted great, but I think it would work better in the 7 by 11. So, that's my recommendation to all you folks out there!
Posted by: Brianna Carroll on July 22, 2002 02:33 PMHey, I heard of a way to cook the noodles perfect! I don't know if you ever had this problem, but it seems like the lasagna noodles always get to soft to handle properly and end up tearing--it is more of a problem here in Germany where they are not ruffled at all--just flat. Someone told me you can layer the lasagna with dry noodles (arrange everything in the pan) and then pour a few tablespoons of water around the edges of the lasagna. The noodles should soften to perfection as the lasagna cooks. I tried this once and added just a bit too much water, but it was still good--a little water goes a long way.
Posted by: Brianna Carroll on July 18, 2002 11:23 AM