Lasagna Day 2024 is on Monday, July 29, 2024: Fool-Proof Lasagna Recipe?

Monday, July 29, 2024 is Lasagna Day 2024. Easy Lasagna Recipes‎ Behold Authentic Italian Flavor & Add Parmesan To Your Lasagna!

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Honoring Garfield’s favourite food, Lasagne Day champions the mixture of minced meat and layered pasta. Add cheese, sauces, try vegetarian options and go wild!

You want an authentic Italian Lasagna? Mine is too die for, and it will use your beshemel sauce.

You need the following:

lasagna noodles

Bolognese sauce

Beshemel sauce

1 box frozen spinach

mozzarella

fontina cheese

ricotta cheese

Parmesan cheese

Parsley (flat leaf)

1 small can of regular tomato sauce

First make your bolognese sauce a day ahead, because it takes awhile to make, and if it's already done ahead of time, you can just assemble your lasagna together, and put it in the oven.

What I do, instead of using a huge 9x12 pan. I use a Meatloaf pan. This allows you to pile the lasagna up higher for more layers of goodness... and since you're cooking for only 2 people, you're not going to have to eat leftovers for 2 weeks... lol.

To assemble the lasagna:

1 can of tomato sauce goes on the bottom of the meatloaf pan (so the noodles won't stick). Next you lay down a layer of noodles, and you'll have to cut them, or break them up if your pan isn't wide enough. It's ok to do this, cuz you'll never know once it's all cooked. Third, add your cheese mixture. Then your Bolognese sauce... then repeat with the noodles, cheese, sauce.. .etc.

Bake it at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.... covered by tinfoil. Then add more fontina and mozzarella cheese on the top, kick up the temperature to 400 degrees and return it to the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

LAST, pour some extra beshemel sauce down over your plates, and put the lasagna over the top with some chopped parsley down over the lasagna.

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Bolognese Sauce:

Saute garlic (3 cloves), onion (1 medium), celery (2 stalks), and chopped carrots (1 carrot) in olive oil.

Add 1 lb of meat (preferably a combination of half ground beef, and half italian sausage)

Next, Add 1 cup of Red wine, like merlot.

Add 1 cup of beef stock, Let it reduce by half.

Then, add 1 small can of tomato paste AND a 28 oz can of tomato puree.

Let it cook, partially covered for a couple hours. If it gets too thick, add more beef stock. Finish it with fresh basil that has been finely cut up.

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Cheese mixture for the lasagna:

1 cup of beshemel sauce

1 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

15 oz's of ricotta cheese

1 cup grated fontina cheese

1 cup mozzarella

1 small box of frozen spinach (thawed, and broken up)

*Mix all the cheese together with the spinach. If you have some cheese mixture leftover, you can put it on some french bread, or crusty bread, and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. It's the best.

**You will need more mozzarella and fontina cheese for the top of the lasagna... but just enough to cover the top of it.

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OR you can put a twist on it and make lasagna rolls... which you cook ur noodles partially, and take your cheese mixture and roll up the cheese mixture in the noodle. Then just top with sauce. You don't have to use the Bolognese sauce that I gave for these... just a simple marinara will work.

how to make lasagna?

If you want a real, homemade lasagna, here is your answer. I will give you the recipe, but you can also go onto the website I found it and it gives step-by-step directions with pictures. It's wonderful! And the ingredients are those found anywhere. Good luck!

Pioneer Woman’s Lasagna

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 pound hot breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean’s bulk)

2 cloves minced garlic

2 14.5 oz cans whole tomatoes

2 6 oz cans tomato paste

2 T dried parsley flakes

2 T dried basil

1 t salt

10-oz package of lasagna noodles (the wavy kind) (boil adding ½ t salt and 1 T olive oil to water) al dente

Mix together:

3 cups lowfat cottage cheese

2 beaten eggs

½ cup Kraft Parmesan cheese

2 T dried parsley flakes

1 tsp salt

1 lb sliced mozzarella cheese

In a skillet, combine 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 1 pound hot breakfast sausage, and 2 cloves minced garlic.

Cook until brown. Drain off about half the fat (or more, to taste).

