Lasagna

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Lasagna Recipe - When I make a pan of lasagna, I always make two, I will bake one and freeze the other and bake it a week or two later. Here is the recipe for two pans of lasagna.

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs. ground beef or 1 lb. ground beef and 1 lb. Italian sausage
3 (26 oz.) jars or cans spaghetti sauce - I just use what I have on hand (traditional, four cheese, cheese and garlic, etc. - I stay away from meat sauces)
1 (16 oz. package - 18 noodles) lasagna, uncooked
2 (15 oz. each) containers ricotta cheese
2 (about 15 oz. each) containers small curd 1% cottage cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 large eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 
  • Cook pasta according to package directions (I leave it a little firmer - it softens when the lasagna bakes); drain - I do not rinse my pasta 
  • Brown meat over medium heat 
  • Drain meat & return to pan 
  • Add 2 jars/cans of spaghetti sauce 
  • In a large bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 3 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and eggs. 
  • Spread 1/4 to 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of each of two 9X13 pans- enough to cover the bottom 
  • Pour the remainder of the sauce in with the meat/sauce mixture (should be close to 1/2 the jar/can left) 
  • Arrange 3 pasta pieces length wise over the sauce in each pan 
  • Using about 1/3 of the cheese mixture, divide it between the two pans of lasagna and spread it on top of the noodles
  • Top with 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the meat mixture in each pan - spread evenly 
  • Repeat two times (noodles, cheese, meat) - I only use 9 noodles in each pan 
  • On the second layer, I divide the cheese mixture and the meat mixture in half and use half of it to cover the noodles in both pans, and then I do the third layer. 
  • Top with the left over cup of mozzarella cheese
  • Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly
  • Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes 
  • Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before cutting 


If I am baking it right out of the freezer, I turn the temperature down to 325, and then I just bake it covered until it is hot and bubbly, and then I remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes.


The layers from the bottom up!
mozzarella cheese on top of it all meat mixture
cheese mixture
three noodles 
meat mixture
cheese mixture
three noodles
meat mixture
cheese mixture
three noodles
spaghetti sauce in bottom of pan