Lasagna {with Spicy Meat Sauce}
One can never have too much lasagna...Or too many versions. Me, I have several. The other night we made it with a spicy meat sauce. Well, spicier than usual. It turned out SO good! I thought I'd share it with all of you.
I was looking for a "fluffier" cheese layer this time, so I added some cottage cheese to the mix. I am a HUGE fan of cottage cheese! I know that not everyone else is, though. So if cottage cheese gives you the skeeves, (new word), just leave it out and go with all ricotta instead.
Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 Lb spicy Italian sausage (bulk)
1 Lb ground sirloin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped (about a palmful)
1 Lb ricotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/2 Lbs mozzarella cheese, grated
12 no-boil lasagna sheets
Directions:
In a large stockpot, add olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onions, cook for several minutes, stirring as you go. When onions have softened a bit, add garlic. Cook for just a minute or two. Add in sausage and sirloin, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it's just browned and crumbled. Season meat with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir in both cans of tomatoes. Sprinkle with sugar, and stir. Add chopped parsley, and stir. Place lid on stockpot, and let simmer on low while you prepare cheese mixture.
In medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese, parmesan, and egg; stirring well. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. *Usually more pepper than salt.
Assemble lasagna: Spoon about 1 cup of meat sauce onto the bottom of lasagna pan, spreading it around. Layer 4 no-bake noodles on top of sauce. Spoon half of cheese mixture on top of noodles, and spread out. Spoon about 1/3 of sauce on top of cheese mixture. Top with 1/3 of grated mozzarella.
Repeat process: 4 lasagna sheets, other half of cheese mixture, 1/3 sauce, 1/3 grated mozzarella. Top with remaining sheets of lasagna, meat sauce, and mozzarella. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
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