I was never a fan of lasagna while I was growing up. It was the last thing my mother ate before giving birth to me, so I used to joke that that was the reason why I didn't like lasagna -- but it didn't explain why I didn't, and still don't, like a lot of other foods. I was in high school before I tried lasagna for the first time, and I have loved it ever since -- homemade lasagna that is.
Several years ago, my Mom requested that my Dad and I make her lasagna for her birthday supper. She had found an easy lasagna recipe in the Kraft magazine that she had been wanting to try --
here. Despite how simple it was, my Dad and I managed to screw it up -- we didn't include all of the water that is needed for the noodles to cook properly. It still tasted really good though, and I have since never forgotten the water.
Last night I made this simple recipe for supper, and thought that I would share it with you. It is one more my husband's favourite meals that I make. Enjoy!
You will need:
2 cups ricotta cheese
3 cups Kraft 4 Cheese Italiano Shredded Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (if you don't have fresh, that's fine)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 can (680mL) Pasta Sauce
1 lb. lean ground beef, browned, drained
1 - 1/2 cups water
12 Lasagne Noodles, uncooked (I use oven-ready noodles)
Brown your meat. While doing that mix the Ricotta cheese
with the egg, parsley (I often call it paisley), and 1 3/4 cups of the
Kraft 4 Cheese Italiano Shredded Cheese. The original recipe calls
for Mozzarella and Parmesan, but I like how it tastes with the 4
Cheese Italiano -- it already has Parmesan, so no need to
purchase Parmesan grated cheese.
After you have added the water and sauce to your meat,
you get to start the layering! First, put about 1 cup of meat
in the bottom of the 9x13 glass pan. Then layer 3 noodles
on top, and put on a layer of the cheese mixture.
Repeat the layers 2 more times.
After the last layer of noodles, cheese, and meat, lay down another
layer of noodles, and, on top of that, put the rest of the meat.
Then you get to sprinkle the rest of the cheese that is left over in the
bag of Kraft 4 Cheese Italiano Shredded Cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Take off the
aluminum foil and bake for 15 more minutes -- to help the cheese get
all nice and bubbly. I put a cookie sheet underneath the lasagna pan
so that it catches any drips from the lasagna. Last time I didn't and it
smelled like burning in my oven for a week.
If you missed it, you can find the recipe
here. It really is very simple -- even though my Dad and I messed it up the first time we made it. What I like best about it is the Ricotta cheese. It's very soft and not as lumpy and in-your-face as cottage cheese. I also like how the left-overs can be frozen, and used as lunches :)