Going Italian – Beef Lasagna

My husband is a pasta addict. He can eat pasta 5 nights a week, and he would enjoy it on the 5th night as much as he did the 1st.

Me…not so much. Not that I don’t love carbs, I just prefer changing the meal time starch up a bit with baked brown rice or whole wheat cous cous.

After DH’s meatball success he decided it was time to attempt a more complicated italian dish.
Beef lasagna.

Now I will be totally honest. The first time DH made this recipe, he didn’t use enough sauce. The flavors were good, but the noodles were still crunchy. Not al dente…CRUNCHY as in not cooked! We had a fun chuckle as we picked slices from the middle and carefully avoided the edges.

DH quickly redeemed himself on the second attempt.

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Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (32 ounce) jar Classico® Tomato and Basil Sauce
32 ounces cottage cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
9 no-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 cup water

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef. Drain the grease. Add pasta sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, eggs, half of the grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt and ground black pepper.

(DH used part skim ricotta cheese instead of the cottage cheese listed in the recipe)

3. To assemble, in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish evenly spread 3/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Cover with 3 lasagna noodles, 1 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture, and 1/4 cup sauce.

Repeat layers twice.
Top with 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Add 1/2 cup water to the edges of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Delicious cheesy goodness.
Baked to perfection.

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The lasagna this time had the well blended flavors that would make an Italian grandmother proud. The layers of ground beef, sauce and smooth ricotta/parmesan cheese were evenly distributed right to the edges of the noodles in the baking dish.

There were no undercooked noodles to be found this time. 🙂

DH is already back on the computer looking for the perfect garlic bread to go with this Italian masterpiece.

This recipe can be found at here at allrecipes.com