Lasagna

I’ve heard several bloggers say how much they like lasagna with sausage in it, so I thought “what the heck, I’m going to try it”. My family loves sausage, so I was pretty sure it would be a hit. I was  right. The flavor of sausage in lasagna is awesome! We loved it.

You will notice that the noodles are uncooked. I learned this trick in college and have never pre-cooked noodles since. You can do it with any lasagna recipe, just add about 1/2 cup extra liquid to the sauce and allow extra baking time for the noodles to soften. So much easier, and one less pan to wash. (This recipe is already adjusted with enough liquid.)

Lasagna

Sauce:
1/2 pound hamburger
1/2 pound pork sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 Tbsp dry parsley
1 1/2 Tbsp dry basil
1 tsp dry oregano
Cheese layer:
24oz container cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (I used fresh)
2 Tbsp dry parsley
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese
9-10 lasagna noodles, uncooked

For sauce, brown meat, garlic, and onion. Drain fat and add remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, parmesan, and parsley till well blended. In a 9×13″ pan (deep dish is best), place half of the uncooked noodles. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Top with about 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spread half of the meat mixture over the cheese. Repeat layering noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and meat. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 325 for about 50-60 minutes or till noodles are tender.

Notes:
-If you would prefer to cook your noodles, you only need to bake this for about 30 minutes.
-I really like the cheese on top to get crunchy, that is my favorite part. If you like yours soft and gooey, don’t add the top layer of cheese till the last 10 minutes of baking time.
-If you don’t have a deep dish pan, place the lasagna on a cookie sheet before you put it in the oven. That way if any of the juices boil over, you won’t have a mess on the bottom of your oven. (And yes, sadly, I have learned this by experience.)