American Lasagna

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped *

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. chopped fresh basil **

1 t. dried oregano

2 T. brown sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

1 29-oz can diced tomatoes

2 6-oz cans tomato paste***

12 dry lasagna noodles ****

2 eggs, beaten

1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

2 T. dried parsley

1 t. salt

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

* Of course, I substituted with dried chopped onion ~1 palm full

** I just used dried basil

*** I didn't have any tomato paste, so improvised and just dumped in some spaghetti sauce. Close enough.

**** To cut prep time I used oven ready lasagna noodles. It means no cooking the noodles to make the soft before oven cook time. It's awesome. This allows the cook to skip Recipe step #4.

Recipe:

1. In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat.

2. Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1 1/2 t. salt, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. **skip if using oven ready noodles** Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry.

5. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, and 1 t. salt.

6. Layer 1/3 of the noodles in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese, and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over top.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Rating: 4 of 5

Um...easy lasagna that doesn't take a long time to cook....apart from the 30-45 minutes of simmering. The recipe author suggested putting the lasagna all together the night before and letting the flavors blend and then cook it the next day. But, I thought the flavors were pretty strong and blended enough. It's a tasty lasagna with just a tad bit of sweetness. I really liked it. It makes a lot and is plenty for LaDon and company.

Source: iPad app for AllRecipes