Birds Italian Style Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bechamel sauce:
• In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
• In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Boil noodles and drain (you may also use uncooked noodles).
• Sauté garlic, sugar and salt.
• Add sausage and ground beef and brown, breaking into small crumbles.
• Add basil, pepper, tomatoes and paste; simmer 20-30 minutes until sauce thickens.
• Mix together in bowl, ricotta, egg and parsley (add milk if it's too thick).
• Layer sauce to cover bottom of pan, noodles 1/2 of ricotta mixture, 1/4 c of parmesan, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, sauce and parmesan.
• Bake covered for 25 minutes.
• Uncover and bake another 25 minutes.
• Let cool about 10-15 minutes then cut and serve.
• Leftovers may be frozen and then heated in the oven until hot and melty.
• Goes great with crusty garlic toast and a salad.

Steps:

• MEAT MIXTURE: To a large skillet, add all meat ingredients except sauce. cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until cooked through.
• Place the 2 jars of spaghetti sauce in a large food processor. When meat is done, strain in a collander, then put in the food processor with the sauce. Blend for 30 seconds or so. Place meat mixture in a bowl and set aside. Processing the meat helps to keep layers thin and flavorful.
• CHEESE MIXTURE: Mix all cheese ingredients and set aside.
• NOODLES: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Place lasagna noodles, one at a time, carefully into the boiling water. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until all noodles have softened to the bending stage. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes until they are cooked through.
• Place a large collander in the sink and gently drain the noodles. Run cold tap water over noodles, or dunk collander into a larger bowl that has cold water in it. (you want to cool all the noodles and stop the cooking process and keep them from sticking).
• ASSEMBLY: Lay out a few layers of paper towels onto your workspace that are long enough to place a few sheets of noodles on (about two rows of towels). Place 2-3 noodles onto the paper towels, then lay another couple of sheets of paper towels and blot the noodles dry. This keeps your lasagne from having a pool of liquid at the bottom.
• To a 9x13x3" (or larger) pan, spread 1/2 jar of sauce in the bottom and set aside. Place noodles into the pan in a single layer, overlapping the curly ends if necessary, and cutting any noodles to fit if necessary.
• Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture evenly onto the noodles. you can use your fingers or the back of a spoon. Take 1/3 of the cheese mixture and crumble over the meat mixture in small dots. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozerella cheese.
• Repeat layers of noodles, meat, cheese mixture, mozerella two times, then end with a last layer of noodles. Spread remaining 1/2 jar of sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. (at this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until needed. If freezing, thaw at room temperature a few hours before baking).
• Preheat oven to 350°F Bake lasagna fresh for 45 minutes (60-75 minutes if refrigerated, and 75-90 minutes if thawed) or until bubbly and cooked through. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Lasagnes are so good the next day!
• TO FREEZE FOR OAMC: A simple way to freeze this for multiple dinners (prior to cooking) is to chill it for at least 24 hrs in the refrigerator. Then place plastic wrap over the top of the lasagna and then place a large cutting board over that and carefully flip over onto the counter and remove the pan.
• Using a sharp butcher knife, slice it down the center longways. then slice the from the short sides into however many servings you like (1x for 4 dinners, 2x for 6 dinners, etc.). Then simply wrap each dinner-serving size well with plastic wrap and then foil for an airtight seal.
• When your wanting to serve it for dinner, simply take it from the freezer the day before, thaw in the fridge overnight, then unwrap it, re-wrap it in foil only with a little more sauce and bake.

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:

• Brown bacon and onion in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in fennel seed, 1 teaspoon oregano, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce. Cover, and simmer on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until thick.
• Brown sausage links in a large skillet. Drain on paper towels. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Mix together ricotta cheese, egg, milk, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
• Layer 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Layer with 1/3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 sausage pieces, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/2 provolone cheese. Top with 1/3 sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/3 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours.

Steps:

• For the ragu, melt the butter in a large flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat until foaming. Add the celery, carrot, onion, porcini, rosemary and some seasoning, and fry for 5 mins.
• Season the meat, add to the dish and cook for 5 mins until browned. Pour in the wine, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil.
• Reduce the heat to low, put the lid on the dish and cook for 1hr 30 mins, removing the lid for the final 30 mins so the sauce can reduce. The meat should be tender but not too broken up, and the sauce should be thick. Taste for seasoning. You can cook it for longer if you have time - the flavour will only improve.
• For the béchamel sauce, pour the milk into a saucepan with the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, turn off the heat and set aside. In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat, then whisk in the flour and hot milk. Whisk vigorously until smooth, then cook for 10-15 mins until very thick. Remove the bay leaf and season, grating in nutmeg to taste. Stir in the parmesan and egg yolks, then set aside to cool.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Working in batches of three, plunge the pasta sheets into a pan of boiling salted water for 20 secs, just to soften, then immediately put in a bowl of ice-cold water.
• Rub oil onto the base and sides of a large baking dish. Put a layer of pasta on the base, then add a layer of ragu, followed by a layer of béchamel sauce. A good tip, for really defined layers, is to pipe the béchamel sauce over.
• Repeat this process until you have used all the pasta and ragu, and finish with a layer of béchamel sauce on top. Sprinkle the top with a generous layer of parmesan.
• Bake in the oven for 40-45 mins or until bubbling and golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave to settle for 10 mins.
• Cut the lasagne into squares and let it sit for another 10 mins before serving - this keeps the layers defined and helps it cool down more quickly.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot; cook and stir 4-6 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Add beef and pork; cook 4-6 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir in wine. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 1 minute., Stir in stock and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Cool slightly. Remove bay leaf; stir in 1 cup Alfredo sauce and egg yolks., Preheat oven to 350°. To assemble, spread 3/4 cup marinara sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with four noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and 2 cups meat mixture. Top with four noodles and 3/4 cup marinara sauce. Layer with four noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and remaining meat mixture. Top with remaining noodles and marinara sauce. Drizzle remaining Alfredo sauce over top. , Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.