Lasagna Recipe heat.

It can take a while for a large pot of water to

come to a boil (this will be your pasta water), so
INGREDIENTS prepare the sauce in the next steps while the water
 Olive oil is heating.
 1 pound lean ground beef (chuck) 2 In a large skillet heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on
 1/2 onion, diced, about 3/4 cup medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook it
 1/2 large bell pepper (green, red, or yellow), until it is lightly browned on all sides. Remove the
stem and core removed, diced, about 3/4 cup beef with a slotted spoon to a bowl. If there is more
 2 cloves garlic, minced than a tablespoon of fat left in the pan (there
 1 28-ounce can good quality tomato sauce
 3 ounces (half a 6-oz can) tomato paste
 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
 2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 2
teaspoons dried oregano
 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (preferably
shouldn't be if you are using lean ground beef)
flat leaf), packed
remove it from the pan.
 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
3 Add the diced bell pepper and onions to skillet (in
 Pinch of garlic powder and/or garlic salt
the photo we are using yellow bell pepper and red
 1 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
onions). Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions
 1 Tbsp to 1/4 cup sugar (to taste, optional)
are translucent and the peppers softened. Add the
 Salt
minced garlic and cook half a minute more. Return
 1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9
the browned ground beef to the pan. Stir to
lasagna noodles - unbroken)
 15 ounces Ricotta cheese
 1 1/2 lb (24 ounces) Mozzarella cheese,
grated or sliced
 1/4 lb (4 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan
cheese
Cooking Utensils You'll Need: combine, reduce the heat to low and cook for
 A large skillet to brown the beef, bell another 5 minutes.
pepper, and onion
 A large pot (8 to 12-quarts) for cooking the
pasta 4 Transfer the beef
 A medium sized saucepan (3 to 4 quarts) to pepper onion mixture to
simmer the sauce a medium sized (3 to 4
 13" x 9" x 2" lasagna pan, preferably pyrex quart) pot. Add the
or stainless steel (avoid aluminum pans if you can, crushed tomatoes,
they can react with the acidity of the sauce)
 A large colander to drain the noodles
 A couple large sheet pans to cool the
noodles
 A large slotted cooking spoon
 A large wooden cooking spoon
 A chef's knife or large paring knife to cut the tomato sauce, and tomato paste to the pot. Add the
vegetables parsley, oregano, and Italian seasonings, adjusting
the amounts to taste. Sprinkle with garlic powder
METHOD and/or garlic salt, to taste. Sprinkle with red or white
1 Put a large pot of salted water (1 Tbsp salt for wine vinegar. Stir in sugar, a tablespoon at a time,
every 2 quarts of water) on the stovetop on high tasting after each addition, to taste. (The amount of
sugar needed will vary, depending on how acidic mozzarella on top of lasagna sauce. Add half of the
the tomatoes are that you are using.) Add salt to ricotta cheese, by placing cheese dollops every
taste, and note that you will later be adding couple inches. Sprinkle the grated parmesan
Parmesan, which is salty. cheese evenly over the top of ricotta cheese.

Bring the sauce to a simmer and lower the heat to Apply second layer of noodles, top it with half of the
low to maintain a low simmer.  Cook for 15-45 remaining sauce. Add half of the remaining
minutes, stirring often. Scrape the bottom of the pot Mozzarella, the remaining ricotta cheese, and
every so often so nothing sticks to the bottom and another thin sprinkling of Parmesan.  Finish with
scorches. Remove from heat. another layer of noodles. Spread the remaining
sauce over the top layer of noodles and sprinkle
with the remaining Mozzarella cheese.
7 Tent the lasagna pan with aluminum foil (not
touching noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45
minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

5 By now the salted water you started heating in

step one should be boiling. Add the dry lasagna
noodles and cook then per package directions (al
dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.)
Stir often to prevent from sticking. Make sure that
water remains at a full rolling boil during the entire
cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. When May be reheated in conventional oven or
ready, drain in a colander and rinse with cool water, microwave. Leave aluminum tent on for storage.
gently separating any noodles that may be sticking (Try to keep the aluminum foil from touching the
together. Spread a little olive oil on a large rimmed sauce.)
baking sheet, and lay out the cooked noodles on
this sheet, turning them over so that they get
coated with a little of the olive oil. This will prevent
them from sticking together.

6 In a 13x9x2-inch casserole or lasagna dish, ladle

a cup of sauce and spread it over the bottom of the
dish. Arrange one layer of lasagna noodles
lengthwise (about 3 long noodles, edge may
overlap, depending on your pan) over the sauce.
Ladle a third of the remaining sauce over the
noodles. Sprinkle a layer of a third of the grated