Crazy Girl's Kitchen

Get ready:

• 1lb (16 counts) lasagna noodles, cooked to barely al dente, drained, and sprinkled with olive oil
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 14 1/2-ounce cans tomato sauce
• 4 cups ricotta cheese
• 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1 Tsp dried parsley leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• salt and pepper
• extra Parmesan and shredded mozzarella, for topping

Now let’s play:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat up 2 Tsp olive oil in a large saute pan, add beef (seasoned with salt and pepper) and brown until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add onion and garlic to the pan, and saute for another 5 minutes. Stir in 2 cans tomato sauce.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, eggs,, basil, parsley, oregano, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the lasagna: Measure 4 cooked noodle to the width of the pan and cut off  the portions where the noodles are longer then the pan width. Coat the bottom of a 14 inch lasagna pan with olive oil and 1/4 can of tomato sauce. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer on the sauce. Then, line one end of the pan with a lasagna noodle that was measure to the width of the pan. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the pasta (make sure to cover the edges). Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over the ricotta, and top with 1/4 can of tomato sauce. Repeat with the next layer of noodles (the only difference is to line each end of the pan with a cut-off portion of the lasagna noodles from step one), cheese mixture, meat mixture, and tomato sauce. Top last layer with noodles as the bottom layer, tomato sauce, extra shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour, and let lasagna rest for 30 minutes on the counter top before cutting and serving.

After-play thoughts:

For the best result, a large deep lasagna pan or a small roasting pan should be used. From my own experience, the Pyrex 13*9 baking dish is too shallow for the job.