Lasagna

I have a wonderful Chicken Lasagna recipe that has been in my repertoire for a few years now, but I have never had a true, traditional Italian meat lasagna recipe.

Until now.

For Jonathan's 30th birthday dinner, I made The Pioneer Woman's lasagna from her new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks! It was amazing. It was phenomenal. It was so delicious, and heart-warming, and filling, and ugh. We just loved it! This is now my go-to recipe that I'm sure I'll cook for my husband and kids till I'm a little old woman. This will be the recipe I pass on to my grandchildren. It may even be the first meal Nora cooks for her future husband. Who knows! It's in the family now.

I invite you to try it out yourselves and make it part of your family, too!

Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
10 ounces lasagna noodles
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1.5 lbs. hamburger
1 lb. hot breakfast sausage
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 14.5-ounce cans whole tomatoes
2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper
10-12 fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the olive oil and a dash of salt. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the noodles and lay them flat on a piece of aluminum foil.

3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the hamburger, sausage, and garlic until brown. Drain off excess fat.

4. Add the tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly ground pepper.

5. Stir together well. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Cut the basil into a chiffonade by stacking leaves on top of one another and rolling them tightly, then cutting across. Finely chop parsley. Add half the herbs to the meat mixture and stir together.

7. In a medium bowl, combine the cottage cheese, beaten eggs, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and the other half of the herbs. Stir together well.

8. Now time to assemble: Begin by laying 4 lasagna noodles in the bottom of a deep rectangular baking pan. The noodles should slightly overlap.

9. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture onto the noodles. Spread to distribute evenly.

10. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese on top of the cottage cheese mixture.

11. Spoon just under half of the meat mixture on top of the cheese. Spread evenly, being careful not to disrupt the layers below.

12. Now repeat the process: noodles, cottage cheese mixture, shredded mozzarella cheese, and finally the remainder of the meat mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over the top.

13. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the lasagna is hot and bubbly. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Serves 8 generous portions.

***Lasagna can be fully assembled and frozen, unbaked.
***You can view the Pioneer Woman's step-by-step process for her lasagna on her website by clicking here.