Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lasagna



This recipe can be as extravagant or as easy as you want to make it. I enjoy cooking, so I make my sauce from scratch and combine three cheeses for part of the filling, but you can do this with three ingredients, if you so choose. The main things you need are: noodles, sauce and cheese. How much you do from there is entirely up to you.

Preheat oven to 350°.

1 16oz box lasagna noodles, uncooked (You don't need to buy the No-Boil noodles)
1 qt spaghetti sauce (your choice of homemade or store-bought)
1 pint Ricotta cheese
2 c shredded Mozzarella cheese (reserve ½ c)
1 c Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 T parsley
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Whip the eggs together with the garlic powder and parsley. In a separate bowl mix together the cheeses, then carefully add the egg mixture. Combine until everything is mixed well.

2. In a rectangular baking dish, spread a layer of spaghetti sauce over the bottom. Cover the sauce with three uncooked noodles, laid side-by-side. On top of the noodles, spread a layer of the cheese mixture. It doesn't need to cover every inch of pasta, but you do want a good layer of cheese. Top the cheese with sauce and flatten out with a wooden spoon if there are lumps. Repeat this process until you reach just below the rim of the baking dish. (You may not use all the cheese mix, sauce or noodles. If you choose, you can make a second pan with the remaining ingredients.)



3. Cover the dish with foil, set it on a foil-lined cookie sheet to catch any boil-overs and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle the rest of the Mozzarella cheese on top and return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese turns a golden brown.

4. When it comes out of the oven, let it sit for a full fifteen minutes before you serve it. This will allow the liquids to soak back into the noodles and you won't have runny sauce all over your plate.