cheese

This is something I hadn’t made in about a year, homemade lasagna. The other day while grocery shopping I thought about buying a frozen lasagna to throw in the oven but decided against it in favor of making one myself. Frozen, store bought lasagna just isn’t as good as a homemade recipe.

Homemade Lasagna

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This is not a quick meal by any means, not the cooking, not the prep. This is hours long, mainly just the cooking, with occasional stirring. But the amazing flavor is in how long it takes to make.

What you need:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 2 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 1 6.5 ounce can canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

How to make Lasagna

Dice up an onion and mince some garlic, tenderize in a little oil, in a large pot. Choose your tomato base. I use a cheap jar of spaghetti sauce, something that has added seasoning in it already, but you can also use a large can of tomato sauce. Add to your onions and garlic.

Add in a can of crushed tomatoes, your sugar, and most of the spices. Also now add in already cooked, and fat drained off ground beef.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, once it comes to a boil reduce heat, cover and let simmer for a couple hours over low heat.

While you are waiting on your sauce to simmer, you can get the Ricotta cheese made up: add an egg and remaining parsley.

Also grate your cheese, a lot of it.

Once you have simmered your meat sauce for a couple hours you are ready to make your homemade lasagna.

Start with a layer of meat sauce on the bottom on your pan, I used a 9×13. Add a layer of noodles. Add half your ricotta cheese on top of those noodles, add a third of your mozzarella cheese on top of the ricotta.

Add a layer of meat sauce, and continue the layers. Top the remaining mozzarella cheese over the top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all of it.

How to Tent Aluminum Foil for Lasagna

Making a tin foil tent is easy. Take a piece of tin foil that is a good 6 inches longer than your pan. Wrap each end around the the end of your pan. In the middle of your pan/tin foil create a peak in your tin fold so that it looks like a tent. This allows the steam to vent out of the lasagna.

How Long to Cook Lasagna

Bake at 375. You want to start with it covered in a tin foil tent, you’re not going to want to have your cheese stuck to the tin foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Then remove the tin foil and bake for another 25 minutes.

Let it cool for 15 minutes before you cut into it.

Lasagna in A CrockPot

I love using my slow cooker for make things like this because I can set it and forget it. It also makes the house smell amazing as it cooks. The only difference in making this in your crockpot versus the oven is that you do not tent it, and you cook it longer.

Cook on low for about 4 hours. Add more cheese, let it sit for another 15 minutes then serve.

Homemade Lasagna

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

There is nothing like a homemade lasagna.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garli
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 2 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 1 6.5 ounce can canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a large pot cook onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce and cooked ground beef.
2. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

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