Lasagna

This lasagna has been one of my favorite meals for as long as I can remember. As a 4/5 year old, I went through a phase of not wanting any of my food touching and not wanting sauce on my pasta BUT this lasagna was an exception. My Grandma has been making this lasagna for me forever & I finally spent a day with her last year to learn how to make the lasagna myself! So, today I am sharing it with you!

Start by chopping 1 bell pepper, 1 stick of celery and 2 cloves of garlic in the food processor. One of my favorite things about learning family recipes is hearing the stories that go along with them. When my grandma was instructing me to put the veggies in the food processor I asked why not just chop them up by hand (because I am always looking for ways to make less dishes). She told me that she has always puréed them in the food processor because when my uncle was younger, he would not eat the lasagna if he found pieces of vegetable. So, I use the food processor just to follow tradition but if you don't mind seeing your veggies, you could just chop them up with a knife.

In a large pot, start cooking 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat over medium heat. Once the meat is cooked, drain the fat from the pot.

Stir in 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of basil, 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of marjoram, 1 teaspoon of rosemary and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder into the meat.

Stir in 1/2 cup of ketchup and the pureed veggies.

Then stir in 1 jar of Garden Select (640 mL), one 680 mL tin of tomato sauce, one 540 mL tin of diced or crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup of tomato juice, 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of cinnamon.

 

At this point, you can let the sauce simmer on low heat for up to 2 hours. I usually leave it on the stove for about an hour before starting to make the lasagna. While the sauce is simmering cook the lasagna noodles - I typically use 16 noodles. Once the noodles are cooked, drain the water and blanch the noodles.

***You could choose to use this sauce as spaghetti sauce instead of making a lasagna. I always have left overs after making the lasagna, so I freeze the leftover sauce and use it on pasta later another day.

After the sauce has been left to simmer for some time, start the lasagna by lining the bottom of a casserole dish with a layer of sauce.

Then put down a layer of noodles,

followed by another layer of sauce,

and a layer of cheese. I repeat this process 4 times, resulting in 4 layers of lasagna noodles. I usually use a mix of cheeses that I have in the fridge. This time, I used Mozzarella, Gouda, Cheddar and Parmesean. You can use any combination of cheeses that you like. I never measure the amount of cheese that I use, but I think it's about 3-4 cups total.

The lasagna can be refrigerated until you are ready to cook it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the lasagna covered in tinfoil for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the tinfoil and continue cooking the lasagna for another 10 minutes.

LASAGNA
ingredients
1 bell pepper
1 stick of celery
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 pounds ground meat
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup ketchup
1 jar garden select (640 mL)
1 tin of tomato sauce (680 mL)
1 tin diced or crushed tomatoes (540 mL)
1/2 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup water
16 lasagna noodles
3-4 cups grated cheese (I use a mix of Cheddar, Mozzarella, Gouda and Parmesan)

directions
1. Purée bell pepper, celery and garlic in the food processor or chop up by hand.
2. Begin cooking meat over medium heat. once the meat is cooked, drain the fat from the pot. Stir in Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, marjoram, rosemary and garlic powder.
3. Stir in ketchup, garden select, tomato sauce, diced/crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, water and cinnamon. Once all of the ingredients are stirred together, allow the sauce to simmer for up to 2 hours on low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Cook 16 lasagna noodles, drain the water and blanch the noodles in the strainer.
5. Line the bottom of a casserole dish with sauce, add a layer of noodles, top the noodles with sauce and then top the sauce with mix of cheeses. Repeat this layering process 4 times.
6. Store the lasagna in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. Cover the lasagna with tinfoil and cook it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After 30 minutes remove the tinfoil and cook the lasagna uncovered for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!