Lasagna

Everyone likes a good lasagna, especially Garfield! Whenever I need a quick and easy meal, I look to lasagna.  It’s also real easy to make a large amount to feed guests or bring to a potluck.  There will be many different variations of lasagna, but the basic steps are the same.  You can be creative and add veggies (sliced zucchini, eggplant), change the meat to beef, turkey, chicken or leave it out for vegetarians, or even replace the pasta with battered eggplant and turn it into eggplant parmigiana. If you don’t want to make your own sauce, use ready made sauce in a jar. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

1 box Barilla Lasagna, uncooked
2 eggs
1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
4 cups (16 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese (I used fresh mozzerella)
1/2 cup (2 oz.) Parmesan cheese
1 lb. italian sausage or ground beef
~3.5-4 cups of marinara sauce (you can buy the sauce or see recipe below)

Ingredients for sauce:
2 cans of diced tomatoes (unsalted)
1 clove garlic
pinch of dried basil
pinch of dried oregano
salt to taste

Directions for sauce

1. In a food processor (or blender), add the garlic and dice finely.

2. Pour in the cans of tomatoes, add basil, oregano and salt. Puree.

Directions for lasagna

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees. Spray baking pan (13x9x3) with non stick cooking spray.

2. If you are using meat, cook with sauce and have nearby.

3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, stir in ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, parmesan.

4. Spread one cup of sauce on the bottom of the baking pan.

5. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, 1 cup mozzerella, and 1 cup sauce. You can add other vegetables if you’d like.

6. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, and 1.5 cups of sauce.

7. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, the remaining ricotta mixture, and 1 cup of sauce.

8. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, the remaining sauce, and the remaining mozzarella.

9. Bake, on the middle rack, covered with foil until bubbly, 50-60 minutes

10. Uncover and continue baking until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

11. Enjoy!