After that, add two 14.5-oz cans of whole tomatoes, two 6-oz cans of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of dried parsley flakes, 2 tablespoons dried basil and 1 teaspoon salt.

Mix together thoroughly and simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, boil a 10-oz package of lasagna noodles. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the water, as well as 1 tablespoon olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking. Cook the noodles “al dente” so they’ll still have quite a bite to them. When they’re finished cooking, drain, rinse with cool water, and lay the noodles flat on a sheet of aluminum foil. That way, they’ll be easier to handle later.

While the meat mixture and noodles are cooking, mix 3 cups lowfat cottage cheese in a bowl with 2 beaten eggs. To the cottage cheese, add 1/2 cup Kraft Parmesan Cheese. 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix together well.

Now, go ahead and build your assembly line: meat mixture, 1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese mixture, and cooked lasagna noodles. Lay four cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan, overlapping as you go. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Then lay 1/2 pound of mozzarella cheese slices on top of the cottage cheese mixture. This particular brand of cheese was cut very thin, so I had to double up the slices to make 1/2 pound. Don’t let this throw you off—some brands are cut thicker, and would only require a single layer of slices. NOTE: I prefer sliced mozzarella, but you can certainly use grated mozzarella if necessary. With the spoon, make a line through the middle of the meat mixture so you’ll distribute it evenly. Spread a little less than half of the meat mixture over the mozzarella cheese slices until it’s evenly distributed. Repeat and finish with meat mixture.

Top with a pretty generous layer of good ole Kraft grated parm.

Now pop it in a 350-degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. (Alternately, you could cover and freeze it, unbaked, at this point or cover and refrigerate, unbaked, for up to two days before baking.)

Here is the website. It will take you right to the lasagna recipe and directions and pictures:

Enjoy!

Chris

What is your budget for lasagna?

Lasagna is a once a year dish in my house so if I am going to all the trouble of making Lasagna, I will spend whatever I have to on the best ingredients I can find. I usually use Mario Batali's Lasagna Bolognese al Forno recipe which uses meat (ragu) and bechamel (white) sauces. I also try to use homemade lasagna noodles, not my homemade noodles. I buy them at a store that prepares fresh pasta. Sometimes I add defrosted squeezed out frozen chopped spinach under the layers of bechamel sauce and add about 1/2 pound of Italian fennel sausage to the Ragu sauce cooked with the Veal and Pork..

Lasagna Bolognese

Servings

Serves six to eight amply

Ingredients

Ragù: (aka Bolognese sauce. I often make just the ragu sauce to serve over pasta.)

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

4 stalks celery, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, sliced

1 pound veal, ground

1 pound pork, ground

4 ounces pancetta, ground (I have substituted prosciutto and it worked fine)

1 8-ounce can tomato paste

1 cup milk

1/2 cup white wine

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Béchamel:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

2 teaspoons salt (I only used 1/2 teaspoon salt, we watch our salt)

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Lasagna:

3/4 to 1 pound fresh pasta sheets, about 7 by 4 inches, or dried lasagna noodles blanched for 6 minutes and refreshed

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Oil for brushing

Cooking Instructions

Ragù: In a large heavy-bottom saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and sweat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are translucent. Add veal, pork, and pancetta to the vegetables, and brown over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together. Add the tomato paste, milk, wine, thyme, and 1 cup water, and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (if the ragù becomes too thick, add a little more water). Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

Béchamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the flour, and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture turns golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until it is just about to boil. Add the milk to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until the sauce is very smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds longer. Remove from the heat and season with salt and nutmeg.

Assembly: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with melted butter or oil, and layer in the following order from the bottom: ragù, pasta, béchamel, and grated cheese (saving about 1 cup béchamel for last topping), making 3 to 4 layers of pasta, finishing with ragù, béchamel, and 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled over the top. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the casserole is from the oven, Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes, slice, and serve.

Note: Extras freeze well and can be reheated in the microwave. I have also made the Ragu sauce 3-4 days in advance and assembled the lasagna the day before I baked it. Of course I refrigerated the unbaked lasagna overnight. If preparing ahead of time, remove the lasagna from the fridge 2 hours ahead of time to allow it to come up to room temperature before baking.