090522 – lasagna(e) nite
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Joe’s family came to visit this weekend, and that makes 5 of us in our little apartment. so instead of our usual pizza Friday, we opted for lasagna(e).
Joe found a very well rated recipe on allrecipes.com and adapted it a bit to meet or taste. Basically omitted the sausage, added some spinach, and tweaked the spices. In the end, it is a very similar lasanga to my Uncle Tom’s recipe, but a better sauce.
- 1 3/4 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 C minced onion
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 T white sugar
- 1 1/2 t dried basil leaves
- 1 t oregano
- 1 t fennel seeds
- 1 T salt
- 1/4 t ground black pepper
- 1/2 t cayenne pepper
- 4 T chopped fresh parsley
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 boxes frozen spinach, thawed (or 4 C fresh spinach)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 t salt
- 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- In a Dutch oven, cook ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices, then spinach. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over spinach, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
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