Lasagna
May 9, 2020
Lasagna is a great way that you can feed your entire family. It’s also a great dish for when you’re hungry again the next day, and can go get it out of the fridge.
I will be telling you how my family makes lasagna for us on our weekly Sunday dinner. My mom and dad have shown me how to make this recipe and it isn’t that difficult.
Here are step by step instructions on the process of making the lasagna.
INGREDIENTS
For the meat sauce:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef (chuck)
- 1/2 onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 large bell pepper (green, red, or yellow), diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28-ounce can good quality tomato sauce
- 3 ounces (half a 6-oz can) tomato paste
- 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably flat leaf), packed
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- Pinch of garlic powder and/or garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
- Salt
To assemble the lasagna:
- 1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles – unbroken)
- 15 ounces Ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 lb (24 ounces) Mozzarella cheese, grated or sliced
- 1/4 lb (4 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
You will also need a 9×13 casserole dish and a couple large sheet pans to cool the noodles.
Instructions:
- Put pasta water on to boil with a table spoon of salt.
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet with 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium high.
- Cook the bell pepper, onions, garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the food gets a nice color to it then add back the beef to the skillet and continue cooking on low.
- Switch to medium sized pot, add tomatoes and remaining sauce ingredients to build the sauce.
- Boil pasta for about 8-11 minutes and drain the lasagna noodles.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Lay lasagna down on a 9×13 inch dish, just one layer on the bottom.
- Cover the lasagna noodles with the meat sauce and cheese then cover the top with another layer of lasagna noodles and repeat.
- Bake for 45 minutes. The the top will be nice and crispy.
- Let sit and cool for 10 minutes.