Lasagna with Meat Sauce

When I made my Vegetarian Lasagna with Broccoli, Kale, and Zucchini, I had lightly boiled the noodles. After baking in sauce for 45 minutes, the noodles got mushier than I'd like. I know I've heard before that you don't have to boil the noodles first because they'll absorb liquid in the sauce while baking. So I decided to give it a try and make lasagna with dried noodles. Not the kind that's advertised as no-bake, just straight-from-the-box regular old dried lasagna noodles.

I couldn't wait for the lasagna to cool down before cutting (or eating!), but somehow I think the gooey cheese and unstructuredness of this piece looks infinitely more appealing.


This piece was cut the next day, and the pasta had absorbed even more sauce overnight so it's not as saucy as I generally like, but still perfectly good.




So there you go, you really don't have to pre-boil lasagna noodles before baking. I only mention this because recently Ning of Heart and Hearth made lasagna with oven-ready noodles and she didn't believe me when I told her regular noodles would do just fine. Oh dear, I hope that didn't come out too snotty. I mentioned this so you can save your money and buy regular lasagna noodles instead of buying special ones, unless you want to, of course.

Lasagna with Meat Sauce

For a 10-by-14-inch pan, you'll need:
1 package of lasagna noodles
1-lb ground turkey or beef
1 16-oz container small curd cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese
1 8-oz package mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 onion, diced
2 24-oz jars pasta sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil

Optional: I sometimes add sauteed and drained spinach into the sauce.

Start by dicing and sauteing the onion until softened.


Add ground turkey or beef and 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, and 1 tsp dried parsley. Saute until the meat is mostly cooked.


Add two jars of pasta sauce and mix. And if you're thrifty as I am, add about 1/2 cup water into the jars and swish it around to get the last of the sauce.


In another bowl, mix 1 8-oz package mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 16-oz container of small curd cottage cheese, and 1 egg.


Now you're ready to assemble. Notice dried lasagna noodles in the box. I start with a light layer of sauce so the noodles don't stick to the pan.


Add dried lasagna noodles on the bottom.


Add a layer of sauce.


A few dabs of cheese.


More dried lasagna noodles.


More sauce.


Oops. Sort of ran out of cheese. Portion out your cheese better than I did.


Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for at least half an hour to 45 minutes.


See? Proof that the pasta cooked through.


For straight edges in photos, it's probably better to cut into the lasagna when it's cold. But for eating purposes, who cares?!


Enjoy!

My other lasagna recipes:
Vegetarian Lasagna with Broccoli, Kale, and Zucchini
Vegetarian Lasagna with Feta Cheese, Spinach, and Tofu
Pastitsio (Greek "Lasagna")

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1 year ago today, jungle red hibiscus flowers.
2 years ago today, little red houses and apple trees.