Sunday, June 17, 2012

Lasagna

Lasagna is my boyfriend's most requested meal (maybe tied with shrimp and grits). Since he moved to a new apartment recently, I made him a lasagna to enjoy after all the heavy lifting.



I'm not much help with moving but I bring dinner so things even out, right?

This is a recipe I have adapted a few times from a Southern Living recipe. It is not authentic Italian, but that's fine by me.

Also, I made 2 lasagnas at once so the amount of food in my pictures is twice the amount of food I'm telling you to use.


You will need: 1 lb lean ground beef, 1/2 lb mild Italian sausage, 1 package pepperoni (weird I know but so good), 1 small can of tomato paste, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1/2 onion, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of sour cream (not pictured), 2 eggs (also not pictured), 1/4 cup of red wine, 6 lasagna noodles, 1 Tbsp dried parsley, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, 2 Tbsp fresh basil, 1 beef boulion cube, 2 cups of mozzarella, 1/2 cup of parmesan, and 1 tsp garlic powder.

I know, it's a lot. Also, I'm sorry I forgot to take photos of several ingredients.


In a large skillet, brown 1 lb of ground beef and 1/2 lb of mild Italian sausage.


Crumble the meat.


While the meat is browning, chop up a half of a large onion....


And a half of a red bell pepper.


After the meat is all browned and you've drained the grease, add the onion and pepper to the skillet.


Stir it all up.


Pour in half a cup of red wine and let all the liquid evaporate.


Add in a small can of tomato paste.


Stir it up and coat all of the meat in the tomato paste.


Pour in a can of tomato sauce...


Followed by a can of diced tomatoes.


Add in a tablespoon of dried parsley...


1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning and 1 tsp of garlic powder...


And 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano.


Grab some fresh basil, stack it up...


And give it a rough chop...


And throw it in too.


Now let the sauce simmer while you get the other layers ready.


In a medium bowl, throw in 8 oz of room temperature cream cheese...


1 cup of cottage cheese...


2 eggs...


and 1/4 cup of sour cream.


Blend it all together until the cream cheese lumps are as small as the cottage cheese curds.


Now it's time to layer! Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a greased pan. If the sauce seems too thick after simmering, add some water. Or wine. Your choice.


Now lay 3 uncooked noodles on top of the meat sauce.


Now top the noodles with half of the cheese mixture. Then a layer of pepperoni. I forgot to take a photo of this.


Next, layer half of the meat sauce.


And top that with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.


Repeat the layers.


Now top everything with 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.


Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.


Mmm... Cheesy. And a huge hit.

2 comments:

  1. seriously a HUGE HIT best lasagna i have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth yuuuuummmmm

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  2. mmmm...this post was making my mouth water. Your lasagna is sooooo good!

    ReplyDelete