Lasagna

Sorry I am a little behind on writing, I had some people coming over this weekend and I needed to make sure the house was unpacked and in order for guests. I made this recipe last week I was going to serve it at a dinner with some girlfriends but they ended up not being able to make it but the great thing about lasagna is that you can freeze it before you cook it and it cooks up just the same as if you made it that day. So feel free to make this ahead for a dinner party or just a family meal it will last in the freezer a few weeks with no problems. I wanted to make lasagna because I found a recipe for homemade ricotta and I had the urge to make it so I put it in this lasagna. So I served this on Saturday night to my out of town guests and it was a huge hit. Hope you like it. 

Ingredients 

makes one really large lasagna or two medium size lasagnas 

For the meat sauce:

1 onion small diced

2 carrots small diced

1 stalk of celery small diced

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 TBS butter

3 cloves garlic minced

1/4 cup white wine

1 LB ground sirloin (you can substitute for chuck if you want)

1 LB hot italian sausage (out of the casing)

1 28oz can chef cut tomatoes with basil

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup red wine

1 TBS italian seasoning

2 tsp garlic powder

1 TBS tomato paste

Sautee onion, carrot, and celery in butter and olive oil on medium heat then salt and pepper. After about 4-5 minutes and the veggies look a little softer then you can add the garlic and continue to sautee for another 1-2 minutes. Add in the beef and sausage and break it up (I use a potato masher to break up the meat because it makes sure the sausage gets broken up quickly and it mixes the meat really good too.) Cook until the meat is cooked through. Drain the meat in a strainer and then return to pan. After you return the meat to pan cook it for 30 seconds and then deglaze with the white wine. Add tomatoes and then fill one can half way with water and add that to the pot as well. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Add in red wine, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and tomato paste then stir and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for another 15-20 minutes then take off heat and cool before assembly.

For Assembly:

Meat sauce (recipe above)

2 cups Ricotta (recipe below) you can use store bought if you want

2 TBS fresh parsley

2 TBS fresh basil

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 egg

1 box of no boil lasagna noodles

2 bags mozzarella cheese

Mix ricotta, parsley, basil, rosemary, parmesan , and egg in a small bowl until combined.
Start assembly in a lasagna pan with small amount of meat sauce on the bottom so the noodles do not stick. Then add noodles,  I like to spread the ricotta mix onto the no cook noodles so there is a thin layer then I add the meat sauce until the noodles are covered and then a generous amount of cheese and repeat until you all the ingredients are gone.

At this point you can cover with plastic wrap and freeze.
If you are cooking this fresh cover it with aluminum foil and place in a 350' oven for 35-40 minutes and then remove the foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
If frozen you can thaw in the refrigerator and follow the directions above or cook from frozen by putting lasagna straight into the oven preheated at 375 and cooking for 45 minutes covered and then 45-55 minutes uncovered.

I served this with a baby green salad and some bread sticks made with store bought pizza dough, garlic, rosemary and olive oil. It was really yummy!

For the Ricotta:

makes about 2 cups (just enough for above recipe)

4 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp salt

3 TBS white wine vinegar

In a large pot bring milk, cream and salt to a boil over medium heat
Turn off the heat and add in the vinegar
Let sit for one minute then pour over a sift lined with 2 layers of cheese cloth
let it drain for 25 minutes 

Enjoy!
Krystle