Guest Blog #2 - Hasta Lasagna!

My friend Mel mentioned to me that she made an awesome Lasagna and took pictures of it as she went. I told her that all she had to do was write an intro story and she would be featured on my blog. I got her input tonight and I think her Lasagna looks awesome! She also uses a really cool technique for cooking the lasagna noodles that I have never seen before. And by the way, her pictures are amazing too. So without further ado, I present to you my second guest blogger: Melanie!

About a month ago, my sister & niece visited us in Washington DC. It was their first visit to the area, and we had a jam packed fun weekend planned. Each night, we’d get home, exhausted, and looking for something to eat. Too hungry to wait for something to cook, we resorted to fast food or whatever scraps we could find in the pantry. When my other sister & her friend were coming to visit this past weekend, I decided to be prepared. I made a lasagna that we could pick at throughout the visit. Lasagna is the perfect dish for this purpose since it tastes even better the second day and stays yummy for days to come. Plus, it freezes well, so if plans change, it’s no problem to save the meal for another day.

Classic Lasagna

Southern Living

Ingredients

2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (14.5-oz.) can basil, garlic, and oregano diced tomatoes
2 (6-oz.) cans tomato paste
1 (8-oz.) can basil, garlic, and oregano tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked (I only used 10)
8 cups boiling water
1 (16-oz.) container ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 (6-oz.) packages part-skim mozzarella cheese slices (I used almost 2 8-oz. packages)
Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Sauté onion in 1 Tbsp. hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Add beef, and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain beef mixture, and return to skillet. Stir in diced tomatoes, next 4 ingredients, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf; set meat sauce aside.

2. Place lasagna noodles in a 13- x- 9-inch pan. Carefully pour 8 cups boiling water and remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil over noodles. Let stand 15 minutes.

3. Stir together ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, and remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper until blended.

4. Spoon half of the meat sauce mixture in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Shake excess water from noodles, and arrange 6 noodles over meat sauce; top with half of ricotta mixture and 1 package mozzarella cheese slices. Repeat layers once.

5. Bake, covered, at 350° for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until bubbly. Let lasagna stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.