Traditional Lasagna

Recently I have been looking for recipes that I feel my husband and I would enjoy, but that would also give us plenty of leftovers that I could freeze so I have some meals saved for when the baby arrives next month. I have had pretty good luck freezing Italian pasta dishes and figured this lasagna would freeze well. I guess we'll see what it tastes like in the next couple of months, but I can tell you that the dish that went straight from being prepared to the oven was wonderful! I would definitely make this lasagna recipe again. This particular recipe is very cheesy, which is how I prefer my lasagna. My husband commented that it was a bit salty, so I made a notation in my cookbook to decrease the salt from 1 tsp to a 1/2 next time. I also felt the smokiness from the provolone cheese really stood out, so if you do not like that flavor either substitute the provolone with mozzarella, or decrease the amount of provolone used.

Traditional Lasagna (ToH Winning Recipes)
1 lb ground beef
3/4 lb bulk pork sausage
3 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce
2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt (decrease based on your preference)
1/2 tsp pepper
3 eggs
3 Tbls minced fresh parsley
3 cups (24 oz) small-curd cottage cheese
1 carton (8 oz) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
6 slices provolone cheese
3 cups (12 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic, sugar, seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. In a large bowl, combine eggs and parsley. Stir in cottage cheese, ricotta and Parmesan. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce in an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Layer with three noodles, provolone cheese, 2 cups cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, three noodles, 2 cups meat sauce, remaining cottage cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella (dish will be full). Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Uncover, bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Serves 12. **Note: Freeze desired portion prior to baking. I divided the recipe between two 8x8 pans and froze one 8x8.

first "new" recipe for the New Year

My husband has been wanting to make gnocchi for quite some time, and he finally got around to accomplishing the task last night. He doesn't make New Year's resolutions, but if he did, he would already be off to a good start! This being his first attempt at gnocchi, it turned out really well. It took him a while to get the right consistency with the potato dough, but once he figured it out it didn't take long for him to get the gnocchi cut and cooked. His with marinara sauce


Hers with pesto olive oil

Gnocchi (Cooking Secrets of the CIA)

1 egg

3 Idaho potatoes, baked until tender, peeled, mashed, and cooled

pinch ground nutmeg

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

about 1 1/2 cups semolina flour for kneading

sauce of choice

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, blend the egg with the cooled potatoes. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Turn the potato mixture out onto a lightly floured board. Adding semolina, a little at a time, knead until a smooth dough is formed. When the dough is no longer sticky to the touch, roll it into a rope 1/2 inch thick. Cut it on the diagonal into pieces 1/2 to 1 inch long. Cook in the pot of boiling water until the gnocchi float, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the gnocchi and serve with your choice of sauce. Serve hot. Serves 4-6.

Simple Lasagna

On the menu this evening is Simple Lasagna found in the most recent issue of Kraft Foods magazine. The nice thing about this particular recipe is you do not cook the lasagna noodles before assembling. There is enough liquid from the pasta sauce, that the noodles cook and absorb the liquid during the baking process. One less dish to wash and less time spent preparing the meal! My husband said this recipe "is a keeper"!

Simple Lasagna (Kraft Foods Winter 2008 issue)
1 lb ground beef
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat in large skillet on medium high heat. Meanwhile, mix egg, 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and the parsley until well blended; set aside. Drain meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add water to the empty jar; cover with lid and shake well. Add to meat mixture; stir until well blended. Spread 1 cup of the sauce onto a 9x13 inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, one-third of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with greased foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting to serve. Makes 12 servings. (I cut the recipe in half and used a loaf pan.)