This is the recipe I always make for Kevins birthday.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup onion chopped
- 8 ounces lasagna noodles
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon crushed sweet basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 2 cups mozarrella cheese shredded
- Carbohydrate 19.8826608072366 g
- Cholesterol 178.264069375 mg
- Fat 41.4801610937453 g
- Fiber 0.189505989918965 g
- Protein 44.3030306540178 g
- Saturated Fat 18.1957963686749 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (292g)
- Sodium 707.192690724518 mg
- Sugar 19.6931548173176 g
- Trans Fat 8.63957771099935 g
- Calories 639 calories
Step-by-step
- DON'T USE A REGULAR LASAGNA DISH. THIS RECIPE DOES NOT FILL IT!
- Cook lasagna as directed.
- Brown ground beef and onion.
- Add tomato paste and sauce, garlic, basil, parsley flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, oregano, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and water.
- Simmer 1 hour.
- Combine cottage cheese, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
- In a 12x8 baking dish, alternate layers of 2 thicknesses of noodles, cottage cheese mixture, meat mixture and mozzarella cheese, ending in cheese.
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of grated parmesan over casserole before serving.
Golden pools of melted mozzarella crown bubbling layers of seasoned ground beef and tender pasta, radiating rich aromatics of basil, oregano, and garlic. Achieving structural integrity in a baked casserole requires precise attention to the resting phase. Allowing the pan to sit undisturbed for fifteen minutes post-bake drops the internal temperature slightly, enabling the proteins in the melted dairy and egg-bound cottage cheese to coagulate so individual portions hold their shape rather than slumping on the plate. Selecting a twelve-by-eight-inch baking vessel instead of a standard deeper pan prevents the layers from compressing unevenly and ensures adequate heat penetration.
Preparing this dish in advance offers significant structural advantages for the finished texture. Assembled casseroles can be refrigerated for up to twenty-four hours before baking, allowing the dried herbs and tomato sauce to fully hydrate the pasta sheets without requiring prior boiling beyond al dente firmness. When freezing an unbaked assembly, wrap the pan tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn, then thaw completely in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours prior to cooking at three hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit.
Acidity from the tomato paste and sauce cuts through the heavy fat content of the forty-one grams of lipids present in each serving. Pairing the casserole with a bitter green salad dressed sharply in a lemon vinaigrette provides necessary contrast. Avoid heavy starches on the side.
