Delicious Easy Lasagna

I think Lasagna is one of the ultimate comfort foods. We've had the most snow this Wednesday that this area (Benton, Ar) has seen in a while. Here we got about 7 inches with the Northwest part of the state seeing 15-18 inches in some places. Personally, I love it. I'm originally from Wyoming, moving to this area about 15 years ago, and I miss the snow terribly.

I have used this recipe for years. It's probably my favorite for several reasons, one being its really really good, and another being its really easy to make. Win - Win

See the gooey cheese coming up through the noodles...love it.

Start by browning your meat with some salt and pepper.

Then add your onion, garlic and spices.

Pour in your tomatoes, paste and water.

and.........Waa-Laa!!!!!  Rich and delicious tomato sauce.

You might spy a couple of mushrooms in there because I had a half jar in the fridge that

I added. You could actually add alot of mushrooms if you wanted to,

or some black olives for that matter. Go crazy.

Mix your cottage and ricotta cheeses with the salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.

Grate the other two cheese and mix together.

Add salt and a little olive oil to your boiling water to cook your noodles in.

Drain your noodles. Oh, I'm sure you probably notice the shells in there. When I checked to make sure I had lasagna noodles to make this, I didn't notice that the box had been opened, so I had to supplement with something else. I had probably a dozen shells from a previous recipe so I tossed them in. I just cut them somewhat in half and layered them in there. Once it was cooked you couldn't tell the difference.

Layer it all starting and ending with meat sauce.

Cook until it blends into scrumptious deliciousness.

Serve with garlic french bread.

I just buttered thick slices of bread and sprinkled with garlic salt then broiled them

under the broiler for a few minutes. Simple!

Delicious Easy-Peasy Lasagna

1 box lasagna noodles

1 ½ - 2 lbs ground chuck

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 6oz can of water

1 tsp sugar

CHEESE MIXTURE:

1 16oz container cottage cheese, small curd

1 15oz container ricotta cheese

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

¼ tsp Italian seasoning

8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Brown hamburger in olive oil, adding salt and pepper. Before it’s completely brown add onion, garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until meat is browned and onions are tender. Add crushed tomatoes, paste, water and sugar. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Taste to make sure it is well seasoned, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

Combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning; set aside. Grate mozzarella and Monterey and combine.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once it’s boiling, salt well and add a spash or two of olive oil so the noodles don't stick together, then cook noodles according to package instructions. Make sure you cook them just until el dente because you’ll be cooking them again in the oven.

To assemble; lightly spray a 9x13 baking pan and cover bottom with a small amount of meat sauce. Lay noodles side by side to cover bottom of pan (3 noodles should do it); top with a layer of cottage/ricotta cheese and a layer of shredded cheese. Cover with a layer of meat sauce and repeat layering with noodles, cheese and meat mixture, ending with the meat sauce. I like to do 4 or 5 layers so you would need to cook 12-15 noodles.

Bake at 375* covered for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese for the last 10 minutes of cook time if desired.

I love that you stopped by and appreciate all comments.