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The Best Traditional Lasagna

Traditional Lasagna 1

When you have a new baby, everyone wants to visit.

When you have a new baby, you have no time to make dinner for said visitors. Or shower. Or pick up your house. Or change into, like, real clothes.

When my parents were visiting a few weeks ago, I took advantage of the extra set of hands – my mom’s available for the baby and mine getting busy in the kitchen. It had been too, too long since my kitchen and I had bonded. In fact, it had probably been since the night I went in to the hospital when I made homemade tomato soup. Mmmm.

Traditional Lasagna 2

 When we serve up lasagna in our house, Buffalo Chicken Lasagna is generally the popular request. It is, hands down, one of Mr. Prevention’s most favorite recipes and the leftovers freeze and reheat beautifully – one of my favorite recipe perks. But I was craving something make-ahead that was comforting and traditional. And maybe a little indulgent. A quick Google search later, this recipe was my chosen one.

While the sauce for the lasagna was simmering away, my neighbor stopped by. I didn’t exactly invite her in as I was dressed in my new everyday attire of a nursing tank top and had hands covered in garlic stickiness. But, she walked right on in and quickly took Shea from my mom’s arms to oogle over her.

Traditional Lasagna 3

 She paused to comment on the wonderful scents wafting through the house. The rich tomato flavor with the indulgent sausage and Italian herbs and garlic. She asked for the recipe and I told her I’d be sure to pass it along if the lasagna turned out well…which it did. Very well. I assembled the lasagna on a Saturday to bake up on Sunday so that my time with guests could be spent outside of the kitchen…and to have myself available for any newborn meltdowns. 😉

Served with a simple salad and whole wheat garlic bread, this dish was a big hit. The leftovers were amazing, too!

Traditional Lasagna 4

The Best Traditional Lasagna
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12 slices
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
  • ¾ lb bulk pork sausage
  • 3 (8 oz) cans reduced sodium tomato sauce
  • 2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 9 lasagna noodles
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
  • 3 cups (24 oz) low-fat cottage cheese
  • 8 oz low-fat ricotta cheese
  • ½ cup (2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
  • 6 slices provolone cheese
  • 3 cups (12 oz) part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain any accumulated grease. To the browned meat, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic, sugar, seasoning, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
  2. Meanwhile, bring 5-6 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Cook noodles until al dente. Drain and keep warm.
  3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, parsley, cottage cheese, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  5. To assemble, spread 1 cup of meat sauce in an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Layer with three noodles, the 6 slices of provolone cheese, 2 cups cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, three noodles, 2 cups meat sauce, remaining cottage cheese mixture, and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with the remaining noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella.
  6. Cover and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
Recipe from Taste of Home
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 460 Fat: 23.7 Carbohydrates: 25.6 Sugar: 6.6 Sodium: 922 Fiber: 2.7 Protein: 38.0 Cholesterol: 129

 Miss Shea is going through a growth spurt and it is exhausting! It’s hard to believe she’s 3 weeks and 2 days old already! We just got her newborn pictures back – I’ll be sharing them soon 🙂

Be well,

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5 Comments

  1. Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
    October 29, 2014 / 9:07 pm

    I looove how thick and delicious and comforting this lasagna looks!!

  2. Pingback: The Best Traditional Lasagna
  3. Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
    October 30, 2014 / 12:52 pm

    Yum! I love lasagna on a cold day ๐Ÿ™‚ It’s so comforting! And there’s no better smell than tomato sauce simmering on the stove.

  4. Ari
    November 10, 2014 / 4:19 pm

    You are amazing! How on earth you had time to make a lasagna (for GUESTS, mind you!) with a newborn is beyond me. My rule for visiting new parents: always bring food!

  5. Pingback: The Right Wine to Pair with Your Favorite Comfort Foods - The Culinary Travel Guide

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