Does the thought of making lasagna make you want to order out? Not anymore with this easy-to-follow recipe.
Portions: 8-10 serves
Ingredients:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried mince garlic
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 pound, 13 ounce jar pasta sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 16-ounce container of cottage cheese
Optional:
- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1 pound dried lasagna noodles
Preparation:
Add the hamburger, onion, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper to a Dutch oven; brown the hamburger over medium heat, stirring it with the other ingredients in the pan and breaking apart the hamburger as it cooks. When the hamburger is cooked through, drain off any excess fat. Stir in the pasta sauce and sugar. Pour the water in the emptied pasta sauce jar; cover and shake to rinse out the jar. Add the water to the pan and stir into the hamburger sauce mixture. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in half of the grated mozzarella cheese and the cottage cheese. Preheat oven to 350ºF. To assemble the lasagna, ladle in enough of the sauce to cover the bottom of a 9×13 nonstick baking pan. Sprinkle grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the top of the sauce, if desired. Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles, being careful not to let the noodles overlap. Repeat layering until all of the noodles are in the pan and covered.
Sprinkle the remaining grated mozzarella cheese over the top, along with some additional Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if desired. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted, bubbling, and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let set for 10 minutes before serving. If you prefer to skip the browning the hamburger step, you can instead substitute a pound of diced cooked smoked sausage. Use all of the other ingredients; however, because you will not be heating the pasta sauce before you assemble the lasagna, bake the lasagna covered for 1 hour and then uncovered for 15 minutes.