A Very Special Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1 1/4 cups mozzarella, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.
• Drain meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add 1 cup water to empty sauce jar; cover with lid and shake well. Add to meat mixture; stir until well blended. Spread 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and cheeses. Cover with greased foil.
• Bake 1 hour or until heated through, removing foil after 45 min. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease a 9 x 13-inch (22 x 33 cm) baking dish lightly with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef and marinara sauce.
• In a separate large bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
• Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with 5 cooked lasagna noodles, overlapping as needed to completely cover the sauce. Spread 2 cups of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with the remaining meat sauce, noodles, ricotta, and mozzarella to make 2 more layers.
• Bake the lasagna for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling up through the layers. Turn the broiler to high and broil for 1-2 minutes, until the top layer of cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
• Let the lasagna cool for 30-45 minutes, then serve.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Cook lasagne noodles in boiling salted water until"al dente", still firm to the bite.
• Drain and keep them in cold water until ready to use.
• Saute ground beef, onion, and garlic in olive oil until meat is no longer pink.
• Add remaining ingredients and cook at a fast simmer until sauce is quite thick (about 30 to 40 minutes).
• Preheat oven to 400*F.
• For Bechamel, melt butter, add flour and cook, stirring with a whisk, for one minute.
• Slowly add milk and chicken broth and bring to a boil, still using the whisk.
• Taste and add chicken bouillon cube if needed.
• Add salt.
• For Ricotta filling, beat egg in a bowl and add remaining ingredients, stirring well with a fork.
• IN the following order, layer in a lightly greased 13 X 9 inch baking dish; a little meat sauce, half of the noodles, half of the remaining met sauce, 1/2 cup BEchamel, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, half of the mozzarella, teleme, and ricotta filling; the remaining noodles and meat sauce, 1/2 cup Bechamel, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the remaining Mozzarella, teleme, Ricotta filling, the last of the Bechamel and Parmesan cheeses.
• Dot with butter.
• At this point the dish may be covered and refrigerated.
• Bring to room temperature.
• Bake at 400*F, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
• The dish freezes well.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles 3 to 4 minutes less than the package directs. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water, and pour the pasta onto a baking sheet to cool. Drizzle with olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking and set aside until ready to assemble.
• For the Bolognese: Place a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the beef, season with salt, and cook, breaking up any lumps, until it begins to brown. Move the beef to one side of the pan, add the squash and cook until it begins to brown and soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions, celery and garlic with a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and toast for a few minutes until it looks rusty. Add in the white wine, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the crushed tomatoes and thyme bundle and bring to a simmer. Stir in the reserved 1 cup pasta water and cook over low heat, partially covered, until the sauce has thickened and reduced, at least 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove the thyme bundle.
• For the bechamel: Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until it forms a wet sandy consistency. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce to a simmer, then whisk in the nutmeg and 1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until thickened and smooth, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the ricotta, pecorino and egg yolks, then set aside to cool slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place a 7-quart roasting pan or a lasagna pan on the baking sheet.
• To assemble: Spoon a layer of Bolognese into the pan, covering the whole bottom. Add an even layer of noodles and press into the sauce. Add a layer of Bolognese over the noodles, then another layer of pasta. Spoon some of the bechamel over the noodles, covering the entire surface. Add another layer of pasta, pressing down gently. Spoon a layer of Bolognese to cover the surface. Repeat the layering, ending with a layer of Bolognese on top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella, then cover with foil and bake until completely warmed through, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Uncover and continue to bake until golden brown and crusty on top, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and let set 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• In a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook beef, sausage and onion until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender; drain. Stir in the next 10 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1- 3 hours, stirring occasionally. ***This can be done up to one day ahead of time.
• While sauce is cooking, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.
• In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, beaten egg, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
• In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, spoon a little sauce in the bottom of casserole. Then layer in this order: 1/3 of the noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta cheese, 1/3 of the meat mixture and 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/3 of the Parmesan. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil.
• ***This can be done ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to eat. Just leave lasagna out on counter for 30-45 minutes before baking.
• Bake at 350° for 45 minutes; uncover and bake for 20 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.