When I sat down to write this post, I knew I wanted to share a recipe with all of you, but I was struggling to designate what specific dish I wanted to find a recipe for. I started brainstorming some popular foods that many of us consider comfort food, and I came to the sudden realization that not only have I not yet shared a lasagna recipe here on my blog, but furthermore, I haven’t made one for Blaine and me.
Needless to say, lasagna was the decided choice for today’s recipe-inspired post, and this recipe comes from natashaskitchen.com.
“Ingredients
Ingredients for Lasagna
- 1 lb ground beef, (15-20% fat content)
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup dry red wine, or beef broth
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 24 oz Marinara Sauce , (3 cups)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
Ingredients for Cheese Sauce:
- 16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
- 15 oz reduced fat ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped, plus more to garnish
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
Instructions
How to Make Meat Sauce:
- Place a deep pan or dutch oven over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 lb ground beef and diced onion. Saute, breaking up the meat, for 5 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Add pressed garlic and sauté another minute until fragrant.
- Add 1/4 cup wine and stir for 2 minutes or until wine is nearly evaporated. Add 3 cups marinara, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp parsley. Bring to a simmer then cover and cook 5 minutes.
How to Make Cheese Sauce:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 16 oz Cottage Cheese, 15 oz Ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 egg and 2 Tbsp parsley. Mix well.
How to Make Lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and 9 lasagna noodles. Cook until al dente according to package instructions.
- Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce in the bottom of a deep 9×13 casserole dish. Add 3 noodles, spread on 1/3 of the meat sauce, and sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Spoon on and spread the top with 1/2 of your cheese sauce.
- Repeat until you have 3 layers of noodles:
Add 3 noodles, 1/3 meat sauce, 1 cup mozarella cheese, 1/2 cheese sauce
Add 3 noodles, remaining 1/3 meat sauce, remaining 1 cup mozarella. - Poke 9-12 toothpicks over the surface of your lasagna (to keep the foil from sticking to the cheese). Cover with foil and bake at 375˚F for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese turns golden. Let lasagna rest 30 min before slicing,” the recipe explains.
Let’s make some lasagna, my friends.
Image from https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lasagna-Recipe-5.jpg
ontheedgeofeverything 
