Another family favourite….lasagna! When I was a kid I would eat half of the pan of lasagna….I just loved it! Ask my Mom or Aunt Angela…they’ll tell ya. Probably could now too….but I won’t. My appetite isn’t as big as when I was younger. I once was a very active kid that blew the calories off like it was nothing! Ah the joys of being a kid, wish I had that metabolism and energy now!
You don’t have to follow this recipe as is…you can omit or add what you want…so long as you got the noodles, sauce and cheese your good to go!
What you will need:
- 1 pkg lasagna noodles
- mozzarella cheese
- 5-6 balls of bocconcini cheese balls sliced or 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- parmesan or romano cheese
- 2 cans or jars of your favorite pasta sauce or homemade sauce
- 1/2-1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
In a mini food processor, blend the carrot, onion, garlic and a stick of celery if you have it. Add the pureed vegetables to a large pot with some olive oil, add the chili flakes if you are using them, add in the ground beef and break up into small chunks. Add in the sauce, season with salt, mix all together. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Cover and allow to simmer on medium to low heat for at least a half an hour, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, bring another large pot of water to boil, and boil the lasagna noodles. Drain and rinse with cold water when done boiling.
Now the fun part putting it all together!!
Preheat oven to 350 to 375 everyone’s oven temp is different. I bake mine at 375.
Take a lasagna pan 11″x 15″ or 13″x 9″ size pan which ever you prefer, whether you want a thick lasagna or thin.
Spread some sauce on bottom of pan. Layer with lasagna noodles around 5, then layer again with sauce, sprinkle the cheese’s.
Continue with the layers sauce, noodles and cheese.
Spread the most amount of sauce & cheese on the top to seal in the juices and for the presentation, adding the sliced bocconcini makes for a nice topping, it melts beautifully!
The reason I did not specify on the amount of cheese is because its a personal preference if you like a lot of cheese or not.
You can make a bechamel sauce and spread that on the top if you desire, I do at times. Bake in oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Enjoy!