Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 large box of lasagna noodles [16oz] -* I buy two boxes to use up any leftovers for a second lasagna to freeze for later
2 jars spaghetti sauce [24oz. your choice Prego , Ragu , etc.]
1 pound ground beef
1/2 or 1 pound Italian sausage [ground]
16 oz. fresh mushrooms
15 oz. ricotta cheese
2 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese
3 eggs beaten
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 pounds mozzarella cheese [shredded]
1 onion [diced]
olive oil
basil
garlic powder
oregano
salt
pepper
2 disposable aluminum pans [the second pan is for any leftovers you can make an additional lasagna to freeze for later]
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Directions: |
Directions:In a large pot bring to a boil some water for your lasagna noodles . Add a splash of olive oil and salt to the water. Boil the pasta til al dente according to your package instructions. [about 5-7 min] . Drain , add another splash of olive oil to coat the pasta to keep them from sticking together . Set aside.
In a large skillet add a splash of olive oil and your diced onion . Add into the skillet your ground beef and Italian sausage. [Salt , pepper . basil . oregano ,garlic powder to taste.] I usually just sprinkle across the top of the meat with each of these spices then add if it needs more at the end of cooking .Continue to cook this in the skillet until nicely browned. Add in your fresh sliced mushrooms . Continue to saute these ingredients for about a minute or two until the mushrooms are soft and yummy. Drain off extra grease. Add to the meat mixture 1 of the jars of spaghetti sauce . Keep the other jar of spaghetti sauce for later. Set aside.
In a large bowl you will combine your ricotta cheese , softened cream cheese , beaten eggs , and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Hand mix with a fork until you get a soft creamy mixture [smooth not too lumpy] I sometimes add a pinch of oregano to make it pretty . Set aside
Now its time to make an assembly line for yourself. This recipe will make one nice sized lasagna but you can most likely make an extra. I always have an extra box of lasagna noodles on stand by should i have left overs and make an extra pan to freeze for later. Set out on your counter your meat mixture , your cheese mixture , your pasta , open your bags of shredded mozzarella , your remainder Parmesan cheese , and open your last jar of spaghetti sauce.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place your lasagna pans on top of a cookie sheet for stability
To begin , add a splash of your jarred spaghetti sauce to the bottom of your lasagna pan , this will keep the lasagna from burning or sticking too bad on the bottom. Using a large ladle spoon get you a spoon of the meat mixture and add it to the bottom of the pan. Add now a layer of lasagna noodles. With a large tablespoon add spoonfuls of the cheese mixture all around the top of the noodles now add a layer of the meat mixture on top of that . Begin adding a layer of mozzarella cheese to the top of that layer now. Sprinkle it lightly with Parmesan. Repeat this layering til you reach the top of the pan , leaving at least an inch from the top so it wont spill over in the cooking process . The final top layer will be a layer of pasta topped with the remainder of your jarred spaghetti sauce topped with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese . Dont worry if you have remaining ingredients just make another pan for later.
Place your lasagna in the oven for about an hour or until your lasagna top is golden bubbly . You may need to cook it up to 90 min if needed. I watch for the top cheese to become golden and the sauce bubbly and the center the same way. Remove from oven and cover lightly with aluminum foil allow to sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Enjoy . |
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