We affectionately call this recipe "Company Lasagna" because it makes enough to feed two families, or our family twice. We adore the left overs for this (one of the rare meals my family will actually eat as left overs...), and sometimes I'll freeze half to serve another day. If you would like to cut the recipe in half to fit your needs, feel free to! It's really easy but takes about 2 hours start to finish.
Let's get cooking!
In a large skillet, begin browning 1 1/2-2 lbs. ground beef or ground turkey.
While the meat's browning, cut a large onion in half (or just use a smaller onion!). Slice it...
and dice it.
Add the diced onion to the ground beef. Now make sure that the beef is in tiny pieces so that when you layer your lasagna you don't have big ugly chunks of meat ruining your beautiful masterpiece.
Season as desired: I recommend roasted garlic sea salt,
and ground pepper.
Now grab a few of cloves of garlic. This is four smaller cloves.
Using your knife, push down on the cloves to release the oils.
Press the garlic and add it to your meat. (If you don't have a garlic press, you can just finely mince the garlic with a knife. I prefer the garlic press because it's less messy.)
After your meat has been browned and drained of it's fat, open a can or jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce. (Yes, I cheat.) I really like the zesty and spicy sauces because they have all the seasonings I need for the meat sauce.
Let the meat sauce simmer on low.
Grab a handy dandy box of lasagna noodles. We used 16 oz. so that I could be sure to have plenty of unbroken noodles. Besides that, my daughter LOVES the left over lasagna noodles.
Fill a really big pot with salted water. Bring it to a rolling boil. After the water is really going, slowly add the pasta, one noodle at a time.
Be sure to stagger the pasta in the pot so that they don't stick to each other while they're cooking.
Follow the package directions to see how long your brand of noodles need to cook.
Spread out some aluminum foil on your counter top: you're going to lay the hot noodles on the foil so that they don't stick together and so they'll cool more quickly.
When the pasta's done, drain it. Carefully place one noodle at a time on the foil, making sure they don't touch each other. After about 20-30 seconds on the foil, the noodles will be cool enough to touch.
In a medium bowl place 1 16 oz. carton of ricotta cheese. Yes, you can skimp and make it with cottage cheese, but the ricotta is so much better.
Add three eggs to the cheese.
Add about 1/4 cup freshly snipped parsley to the cheese and egg mixture.
Grate about 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese into the cheese and egg mixture.
Add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese to the other cheeses. Stir until well blended.
Now comes the really fun part!
In a sprayed 9x13 inch pan, lay down your first layer of noodles.
Top the noodles with about 1/2 the meat mixture.
Top the meat mixture with about 1/2 the cheese mixture.
Repeat.
Top the last layer off with another layer of noodles.
Top the noodles off with another 2-3 cups grated/shredded mozzarella cheese.
Snicker as your daughter is caught sneaking a noodle.
Looks great!
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes with a piece of aluminum foil
LOOSELY over the top.
Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Company Lasagna
oven 350 degrees
meat layer:
1 1/2-2 lbs. ground beef
1 small onion
3-4 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1 can or jar spaghetti sauce
16 oz. box lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
cheese topping:
16 oz. container ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1 1/2 - 2 cups grated/shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 cups grated/shredded mozzarella cheese
Layer pasta, meat sauce, cheese topping, and repeat. Top with another layer of noodles and remaining cheese.
Bake, covered in foil, for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Add 1 cup coconut. I'm really into the shaved coconut right now, but the flakes work great too.
Add 1 cup of craisins. Oh, how I adore these babies!
Add about 1 cup raisins to the mix. If you don't like raisins or craisins, you can replace them with things like other dried fruits or nuts. I adore pecans in my granola, but then again, not everyone does. I sacrificed this time and left them out. I was nice (I guess).
Measure out 2/3 cup of vegetable or canola oil. Pour over the dry ingredients.
Measure out 1 cup of maple syrup or honey and pour over the dry ingredients.
Stir until well blended and the liquids coat everything.
Pour onto a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet...
and spread it out evenly.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the granola is golden. Pour onto a foil lined cold surface like a counter top.
Let cool (or not!) and enjoy!
Granola
