Marie’s Lasagna Recipe

Marie’s Simple Lasagna

It didn’t take long to figure out that the most visited posts on my blog are the recipes! So here’s another great recipe that I’ve refined over the years. It comes from a dear, old friend of the family – Marie.  Like my chili recipe,  it’s simple to modify and make your own.

I usually prepare 2 pans and stick them in the deep freezer. When I travel for work, it’s easy for the grandparents to pull out, thaw, and pop in the oven for a wonderful meal. My kids have always liked this recipe because it’s simple … not too many lumps, just enough cheese, and a tasty sauce. They’re not big fans of lasagna loaded with mushrooms and sausage. And, the kids can help put it together. We usually stand side-by-side at the kitchen counter, each of us working on layering one pan.

You’ll have some extra sauce, which you can use to make a third small lasagna, or to serve extra sauce on the side.

Recipe for Marie’s Simple Lasagna

SAUCE:

1 lb. Bob Evans Original roll Sausage

1 lb. all natural ground beef (locally, I have access to Naturewell beef products)

2, 15-oz cans of tomato sauce

1 large can of tomato paste

2 cans of water

2 tsp. Italian seasonings

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. sugar

Salt to taste

Large jar of Prego Traditional Sauce

FILLING:

3 boxes of Barilla Oven Ready Lasagne

30 oz. Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

1.5 lbs. sliced Mozzarella cheese (I usually get it sliced at the deli); cut each slice of mozzarella into about 6 pieces … you can just slice right through the stack.

Using a 6-qt. pot, sauté the beef and sausage together on medium heat, being sure to stir well and break up the big chunks, and until the meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat. Add all other ingredients, except for Prego. When all other ingredients have been added, pour enough Prego to the pot to fill it almost to the top.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer the sauce for at least one hour. Stirring on occasion.

In the meantime, prepare two oblong, glass baking dishes (13 x 9 x 2). Spray each pan with Pam, and prepare some counter space with the two pans, the cheeses, the pasta, and the sauce.

LAYER:

1. Put some sauce on the bottom of each pan

2. Put one layer of noodles on top of the sauce (follow the directions on the box to determine how many pieces to use per layer; usually, it’s 4 per layer)

3. Spread more sauce over the noodles

4. Drop about 10 to12 spoons of ricotta on this layer (using about 3 dollops per pasta layer)

5. Put about 12 small pieces of mozzarella directly on top of the ricotta

Repeat steps 2 to 5 until you’ve used at least one box of noodles per pan (I reserve the 3rd box to replace broken pieces, or to make a 3rd, small lasagna if there’s leftover sauce and cheese, or to squeeze in another layer of pasta if the dish is deeper than 2”).  The top layer should be finished off with sauce and a few pieces of mozzarella.

The lasagna should be pretty “wet” at this point. The no-bake noodles soak up a lot of liquid.

Loosely cover with foil to prevent the top from burning or drying out. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 – 45 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove the foil the last few minutes of baking.

In my opinion, no-bake lasanga noodles work best if the lasagna has been frozen first. Lasagna freezes really well. Be sure to cover the unbaked lasagna with plastic wrap after it has cooled, and then cover the plastic wrap with foil, and freeze.

When you’re ready to use it, thaw the lasagna, and bake as directed above.

Serve with a refreshing green salad with our favorite salad dressing – Garlic Expressions and some homemade garlic bread.

Buon Appetito!