Lasagna is a classic Italian pasta casserole dish consisting of alternating layers of pasta, cheese, meat or vegetables, and a variety of other ingredients. Mom was never much of a cook, but she did Lasagna justice. This recipe is easy and fun to make. It is a great dinner entree when hosting a dinner party or even just as an every night family meal. It is delicious and flavorful. It's sure to be a favorite among many.
Mom’s Meaty Lasagna recipe:
Prep Time: 30 minutes to prep, 3 hours to bake
Serves: Six to Eight
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- ½ cup of chopped onion
- ½ cup of chopped green pepper
- 1 14oz. can of tomato paste
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of white sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1½ teaspoons of Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon of pepper
- ½ package OR 8oz. of Lasagna noodles
- 2 cups of cottage cheese
- 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese
Cooking Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 275°.
- In a large pot, pour in the vegetable oil, and add the ground beef. Cook the ground beef on medium heat until brown.
- Add the onions and green pepper to the ground beef. Cook on medium heat until the onion is transparent.
- Once the ground beef and the vegetables are cooked, drain out the fat from the pot.
- After the fat has been drained, add the tomato paste, water, sugar, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to the ground beef and vegetables mixture.
- Reduce the heat, and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes.
- In a second large pot, bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Place the Lasagna noodles into the boiling water, and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender.
- After the noodles are cooked, rinse with cold water.
- In a medium dish, combined the cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese and blend them together.
- In a large 10” x 6” x 2” pan or dish, arrange enough of the lasagna noodles on the bottom to cover.
- Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles to cover.
- Spread a layer of the meat sauce mixture on top of the cheese mixture to cover.
- Repeat the layering of noodles, cheese, and meat sauce until the pan or dish is filled to the top.
- Cover the pan or dish with tin foil and place in the oven for 3 hours to bake.
This recipe can also be baked at 350° for 20-30 minutes.
Alternative Recipe Suggestion
For those that prefer a vegetarian alternative, the ground beef can be replaced with extra vegetables. Delicious vegetables to add could be mushrooms, red and yellow peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and/or squash.
Cooking steps would follow the recipe above. Step 2 and 3 would combine to make one step:
- In a large pot, pour in the vegetable oil, and all of the vegetables. Cook on medium heat until the onions are transparent.
Happy baking!…