Lasagna Squisito (Exquisite Lasagna!)

Foxgirl's Note:

This is the culmination of my lasagna experimentation... I didn't see another recipe here that was quite like mine, so I decided to share! I usually make my meat sauce with ground turkey, but it is good with ground beef, too, or "meatball mix," which consists of ground beef, pork and veal. You can also cut the amount of meat in the sauce by one half and supplement spinach, if you like. It's best to experiment with the seasoning levels as you cook, based upon your preferences... I add lots of garlic to mine, and if I am using beef or a beef mixture, I toss a splash of red wine in the sauce. I also make my layers very thin. Oh, and this freezes and reheats well, if you are the make-ahead type!

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 9 lasagna noodles , uncooked
• 1 ½ lbs ground turkey (or meatball mix) or 1 ½ lbs ground beef (or meatball mix)
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 2 ½ cups parmesan cheese , grated
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese , grated
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (more if you like)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 small onions, finely diced or 1 small onion powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• italian seasoning
• oregano
• garlic salt
• olive oil
• black pepper

Directions:

1. Brown ground turkey (or other meat) in a skillet over medium heat with a teaspoons of olive oil, the onion and as much minced garlic as you like. Add a good dusting of Italian seasoning and black pepper as you cook.
2. Drain the meat mixture, then add the tomato sauce and season to taste with Italian seasoning, additional oregano, 1/2 C of parmesan cheese and black pepper. Mix in the sugar as you do this to cut the "bite" of the tomato sauce--you won't taste it.
3. Heat sauce mixture just to bubbling over medium heat, then set aside.
4. Fill a long casserole dish with cold water.
5. Bring a saucepan of water with a teaspoons of garlic salt and a dash of olive oil to a rolling boil, then carefully add your noodles one at a time, doing your best to keep them from sticking together while they boil Boil until al dente, still a bit firm--just shy of the cooking directions on the package, I find.
6. As you remove each noodle, place it in the casserole dish of cold water. Remove each noodle from the cold water bath and set aside on a dish.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease your casserole dish/lasagna pan.
8. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the ricotta, the eggs, 2/3 of the parmesan and 1/2 of the mozarella--I find it is easiest to do this by hand. Add a couple of teaspoons Italian seasoning, just enough to be mixed throughout the resulting cheese paste.
9. Spread a thin layer of cheese paste on the bottom of the dish, then add a layer of noodles, followed by layers of meat sauce, mozzarella, noodles, cheese paste and meat sauce (and so on, repeating) in that order. Finish with noodles on top, spread with the last of the cheese paste, then cover with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan on top of that.
10. Bake uncovered until lasagna is bubbling and the top has browned, then remove from the oven and let sit for five minutes or so before cutting and serving. Enjoy!

Reviews

[Kodiak Momma]

This was REALLY good. I used a 29 oz can of tomato sauce and I'm glad I did as it would have been too dry for my taste. I also added some bell peppers b/c I needed to use them and it turned out great.