Lasagna

This is the recipe I wish my mom had 12 years ago.  I have always loved lasagna, but my mom seldom made it because it was “too putzy*.”  I lived such a deprived childhood; my mom would so rarely make one of my favorite dishes that “lasagna” was almost eradicated from my lexicon (and my stomach).  In infrequent moments of weakness, my mom would buy us Stouffer’s lasagna.  After my brother devoured the last piece of gooey deliciousness, my stomach would long for the tastes and fulfillment that so infrequently found home in its gluttonous cavern. 

My mom didn’t make lasagna because it was an overly complex recipe, but rather because she hated to boil the noodles before assembling the lasagna.  If my mom had this recipe when I was growing up, I could have had lasagna every week because it requires no boiling. That’s right mom, you stole my sweet days of childhood lasagna eating because you never discovered that boiling is unnecessary.  However, I do not blame her because I got this recipe from my lasagna-loving roommate’s mother, who has two doctorate degrees.  Apparently it takes two doctorate degrees to discover that if you pour about a cup of water in the sides of the lasagna pan before you bake it, the oven will do the boiling for you.  So what did I learn from this recipe?  That if I truly want to stymie the conundrums of cooking, I had better prepare to be in school for quite a while.    

*Is “putzy” a real word?  It’s sure not in the dictionary, but it is definitely a favorite descriptor of my mother’s. 

Ingredients

Group A (combine in its own bowl)

1.       1 pound ground turkey or beef (cooked and drained)

2.       1 tbsp minced garlic

3.       1tsp dried oregano

4.       1 tsp salt

5.       2- 15oz cans of tomatoes diced

6.       1 jar spaghetti sauce

Group B (combine in its own bowl)

1.       3 cups creamy cottage cheese

2.       1/2 cup parmesan cheese

3.       2 tbsp parsley

4.       2 eggs

5.       1 tsp salt

6.       1 tsp pepper

Other ingredients to be used in layering process

1.       1 pound mozzarella cheese shredded

2.       extra parmesan cheese for the top

3.       1 package lasagna noodles (uncooked)

How to Layer:

1.       Start with a scoop of sauce to cover the bottom of a 9X13 inch pan

2.       cover with a layer of noodles (uncooked noodles)

3.       1/2 cottage cheese mixture

4.       1/2 mozzarella

5.       layer of sauce

6.       Repeat the layers (don't over fill the pan - it will bubble over and cause a mess)

Baking:

1.       Add parmesan cheese on the top and put 1 cup water in at the edges of the pan

2.       Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees

3.       Uncover and cook for 15 minutes or until the middle is hot and the edges are browned

4.       Let it cool for about 15 minutes or it will be runny.