Day #72 and #73 - Homemade Lasagna

When I was growing up, I used to really look forward to Sunday evenings. We usually had a really nice dinner, like one of those meals that is usually reserved for special occasions. We didn't have dessert very often - but if we did, it was usually on Sundays while we were all sitting down to watch the Sunday night movie that was one TV. I'm probably the only one who remembers those movies, but it was something I always looked forward to.

Anyway - I have decided that I want to set aside one night a week to create these kinds of memories for Kayla. I just need to pick a night.

Anyway - Sunday night, we had all the fixings for Lasagna that's what we made and it was SO dang good. We had leftovers for dinner tonight!

Our fabulous dinner was washed down with these AMAZING chocolate fudge brownings topped with chocolate ganache and some vanilla ice cream.

Lasagna Ingredients:

Chunky Tomato Sauce:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion, Minced

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef

1 tsp Salt

6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

28 oz Crushed Tomatoes

28 oz Diced Tomatoes

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano

1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Sauce Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, until shimmering. Add the onion and 1 tsp salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes with the juice, oregano and red pepper flakes. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a separate pan, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook, stirring to break up the clumps, until no longer pink. Add meat mixture to tomato mixture and cook about 5 minutes.

Lasagna:

15 oz Ricotta Cheese

1-1/4 Cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated

1/4 tsp Dried Basil

1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

6 Cups Tomato Sauce (See Recipe Above)

12 No Boil Lasagna Noodles

4 Cups Skim Milk Mozzarella, Shredded

Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the basil, egg, salt and pepper until well combined.

Spread 1/4 Cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place 3 noodles on top of the sauce and drop 3 Tbsp of the ricotta mixture down the center of each noodle, then spread it to an even thickness. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Spoon 1-1/2 cups of the tomato sauce evenly over the cheese. Repeat this layering two more times.

For the final layer, place the 3 remaining noodles on top. Spread the remaining 1-1/4 cup sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and then the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Spray a large sheet of foil lightly with vegetable oil spray and cover the lasagna. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.