Cooking with Blobby

Well, I threatened to write about making lasagna, so I guess I should follow through.

To me, making lasagna is a little like making meatloaf. It's never quite done the same way twice yet it always comes out tasking basically the same. I think it is probably really hard to fuck it up.

...and spoiler alert: I didn't.

I gathered my items (to your left - though I left out garlic and olive oil from the pic) and went to it.

My mother taught me long ago - well before the invention of no boil lasagna noodles - that you don't actually have to boil them at all. She never did. And I never have. With the right amount of sauce, it takes care of helping cook the noodles with enough moisture. I don't know if no-boil versions are more expensive than regular, but I just buy the regular.

Onion - 1 medium, chopped.
Ground beef - 0.5 lbs
Ground pork - 0.5 lbs
Ricotta - 15oz (I used reduced fat - NOT fat free)
Eggs - 2 (beaten)
Tomato paste - one 4oz can
Tomato sauce - one  8 oz can
Stewed tomatoes - one 14.5 oz can
Mozzarella cheese - 8oz shredded
Cheddar cheese - 6oz shredded
Parmesan cheese - 1 cup shredded
salt - 1t
pepper - 1t
olive oil - 1T

After heating the olive oil, add onions and soften. Then add garlic for about 30 seconds, then add the pork and ground beef (or if you're not a pork fan, just use a pound of ground beef). Simmer until meet is cooked through - drain off any fat. 

While the meat cooks, I combined the ricotta (or cottage cheese if you'd rather - yuck!), salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese

Add tomatoes - stewed, sauce and paste. Simmer for 10-15 until it thickens. It's almost like sloppy joes. 

In a 9x13x2 pan, start layering. 

Sauce on bottom. A layer of noodles. Half of the ricotta mixture. Half of the sauce/meat mixture. Half the shredded cheeses.  Then......repeat: noodles, ricotta, sauce and cheese. 

This is what it should look like. Honestly, I don't think I've ever added cheddar, but it works. But into a pre-heated 375F oven for 35 minutes. 

Take out - let it sit for 10-15 so it can set up. 

Cut a slice. Serve. Possibly with breadsticks and a salad (not shown).

It probably serves around 6-8.  It will keep us in lunches and dinners for a few days since there are only two of us.


....and as predicted, enough though things were changed, etc - it came out tasting exactly like it always does. You really can't fuck it up.