Top Notch Lasagna Recipes

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

STOVETOP LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Fill a wide pot with 3 inches of salted water and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente, about 11 minutes, then drain, transfer to a cutting board and halve crosswise.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring, until browned. Add the tomato sauce and red pepper flakes and simmer 5 minutes. Add the spinach and stir until it wilts, then add the ricotta and bring to a low simmer. Season with salt and remove from the heat. Toss the mozzarella and 4 tablespoons parmesan in a bowl.
• Cover the bottom of an 8-inch-square flameproof baking dish with a layer of slightly overlapping lasagna noodles. Top with half of the meat sauce and half of the cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of noodles and the remaining meat sauce and cheese mixture. Cover with the remaining noodles and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons parmesan. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and broil until golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes. Top with the basil.

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.

AMAZINGLY RICH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Spray bottom of casserole dish (I use 13X9, can use larger). Brown hamburger meat in pan, add 3 gloves garlic before fully browned. Drain any fat. Stir in jar of plain spaghetti sauce and 1/2 jar of 3 cheese blend sauce. Heat til warm/bubbly.
• In large bowl, combine cream cheese, ricotta, parmesan, 3 1/2 C mozzarella, and 2 eggs. Add oregano, parsely, and garlic powder. Stir until combined, mixture will be thick.
• To assemble lasagna, pour 1/2 C remaining 3 cheese blend sauce onto bottom of pan. Place 3-4 lasagna noodles on top of sauce, overlapping edges of pasta a little, spread 1/2 cheese mixture onto pasta, top with meat sauce, repeat. Pour remaining 1/2 C 3 cheese blend sauce onto top layer of noodles, top with remaining 1/2 C mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool about 10 minutes and enjoy!

SINFULLY RICH LASAGNA

Steps:

• If using regular lasagna noodles, cook as directed on package.
• Combine cheese& eggs; mix together well.
• Lightly spray baking dish with vegetable spray such as Pam.
• If using wine and/or the sugar, mix with marinara.
• Spread 1 cup marinara sauce in bottom of baking dish.
• At this point, if you care to, you can mix the remainer of the marinara sauce with the cooked ground beef.
• Easier and faster to layer that way.
• Lay 4 noodles on sauce in dish.
• Spread 1/2 the cheese mixture on noodles.
• Layer 1/2 the spinach on top of cheese mixture.
• Spread 1/2 the ground beef and marinara on top of spinach layer.
• Repeat layers once again: noodles, cheese, spinach, ground beef and marinara.
• Add one more layer of noodles.
• Spread jar of Alfredo Sauce over last layer of noodles.
• Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
• Uncover and cook 15 minutes more.
• Can sprinkle more grated Parmesan on top for the last 15 minutes if desired.
• After cooking, it helps to let it sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
• Reduces the filling running out of the lasagna layers.

WORLD'S EASIEST LAZY LAZAGNA

Steps:

• Reserve about 2/3 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1 cup of pasta sauce.
• Brown ground beef, sausage and onion, adding crushed garlic when almost done. Stir in pasta sauce and all dried spices.
• In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, mozzarella and 2 raw eggs.
• Spread one-third of meat sauce in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Follow with a layer of uncooked egg noodles. (Simply "dump" the noodles on top of the sauce and spread with your hand to create a thin even layer, completely covering the sauce. Follow by a layer of the cheese mix, and a layer of meat sauce. Repeat procedure until all ingridients are used. Mix remaining pasta sauce with hot water, 50/50. Slowly pour the mixture around inside edge of dish, until the entire top layer of noodles is lightly covered with liquid. If necessary, simply pour the mixture straight on top. Don't worry - it will cook away. Let stand for 5 minutes before putting the dish in the oven. Lightly sprinkle with mozzarella. Tightly cover baking dish with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 35-40 minutes. Uncover. If the egg noodles seem cooked (they're so small - you can just pinch one off and taste) -- top with the remaining mozzarella. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, uncovered. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
• *** If you have no sausage on hand, just substitute ground beef. I've tried this recipe with ground turkey, and even with a mix of browned ground beef and zucchini, and it came out great. If you prefer - you can broil the top mozzarella layer for a couple of minutes for extra sizzle. Enjoy!

TOP NOTCH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown ground beef and garlic with salt and pepper to taste in 3 quart sauce pan till done, drain any remaining fat. in same pot add 6 12oz cans tomato sauce 3 6oz cans tomato paste, 2T oregano 1T Basil 3 Bay Leaves 1/4 cup red wine (optional)re-add meat simmer for 2 hrs on low heat stirring occasional,.
• Start noodles according to package directions, drain and lay flat on clean towel.
• Grease 13x9 lightly with olive oil, Cover bottom of pan with a layer of noodles, place approximately 1/4 of sauce over bottom layer noodles follow with layer of cottage cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Repeat until all four layers are completed with final layer of Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated 325°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown.
• Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes.