Homemade Lasagna

Homemade Lasagna kind of gets a bad rap. It's usually known as kind of labor intensive and difficult. I, however, don't agree! Sure, it takes some time. But, to me, it's so easy to make. Chop some vegetables, stir some sauce, layer some ingredients, and... Voila! Lasagna! (Plus it's so easy to hide vegetables in for those picky eaters!)

Here are the ingredients you'll need (from left to right): Dried Basil, Low Fat Cottage Cheese, Spinach, Ground Italian Sausage, Ground Beef, Dried Parsley, Italian Seasonings, Prego Sauce, Onion, Garlic, Egg, Carrot, Mozzarella Cheese, Sugar, Noodles, and Parmesan Cheese. I also use broccoli and cauliflower sometimes. (Once you puree it and add it to the sauce, you can't even taste it.)

First you want to add the garlic, onion, ground beef and Italian sausage to a pan and brown it. Then just drain it and set it aside for now.

Chop the carrot (and the broccoli and cauliflower if you use it) and steam until soft. Then you put it all in a blender and puree it. 

Add the sauce, pureed veggies, and spices to your meat. Then set the sauce aside and let it simmer on low.

Next you need to make the cottage cheese mixture. You can also use ricotta instead of cottage cheese if you want. I just like cottage cheese because it's healthier and it's less watery.

To make this mixture, first you need to chop up your spinach. Just a quick, rough chop is fine.

To that bowl, add the cottage cheese.

Next you add the egg. It will help bind everything together when it cooks.

Finally, you add the Parmesan cheese to the bowl.

Then you stir it all up! It's messier, but I find that stirring works best when you use your hands.

The last step to making lasagna is assembling it. All you do is take turns layering everything together.

After it's all layered, you have a few different options. You can cook it right away or you can freeze it. If you cook it right away you want to cover it with foil and bake it at 375° for 40-50 minutes covered, then 15-20 uncovered. Then let it rest for 15 minutes before serving. If you freeze it, there are a couple different methods and you can choose whichever you prefer.

What's that? You want to print the recipe, you say? Done.

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Homemade Lasagna

by Miranda at mirandabee.com March-11-2014

A deceivingly easy homemade lasagna recipe with hearty veggies, meat, and (semi)homemade sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Italian Sausage
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1/2 cup Chopped Onion
• 2 cloves Crushed Garlic
• 1/2 cup Chopped Carrot
• 1/2 cup Chopped Broccoli (optional)
• 1/2 cup Chopped Cauliflower (optional)
• 2 jars Sauce (I like Prego)
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Dried Basil
• 2 tsp Dried Parsley
• 2 cups Fresh Spinach
• 16 oz Low Fat Cottage (or Ricotta) Cheese
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 box Noodles (Regular or No Boil)
• 3 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions

1. In a large pan, brown the onions, garlic, Italian sausage and ground beef. Drain and set it aside.
2. Steam carrots (and broccoli and cauliflower, if you are using them) until soft. Puree in a blender until smooth.
3. Add sauce, pureed veggies, and spices to the meat. Set aside and let simmer on low.
4. Chop the spinach and put in a large bowl.
5. To the spinach, add the cottage cheese, egg, and Parmesan cheese. Mix it all together. (It's messier, but I find that stirring works best when you use your hands.)
6. Preheat oven to 375°
7. Layer your ingredients in a casserole pan in this order: Meat Sauce, Noodles, Cottage Cheese Mixture, Mozzarella Cheese, Meat Sauce, Noodles, Cottage Cheese Mixture, Mozzarella Cheese, Meat Sauce, Noodles. Then add just enough sauce to cover the exposed noodles and cover it all with Mozzarella Cheese.
8. Cover with tin foil and bake for 40-50 minutes then uncover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.
9. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving. If you don't, it could be soupy.

Details

Prep time: 40 mins Cook time: 1 hour 10 mins Total time: 1 hour 50 mins Yield: 12 servings