Lasagna

Yesterday was my father’s birthday. I made ribs and homemade sweet cinnamon butter. That has nothing to do with the lasagna. It has everything to do with family. A few weekends ago we had a big get together with family. It was the first good rain in months and it rained and rained all day. My aunt and uncle had just gotten back from a cruise and stopped by on their way back to California. So I made lasagna. It seemed like a good plan because I could make it ahead of time and then just put it all together and stick it in the oven.

_______________________________________________________

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
salt and pepper
1/2 pound dry lasagna noodles
3 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
1 jar tomato sauce (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 pound mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan
______________________________________________________

I made my lasagna over two days. I also made a double batch so I needed two days.

The day before:

Brown the ground beef and pork with minced onion, salt and pepper. drain the fat and chill.

Also prep the broccoli and carrots, cover and chill. It also helps to keep the lasagna from getting watery if the veggies have a chance to sorta dry out overnight in the fridge.

You can also cook the pasta on the first day. If you are making homemade tomato sauce, I would do it on the first day also.

The day of:

Make the white sauce(béchamel). Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the flour and whisk. Cook until the flour just starts to smell nutty. Slowly whisk in the milk  and season with salt and pepper.

Continue to until the sauce has thickened.

Stir together the ricotta cheese with the eggs.

The mixture will somewhat resemble scrambled eggs. I know it looks unappetizing but it is an essential element in lasagna.

The final step in preparing for putting everything together is to slice the mozzarella. You could use the prepackaged shredded stuff but it doesn’t even come close to the taste of real mozzarella cheese.
Preheat the oven to 375*, then start layering.

Check list before layer:
tomato sauce
béchamel sauce
cooked pasta
beef and pork mixture
broccoli and carrots
ricotta mixture
sliced mozzarella and grated parmesan

Place the lasagna on a baking sheet and bake at 375* for at least 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese on top has browned and bubbly.

Allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into the lasagna.

Serve with crusty french bread and enjoy!