Double Meat Lasagna

I know I have always loved lasagna, and it will always be one of my favorite dishes. I've never actually made lasagna from scratch before, and thought it would be fun to give it a try! I'm glad I did... because it was absolutely phenomenal! Very meaty, and full of flavor. Rave reviews from all parties!! Now, this dish does make 12 servings, so we have plenty for leftovers... mmm lasagna for lunch, yes please! Now this recipe is easy for everyone to make, it doesn't call for any crazy ingredients, and they can all be found at your local grocer. Feel free to substitute some of the ingredients to make it your own!




        Ing.

• 1-1/2 pound Ground Beef
• 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1/2 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
• (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

To start off, make sure you have all of your ingredients ready, and set them out.

 Next, in a large frying pan, add your ground beef, sausage and garlic.

Over high heat, begin to cook until browned. Time can vary based on stove type that you are working with, but generally will take 10-15 minutes.

After the meat has browned, add in your whole tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, basil and salt. Mix well until evenly blended, and reduce to medium-low heat, and let it cook. In the meantime, begin to boil water with 1T of EVOO and add in your noodles. Allow the noodles to cook for about 10 minutes, so that they become al dente. 
While the noodles are cooking, grab a mixing bowl to prepare your cheese blend. In the bowl, mix your cottage cheese, mozzarella, basil, parsley and salt until evenly blended.

Once your noodles are completed, drain them and rinse with cool water. Once cooled, lay them out onto a sheet of aluminum foil to make it easier to use them later.

Now onto making the layers!!

Now when making the layers, you can either use a casserole tray, but in my case I just used a standard cake pan, they both work just as well. 

Layer 1: Lay down 4 noodles, overlapping if necessary. 

Layer 2: Using about half of your cheese mix, spread evenly across the noodles.

Layer 3: Take your Parmesan cheese and give a good healthy layer on top.

 Layer 4: Take your spatula, and create a line down the center of your meat mix to make in evenly split in half.

then, put a little less than half of the meat into your layer.

Now it is time to do it all over!

Layer 5: Noodles

Layer 6: Remaining Cheese Mix

 

Layer 7: Remaining Parmesan Cheese

 Layer 8: Remaining Meat Mix

Now you can stop here, but if you'd like, put a layer of Parmesan cheese on top of the meat, and add one more layer of noodles.

Now, all that's left is cooking it! You can either stop here and refrigerate it for up to 2 days if preparing in advance, or freeze it up to a month! (I'd rather cook it right away and start eating! )

When cooking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake 20-25 minutes. When it is done, pull it out to a cooling rack, and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!!

This is definitely a recipe I will be making again. Hope you can enjoy it too!!

Enjoy!!