A bunch of you emailed me and asked me to post the lasagna recipe we used for Ella's birthday dinner. Here it is!
After many a failed/bland/watery lasagna recipes I finally perfected this one which has everything we want in a lasagna. We like the cheesiness of ricotta, but dislike the pasty texture, so we use half ricotta and half cottage cheese. This gives a smooth texture and is less expensive. This recipe also has the perfect blend of seasoning and spices in the cream mixture, which would otherwise be much too bland.
EMILIE'S CLASSIC MEAT LASAGNA
15 oz. container ricotta cheese
16 oz. container cottage cheese
3 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pound ground beef
3 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 c. diced onion
2 jars Marinara Sauce
Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
1. In a large bowl combine ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 1 c. mozzarella cheese, 1/2 c. of shredded Parmesan Cheese, salt, dried parsley, dried basil, black pepper and eggs.
2. Cook beef in medium-large sized pot with onion and garlic until browned. Pour off fat. Stir in pasta sauce.
3. Put 1/2 cup sauce into bottom of 9x13" pan. Spread to coat bottom.
Assemble layers as follows...
(1) lasagna noodles
(2) 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture
(3) 1/3 of the meat sauce mixture
(4) lasagna noodles
(5) last 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture
(6) 1/3 of the meat sauce mixture
(7) lasagna noodles
(8) remaining meat sauce mixture.
4. Cover with foil. Bake at 400* for 30 minutes or until hot in the center. Uncover and add remaining cheese and bake 10 more minutes. Let rest 15-20 min. Top with fresh basil.
