Aunt Arlenes Lasagna Recipes

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

COUSIN ARLENE'S SPAGHETTI LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook spaghetti in large saucepan of salted boiling water until almost tender. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, cook and stir 1 minute. Add ground beef and sugar, sean with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until beef is no longer pink, drain fat and discard. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste, simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Beat sour cream and cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth. Add green onions, mix well.
• Spread some meat sauce in a 2 quart casserole to prevent noodles from sticking. Layer half of spaghetti, half of sour cream mixture and half of meat ixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top. Bake 35 minutes or until heated through. Garnish as desired.

AUNT ANGIE'S LASAGNA RECIPE

Steps:

• For the Meatball Mix: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Roll meatballs into desired size and bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. For the lasagna, instead of rolling into desired size, spread mix out evenly on a sheet pan and bake. Break up the meat for lasagna.
• For the Meat Sauce: In a stock pot (or large cooking vessel) brown the ground beef. Add the celery/carrot/onion mix and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the seasonings. Let simmer for 2 hours.
• For Aunt Angie's Lasagna: Using a 1/2 hotel pan or medium to large baking dish, coat the bottom with a thin layer of meat sauce. Lay out 4 pieces of lasagna so they go up the side of the pan with an additional 3 to 4 inches hanging over the edge. Do the same in the other direction of the pan using pieces of pasta. Add another layer of meat sauce, followed by 1/2 of the meatball mix. Then top the meat with 1 pound of the ricotta cheese, 1 pound of mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of Romano. Add a layer of pasta and repeat to have 2 layers. Fold over the remaining pasta to cover the top. Top with meat sauce and place in preheated oven and bake until proper serving temperature is reached or top is golden brown.

AUNT MARY'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large skillet brown ground beef, season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
• Add pasta sauce.
• In a large bowl soften cream cheese and mix with sour cream, cottage cheese, onion and bell pepper.
• Boil lasagna noodles according to package direction.
• Butter 13 X 9 baking dish.
• Layer noodles, cream cheese mixture, then pasta sauce mixture.
• Layer parmesan cheese then mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat layers ending with parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
• Bake 350 for 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

AUNT FAYE'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix all the pks of cheeses together in a large bowl an set aside.
• Boil both pk of lasagna noodles per directions, drain and set in cold water, (this helps them not to stick together), and leave in water until time for use.
• While noodles are boiling, combine ground beef and sausage in a large skillet , add seasonings and onion and cook until everything is brown.
• Drain grease add both jars of spaghetti sauce and sour cream and mix well. Put back on stove on medium low so flavor can soak into the meat.
• In a large deep dish place a layer of noodles, then add meat sauce, put a layer of pepperoni on top of meat sauce, then make a complete layer of cheese on top of that.
• Keep repeating step 6 until you fill the dish. On the very top layer after you add the last layer of cheese sprinkle graciously with bacon bits.
• Bake in the oven for about 30 - 45 minutes or until cheese is golden brown on top.

AUNT MAY'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer; drain. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 40-50 minutes or until thickened., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Discard bay leaf from meat sauce. Stir in olives., Spread a fourth of the sauce in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Top with three noodles and a third of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and cheese. , Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

AUNT SHARON'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown sausage and drain off fat. Add next 5 ingredients. Simmer uncovered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Cook lasagna noodles until tender. Drain and rinse.
• Combine remaining ingredients, except mozzarella.
• Place half of the noodles in a 13x9 pan. Spread 1/2 ricotta mixture over noodles. Add 1/2 the meat mixture and 1/2 the mozzarella. Repeat with a second layer.
• Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

AUNT JUDI'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Meat Sauce:.
• Brown and drain meat.
• Add all other meat sauce ingredients to pan with meat and simmer, uncovered until thick - about 45 minutes to an hour.
• Cook noodles. Drain and rinse.
• Cheese mixture:.
• Mix together all cheese mixture ingredients in large bowl.
• Note: If using 9x13 pan, makes 2 layers. If using 8x8 pan, makes 3 layers with left over ingredients. We like a thicker lasagna so I go for the smaller pan and then use left over noodles to make little "lasagna rolls.".
• Spread small amount of sauce in bottom of pan to help with sticking.
• Make first layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 (or 1/3) of cheese mixture over noodles. Top with just shy of 1/2 (or 1/3) of meat sauce spread over cheese. Then just shy of 1/2 (or 1/3) of mozzerella over meat.
• Repeat layers until you run out of cheese mixture or you reach the top of the pan.
• Layer one final layer of noodles, light layer of sauce and remaining mozzerella cheese.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Can be frozen before or after baking.

AUNT ARLENE'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown garlic, chicken, sausage, in hot olive oil.
• Stir in soup mix, water, tomatoe paste, sauce and spices.
• Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
• Cook lasagna noodles, drain and cool in cold water.
• Cover bottom of pan with meat sauce. Arrange noodles lengthwise in pan.
• Add cheese on top of meat sauce at each layer.
• Bake at 350 degrees, for 30 minutes.