Katie is getting ready to go back to school this week. Back to big girl’s school where she’ll have her own apartment (that she shares with three other girls) and she’ll get to do her own cooking and stay up late and do things that she won’t write about on her blogs because she knows I read them. Not bad things, of course, just stuff.
Anyway, last night she made a request for her last-dinner-at-home-before-she-goes-back-to-school dinner. At the time, I didn’t know that her plans were to stay at home another night. I was 90% done with her special lasagna dinner when Honey Buns asked her what she wanted for her last-dinner-at-home-before-she-goes-back-to-school dinner for tonight (Tuesday).
Wait. What? Two last dinners? Nobody gets two last dinners; especially someone who lays on the couch snickering about the fact that they suckered their feeble old mother into believing that Monday night was their last night at home instead of Tuesday night. The shame of it all. And just to think, I gave up my last good knee carrying a heavy box up three flights of stairs only to fall flat, landing on said last good knee as I tripped over the high lip at the doorway entrance to said ingrate’s new apartment.
That’s okay, I got even. All the plates in the box broke; shattered to smithereens. Uh oh, on second though, that’s not so even…Now I have to replace them. Dang.
Well, I’m a mom, so I forgive easily. I may not forget. Ever. But I do forgive.
The lasagna that I made last night was among the finest that I have ever made. It was incredibly rich with flavor. I’ll give you the low down on it right now. You can fiddle with the ingredients if you want to, but don’t blame me if things don’t turn out right. Disclaimer: this is not diet lasagna. If you are going to make this lasagna and eat it, you need to understand that the rest of the week needs to be spent in fasting and thanksgiving.
Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Italian-style sausage
- 1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounces) small diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounces) can tomato sauce
- 1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional, depending on if you like heat with your lasagna
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 24 ounce carton cottage cheese
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 box lasagna noodles (you’ll only need 9 noodles out of the box)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Start boiling the water to cook the lasagna noodles.
- Brown sausage in a large skillet. Just as the sausage is losing its pink color, add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if you are using these). Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, oregano, basil, onion powder, and garlic powder. Give things a stir to mix well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. (I just sprinkled a little black pepper and added about ½ teaspoon salt.) Bring to a simmer and cook covered over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the sauce is cooking, cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. When the noodles are done, drain in a strainer and then give them a rinse in cool water. Drain again and set aside.
- Mix the cottage cheese, eggs, and 2 teaspoons dried parsley together in a bowl. Set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.
- In a 9 x 13-inch baking pan or dish, put a little sauce (about 1 cup or a little more) in the bottom of the dish. Place three lasagna noodles side by side down the length of the dish. Spoon a third of the cottage cheese mixture down the noodles. Now put a little less than 1/3 of the sauce on top of the cottage cheese mixture. Sprinkle with some of the mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat twice more layering with the noodles, cottage cheese mixture, sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Reserve some sauce to add to the top of the lasagna.
- After the last layer of mozzarella has been added, top with the remaining sauce. Place on a foil-lined shallow baking pan to catch any juices that might try to escape during the baking process. Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour. I usually bake my lasagna closer to 1 hour, but every oven cooks differently and every baking dish cooks a little differently. It’s better to over-cook this than to under-cook it because if it is undercooked it will be really runny, but of course the ideal is the mama bear stage (just right).
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting for serving. The resting allows time for the lasagna to set.
- Serve with steamed broccoli, or roasted summer squash, or a tossed salad, and some garlic bread.
Spread a small amount of sauce around in the bottom of the baking dish.
After the third layer, spoon the remaining sauce on top of the mozzarella. You remembered to save a little sauce for the top, right?
Teri, dear Teri! I just made & ate your lasagna & it is now my new favorite lasagna. We loved it! Thanks for taking the time to write this up–one question though, how in the world did you keep things clean enough to take such great photos–I had ingredients scattered all over the place as I was assembling my layers–okay it didn’t help that my grated mozzarella was frozen & I had to break it apart with a meat pounder. Yeppers, that was a bit messy! You’re the best cook EVER!
Annie, dear Annie! Guess what! My kitchen was a complete and utter disaster and I am talking major, serious disaster. The thing about photography is that you only let the things in the pictures that you want to have there.
And as for your frozen mozzarella, mine was frozen, too! I forgot to take it out of the freezer until I needed it.
Oops, I meant Terri, dear Terri! Forgive me? PS can’t wait for leftovers today!
Yes! Knew I’d find a winning lasagna recipe in your hearty homely recipe collection. I’ve made a few before and am just itchin’ to give this one a try. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.
Thanks, and let me know who things turn out for you.
This looks great. It is the same way I make mine. I just have to tell you I love your funny stories.
Leahtbug, great minds think alike, right? Thanks for dropping by and thanks for the compliment.