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| Finely shredded mozzarella is pictured, but I prefer the regular shredded. |
2 pounds 85/15 ground beef
1/2 pound sausage
2 cloves minced garlic or 1 tsp. minced jarred garlic
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
2 tbsp. dried parsley
2 tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 (24 oz.) carton cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup canned Parmesan cheese
another 2 tbsp. dried parsley
another 1 tsp. salt
16 oz. (4 cups) mozzarella cheese (plus a little extra)
10 American Beauty lasagna noodles*
In a large skillet (I use a 5 qt. saute pan), combine the ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain half the fat. Add undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tbsp. parsley, basil, pepper, oregano, and 1 tsp. salt. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes while you're working on the other steps.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (I use an 8 qt. stock pot.) Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil or vegetable oil to the water. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until still slightly firm (al-dente--not overly cooked). When done, drain and lay flat on a sheet of foil until ready to use.
In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 tbsp. of parsley, and 1 tsp. of salt. Stir together well. Set aside.
To assemble:
Preheat oven to 350. Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a deep 9x13 pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon 1 and 1/2 cups of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with 2 cups of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half of the meat sauce over the top. Repeat, ending with the meat sauce layer. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Cover with some additional mozzarella cheese and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until melted. After removing from oven, let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
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Just an FYI: From start to being ready to serve, the lasagna takes almost exactly 3 hours to make. But about the last hour is baking/resting, so that gives you time to clean the kitchen and make a salad.
NOTES: 1) Don't be put off by the ingredient list or length of recipe. It is easy to make, and most of the ingredients are common spices.
2) You will only use 8 lasagna noodles, but cook 10 noodles for extra to test if the noodles are cooked enough and to have in case any would tear while assembling the lasagna.
Lasagna Assembly 101:
Place everything you need to assemble your lasagna (the 9x13, cooked noodles, cottage cheese mixture, shredded mozzarella, and meat mixture) in one area:
Here is a closeup of the noodles on the foil:
Here is the meat mixture. With a spoon, make a line through the meat mixture a little to one side of the middle. The lesser side will be in the bottom layer, and the other side will be on top insuring that you have plenty of meat to cover the top of the lasagna.
Here we go! Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a deep 9x13 pan, overlapping if necessary:
Spoon 1 and 1/2 cups of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly:
Cover cottage cheese with 2 cups of mozzarella
cheese:
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until hot and bubbly. Cover with some additional mozzarella cheese and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until melted. After removing from oven, let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
