LASAGNA

CLASSIC LASAGNA

CLASSIC LASAGNA
This classic lasagna is absolutely delicious and one that will be requested over and over. A perfect comfort food that satisfys those pasta cravings, those cheese cravings and it’s pretty easy to prepare and the leftovers are to die for! Even better the second day. Loaded with gobs of cheese, from the mozzarella cheese, to the cottage cheese (can substitute Ricotta), to the Parmesan cheese, this is one cheesy pasta dish everyone will love! You can also add more mozzarella cheese if you’d like it even more cheesy! Like I’ve said many times, you can never have enough cheese.
Do you have a family favorite meal that you have been making for ages and ages? Well, this Classic Lasagna recipe is one that I have been making since my son was little. As a young mom, I can remember heading to the grocery store and usually buying my stuff to make this and another favorite, Farfalle with Sausage. At least once a month I made this classic lasagna. Being a stay at home mom, I loved to cook and did a lot of it, always making different meals and this was one of our favorites that is still being requested often.
CHEESY AND OH SO GOOD
The last time I made this classic lasagna was probably about a month ago. My daughter, Halie, did not even know this lasagna was made with cottage cheese. While she was helping me, she was surprised when I asked her to get the cottage cheese out of the fridge. Halie had no clue that I have used this all these years. That’s funny to me because she doesn’t even like cottage cheese, but she loves this classic lasagna!
Totally a great comfort food that the whole family will enjoy and a great go-to lasagna recipe that will be gobbled up in no time! Everyone loves this classic lasagna and we hope that it becomes a family favorite in your house. And to make things even easier, the oven ready lasagna noodles are perfect to use as well and makes preparing this meal even quicker.
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
  • 1 15 oz can water use the tomato sauce can
  • 1 12 oz can tomato paste
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 24 oz mozzarella cheese grated (can use more)
  • 16 oz cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 16 oz box lasagna pasta you will only need about 15 noodles
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large pan, add olive oil, chopped onions and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add ground beef and cook until completely browned, drain fat. Return to pan.
  4. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
  5. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for approximately 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente, rinse and set aside.
  7. Lightly spray a 14 x 11 1/2 x 2 1/4 baking dish (or two smaller size baking dishes) with a non stick spray then add a small amount of meat mixture in the bottom of dish. Spread around.
  8. Add lasagna noodles (approximately 5, they will overlap onto each other).
  9. Next, spoon half of the cottage cheese on top of pasta and spread over pasta.
  10. Spoon 1/3 meat mixture on top of cottage cheese.
  11. Sprinkle with half the Parmesan cheese.
  12. Next add 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.
  13. Repeat with another layer of pasta, cottage cheese, meat mixture, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese.
  14. Final layer is pasta, topped with remaining meat mixture and remaining mozzarella cheese.
  15. Cover with foil and cook for approximately 50-60 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
  16. Serve with salad and garlic bread.
  17. ENJOY!