Amanda’s Lasagna
My friend @pantsmagwood is an incredible cook ... .everything she makes, bakes or serves is thoughtful, comforting and delicious. She has given me permission to share her mom’s famous lasagna recipe.
This is the most delicious lasagna I’ve ever had. It’s a labour of love -the qualities are doubled so that it will make two giant lasagnas ... one to eat now, and one to freeze, or gift.
I hope you enjoy this as much as we have! Thank you Mans!
Amanda’s Lasagna
Ingredients:
Meat Sauce
2lbs of ground beef or chicken
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
2 jars of marinara sauce
Salt&Pepper
Cottage Cheese and Spinach
1 500g container of cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 cups fresh or frozen (then thawed) spinach, chopped
Salt&Pepper
Béchamel Cheese Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cup milk
2 cups grated aged cheddar
Salt&Pepper
2 packages of oven ready lasagna noodles
2 bricks (400g) of mozzarella
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
For the meat sauce, brown the meat in a very large pan over medium heat. Season with S&P. Add the mushrooms and sauté. Then stir in the tomato sauce. Allow to simmer on low for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, combine the cottage cheese, egg and chopped spinach. Season with S&P. Set aside.
Make the béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in the flour and stir, making sure to watch it so it doesn’t burn! Whisk in the milk and continue to stir for a few minutes until it starts to bubble. Season with S&P. Remove from the heat and add in the cheddar cheese. Stir until melted.
Start to assemble the lasagna. Grab two 9 x 12 casserole dishes. To the bottom of your dishes, layer a thin amount of the meat sauce. Then add a layer of the oven-ready noodles (you might have to break them so that they fit). Add another layer of meat sauce, then sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella on top. Next, add another layer of noodles, followed by the cottage cheese layer, then more meat sauce, and another sprinkle of mozzarella cheese. Lightly press down. Then add another layer of noodles. Pour half of the béchamel sauce on top and use the back of a spoon to spread this evenly over everything. Cover with a final layer of noodles. Add more meat sauce, the rest of the mozzarella and finally sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 45 mins - 1 hour. If you freeze one, you can bake it from frozen but increase the cooking time to 1 1/2 hours.
If you make this recipe, share and tag me! I hope ou enjoyed it as much as I did, see you in the next one!