Italian Style Lasagna My Way Recipes

ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown bacon and onion in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in fennel seed, 1 teaspoon oregano, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce. Cover, and simmer on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until thick.
• Brown sausage links in a large skillet. Drain on paper towels. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Mix together ricotta cheese, egg, milk, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
• Layer 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Layer with 1/3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 sausage pieces, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/2 provolone cheese. Top with 1/3 sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/3 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours.

ITALIAN-STYLE LASAGNA-MY WAY

Steps:

• Fry together ground beef and Italian sausage until no longer pink; drain.
• Add onion, celery and garlic; cook about 5 minutes.
• Add to meat mixture the remaining 8 ingredients; cook covered for 30-45 minutes, adding small amounts of water if necessary and stirring frequently. Mixture should be relatively thick. Remove from heat and stir in minced parsley.
• Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease lasagna baking pan.
• Layer a small amount of meat sauce in bottom of baking pan (about 1 cup), topping with about 5 noodles, overlapping slightly. Top lasagna noodles with more sauce, several pieces of cream cheese and the 3 cheeses all equally divided between remaining layers. Repeat until sauce, noodles and cheese are used up.
• Cover baking pan with foil (can grease underside of foil, too) and bake 40 minutes; remove foil from pan and return to oven, baking an additional 10 minutes or until bubbly.
• Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bechamel sauce:
• In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
• In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

LASAGNA MY WAY

Steps:

• Use a large lasagna pan or 2 9x13 baking dishes. I have a HUGE lasagna pan, so I use it. Next time I make lasagna, I'm going to weight it!
• Make spaghetti sauce (with or without the veggies) as per my page. https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/italian/spaghetti-sauce-sorta-scratch.html?p=1 Mix the cheeses and eggs, reserving 1 cup of Parmesan for the top.
• Begin building the lasagna starting with the sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, noodles, ultimately ending with cheese mixture. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top.
• Cover with foil and bake at 350. For a deep lasagna pan, 1 1/2-2 hours, for 2 9x13 pans, 1 hour. Remove the foil and let the cheese brown for the last 10 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for about 20 minutes before serving.
• This freezes well before or after baking. I normally bake first, then make individual containers for the freezer. You can make this in smaller disposable baking pans for shut-ins or to freeze and bake at a later time. If you use the disposable containers, place them on a cookie sheet when you bake them.