You ask and I deliver Jason, here you go! Lasagna… With the weather cooling it’s time to break out that oven and put a nice smell in the house. This meal is good for 6-8 servings, if you do 6 I won’t tell, so be sure open up your stomachs and enjoy this mash of tomato sauce, pasta, and three cheeses. Be sure to leave your requests and any tips or tricks are always welcomed in the comments.
Lasagna
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 box of no boil lasagna noodles (16 pieces)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 jars of tomato sauce (48 ounces)
- 1 15 ounce ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 2 eggs
- 1 table parsley
- 1/2 salt
- 1/2 pepper
- 1 dash nutmeg
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground beef on a skillet and drain the juice. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix until blended.
In a 9 x 13 glass baking pan, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce and cover the bottom. Lay 4 pasta noodles down and make sure they overlap a little bit. Put 1/3 cheese mixture and 1/3 meat in a nice layer. Repeat starting with another layer of tomato sauce and continue until you are out of pasta. The top layer should just be tomato sauce and pasta. Add some additional parmesan cheese on top.
Cover with a sheet of foil (shiny side down) and bake for 60 minutes, remove the foil for the final 10 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 15 minutes and serve.
We all need a break from the classic tomato sauce which is why I am sharing my classic pasta sauces with you. This pasta sauce is very basic and should be made with fresh ingredients for the best flavor. The combination of tomato, onion, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and garlic is the key to the flavor, but, add something new and see how it turns out! Just make sure you share your thoughts, ideas, or tweaks for this sauce in the comments below.
[print_link] Tomato and Meat Sauce with Pasta
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 1 green bell paper (sliced)
- 1/2 cup green onion (sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (mashed and minced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- 4 servings of noodles
- 1 lb ground beef
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350, then cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch width slices. Lay in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt, and sprinkle pepper over the exposed side of the tomatoes. Place tomatoes into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, which is a perfect time to start cooking the pasta!
In a skillet about 5 minutes before tomatoes finish in the oven, brown the ground beef with some oil. Add the green peppers, garlic, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Once tomatoes are done, remove from the oven and add to the skillet your beef. Mash the tomatoes down a bit with your spoon and then add the basil, thyme, and green onions. Continue cooking for another 5 or so minutes, transfer to a bowl of tasty noodles, then finish with a nice drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top and serve.