The Basic Lasagna

I have a great recipe for a very basic lasagna and it came right off the pasta box.  Sometimes you don't have to try really hard to find something worth while.  Lasagna is a very simple dish that can be prepared ahead of time.  In the past, I have prepared the lasagna the night before and refrigerated it.  The following evening (when I'm expecting guests), it's nothing to pull out the dish and pop it in the oven.  The best part is, your kitchen is clean!!  I love it.  I also made a lasagna back in May to take to the beach with friends.  I thought it would be easy to travel down and pop in the oven when we arrive.  Voila! Homemade meal at the beach.  There were several easily remedied problems.  I will share them with you so you won't repeat my mistakes.  That's what this blog is here for,  after all.

Do not freeze your lasagna.  I thought that traveling in a car for 4 1/2 hours would be plenty of time for a lasagna to thaw.  That would be grossly incorrect.  I baked the lasagna for over an hour and still had to put the pieces in the microwave.  In the future, I will put the lasagna in the fridge and just keep it chilled while traveling. 

Do not overcook your lasagna.  I haven't actually done this myself, but I've tasted it.  You don't want your pasta to be mush.  When you are cooking your pasta, keep the time just under the suggested cooking time on the box (usually 10 minutes).  The pasta will finish cooking later in the oven.  If you cook it to completion in the water, it will be overcooked later.

Lasagna al Forno

16 pieces (1 lb.) lasagna uncooked

1 lb. ground beef

4 cups spaghetti sauce (32 oz.)

4 cups (32 oz.) ricotta cheese

2+ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3+ Tbs. grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 375º. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, cook meat until brown; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce; simmer 5 minutes. In 13 x 9 inch baking dish, spread ½ cup meat sauce. Place 4 pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce, overlapping edges. Spread 1/3 ricotta and mozzarella cheese over pasta; cover with ¼ sauce. Repeat layers TWICE, beginning and ending with pasta. Spread remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil; bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

 

I use more than the requested amounts of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  I keep a block of Parmesan on hand and just shred it directly onto the lasagna using my microplane grater.  If you don't have one, I suggest you look into it (us.microplane.com). The actual recipe also calls for 26 oz. of spaghetti sauce.  This is NOT enough in my opinion.  I usually use 1 1/2 of the 26 oz. jars from Walmart.  I really love the Great Value sauce and it's extremely reasonable.  I get the traditional flavor.  I keep it on hand for any dish because it's very simple to 'doctor up' for whatever occasion.  The reason I love this recipe is because it is very easy to add ingredients and make it your own.  As is my rule,  however, try it the original way first (unless you've already made a lasagna or two). Enjoy!