Homemade Lasagna

Serve delicious homemade lasagna with fresh, green salad.

You can make delicious homemade lasagna in less than two hours with a few basic ingredients. Once you master the basic recipe, get creative and try variations. Substitute other types of cheeses or add sausage to the meat sauce. Experiment with various dried herbs and spices. Use a white sauce in place of the tomato base. Layer in spinach or other vegetables. You can make a single recipe for an intimate dinner or double or triple the recipe for a larger get-together. Lasagna is a versatile dish, and there's no one right way to make it.

Things You'll Need

• Large skillet
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups water
• 1 can tomato paste (12 ounces)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 9- by 13-inch baking dish
• No-stick cooking spray
• 1 package lasagna noodles (8 ounces), cooked
• 12 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 carton small-curd cottage cheese (12 ounces)
• Aluminum foil

Instructions

1. Cook the ground beef, onion and garlic in the large skillet over medium heat. Drain, if necessary.

2. Add water, tomato paste, salt, pepper and rosemary. Stir until well blended and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees.

4. Spray the baking dish with no-stick cooking spray.

5. Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Add a layer of cooked noodles and a layer of meat sauce. Spread on some cottage cheese and sprinkle with grated cheese.

6. Add a second layer each of cooked noodles, meat sauce, cottage cheese and grated cheese, in that order. Add a third layer to use up the remaining ingredients.

7. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil cover and bake another 15 minutes or until bubbly.

8. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let stand undisturbed for 10 minutes. Serve.

Tips & Warnings

• Cook the lasagna noodles while the meat sauce simmers.

• Serve lasagna with fresh salad.