Almost Lasagna Recipes

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

ZUCCHINI LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and mushrooms and saute until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until it wilts. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Meanwhile, trim the ends of the zucchini. Using a knife, carefully slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips, about 1/16 inch thick. If the zucchini looks watery, lay the slices on paper towels to absorb excess moisture before using.
• Grate the mozzarella cheese and set aside.
• Cut the basil into a chiffonade by stacking the leaves on top of one another, rolling them tightly and then cutting across. Finely chop the parsley. In a medium bowl, combine the herbs, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the eggs, salt and pepper and stir well.
• To assemble the lasagna, place a third of the mushrooms and spinach mixture over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Spoon a layer of marinara on top and cover with half of the zucchini strips, carefully overlapping the edges. Spoon half of the cottage cheese mixture onto the zucchini and spread to distribute evenly. Sprinkle half the mozzarella on top of the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat the process above, layering the mushrooms and spinach, marinara, the remaining zucchini strips, cottage cheese, and mozzarella into the dish. Top with the remaining mushrooms and spinach, followed by a final layer of marinara.
• Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of the Parmesan over the top and bake until the lasagna is hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Allow to stand for 35 minutes before cutting into squares.

ALMOST LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1. Brown meat and drain well, if necessary
• 2. While meat is cooking, stir together eggs, ricotta, grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.
• 3. Mix cooked meat, macaroni, sauce and veggies. Add ricotta mixture and blend well.
• 4. Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.
• 5. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and bake the casserole for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until the cheese on top is lightly browned and bubbly.

ALMOST LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1. For the Sauce: Heat a sauce pot with the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and sauté on medium low until the onion is transparent. Add the crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth and continue to simmer on low. Add all of the seasonings and simmer on low; partially covered. For Lasagna: Preheat Oven 325 degrees: Sauté the ground beef in a frying pan and then drain any fat and set the ground beef aside. Boil the potatoes with the skin until fork tender; then let cool; slice and set aside.. Heat a large frying pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the zucchini slices until slightly golden; then set aside. Combine the yogurt, milk and all the seasoning and lemon juice. Briskly stir with a fork. Add the yogurt combination to the sautéed ground beef and toss. Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil at the bottom of a baking pan and lay out a layer of potato slices. Spoon the ground beef mixture on top of the potatoes and then spoon the tomato sauce and grate cheese on top. Next, layer the zucchini and repeat with the potatoes and continue until everything is used up. Finish with the sauce and grated cheese. Bake 35-40 minutes.

ALMOST LASAGNA - RACHAEL RAY

Steps:

• Heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente. Heads up: you will need a ladle of the starchy cooking water to help form sauce before draining.
• Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the meat and break it up into small bits as it caramelizes. Once meat has good color to it, 4 to 5 minutes, add garlic, onions and red pepper flakes and season with salt, pepper, allspice and Worcestershire sauce. Cook another 5 minutes, deglaze the meat and onions with red wine, cook off a minute, then combine about 1/2 cup of stock into the meat. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a bubble. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 minutes.
• Place ricotta cheese in the bottom of a shallow bowl. Add a ladleful of boiling, starchy pasta water to the ricotta and stir to combine. Add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan to the ricotta and mix it inches.
• Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with cheeses. Add half the thick meat sauce to the pasta bowl and combine. Tear or shred the basil and add to the meat and pasta, toss again. Taste to adjust salt and pepper. Serve bowlfuls of Not-sagna with extra sauce on top and more grated Parmesan to pass at the table.

AMANDA'S "ALMOST FAMOUS" LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large saute or sauce pan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and spread it around the bottom of the, allowing it to brown before turning with a spoon. If it's easier, break up the sausage with a potato masher while it is in the pan to form bit-sized pieces. Continue to cook and stir until it is just cooked through, about 5-8 minutes.
• Add all of the tomato sauce except a few tablespoons. (The reserved sauce will coat the bottom of the lasagna pan.) Stir to combine the sausage with the tomato sauce, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until the flavors meld. Taste, adding salt if necessary. (Many times the sausage has plenty of seasoning already.)
• While the sauce simmers, make the cheese filling. In a medium mixing bowl, combine three cups of the mozzarella with the ricotta and 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan. Stir to combine. Taste, adding a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper if needed.
• Add the egg to the mixture and stir to incorporate.
• Place the remaining cup of mozzarella and the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan in a small bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
• To build the lasagna, spread the reserved tablespoons of tomato sauce across the bottom of a 8 X 12 or 9 X 13 baking dish. Place 4 of the lasagna noodles crosswise, allowing them to overlap a bit if necessary. (If the noodles you are using cover the length of the pan, place 3 of the noodles lengthwise to create the first layer.)
• Drop ½ of the ricotta cheese mixture in spoonfuls across the noodles. Spread it out evenly with a spatula or even use your hands if necessary to create a fairly even layer. Pour 1/3 of the meat sauce over the cheese and spread with a spatula to cover.
• Repeat with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture, and ⅓ of the meat sauce.
• Add the final layer of noodles, then the remaining sauce, ensuring the noodles are totally covered with the sauce.
• Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan over the entire lasagna.
• Cover the pan tightly with a piece of aluminum foil. Place it on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes. Lift a corner of the foil and insert a knife in the lasagna. If it easily punctures the noodles, remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes until bubbly. If not, cover it again and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
• Allow the lasagna to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately.

ALMOST LASAGNA -- $1.50 PER SERVING

Steps:

• Brown meat and drain well, if necessary.
• While meat is cooking, stir together eggs, ricotta, grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.
• Mix cooked meat, macaroni, sauce and veggies. Add ricotta mixture and blend well.
• Coat a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.
• Heat your oven to 350°F and bake the casserole for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until the cheese on top is lightly browned and bubbly.