Name: Grandma’s Lasagna
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 130 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp cooking oil; 1 onion, chopped; 1 tbsp garlic, chopped; 2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes; 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (including liquid); 2 15oz cans tomato sauce; 2 6oz cans tomato paste; 15 oz water (use tomato sauce can for measuring); 1-2 lbs ground meat (use beef, turkey, venison or chicken); ¼ cup Italian seasoning; 24 oz small curd cottage cheese or ricotta cheese; 1 ½ cups parmesan cheese; 2.5 lbs mozerella cheese; 2 12oz boxes uncooked lasagna noodles; Prepared Sauce from above

Dare I say, there is nothing more intimidating than cooking a beloved family recipe. Everyone already knows how it is “supposed” to taste. Everyone already has an emotional connection to the meal. It is scary stuff! If you want to add another layer of intimidation, choose your Husband’s grandmother’s recipe for lasagna; which you never had the opportunity of enjoying prepared by the lovely woman herself. I know, it takes a leap of faith to attempt this madness.

The Thing About Family Recipes

The first time I prepared Grandma’s Lasagna recipe, I did what I do with all recipes; I changed it. I do not remember everything I did, but I know sausage and mushrooms were involved. Not my smartest move. My husband was so disappointed, because while it was good it was not “Grandma’s lasagna”. That day I learned not to mess with the family classics.

Fast forward a few years, we’ve moved. We lived in construction chaos for a whole year as we DIY’d ourselves to the home of our dreams. During the process, Grandma’s lasagna recipe was misplaced. It will probably appear in some obscure place 10 years from now, but right now it is MIA. Lucky for me, I have a really good memory for things like recipes, even if I can’t remember what I had for breakfast 3 days ago. So I decided to take a chance and try to make the lasagna from memory.

The Perfect Meat Sauce

The first step to this magical meal is the tomato meat sauce. It is a very simple meat sauce, the recipe makes a large amount, and it freezes really well. Start out with a 5.5 qt. pot or larger over medium heat. Add cooking oil, chopped onion, and chopped garlic to the pan. Sauté onions and garlic, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and translucent. Add the ground meat to the pan and continue cooking until meat is thoroughly cooked. Next, add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce to the pot. This step includes all liquids. Stir to combine and raise the heat to medium high. Add tomato paste and water, stirring frequently as the sauce comes to a low boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and add Italian seasoning. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Preparing the Middle Filling

There is one more prep item before assembly of the lasagna begins. The middle layer consists of a creamy cheese layer. You have two options: 1.) ricotta and Parmesan or 2.) small curd cottage cheese and Parmesan. Regardless of your preference, I recommend combining the two cheeses in your food processor or using a hand mixer. This method gives the mixture a creamy, rich consistency.

Choose Your Size

Now it is time to assemble our delicious masterpiece. I have two different methods. If I am making dinner for a larger crowd, I use a roasting pan which is approximately 11×15 inches in size. If I am cooking for just the kiddos, hubby, and myself, I make two pans, using disposable foil 9×13 pans.. I bake one pan and freeze the other for another day. Shaun tells me his grandmother always made one pan of lasagna and had a pot of extra sauce on the stove for anyone who wanted it. I like to use all the sauce, so I make two. The sauce freezes well, so figure out the size that works for your family and freeze any leftovers.

Time to Assemble

Now to the assembly instructions, start with a layer of sauce. Next, layer uncooked lasagna noodles onto the sauce. The number of noodles will depend on the size of the pan. Add a layer of shredded mozzarella on top of the noodles and then repeat. In the middle layer, spread the ricotta/cottage cheese mixture instead of the mozzarella. When the layers reach the top of the pan, the final layer consists of sauce, noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan in that order. If making two pans, repeat the process for the second pan.

Into the Oven

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 60-75 minutes. The lasagna is done when the noodles are soft and the sauce and cheese are bubbling. I recommend letting the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before serving. I find it easier to cut and serve after it rests.

My family loves cheese and sauce, so I use a lot of both. Adjust the amounts to meet the tastes of your crew. Lasagna pairs well with a nice salad and some garlic bread. I have one silly girl in my family who does not like noodles, in any form, so she usually eats salad and garlic bread dipped in sauce on lasagna night. To each her own, there are plenty of things she does like to eat. Happy Cooking!