I wish I had a picture for this yummy recipe but we gobbled it up so fast I forgot! This is a Dougherty family favorite. Its easy to make (but a bit time consuming) and you can freeze it.
{the goods}
1 lb. italian sausage
***I usually use italian sausage because I like the flavor but this time all I had was ground beef.
1 medium chopped onion
***I usually use half an onion since my husband hates onions. I chop it really fine.
1 garlic glove, crushed
2 Tbl. parsley flakes
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 16oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
12 uncooked lasagne noodles
***I ended up only using 9 noodles. My pan just wasn't deep enough.
16 oz. cottage or ricotta cheese
***Our family usually uses cottage cheese because it is more moist. Ricotta tends to dry out the lasagne some.
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 T. parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (8oz. bag)
{let's get to cookin'}
Cook and stir sausage, onion and garlic. While sausage is cooking bring kettle of water to boil for noodles. Drain sausage when cooked. Stir in parsley, sugar, basil, salt, tomatoes and sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes. Cook noodles in now boiling water. While noodles boil, mix ricotta, 1/4 c. Parmesan, parsley, and oregano. Spread 1 c. sauce in 9x13 pan. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1c. cheese mixture over noodles. Spread 1c. sauce. Sprinkle with 2/3c. mozzarella. Repeat all steps until finished. You should end with mozzarella and Parmesan on top. Bake at 350 deg. for 45 min. Let set and cool for 10-15 min before serving.
*** I have found that lasagne noodles are a bit tricky to boil. I usually end up burning a finger or two for some reason because of splashing water. I try and break the noodles in half when I cook them. This also helps when you lay them into the pan. You already have a cut section of lasagne to serve.
*** The cottage cheese mixture for layering is purely on preference. If you like more mozzarella by all means use more mozzarella. If you don't like all the cottage cheese just put on a very thin layer. The best thing about lasagne is that you can make it to your own preference!
*** I timed this, it takes me about 1 1/2 hours from start to finished product. I started it at 6pm and we were eating at 7:45pm. Enjoy!Labels: recipe