Lasagna

I'm probably biased, but I think my lasagna is the bomb. In the past, I tended to shy away from making lasagna because they're so time consuming to put together, but this one comes together in about 30 minutes. I took several very time consuming recipes, and combined it with my parents' super simple recipe, and came up with what's becoming our regular lasagna. Enjoy!


Lasagna
My recipe
Serves 6
Prep Time - 30 min
Cook Time - 1 hr

INGREDIENTS
1 jar marinara sauce*
~1 cup water
1/2 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 TBSP flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb ground beef (optional)
salt & pepper

8 oz cottage cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten

6-8 lasagna noodles**

1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
In medium to large saucepan, combine marinara sauce, water, 1/2 of the diced onion, 3 cloves garlic, parsley, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf after about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown the ground beef with the rest of the onion and garlic. Season with salt & pepper. When browned, drain any excess fat and add to the marinara sauce. Remove from heat.

Also while marinara is simmering, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and beaten egg in a separate bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the lasagna in 8x8 pan as follows:

• Thin layer of marinara sauce
• 1/2 lasagna noodles
• 1/2 cottage cheese mixture
• 1/3 Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 marinara sauce
• Remaining noodles
• Remaining cottage cheese
• 1/3 Mozzarella cheese
• Remaining Marinara
• Remaining Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese

Bake covered for 45 minutes, and uncovered for 15 minutes. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

*Feel free to use your favorite marinara sauce, but I really like to use Stokely's brand for this lasagna. It's cheap & plain, but it has the right texture and tastes great with the additions I make to it. If Stokely's is not available, I really suggest using a cheaper, plain marinara - nothing chunky - and adding to it as I indicate above. Trust me on this.

** I like no-boil lasagna noodles, but my husband prefers this recipe with regular lasagna noodles. No matter which you use, do not boil them. If using regular noodles, add about another 1/2 cup water.