Momma’s Cheesy Lasagna
My childhood was filled with bubbling vats of homemade sauce, boiling noodles, and browning meat. Whether it was her spaghetti, chili, or her lasagna meat sauce, you’ll notice they don’t differ all that much (and they all taste better the next day).
Mom wrote down recipes the same way she talked, so most of this I have translated into actual numbers and not just “a pinch” or “a bit of”.
This one takes some time and patience and is massive enough to feed a small family for days and days.
INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED:
Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp
PAM / non-stick spray
Lasagna noodles - 1 box, you’ll need about 10 noodles
Ground chuck - 2 pounds
Onions - 1 large yellow, diced
Orange or yellow peppers - 1 large colored pepper or several small/sweet ones, diced
Ricotta cheese - 1 15 oz container - you won’t use the whole thing
Cottage cheese - 1 16oz container - you won’t use the whole thing
Shredded mozzarella - 4-5 cups
Freshly shredded parmesan (shaker kind is fine, fresh will taste better) - 1 cup ish
Eggs - 2 eggs
Canned tomato sauce - 1 29 oz can (actual tomato sauce, not a pasta sauce)
Canned diced tomatoes (italian style) - 1 28 oz can
Tomato paste - 1 12 oz can
McCormick Thick N Zesty Spaghetti Seasoning Packet - 1 packet
Baby bella or button mushrooms - 1 pack, washed to remove any dirt/debris, remove stems, then sliced
Minced garlic (fresh or jarred) - 4 tbsps
Oregano - 2-3 tbsp
Salt and Black Pepper - season with your heart
Seasoning salt - 1 tsp
Garlic bread (whichever is your favorite - made last per box instructions) - I prefer a garlic cheese texas toast
UTENSILS I’D SUGGEST HAVING (I also support improvising when you have to):
Colander - for draining pasta
Big pot - for boiling pasta
Big spoon or ladle (w/no holes) - for stirring meat sauce
Spatula - for stirring cheese mixture
Medium bowl with a lid - for cheese mixture (if you don’t have a lid, you can use a paper towel)
Chopping knife - for chopping veggies
9 x 13”-inch deep/big lasagna pan (I use a disposable aluminum pan from the store literally called “big lasagna pan”) - for lasagna, duh
Large to medium shallow pan - for browning meat
Small shallow pan - for cooking down mushrooms (optional if you want to take longer and use the reg one for both separately)
Tin foil - for covering lasagna if it browns too quickly (may not need) + for cookie sheet
Cookie sheet - for garlic bread
Cutting board
ORDER OF OPERATIONS:
Start prepping your sauce by browning meat and drain grease
Add all veggies fresh to the meat sauce to cook down
Prep cheese mixture, set aside in fridge
When sauce is nearly done simmering, boil noodles and set them aside on wet paper towels
Get all your finished ingredients in one place, assemble layers, and bake
While lasagna is cooling, adjust oven temp and cook bread
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat? Yes - 375 degrees F (190 C)
Start your sauce by browning ground chuck with chopped onions and peppers on medium-high heat. Don’t worry about cooking it 100% through it will be simmering for a long time later.
After the meat is nearly cooked through, drain grease using a colander. Clean the colander as you’ll need it for the next step.
Tip: grease is very bad for your plumbing. If you line the inside of a bowl in tin foil and set your colander on top of it to drain, the grease will collect and cool in the foil that you can then throw away with minimal effort, dishes, and without melting your trash bag
After washing thoroughly, pinch and twist the stems off your mushrooms and slice. In a different small pan, sauté the mushroom slices in a little olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on medium-high heat. As the water comes out, you can pop them into the colander and back into the pan two or three times until they’ve cooked down to a brown color and softer consistency. You’re draining the water periodically to prevent boiling them and allowing them to get better contact with the pan for color.
After draining, add your meat + veggie mix back to its original pan and add the can of tomato sauce, can of tomato paste, can of diced tomatoes, seasoning salt, zesty spaghetti seasoning pack, lots of garlic powder, minced garlic, 1 1/2 tbsp oregano, the cooked mushrooms, and a little water to get the right consistency.
Tip: I use the tomato cans to slosh the water around in to pull some of the sauce off the sides at the same time. You’re looking for a medium pasta sauce (not thick not thin), because it’ll thicken more as it cooks down.
You’ll simmer this sauce on medium to low for as long as possible until thickened - usually about two hours. You don’t want it to be boiling, but some bubbles/movement from simmer is fine
Spray your lasagna pan down with non-stick lightly on all sides, put aside
Get your medium bowl and crack two eggs into it, breaking the yolk and stirring a bit to combine them together. Next, you’ll add the 1/2 of the ricotta container and 3/4 of the cottage cheese container to the bowl. Season with parsley, salt, black pepper, and a half tbsp of oregano (or italian seasoning). Stir everything to combine and cover with a lid to set aside in the fridge.
When the sauce is 15 mins or so from being done, grab your big pot for boiling the pasta and add 10-12 noodles to very salty boiling water (salty like the ocean, it’ll add flavor). I only use 10 noodles in the recipe, but always boil extras in case of noodle casualties. Follow the cooking instructions on the box minus a minute or two to keep them from going mushy when they cooker longer in the oven later.
Tip: you can add a little olive oil to the boiling water while cooking to prevent sticking. When they’re done boiling, drain your noodles and lay them out flat on a wet paper towel not touching so they don’t stick while you’re getting your other ingredients ready
Gather all your ingredients for layering in one place. Don’t forget: the meat sauce, cheese mixture from the fridge, grated parmesan, noodles, and shredded mozz cheese.
Base layer: spoon four tbsps or so of sauce in the middle for the noodles to sit on top of. add four noodles longways, slightly overlapping each other
Meat layer: add a generous amount of sauce to cover the whole pan evenly
Cheese layer: dollop the cheese mixture and spread it evenly onto the sauce, then sprinkle a thin layer of parmesan, and then a cup of the shredded mozz cheese. If it mixes a little with the sauce, it’s fine.
For every base layer moving forward, you’ll now use three noodles instead of four, overlapping slightly in the same way.
Repeat each of these layers, using about a third of your meat sauce each time, until you end with mozzarella. That’ll look like: first base, meat, cheese > base, meat, cheese > base, meat, cheese.
Sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and oregano on top and bake until golden brown for about 30-40 minutes. If after 40 the cheese is not crispy enough for you, you can kick the broiler on for 3-5 mins, but keep an eye on it because it will burn quickly.
Important: let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting. If you’re impatient and cut right into it, it’ll be soupy, just let it chill out on the counter.
While that’s cooling, use your already preheated oven to bake your garlic bread according to box instructions.
Enjoy!
The Momma in question :)