My mom, "Lynnie" is such a great cook! I can definitely thank her for all of her baking and cooking knowledge and for giving me a love of food!
Every year on Christmas Eve, we have a lasagna feast with two different lasagnas that she makes. A cheese one for our non-meat-eaters (I say that because my husband loves chicken, but won't eat meat!) and an amazing meat lasagna with my mom's homemade meat sauce! I honestly look forward to Christmastime because of this lasagna!
A great thing that she does is make both lasagnas ahead of time. She covers them both in plastic wrap and then foil, and freezes them for up to a couple of weeks. If you decide to do this, make sure you take off the plastic wrap before placing in the oven! Also, feel free to thaw in the fridge for a couple of days before cooking.
Every year on Christmas Eve, we have a lasagna feast with two different lasagnas that she makes. A cheese one for our non-meat-eaters (I say that because my husband loves chicken, but won't eat meat!) and an amazing meat lasagna with my mom's homemade meat sauce! I honestly look forward to Christmastime because of this lasagna!
A great thing that she does is make both lasagnas ahead of time. She covers them both in plastic wrap and then foil, and freezes them for up to a couple of weeks. If you decide to do this, make sure you take off the plastic wrap before placing in the oven! Also, feel free to thaw in the fridge for a couple of days before cooking.
Total Time: 2 hours
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: approx. 12-15 pieces
Ingredients:
**For the sauce you can choose 2 options:
Directions:
Note: If using the meat sauce, I pretty much eyeball how much sauce should go in each layer. Using a decent-sized ladle, I gently spread the sauce across the pan, without flooding the lasagna :)
Source: Lynnie's Homemade!!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: approx. 12-15 pieces
Ingredients:
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 2 pounds ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup parmesan (plus more for top)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound shredded mozzarella
- 2 jars spaghetti sauce**
**For the sauce you can choose 2 options:
- For a meatless option, I personally love the Bertolli Tomato & Basil sauce.
- For a meat lasagna, I use my mom's Homemade Meat Sauce recipe. However, I omit the green pepper from this recipe. The lasagna will use most of the sauce, with about 1 cup of sauce left over. A perfect dinner for 2 that evening!
Directions:
- Cook the lasagna noodles according to box directions. Once finished, drain and lay out flat on a piece of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, parmesan, salt, and pepper.
- In a large lasagna pan (Either a specified lasagna pan or one that is slightly larger than a 9x13 pan), pour 1/3 of a jar of sauce in the bottom (see note). Spread evenly. On top of the sauce, lay 4 noodles evenly across the bottom.
- Spread half of the ricotta mixture on top, followed by half of the mozzarella. Then add half of a jar of sauce, spreading evenly with a spoon. Layer on 4 more noodles.
- Again, add the rest of the ricotta mixture, the rest of the mozzarella, the other half jar of sauce, and 4 more noodles. Finish by spreading on the remaining 2/3 jar of sauce.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and sprinkle extra parmesan on top of the lasagna. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Note: If using the meat sauce, I pretty much eyeball how much sauce should go in each layer. Using a decent-sized ladle, I gently spread the sauce across the pan, without flooding the lasagna :)
Source: Lynnie's Homemade!!
For easier directions, check out my lasagna stacking!
Top
Parmesan
2/3 jar sauce
4 noodles
1/2 jar sauce
1/2 mozzarella
1/2 Ricotta mixture
4 noodles
1/2 jar sauce
1/2 mozzarella
1/2 Ricotta mixture
4 noodles
1/3 jar sauce
Bottom
Top
Parmesan
2/3 jar sauce
4 noodles
1/2 jar sauce
1/2 mozzarella
1/2 Ricotta mixture
4 noodles
1/2 jar sauce
1/2 mozzarella
1/2 Ricotta mixture
4 noodles
1/3 jar sauce
Bottom
