I can not believe that my lasagna recipe has disappeared from the website. Maybe I just never posted it? I was sure I had, but… Hmm. I can’t find it, and I *did* just make it, so, perfect time to post!

Jodi’s Too Easy Lasagna

Ingredients

2 lbs ground meat (I prefer lean beef, but others work, or mix ‘em up!)
3 lg cans (about 9 cups total) Hunts Thick & Rich Zesty Pasta Sauce
1 lg can (about 3 1/4 cups) Hunts Diced Tomatoes
1 lg bag Kraft Italiano Four Cheese Blend
1 lb cottage cheese, drained w/ 1 beaten egg mixed in OR Ricotta on its own (see below!)
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained OR 2 cups fresh white button, sliced thinly
1 box Oven-Ready Lasagna noodles (we usually use Catelli)
1 tbsp minced garlic, or 1 tsp garlic powder*
1 tsp dried oregano*
1 tsp dried basil*

Directions

Brown meat with herbs and garlic in a large, heavy bottomed pot (dutch ovens work great). Add two cans of pasta sauce, and the diced tomatoes.

* Add more garlic, herbs or a pinch of red pepper flakes if you prefer. Also, I’ve used fresh herbs as well, without much difference in taste. I don’t usually measure really. I just eyeball it.

Preheat the oven to 350*. Spray a 9×13 lasagna pan quite well, then add enough sauce to the bottom to cover liberally. Add a layer of noodles, keeping a little less than a half-inch between each one. Do another layer of sauce, then a layer of mushrooms, then another pasta layer. Now spread the cottage cheese mixture or Ricotta ‘evenly’ over that. Add another layer of pasta, and cover well in sauce. If you have noodles and sauce enough for another layer, and your pan is deep enough, go for it, making sure the noodles are all well covered by the sauce. Now spread the last can of pasta sauce over all, cover with tin foil and set into the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove the tin foil, and return to oven for 20 minutes. Cover in the Italiano cheese mixture, and again return to oven, keeping watch until the cheese melts, bubbles, and the top turns a light golden color.

Take it out of the oven, and let it sit for ten minutes before cutting into pieces. A 9×13 pan should cut into 10 servings; once down the middle, then four times across, evenly.

Homemade Rich Ricotta

Thanks to author Patrick Rutigliano for pointing me in the direction of the original recipe!

(very slightly modified from a recipe posted to Epicurious – I found out you should only use non-iodized salt, such as Kosher salt, for making soft cheeses. I dunno why, but it is healthier anyway, so… I did.)

Ingredients

2 l whole milk (2 quarts)
1 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (or other non-iodized salt)
3 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Prepare a cheesecloth over a sieve or colander placed over a large bowl.

Bring the milk, cream and salt to a gently rolling boil, stirring often so the milk doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon juice, set the temp to low, and stir constantly until the mixture curdles, about two minutes.

Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, and let drain. We drained it quite well, then tied the cheesecloth ends into a ‘bag’, and hung it from a wooden spoon over our cupboard door handles for an hour.

After we removed it from the hanging bag.

The result was amazing, and took the lasagna to another level even store bought Ricotta had never done before. Cheaper than store bought Ricotta, but slightly more expensive than cottage cheese (our prices are crazy here in Canada!) it’s worth it!

After crumbling gently with a fork.

Also, I found a recipe that is basically the same as this, only instead of milk they use the leftover whey from making this recipe. If there isn’t enough to come up to 2 litres, add whole or 2% milk to bring it up. Then repeat the process, and while it may yield a little less, and it won’t be as great as the first batch, nothing goes to waste. The whey from this batch can be used for baking, just replace the liquids with the whey!

Enjoy!
<3 JL